Do they tax retirees?

Real estate in Greece: cheap but very taxed and over regulated. It is cheap for a reason. Better buy turkish real estate who is really undervalued due to lira

I'm in Greece at the moment, staying in Thessaloniki to see what it's like as a digital nomad location. So far I can confirm it is quite affordable here compared to other European countries. You can get good accommodation and the food is excellent. On the negative side there is virtually zero digital nomad community here. The cafes are not really set up to work from and there aren't good options in terms of coworking spaces. It has been difficult to meet people and create a community so far. Dating options are also limited compared to some other popular digital nomad locations. I'll be checking out Athens later on.

Very good video, to the point about taxation and visas, regarding renting an apartment and cost of living in Athens, here is the reality:

There is a shortage on long term rentals at this point in Athens and the prices are really high (consider 500e to be the minimum for an old non-renovated apartment), this does not include the center area of Athens, that because of polution and the higher crime rate its not really safe to rent and live in (again some spots are ok, but they are really expensive and you need to know exactly where to look).

The best option would be to search via a service like airbnb to rent short-term and avoid the center of Athens at all costs, this is gonna save you all the hassle but you will pay a high price again (>600e for a decent 1 bedroom apartment in a good area).

Renting for long term the locals will ask you for 2 months deposit plus 1 month rent and also the lease term cannot be broken, meaning if you sign the contract for 1-3 years (the standard here as we speak is 3 years) if you want to go away before the end of the contract you will need to pay the monthly price for the remaining months, unless you visit a lawyer and you make a custom contract beforehand and the owner accepts also to sign it. Be EXTRA careful with this.

Local people will be very careful to rent for long term to people that they cannot show them proof of income. Keep this in mind, most probably you will get rejected multiple times.

Rental agencies here will also ask you for 1 month rent extra as their fees. Most of them they will ask you to meet them in places and not take you with them to show you like multiple apartments. Be careful when you call on rental ads, always ask if they are an agency or the actual owner of the property.

Regarding cost of living, food prices have seen a crazy increase, electricity is also around 300% up if you consider renting long term.

This is the situation as it is now. I would strongly not suggest moving to Greece as a digital nomad unless you really can afford it.

On a last note, if it happens that you are unvaccinated, since 1st of May you can go to restaurants etc without a rapid test. Until 1st of May unvaccinated people could not enter a gym at all and also in order to go to restaurants/cafeterias you were only allowed to sit in the outside area and provide a negative self test. There is a high possibility these rules will be in place again next winter, so keep this in mind.

Interesting video, I love the idea of finding digital nomad hotspots before they become trendy or too popular. Sad to hear Portugal has peaked and gotten more expensive, it was one of my destinations I may consider.

As for Greece, I'm not sure if it will become a hotspot. Like you mentioned, the digital nomad visa for Greece income requirement is over $3000/month which is pretty high. I would assume the high requirement means Greece is an expensive destination to nomad. Also, Greece went crazy with their beer virus restrictions and although they've removed them, who knows if they will be enforced again.

Anyways, I hope you do more videos regarding future nomad hotspots and securing a place before it gets too popular/expensive.

It's still early days…

Laos is open(ing)… The 30 day visa can be extended up to 3 times. Land border with Vietnam… Never been to either yet… But will do soon.