Our Place Abroad, Part 2
Staying connected & flexible
Dear friends and fellow Italophiles:
As promised, this issue of All Things Italy picks up on the “Our Place Abroad” theme of July, but with a slightly different focus. In that issue, I interviewed two expat property owners who have investment visas. But not all expats choose that pricey path for life abroad. Last week I sat down to talk with two friends about their choices for what I referred to as “partial expat life.” Gloria Galanes and Noah Karrasch, who at this point are not pursuing visas or citizenship which would allow them to stay abroad long term, agreed to fill me in on their decisions to only spend part of each year in their home on the Greek isle of Crete.
Yes, Crete. Remember, the title of my newsletter is “All Things Italy . . . and a little bit more.” This issue gives you a taste of something beyond Italy. But, if you want to read some selections on expats in Italy, see the links in this note.1
When I spoke with Gloria and Noah, long-time residents of Missouri, they were excited with the anticipation of travelling to their home away from home this month. Much of our conversation turned upon both the joys and challenges of their decisions to buy a place back in 2016. As you might imagine or know from experience, one challenge was the actual process of purchasing. Although Noah made an offer in November that year, the closing of the sale was not until the following March. Now, eight years later, they smile as they share the stories of their expat real estate adventures.
As I occasionally directed the conversation back to their choice to be part time expats, they reflected on the importance of connections both at home and abroad. And they emphasized the importance of flexibility. (I couldn’t help but think of Silly Putty as I typed up these words. I’ll hold that image in mind as I consider life abroad.) I hope you enjoy some of their story—and perhaps learn from it, as I did.
As always, if you enjoy reading, please respond with a like and a share. A direct response in the comments or by email is also always much appreciated. Your feedback keeps me going! And a big thanks to Gloria and Noah for sharing the beautiful photos you see in this issue.
Early Dreams & Changing Plans
Gloria’s and Noah’s dreams and plans have changed through the years, long before they first made an offer on a property in the fall of 2016. Gloria, a former university professor and administrator, recalled that her thoughts of living abroad began after teaching for a semester in London in 2006. The dreams became stronger for her and for Noah when they began to see the increasing political division in the country after the 2008 election. They began to consider buying property in Columbia, Mexico, France, Spain, and Portugal. The political instabilities of South and Central America pushed them toward Europe, and then a visit to Greece in 2016 finalized their decision. But there’s a larger backstory.
Family Connections
The couple had taken a trip to Greece in the 1990s in search of Gloria’s family. She knew the region from which her grandfather had immigrated to the US, and she knew that her mother had visited the family in the 1970s. But after her grandfather’s death, Gloria and family in the US had lost touch with those in Greece.
Successful sleuthing with her grandfather’s name on that trip to the area of Kalamata on the Peloponnese led to a reuniting with family, replete with warm embraces, and hospitality, including delicious Greek food. Several years later, a cousin’s wedding invitation prompted a 2016 visit. The wedding was a fantastic family affair and fostered Gloria’s memories of childhood years and summers with her extended Greek family in New England. Some of the language she learned then began to re-immerge.
Connections with Friends
After the wedding, Gloria headed back to work in her university position, but Noah, self-employed then as a deep-tissue body worker and instructor, stayed a little longer to visit friends the couple had made in London. These British friends had bought a place in Crete, just outside the port city of Sitia. This first visit for Noah was almost a love-at-first-sight experience, but on a more spiritual level. “The beauty of the area resonated so fully with me—I felt I belonged there,” he recalled. So began the more powerful visions of a second home in Greece. These visions moved him to action.
Three days after arriving to visit his friends, Noah was out with a realtor, seeing what was available in the area in their price range. Thankful for phone cameras and communication, he snapped and sent pictures to Gloria. Within less than a week, he had made an offer, and the offer was accepted.
Challenges of Real Estate Purchases
Noah and Gloria reminded me at this point in their story of what I have heard from others I have interviewed—expat real estate purchases are never simple. In this case, after accepting their offer, the sellers of the chosen property changed their mind about selling. Not to be discouraged for long, Noah and Gloria moved on to make an offer on their second-choice property, which they have since decided was a much better fit for them. While the first place was a newer property, on the coast with a better view, the home they bought has more space, including larger rooms and higher ceilings, two courtyards, and a separate apartment on a lower level. Another asset for them, though, is that it is in a neighborhood with what seems to be an authentic local culture.
