The joys of wi-fi on the metro. Letter from the North

Winter is coming... sort of?

I’m writing this week’s edition from my parent’s house in the mountains of Romania. I’m surrounded by trees and it’s quiet. Being outside doesn’t feel like you’re a chicken roasting in the oven. Every once in a while, my 10 year-old Golden Retriever comes over for cuddles. 

Sometimes, being an expat means having the best of both worlds. 

Yes, this is my current view.

I also spent some time in Bucharest this week. If you haven’t already, you should visit sometime. You can drive around everywhere on an electric scooter, pay directly by card on public transport and do internet-things on the metro.

The National Museum of Art in Bucharest.

Romania sounds like an implausible touristic destination, but I think you’d be pleasantly surprised, which is, interestingly, a perspective I only developed after being away for some years. Everything beautiful is far away, like Grandaddy used to say, so now that I’m away I miss Athens. Twisted little creatures we humans are.

In the meantime, I hope you had a nice time during the long weekend, that you enjoyed a good panigiri (πανηγύρι) last Saturday (and, obviously, danced) and that you didn’t forget to call all the Marias, Panagiotis and Despinas in your lives. 

areyouevengreek

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Weekly Spotlight

So, as it turns out, the blame for the disastrous fires that burnt Attica last week lies with the people whose houses burned, but who hadn’t cleaned their backyards of flammable materials, a piece of news that spread all over the mainstream pro-government media like fire (I’ll show myself out now). 

Either that or an 80 year old, who supposedly stocked up on Zippo lighters before going on a pyromaniac frenzy. 

News You Can Use

• This is one of Athens’ investment projects that makes my skin crawl, but I think you should read about it, because stuff like this seem to be the future of the city: The Riviera Tower of The Ellinikon Project is rapidly rising at a rate of one floor every five days (!) along the coastal avenue, with all luxury residences in the 50-story building already sold, totaling over 600 million euros. 

• You will be able to admire it while sweating and pedaling, as a pedestrian-bicycle path along the Athenian Riviera will be ready by the end of 2025.

• A further rise in the minimum invested amount required the Golden Visa has boosted house sales and driven prices up, especially in Piraeus. The minimum threshold will rise at the beginning of next month from 250,000 euros to 800,000 euros in some regions, so everyone is rushing to BUY in the remaining 8-day window until the end of this month.

• The neighbourhood of Sepolia is also transforming, as the train tracks might soon disappear underground.

• Remember when I told you about MyCoast app, through which citizens can check if the concession conditions are respected on the beaches they are on and file a complaint? This story is a bit older than a week, but I missed it (shame on me): the independent journalists from IMEDD analyzed all the data gathered by MyCoast about Greek beaches and found some interesting results - like, how much does it cost owners to fill the beach with sunbeds, and how does the price they’re charging customers reflect those costs?

• (This) Wednesday was coolest day since July 4-5, and rains are coming, so prepare for this: 

@margii_Ειναι το στρώμα του μονο🌂 #delulu #greecetiktok #deluluisthesolulu #tiktok #fyp #mpesfypgamw

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• And if you also feel that taxes are eating away your income, you’re not wrong: from 2020 to the end of 2023, gross earnings rose 11% and the income tax corresponding to these earnings rose 41%.

• The heaviest tax burden? On the self-employed. Check the numbers here and join the club, we have cookies. 

• Greece is now the second-highest country in the Eurozone for informal employment, trailing only behind Portugal. And the hourly wage is lower than in Bulgaria. 

• Also on this topic, some news on unemployment benefits: radical changes in the amount and the way they are paid.

• 9 out of 10 Greeks believe there is extensive corruption in the country’s National Health System. 

• BUT I also have good news. Athens metro is expected to get free Wi-Fi in September. A big yes to finally not putting your life on hold anymore when you’re commuting by metro. A big yes to not switching to the same old boring playlists downloaded on your phone. To calls and texting. To Google Maps. YES. 

The Long Reads

• Syros: Crowded in summer; dead in winter, a story that reflects on the contrast between the fading traditional life in Ano Syros and the rapid development on the island. 

• Jared Diamond, a renowned geographer and author, discusses the impact of geography on Greece's historical development.

• Too many people, not enough management: A look at the chaos of “overtourism”

• The good tourist's handbook: “be a traveler, not a tourist”

Wanderlust

• If you still haven’t been to an outdoor cinema, you can still go to the newly reopened CineParis, in Plaka, right in the heart of Athens, and see Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile and a few other great movies. Just make sure to book tickets a few days in advance. Honestly, going to outdoor cinemas is one of my favorite things to do in Athens, and there are so many of them - you can find all of them, and their schedules, here. 

• The Greek island of Syros, birthplace of Markos Vamvakaris, the father of rebetiko, will host the 8th Rebetiko Festival from August 28 to September 1.

• Sifnos is a Cycladic island with incredible beaches, rich gastronomy and a cosmopolitan atmosphere. True story, it’s still (probably) my favorite island.

• Five exotic bars in Athens,

  • a jazz and retro night at Gatsby,

  • and a cocktail party at the Municipal Market in Kypseli,

    to tie you over until we meet again next week.

Useful Tidbits Corner

I’ve got none this week. Ask me whatever you want to know! 

Have a great weekend and do write back. Even if it’s just to complain. 

And don’t forget to breathe. Yeap, exactly like that. Feels slightly better, right? 

Ioana