Living in Greece: Cost of Living, Quality of Life, and Perspectives from French Expats

Published on June 9, 2026 and written by Cyril Jarnias

Moving to Greece is a dream for more and more French people. Between the blue of the sea, the whitewashed alleys of the Cyclades, cheap tavernas, and a slower pace of life than in France, the country ticks many boxes. But behind the postcard, what does life actually cost on the ground? How does a French household’s budget compare between France and Greece? And how do expats experience integration, the language, Greek bureaucracy, safety, or healthcare?

Cost of Living in Greece: A Significantly Less Expensive Country than France

International comparisons are clear: Greece is generally much cheaper than France. According to several cost of living indices, Greece is about 20% cheaper than France for everyday expenses, and even around 25% cheaper when including housing. In practice, this means lower rents, cheaper groceries, and significantly more affordable outings.

Overall figures show that:

– the average monthly cost for a single person in Greece is around €1,200 to €1,500 including bills and rent, compared to nearly €1,700 to €1,800 in France;

– for a family of four, the monthly expense is around €2,500 to €3,600 depending on lifestyle and city, compared to over €4,000 in France.

The difference is even more striking when isolating a few key items, especially housing and food.

Housing: Much More Affordable Rents and Real Estate

For many French people settling in Greece, the most positive shock concerns housing. Renting or buying costs significantly less than in France, even if prices have risen in recent years, particularly in Athens and the tourist islands.

Even focusing only on Greece, rents remain reasonable compared to other European capitals. On average, you’ll find:

In practice, rents vary greatly by city and neighborhood. In Athens, ranges are higher but still below what residents of the Île-de-France region experience.

Athens vs. Provincial Cities: Two Worlds of Prices

Athens is by far the most expensive city in the country. For a French expat, it’s often the first gateway, whether for work or children’s education. Available data allows us to fairly accurately estimate the budget needed.

For a single person in Athens, several scenarios emerge:

Detailed data for Athens provides a good overview of the expense structure for a single person living outside the center:

With comparable income, a French person moving to Athens thus sees their housing budget decrease significantly compared to Paris, Lyon, or Nice, even if the Greek capital remains expensive by national standards.

Other cities offer much gentler conditions. Larissa, for example, illustrates what many expats find in mainland Greece outside Athens:

Provincial cities and certain islands away from major tourist hotspots are generally 20 to 40% cheaper than Athens across all expense categories.

Living Year-Round in Greece: Sample Budgets by Household Size

Beyond the broad trends, it’s useful for a French person to think in terms of concrete monthly budgets, depending on whether they move alone or with family. Aggregate data allows us to outline several profiles.

– average monthly cost excluding rent: around €778 to €809 depending on the source, roughly $880;

– average monthly cost including rent: approximately $1,450 to $1,820 depending on the city, often €1,200 to €1,500;

– comfortable budget in Greece: most analyses converge on €1,500 to €2,000 per month, including rent, for a single person.

For a family of four, the orders of magnitude are as follows:

– excluding rent: between €2,743 and €2,777 in monthly expenses (about $3,000);

– including rent: average estimates range around €3,050 to €3,560 per month, or roughly $3,600 depending on the city;

– comfortable budget: for a family of four, you should count between €2,500 and €3,500 per month, possibly up to €4,000 in Athens with a spacious home and regular outings.

A detailed example of a sample budget for a family of four living in a large city illustrates the breakdown well:

The figures clearly show what testimonials confirm: a French family with a comfortable income can significantly improve their standard of living in Greece, provided they earn their money elsewhere than in Greece or have a foreign pension.

Food, Outings, Transport: Where You (Really) Gain Purchasing Power

For the same quality of life, a French person quickly discovers that their daily expenses drop in Greece, with the exception of energy.

Food: Markets, Fresh Produce, and a Lighter Budget

Expats consistently repeat: eating costs less than in France, especially if you frequent neighborhood markets (laiki agora) and cook at home. Studies indicate that groceries are on average 30% cheaper than in France. Concretely:

– a single person often spends €200 to €300 per month on groceries;

– a family of four spends around €600 to €800 per month.

The basic basket (milk, white bread, rice, eggs, local cheese, seasonal fruits and vegetables, table wine) is clearly cheaper than in France. Some examples:

Add to that an abundance of local products with excellent value for money: olive oil, fish, seasonal fruits and vegetables, local wines. Many expats also point out that their diet is not only cheaper, but also healthier than what they had in France.