Completing the purchase included several challenges: establishing a bank account, confirming residency in the US, and legal complications of ownership and inheritance, which in Greece are different from those in the US. You “cannot assume that everything is as it is in the US,” Gloria advised. Inheritance laws are different, as is property ownership with couples. In the transactions, notaries hold much more power than they do in the US. And everything takes more time. Noah shared a popular saying, “Greece is the birthplace of both democracy and bureaucracy!”
As they have navigated their expat lives, they have relied much on online resources, such as the Facebook group, Expats in Greece. And, of course, their friends and family on-the-ground there helped as well. Gloria and Noah celebrated the realtor, the notary, and her family in Greece as all being helpful throughout the process. And, they both admitted, Gloria’s language skills, which continue to improve, have also helped much.
Why Sitia?
Gloria’s family background and language skills were significant factors in their choice of Greece for a second home. Additionally, though, they find the Greek people warm and the cost of living affordable. They chose the island of Crete and the city of Sitia, specifically, for several other reasons.
The city of about 12,000 is large enough to have an airport, a hospital, and many other services. The area is beautiful, and it is not as overrun by tourists as some parts of the Greek islands or the mainland. Additionally, Gloria and Noah both love the water. As a coastal city with many beautiful beaches nearby, Sitia called to them.
Although their friends had bought in a small village outside the city, and many villages have better views, Noah and Gloria also knew that they wanted to be in town, where they could walk to the center and stroll the waterfront. Sitia offers just what they need, they explained.
The city and its surroundings do attract summer tourists and an expat community, they added, which can be as much a blessing as a detraction. For example, along with the initial friends who already owned nearby and helped them feel connected, Noah and Gloria soon met two other expat couples. One of these had good language skills and another, during his decade in Sitia, “had really assimilated into the culture,” Noah explained. “I admired that.”
These relationships widened their circle and, along with Gloria’s family on the mainland, provide a support system which helps with logistics and socializing. The friends in Sitia have introduced them to organizations such as a local choir, which Gloria and Noah have joined. These human connections, they explain, are as important to them as the beautiful environment.
Why Partial Expats?
Despite these relationships Gloria and Noah have built in Sitia since 2016, they prefer to spend at least half of each year in their home in the Ozarks. When I asked why, I expected an answer related to finances, such as the taxes which can be high for those who maintain dual residences and residencies. However, their responses surprised me.
Gloria originally planned to seek citizenship through her ancestry, which would grant her year-round residency in the EU. As she ran into hurdles due to the changed spelling of her grandfather’s name and the lack of appropriate documents, Gloria also began to realize the value of her relationships in the Ozarks as well as in Sitia. “My life is here!” she explained. She is “rooted in the community” where she has lived and worked for so many years. Of course, not having any language barriers in the US has helped her foster deep relationships in the Ozarks, where she socializes with long-time friends and volunteers with and supports several organizations.
Among these organizations Gloria supports are several related to animal welfare: SNAP (Spray-Neuter Assistance Program), CARE (Castaway Animal Rescue Effort), SAAF (Springfield Animal Advocacy Foundation), and the St. Francis Fund (which she founded) of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. As a cat lover, Gloria has also helped with many in Crete. In Sitia she has provided medical attention—especially spaying, neutering, and vaccines—for more than a dozen felines. She regularly feeds more than a half-dozen of the cats that make their home on the streets of her neighborhood in Sitia. While Gloria is in the States, her neighbor continues to feed them with the food Gloria has purchased. Caring for these animals is part of her connection to place, whether there or here.
Making & Breaking Routines
Although they have established a routine for when they are in each place, choosing which climate they like better for specific months, neither Noah nor Gloria wants to fall into a pattern that becomes boring. They enjoy their scheduled weekly coffee time with expats, for example, for comfortable conversations with first-language English speakers. But Gloria also thrives on communicating with her non-English speaking neighbors, and Noah does his best to speak Greek as much as possible.
