Greece

Greece offers a rare combination: a genuine European capital in Athens with one of the lowest costs of living on the continent, almost year-round sunshine, and thousands of islands a short ferry ride away.

For internationals it has become one of Europe's biggest hubs for multilingual customer-support roles, many of which come with full relocation packages — making it an unusually easy and affordable place to start a life abroad.

Athens hosts one of Europe's largest clusters of multilingual customer-experience centres, hiring speakers of Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, German, Czech and more — typically with flights, accommodation and onboarding support included.

Beyond customer support, shipping, tourism and a growing fintech scene provide further opportunities. English is the business language in international companies; Greek is rarely required.

EU/EEA/Swiss citizens work freely and simply obtain an AFM (tax number) and AMKA (social-security number). Non-EU citizens need a work or residence visa arranged in advance; the EU Blue Card and Greece's Digital Nomad Visa are common routes.

The AFM is your first step for employment, banking and contracts, followed by the AMKA for healthcare access.

Greece is consistently among the cheapest places to live in the EU. A comfortable lifestyle in Athens typically costs just €1,000–1,600/month including rent — extraordinary value for a European capital.

Transport is cheap (an Athens monthly pass is around €30), and eating out at a taverna rarely exceeds €15–20 per person with wine.

Greek culture is warm, loud and sociable, built around food, family and filoxenia (hospitality). Daily life centres on café culture and long evenings out, and the famous beach-and-island lifestyle is never far away.

Summers are hot and dry, winters mild, and the outdoor lifestyle runs most of the year. English is widely spoken, though a few words of Greek are warmly received.

Athens is the heart of the international job market and expat life. Explore our in-depth city guide:

After your AFM and AMKA, you can access the public health system (EOPYY) or affordable private care. Open a bank account (Eurobank, Alpha Bank, Piraeus) and get a SIM (Cosmote, Vodafone, Nova). Greek bureaucracy moves slowly — keep copies of everything.