It all started on a rainy Wednesday in Bournemouth, England, when her then-husband, returning from work, saw an advertisement in the window of a travel agency for a holiday in Samos. Without hesitation, he went inside, bought plane tickets and quickly returned home to tell her about the surprise he had prepared. Even if the flight was in a few days… the “journey” that would change her life had already begun.

“I have dreamed of a home in Greece since my first visit in 1987. The next year we spent three weeks in Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos, and that’s it, I was already fascinated, ”says Victoria Coverdon to K. They then sold the house and spent 18 months riding mopeds with backpacks on land, as well as on several islands. When the money ran out, they returned to England to work, but every summer they came on vacation.

“Over the years I have visited about 40 islands, but Samos held a special place in my heart. In 2016, a friend who lived on the island sent me a photo of a house for sale that she thought would be perfect for me and my current husband,” she says. Indeed, the three-storey neoclassical ocher building with green windows in Vathy was exactly what they were looking for.

“It is located on a hill just 50 meters from the central square. From the top floor we can see the harbor and the old town at Ano Vati,” he adds.

The first thought was that they would come on holiday for about four months a year, as they also have another holiday home in South Africa. However, they ended up spending six months in Greece, three in England and three in Cape Town.

“We spent most of the quarantine here, even in winter. I can’t think of a better place to spend this difficult time,” he says, adding:

“No country can compare with Greece. The weather, the people, the food, the relaxed rhythms and the variety of scenery are wonderful.”

“We were conquered by the quality of life, the climate and the people”

For 55-year-old David Leaf, who has divided his life between England, Germany and America, Greece has always stood out as one of the friendliest countries.

“20 years ago I moved to New York. I married my wife there and we lived the American dream. I worked in marketing and my wife Amy was a teacher. By making the decision to invest in a pension plan that gave her a full pension in 25 years, combined with some of the investments and savings we made, we were able to retire earlier,” he explains.

The reason for moving to Greece was the death of a very close friend of his, which made him re-evaluate, as he himself says, “the important things in life.”

“We focused on the Peloponnese because of the quality of life, the climate and the people,” he adds. Asked if they faced bureaucratic difficulties, he speaks of a very manageable process.

“While those who live here give the impression that Greece is very bureaucratic, compared to other places, this is not the case. Yes, there are many rules, but they are, as a rule, for the good of the world. We got professional help from a good lawyer and did a lot of research. We approached the process very carefully, followed all the rules, were in no hurry to communicate with people, and as a result, the resulting volume of documents turned out to be quite manageable. It’s not cheap or fast, but it gets the job done.” As he clarifies, before they chose Greece, there was a corresponding study.

“In the past, when moving from England to the US, I went through the entire green card and citizenship process, which was much more complex and detailed and included medical examinations. After all, before we came to Greece, we looked at the situation in France, Spain and Portugal, and our research showed that the procedures there are more complicated and more expensive.”

The house they finally chose is near Nea Epidauro, at a distance of 1.5 km from the sea. It is surrounded by low hills, quiet and sheltered from the winds. The outdoor area is about four acres and has a large swimming pool, summer kitchen, olive trees as well as fruit trees. And, as they themselves say… “We plan to live here. It has enough space for us, our dog and many guests.”

“I didn’t find Crete, but Crete found me”

For Uwe Meili from Germany, remote work has made his summer residence in Crete a permanent home.

“I live in the village of Kritsa which is about 10 minutes from Agios Nikolaos. The archaeological site of Lato is also nearby. The house is about 100 years old, thick stone walls. From the roof, I can see the entire valley and Mirabello Bay,” he says.

When he bought the house in 2016, at the height of the financial crisis, he never imagined that he would leave Hamburg to live here.

“I originally intended to spend my holidays here for the next 15 years until I retire, but as time went on my desire to move to Greece grew stronger and stronger. The only obstacle was work, but this was also overcome in March 2021 with the ability to work remotely.”

Getting to know our country convinced him to take the step and buy a house. “A few years ago I was going to buy a house in Ireland, but luckily I didn’t. Here I felt welcome, as if I were in the right place. How I love to say: “I didn’t find Crete, but Crete found me.”

There was no tax credit for buying a house, as far as paperwork goes, he overcame it with the right people and recommendations from friends, as well as Greek lessons, which he said helped a lot.