7 replies to this topic

[Pernille]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post here on this nice site, tried starting a blog about moving here but with all the practicalities of preparing a move to crete it didn't work out.

I was wondering if anyone could tell me what it is like to live in the city of Heraklion since we've decided to start out there. I read in a thread on this forum, from a year ago, that it is cheaper to live within the city walls than outside. Does anyone know if this is still so? And is it possible to rent small and inexpensive since we are on a very low budget. Any info is greatly appreciated. We're really excited now since the day for our departure is coming close now and finally our dream of living in Crete is becoming reality! Wow.

Many kind regards
Pernille

[MAVROLIO]

Pernille this is not true. the closer to the centre you are the more expensive the rent is. i will give you an example, my apartment is not very close to the center, it is by agios kostantinos the cemetary. i pay 256 euro a month for a 1-bedroom.
my cousin lives in kokkini hani, has a 1 bedroom on the beach and pays 180 euro a month for rent. so the farther from the centre you go, the least expensive the rent is.

[yannis_s]

Mavrolio,
you make a mistake here. Kokkini Hani is not Heraklion, it is 15 km east of the city.
In Heraklion, you will find cheaper rents in the centre than in some of the suburbs. For example, Mastabas and Vasilies are considered "good" neighbourhoods and the houses are more expensive than in some neighbourhoods in the centre of Heraklion, with the narrow streets and the huge parking problem.
The same thing happens in Athens, with houses in Omonoia being cheaper than those in Kifisia.

[Pernille]

Hi,

Thanks for both your answers even though they're quite opposite of each other So which one is it? We won't be having a car so being in the center won't be a problem for us. Do you know if it is easier to go to a rental agency or is word of mouth easier in Heraklion? And are those prices with utilities? I know that when we arrive we will see for ourselves but it is good to get an idea of things before we come. This is all very exciting and we can hardly wait.

Pernille

[Dinny]

Hi Pernille,

Congratulations with this decision, I really hope you will enjoy it here.

Just being curious: Are you planning to work here, or did you win the lotto?

[yannis_s]

One of my answers is gone... I have no idea what happened...

Pernille,
ask someone local to read for you the ads in the local newspapers. That is the easiest and cheapest way.

[Pernille]

Thanks Yannis we'll do that.

And to Dinny thanks - I wish we had won the lotto
Hopefully I can find some work when the tourist season starts and until then we can hopefully live on my boyfriends invalidpension, but until then we are just going to enjoy this new chapter in our lives and get to know Crete and her people, learn to speak some greek and just see what happens.

Pernille

[MAVROLIO]

i think the webmaster deleted one of yianni's posts.
well kokkini is close enough to iraklio. inside iraklio everything is pretty much walking distance. its just too damn noisy! (for me at least)
a little over a year ago, i visited a friends boyfriend's apartment (with my friend of course!) and he had a view of Koule, the kastro. he was paying almost as much as myself for a tiny one room apartment. studio is what we call it in america. where one room is the bedroom/living room/kitchen/dining room & all you have is a separate bathroom, and a balcony large enough to fit one aplostra and one chair.