Ask ten expats where to live in Greece and you will hear ten answers, most of them in defence of the place where the speaker lives. The real choice is between three things that rarely come together: jobs and services, price, and the picture in your head. The best places to live in Greece depend on which of the three you rank first. This guide sticks to what can be verified and leaves the stereotypes for the café.
Is Athens the best place to live in Greece?
If you want work, international schools, airlines, hospitals and choice, yes. A large share of the country's jobs, schools and hospitals is concentrated in Attica. It is also the most expensive: EURES gives about €1,175 a month for a three-room flat in the centre in 2026 and about €951 in the suburbs, with buying prices of about €3,500 per square metre in the centre.
Athens is a collection of neighbourhoods rather than one city. Central districts such as Koukaki, Pangrati and Kolonaki are walkable, with the metro and the old centre around the corner. The coastal southern suburbs, such as Glyfada, are more suburban and seaside. Summers are hot, the air can be heavy in a heatwave, and the traffic is real. In exchange you get the ability to do almost anything without leaving the city.
What is living in Thessaloniki like?
Thessaloniki is the second city, with a student population, a long seafront and a reputation, among Greeks, for good food. It costs less than Athens: about €912 for a three-room flat in the centre and about €720 in the suburbs, and about €3,240 per square metre to buy in the centre. It has its own water company, its own airport and its own universities. It is a reasonable choice if you want a big city feel with lower rents, and Athens is within easy reach by plane or train.
What about Patras and other regional cities?
Patras, in the Peloponnese, is a university city and a ferry port to Italy. EURES gives about €702 for a three-room flat in the centre and about €1,825 per square metre to buy. Larissa, in the middle of Thessaly's plain, is cheaper still: about €463 in the suburbs. These cities have hospitals, schools and shops, and very little expat infrastructure. If you want to integrate quickly and learn Greek, that can be an advantage. If you need an English-speaking community, it is a drawback.
Crete, Corfu and the other big islands
The largest islands offer something the small ones cannot: a real year-round economy. Crete has several cities, airports, hospitals and universities, and its own climate and pace. Corfu is also a large island with services all year. In general, an island with a few thousand inhabitants and one ferry a day is another life, which we describe in living on the Greek islands. Tax details such as the reduced VAT rates apply only to specific islands.
Where should families live?
Near schools, and that means a city or a large town. Public school is free, taught in Greek, and your child is assigned by address. International and foreign-language schools are concentrated in Athens and Thessaloniki; there are two French schools in the country, one in each city. See schools in Greece for expats.
Where should retirees live?
Pick the healthcare first, then the climate. A good family doctor, a hospital within reasonable reach and an airport matter more at 70 than the view at 40. See healthcare in Greece for expats for how the family doctor and the S1 form work. Smaller places also cost less to rent, but the deposit and the three-year lease logic is the same everywhere; see renting in Greece.
Where should remote workers live?
Anywhere with fast internet and a flight connection: Athens, Thessaloniki or a large island. The visa and tax rules depend on your nationality, not on the town. See remote work in Greece.
How do you choose without regrets?
- Visit in winter. Many places look different in January.
- Rent first. A lease of a year or two beats a purchase based on a holiday.
- Check the doctor and the school. Not the beach.
- Ask about the language of daily life. Even in an English-friendly place, the forms and the tax portal are in Greek.
- Do the maths on cost. Our guide to the cost of living in Greece gives official figures.
Once you have a short list, the moving to Greece checklist turns it into a plan.
How do the best places to live in Greece compare on price?
EURES gives indicative figures for 2026 that make the comparison concrete.
| City | Rent, three-room flat, centre (per month) | Purchase price, centre (per m²) |
|---|---|---|
| Athens | about €1,175 | about €3,500 |
| Thessaloniki | about €912 | about €3,240 |
| Patras | about €702 | about €1,825 |
Prices outside the cities and on the islands are not covered by the same table, so ask for local listings before you budget.
What does the best place to live in Greece depend on?
Four questions, in this order. Where is your income? A job, a client list or a pension from abroad decides whether you need a big city. What do you need nearby? A hospital, a school, an airport and a tax office matter more than a view when you have to use them every month. How much Greek will you use? The bigger the city, the easier it is to get by in English, though forms and portals stay in Greek. What will winter feel like? Visit between November and March before you sign.
If two cities tie on those questions, pick the one with the better connection to your home country. A direct flight shortens every family visit, every doctor's appointment you keep at home and every trip back to renew a document.
What are the weak points of the best places to live in Greece?
Every choice has a cost. Athens is the most expensive Greek city in our figures, and its summers are hot. Thessaloniki is cheaper but smaller in choice. Patras and Larissa are inexpensive and have little expat infrastructure, so you will use Greek more. Islands offer a different life, but their services thin out in winter; we cover that in living on the Greek islands. None of these is a flaw, only a trade-off you should accept before you move.
Which questions should you ask a local before choosing?
Ask a neighbour or a colleague in the place you are considering what the bus and ferry timetables look like in winter, which health centre they use and how long the wait is, how the building is heated, and which months are hardest. Their answers are not statistics, but they catch what a listing does not. Then check the official side yourself: your future municipality, its school sectors and its KEP, for the paperwork you will need in the first weeks.