The weekly choir practice, which includes Greek-speaking locals as well as expats, engages them as well. “It’s the worst choir we’ve ever sung in,” Noah commented. From a musical perspective, some people might be “bored stiff,” but for him “it’s not that boring” because it provides an intimate view of local culture and an authentic social occasion. While choir members eagerly chat with neighbors between songs, the director raises his voice, competing for attention, as he tries to get them back on track.
The choir experience is a new one, to which the couple looked forward as they prepared for a return to Sitia this month. They feed on new experiences and recognize their need for that as well as for flexibility as they live this partial expat life.
Flexibility is Key
Just as they began their adventures thinking Gloria would pursue her citizenship, the couple also knows the future likely holds more changes for them. This fall they will explore additional options for long-term residency, which some of their friends have, but which they had not considered before. They know that the investment or “golden visas” available in several Mediterranean countries of the EU have increased in price in Greece since they bought their property. They explained about Noah’s quick exploration and offer on a property, “We jumped in without doing the research. We really lucked out!”
Despite some of the challenges and expenses of moving between the two homes (they have seen international airfare triple in price), there’s something fun for Noah and Gloria about going back and forth. They are still getting to know Crete and Greece. Beyond those possibilities for exploration, they often build in a stopover for sightseeing while in transit to and from Sitia. They have explored Madrid, Berlin, and Brussels on past trips between their two homes. Both Gloria and Noah thrive on the stimulation of walking around a place new to them, exploring on foot as they see and feel a city’s vibes.
The couple has been happy about their choice to be part time expats, but should the political climate in the US worsen after the elections in November, they may seek other options. And, they shared, one of the primary reasons expats change their plans and sell their property abroad is health. None of us knows exactly what will unfold in that regard. Flexibility is key, they reiterated, for anyone who is thinking about beginning even a partial expat life.
And, I would add, don’t forget the Silly Putty image. Connections are also important to a fulfilling life, Gloria and Noah reminded me, wherever you choose to be.
Until next month, I’ll be enjoying my connections in the US—only reading, writing, and thinking about All Things Italy!
Etta
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More about Italy, coming up . . .
If you’re not interested in expat life but are interested in Italy—history, literature, culture, food, travel—I beg you to hang on a bit! This monthly newsletter varies in topics. Next month, I’ll be in Tuscany teaching literature and plan to share some of my experiences there. And, there are the links below which take you to interesting articles about Italy for non-Italians.
Meanwhile, I’d love to get your feedback on these topics—more, or less, tourism to Italy? or perhaps tourism of a different sort? and what about those dreams of life abroad? How should they be tempered, if at all?
Share in the comments, or, if you’re more private, send me a direct message. I’ll respond, either way.
Here are some links to three Italy-related articles & newsletters you might consider (they take varied positions on the controversial topic of excessive tourism and expat life):
Elizabeth.Ink challenges the “living the dream life abroad” concept in her essay, Europe Won’t Fix You.
In A Renaissance Life Alecia Stevens explores the place in Tuscany which she has recently purchased.
And Elizabeth Minchelli, well-known for her popular food writing and tours, discusses in her latest newsletter the controversies over an entire near-abandoned Tuscan village becoming a resort. Don’t be fooled by the newsletter’s title! You’ll see she begins her first paragraph with the story of Castelalfi and shares her opinion of what’s to be gained by such developments.
Love hearing about the experience of others as expats. But I will especially enjoying reading about your own experiences in Italy this fall! Just the everyday things and always love a photo or two (like this post!) It's the things that happen just unplanned in Italy that are so beautiful. Like the party for a child's birthday last night here at our villa property - parents, children, playing, eating, running into the night. The sounds of the voices was like music to us! All things Italy! Just do that!!!!!
What fun to see how Gloria and Noah have navigated the purchase of and enjoyed their home in Crete. The real estate stuff does seem daunting--as do the various long term visas, but what they and others have managed to do to live abroad, even as temp expats, sure seems worth every frustration. Thanks for sharing their adventure!