What it costs to live…on Karpathos
Island, Greece

by Roberta Beach Jacobson

Imagine a place with a remarkably low cost of living…and a Mediterranean climate to boot. Living in the far-flung island chain of the Dodecanese gives you just that.

My husband and I freelance from home and cut back on our living costs by enjoying whatever fruit and vegetables our garden produces-we also have our own olive trees for oil and keep bees. Everybody here fishes. Expat friends of ours raise chickens. We do whatever we can to live off the land…after all, my husband and I searched for a remote Greek island to get out of the fast lane and to live on the cheap.
 
Jobs here are few and far between. The only work available is seasonal, largely within the tourism industry (hotel or restaurant work, tour guiding), so either you create your own employment or you are financially independent when you move here.

In 1999 my husband and I paid 35,000 euro ($47,300) for our 3,875-square-foot stone farmhouse that came with a large courtyard full of mature almond trees and an adjacent vacant lot. Our garden is half-full of wild artichokes. The fig trees showed up on their own and we've planted other fruit trees such as orange, mandarin, lemon, apple, peach, and pear. 

An added bonus of living here is the low VAT rate. Mainland Greece pays 18% VAT, but we pay a rate of only 6% for food (13% for other items). This is to compensate "underdeveloped areas" such as ours. Even the electricity is subsidized-our quarterly bill is usually around 60 euro.

The following are examples of prices in a supermarket in Piagadia, capital of Karpathos:

A loaf of white bread                                                1.09 euro
A dozen eggs                                                          1.80 euro
1 liter (shelf) milk                                                     1.25 euro
Pack of butter (250g)                                                3.46 euro
Fresh chicken (per kilo)                                            4.50 euro
Pork chops (per kilo)                                                8.10 euro
Tomatoes in summer                                                0.80 euro
Bottle (1 liter) of Cretan wine                                     3.99 euro

Going-out costs:
Lunch for two with wine                                             22 euro
Ice cream cone (single scoop)                                   2.50 euro
Instant coffee                                                           2 euro
Instant cappuccino                                                   2.50 euro
Annual road tax                                                        168 euro
Unleaded gas super                                                  l.17 euro per liter
                                                                              regular 1.12 euro (diesel is 1.00)

Car insurance per annum
 (medium-size vehicle)                                               304 euro
Boat insurance per annum
(18-footer, registered for fishing and pleasure)             130 euro

[*Editor's note: Readers should be aware that our European Roving Editor Steenie Harvey has strong views about the failings of the Greek health system.]