Eating Out: The Taverna as Your New Canteen

French people living in Greece quickly discover another reality: at restaurants, the bill is much lighter than in France. A meal for two in a taverna, including wine, runs around €25 to €40. In a mid-range restaurant, with three courses, the bill often stays between €50 and €80 for two.

Result: for a French person used to Paris, Lyon, or Bordeaux prices, dining out in Greece becomes a regular habit without breaking the budget. Many expats say they go out more often than in France while spending less.

Transport: Low-Cost Subscriptions, but Cars More Expensive to Run

In terms of transport, public transport fares remain very low in Greece:

– a bus or metro ticket costs on average €1.20;

– a monthly pass in Athens or Thessaloniki is around €30.

On the other hand, owning a car weighs more heavily than one might expect, especially due to fuel and insurance. 95-octane gasoline runs around €1.65 to €1.75/L, which is far from cheap. But many French people living in cities end up favoring walking and public transport, taking advantage of the mild climate and compact urban centers.

Energy, Bills, Internet: What May Surprise You

When you add up electricity, heating, water, garbage, and internet, the bill remains generally lower than in most Northern European countries. But on some points, French people may be surprised.

Electricity and Heating: A Sensitive Item

Greece imports a good part of its energy, and homes are often poorly insulated. As a result, electricity bills can climb, especially in summer with air conditioning and in winter for heating. For a medium-sized apartment (about 80–90 m²), monthly bills roughly amount to:

In practice, many expats observe high variability:

– in summer, with intensive air conditioning, the bill can exceed €200;

– in winter, heating (electric radiators, oil, reverse-cycle air conditioning) also quickly drives up the total.

Internet and Phone: Decent, but Not Always Cheap

For telecoms, prices are close to the European average, sometimes slightly higher than those in France, especially for mobile. Overall:

– a fixed internet subscription (fiber or ADSL) costs around €25 to €40 per month;

– a mobile plan with calls and 10 GB or more of data runs around €15 to €30 per month.

For a household, the combined internet + mobile budget usually stays between €35 and €80 per month, depending on the number of lines and plan type.

Greek Salaries vs. French Income: The Gap That Changes Everything

The picture would be idyllic if we only compared prices. But for a French person wanting to work locally, the central question quickly becomes income.

The statistics are unequivocal:

– the average net salary in Greece is around €960 to €1,000 per month, compared to over €2,300 in France;

– local purchasing power is about 45 to 50% lower in Greece than in France;

– the Greek minimum wage is around €700 net per month, while the French SMIC far exceeds that amount.

Greece is cheap for those who earn their money elsewhere, much less so for those dependent on the local labor market.

Expat testimonials

That, in fact, is one of the typical profiles of French expats in Greece: retirees, self-employed individuals, teleworkers, or binational couples (French–Greek) where part of the income is generated abroad.

Quality of Life: Climate, Safety, and Pace of Life

Beyond the numbers, what acts as a magnet for many French people is quality of life. In this area, Greece has strong arguments, often confirmed by international rankings and field testimonials.

Climate: Nine Months of Sunshine, a Mild Winter

Greece averages over 300 days of sunshine per year. Winters, especially in the South and on the islands, remain mild, even if rain and some cold spells are not rare. Summers are long, dry, and sometimes sweltering, but the sea is never far away.

For French people tired of gray skies, this climate radically changes daily life: café terraces almost year-round, swimming possible for many months, weekend hikes and walks. Many expats describe a rhythm where the day starts with a coffee at the port or a swim before work, especially on islands like Paros, Naxos, Syros, or in Crete.

Safety: A Country Perceived as Very Safe

Safety indicators regularly place Greece among the safest countries in Europe. Violent crime remains rare, and expat testimonials, whether French or not, converge: they feel generally safer than in France.

Unsurprisingly, many expats with children cite safety as one of the major reasons for their permanent settlement, especially when comparing with certain large French cities.

Pace of Life: Slowness, Friendliness, and “Filoxénia”

Another cultural shock, much appreciated by French people, concerns the pace of life. Greece embraces a slower daily rhythm, less obsessed with efficiency than France. Meals last, coffees drag on, appointments don’t always start on time.

