Greece in the eyes of the xenos
How do foreigners see the country?
Welcome to the 64 awesome new folks who joined in the past few weeks! If you have not subscribed yet, consider joining 2,201 smart, curious people interested in Changing Greece.
👁️🗨️ Greece in the eyes of the xenos
I have a confession to make.
I’ve recently entered one of those weird, never-ending Youtube rabbit holes: I can’t stop watching videos of foreigners in Greece.
What made me so obsessed?
Well, us Greeks usually have many strong ideas about our country. We tend to go to either extreme very easily. We either love something or hate it. Middle ground is rare — much like grey skies in our sun-kissed country.
Don’t get me wrong. We often have good logos (reason) about our pathos (passion).
But often we get too caught up in the heat of the moment. And even if we don’t, we can always benefit from another point of view.
So, I thought: “What can I do to look at Greece with fresh eyes? Where could I find a sober and unbiased look into both the good and the bad in the country?”
Enter Youtube.
What does a xenos have to say about Greece?
Xenos in Greek means foreigner. Filos means friend. This is where our beloved word Filoxenia (aka hospitality) comes from.
How friendly has Greece been to foreigners?
I went on Youtube and searched for a diverse set of foreign content creators. I focused on recent uploads (<1 year) and foreigners spending longer periods of time in Greece (>1 month or >2 visits).
Thanks to Youtube’s addictive algorithm, I was spoon-fed a series of relevant videos one after the one. I watched some and skimmed others.
Below, is a collection of the videos I found most interesting from foreigners living in or visiting different parts of Greece.
Athens
Thessaloniki
Nafplio
Crete
Rhodes
And another little gem I found.
Kefalonia
Small Greek villages
Things the dopios learned from the xenos
Here is what I learned as a dopios (local) from watching these videos.
There is a lot of foreign interest about Greece. Expats, retirees, digital nomads, long-stay vacationers, repeat travelers, students, migrants looking for a better life, burned-out professionals in search of a balanced lifestyle — you name it, they’re all coming to Greece and sharing their experience.
Athens is queen, islands are adored, villages popular but not year-round. There is a large volume of people staying or passing through Athens. Greek islands are also an (unsurprisingly) common destination. In fact, the larger the island the higher the chance foreigners will stay for longer periods (e.g., Naxos, Kefalonia, Rhodes and Crete). Mainland villages are also visited, but fewer foreigners seem to choose them outside the summer months.
Many nationalities. There are people from all over the world posting from Greece. North Americans and Europeans are the most common. Then come South Americans and Australians. Finally, Africans and Asians, but less so.
Visiting vs. living is a different experience. Foreigners who have stayed in Greece for longer are able to draw the distinction between enjoying Greece as a short-haul tourist and living in Greece as a long-term resident. But for most of them, even after the honeymoon period is over, they still tend to like it.
The positives foreigners mention (that locals take for granted): Sunny weather. Great outdoor options and views. Being close to both the mountains and the sea, regardless of where you are. Everyone is very friendly. Fresh and delicious food. Open and welcoming social life. Great night scene. Many low-cost options. Good public healthcare. Many coffee shops. Super artsy. People feel cured from depression and anxiety. Very relaxed mindset (things take their time).
The negatives foreigners mention (that locals tend to accept): Terrible streets and pavements. Aggressive driving culture. Lack of green spaces. Language barrier. Long and ambiguous bureaucratic processes. Paperwork can be a killer. Lots of noise, air pollution and traffic (in Athens). Too much graffiti (making Greek cities seem both unclean and unsafe). Irregular store hours. Lack of good and reliable public transport. Very relaxed mindset (things take their time).
Many of these findings will not sound surprising to the average local Greek. And yet I still learned a lot. I think the procrastination dive rabbit-hole experiment was worth it and highly urge you to check some of these stories out.
The dopios can often learn a lot from the xenos.
💰 Raises & Exits
IGrow VC expected to launch new €50M venture fund.
Apeiron Ventures announces €25M pre/seed venture fund.
Harbor Labs (shipping logistics) raises €14.8 Series A.
Infinite Orbits (space tech) raises €12M.
Acumino (robotics) raises €6 seed round.
Ikerian/RetinAI (med tech) raises €5.7M Series A extension round.
Lambda Automata (defense) acquires Smart Flying Machines.
FINNY (AI) raises pre-seed round, enters YC Summer 24 batch.
Gradient Labs (AI) raises early-stage funding.
SmartLoC (IoT trade) and Caroo (car sharing) raise €0.3M each.
🤖 Tech & Startups
Greek tech salaries data by Randstad. We still have a long way to go.
New talent visa seems to be liked by local tech companies.
AI and LLMs - latest deep-dive by AUEB. Previous one here.
Science, causality and critical applications with Thanos Vlontzos.
What keyboard is the right one for you? Panos Sakkos has the answer.
What’s up with Kolmogorov–Arnold Networks? Timos Moraitis has thoughts.
An assembly line of EVs in Greece? Jonway is looking to build one.
🏭 Economy & Business
Greek economy expected to grow at 2%, says OECD.
Greek stockmarket hits 13-year record. Another one, as per DJ Khaled.
HSBC, Goldman Sachs positive on Greek economy and stock market.
Athens has 22,600 millionaires according to H&P’s cities to watch list.
FDI in Greece up by 62% during 2021-2023, but down 35% in 2023.
Greece leads in debt-to-GDP % reduction across EU since 2020.
Housing costs are pretty high in Greece, according to ECB study.
Real compensation per employee going up faster in GR than EZ.
🙌 Celebrating Greek wins
Angelique Kourounis in memoriam. A brave voice against neofascism.
Ioannis Tsakiris appointed Vice-President of EIB.
Dimitri Mavris receives highest honor given to a Georgia Tech Professor.
Faruk Urem Kanellos (aka Hasan of Exarcheia) had a precious immigrant story.
Christos Kyratsous is the brain behind revolutionary genetic therapies.
Simos Simeonidis on how he became a global leader in biotech investing.
📌 Spotlight
Museum Herakleidon (Athens). Founded in 2004 by Paul and Anna-Belinda Firos, the Herakleidon is an interactive museum that explores the intersection between maths, science, and art. It boasts two buildings in the historic Athenian district of Thissio. Of particular note is its exhibition EUREKA on the Science, Art and Technology of the Ancient Greeks.
Next time you are strolling near Acropolis, it’s definitely worth a visit.
If you find this newsletter valuable, share it with a friend, and consider subscribing if you haven’t already. Your support means a lot and motivates me to keep writing.
Until next time!
As a repeat traveler I must say when I first arrived in Greece it was love at first sight. I’ve been in plenty of other places in southern Europe but not a single one has clicked like Greece did. I think it’s the people. Even outside of the tourist industry most people you’ll meet are kind, open, friendly and respectful. I also love the (things take their time) aspect of Greek culture. One day I was sitting at bar and the bartender girl asked me what’s the thing that differentiated Greece from my homeland the most. I said, “everything is so slow here”, and she answered “it’s good! Slow is good” 😄
I hope so too.. I hate it when people call my wife of 25 years ξένη.. even though she loves Greece more than the native Greeks..