To navigate this transition well, many expats stress the importance of accepting:

– a more flexible relationship with time, sometimes disconcerting for a French person attached to punctuality;

– spontaneous sociability: a simple coffee can turn into a long discussion, a last-minute invitation is common, the boundary between private and social spheres is more porous;

– the centrality of family: many events take place within the extended family clan, and being invited to a family meal is a sign of real integration.

The concepts of filoxénia (hospitality towards strangers) and filotimo (a keen sense of honor, loyalty, and doing good) often come up in expat discourse. French people who play along – offering a small gift when visiting someone, accepting food offered, returning favors – are quickly integrated.

Testimonials from French Expats: Between Mediterranean Dream and Greek Realities

Statistics illuminate, but personal stories bring the reality to life. Many French people have shared their life journeys in Greece, illustrating what the numbers don’t always say.

Sophie, the Peloponnese, and the House Facing the Sea

Sophie, a French woman in her fifties, moved with her partner near Kalamata, in the Peloponnese. Their dream: a house with a sea view, unaffordable on the Côte d’Azur or in Brittany, but made achievable in Greece.

In practice, their budget allowed them to:

– buy a house with a sea view, at a price much lower than an equivalent property in France;

– cover all their current expenses (food, outings, home maintenance) while staying well below their French spending level.

Jean-Marc and Clara: Buying in Greece with Professional Help

Jean-Marc and Clara, another French couple, describe a purchase process that ended up simpler than expected, provided you have good support. They benefited from:

– agencies specializing in French-speaking assistance;

– a network of expats already on the ground;

– a local notary and lawyer experienced with foreign nationals’ cases.

Despite some administrative delays, they finalized the purchase in less than three months, which, compared to the wait times some experience in France between the preliminary agreement and the final deed, seemed reasonable to them.

Julie, Evia, and the Shock of the Greek Land Registry

Another profile: Julie, a 39-year-old Parisian, who chose the island of Evia as a sunny haven. Her main obstacle was not financial, but administrative. She discovered:

– property titles that were sometimes approximate or outdated;

– land boundaries less clear than in France.

Marie and Philippe: Crete as the Ideal Compromise

Marie and Philippe, a French couple settled in Crete, also describe a typical trajectory: drawn by the climate, the sea, and a certain sweetness of life, they were able to buy a house thanks to still competitive property prices.

They emphasize: your attention is needed for the proper functioning of the team.

– a much lower acquisition cost than in France for a house with a garden;

– moderate running costs;

– a fabric of small towns and villages where daily life remains authentic, far from mass tourist flows once summer is over.

Like many French people in Crete, they experience a form of balance between local roots (markets, neighbors, village festivals) and an international expat community.

The Hidden Side: Bureaucracy, Language, Professional Integration

Not all testimonials are rosy, however. Several constants come up when asking French people what they find most difficult in Greece.

– the Greek language, considered difficult, with a distinct alphabet and grammar; many arrive relying on English, but quickly discover that even basic Greek is essential to move beyond a tourist level;

– bureaucracy: opening a bank account, obtaining a tax number (AFM), procedures for a residence permit, registration, applications with public services; the processes are often lengthy, sometimes opaque, and almost always in Greek;

– access to the local job market: low salaries, high unemployment, opportunities concentrated in tourism, hospitality, or certain services; without telework or a pension, it is difficult to maintain a standard of living comparable to France.

The French who cope best are often those who, like many retirees or remote workers, benefit from income mainly from outside the country and approach bureaucracy as a “local sport” requiring patience and humor.

Healthcare: A Universal Public System, Supplemented by Private Options

The question of healthcare is central to any expatriation project, especially for retirees.

Greece has a universal public healthcare system (ESY), funded by taxes and social security contributions, supplemented by a large private sector. For French expats legally residing, access to the public system is possible if you have:

Public care offers:

– free hospital emergency services;

– consultations with general practitioners and specialists in public facilities, sometimes with a small co-payment;

– medications largely reimbursed (often 75 to 90% of the price via electronic prescription).

In parallel, many Greeks and expats opt for private health insurance in order to:

For a healthy adult, private insurance typically costs between €50 and €150 per month, and for a non-elderly couple, you can find plans around €80 to €180 per month. French retirees often see it as a good compromise: continue to benefit from French Social Security as a supplement, while taking out local coverage to speed up access to care.

Many international rankings place Greece in the top tier of European countries for quality of care, especially when including the private sector.

French Pension in Greece: Attractive Tax Regime and Mass Settlement

A very specific point attracts French retirees: the tax regime put in place by Greece for foreign pensions. In recent years, Greek authorities have multiplied measures to become a host country for European retirees.

For a retiree coming from France, several elements are noteworthy:

– private pension (supplementary pension, company retirement income, etc.) is, in principle, taxable in the country of residence, i.e., Greece;

– public pension (civil service, certain state or local government agent pensions) remains most often taxable in France, even if the retiree lives in Greece, except in very specific cases of dual nationality.

For a French retiree taxed at a high effective rate in France, transferring their tax residence to Greece can therefore generate substantial tax savings, in addition to the purchasing power gain from the lower cost of living. This is one of the levers explaining the growing interest in this destination among seniors.

Cultural Integration: Between Honeymoon and Negotiation Phase

Expatriation specialists often describe a cycle of adaptation in four phases:

1. honeymoon: everything is beautiful, the sun, the sea, the tavernas, the local friendliness; 2. negotiation phase: language fatigue, annoyance with bureaucracy, misunderstanding of social codes; 3. adjustment: bearings are built, a network forms, some basic Greek emerges; 4. mastery: you truly feel “at home,” sometimes with a sense of dual belonging, Franco-Greek.

In Greece, this pattern is very tangible. Several points are frequently cited as challenging for the French:

Many French people in Greece insist on the importance of:

The most vulnerable profiles are often the French spouses in mixed couples, who arrived for love, without their own network, language skills, or financial independence. They can find themselves isolated, dependent on their partner’s Greek family, and struggling to access the local job market. For these individuals, learning Greek and gaining access to stable professional activity are decisive to avoid a nostalgic retreat back to France.

France vs. Greece: Where Does a French Person Live “Better”?

Global comparisons rank France ahead of Greece on certain criteria: income, infrastructure, education system, economic stability, diversity of professional opportunities. On these points, it’s clear that France remains a “richer” and more structured country.

But if you look at things from the perspective of a French person who chooses to live in Greece with their French resources (relocated salary, pension, savings, self-employment paid from abroad), the equation changes radically:

The most frequent grievances concern: – quality of services provided – processing times – lack of communication – billing errors – lack of follow-up

– administrative slowness;

– difficulty of professional integration for those dependent on the local job market;

– the language barrier;

– the gradual increase in the cost of living in recent years, especially in hyper-touristy areas (central Athens, certain islands like Mykonos or Santorini).

For many French people surveyed, the balance remains clearly positive, provided these points have been anticipated and you don’t arrive empty-handed in terms of language and finances.

In Practice: For Which Profiles Is Greece a Good Option?

In light of the figures and testimonials, several profiles of French people seem particularly aligned with a move to Greece.

Conversely, Greece can be frustrating for:

– young graduates looking for a first job locally without speaking Greek: opportunities exist (call centers, tourism, some international companies), but salaries remain very low compared to French standards;

– French people who hope to “live like in France, but cheaper,” without opening up to local culture or making the linguistic effort: constant comparison often ends up generating bitterness.

Conclusion: A Country Where the Quality of Life/Cost Ratio Remains Exceptional

Ultimately, living in Greece as a French person means accepting a compromise: trading a certain administrative comfort, a wealth of professional opportunities, and a high level of public services for:

– much lower rents and property prices;

– quality food at affordable prices;

– a slower pace of life, more oriented toward the outdoors;

– a sunny climate most of the year;

– a sense of safety often higher than what residents of large French cities experience.

The testimonials of Sophie, Julie, Marie and Philippe, and many couples or families who have settled in the Peloponnese, Crete, Evia, or the Cyclades, all trace the same trajectory: a departure motivated by the sun and cost of living, a sometimes tough adjustment period, then, for those who persevere, the feeling of having found a form of balance between Mediterranean sweetness and European roots.

Cyril Jarnias

Cyril Jarnias is an independent expert in international wealth management with over 20 years of experience. As an expatriate himself, he is dedicated to helping individuals and business leaders build, protect, and pass on their wealth with complete peace of mind.

On his website, cyriljarnias.com, he shares his expertise on international real estate, offshore company formation, and expatriation.

Thanks to his expertise, he offers sound advice to optimize his clients' wealth management. Cyril Jarnias is also recognized for his appearances in many prestigious media outlets such as BFM Business, les Français de l’étranger, Le Figaro, Les Echos, and Mieux vivre votre argent, where he shares his knowledge and know-how in wealth management.

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