From time to time people have asked me what is it like living in Karystos.
I put this together to give you a general idea.
Our apartment is located in the northern suburbs of Karystos about one half mile from the beach. We can see the Gulf of Evia from our side terrace and to the rear (north) we have the backdrop of the mountains.
It’s a rural setting with sheep and goats grazing around us, chickens running around, our next door neighbor at one point had about a dozen turkeys, about a block away another neighbor had a pig. Sheep and goats are frequently in our back yard grazing.
As the crow flies, we are one mile below Castillo Rossa and three and a half miles below Mt. Ochi, the highest mountain in southern Evia at 1398 meters (4586.6 feet). The Castello Rosso (Red Castle) overlooks the region in an absolute fortified location. It was built by the Lombards (1205 a.c.) over the ruins of the ancient acropolis, and it is said that it took its name from the color.
There are two ancient Roman quarries near us plus many other archaeological sites.
The mountain peaks are often covered with snow in the winter months.
Here in the suburbs we experience quite a few blackouts which have come to be quite annoying, a few lasting for eight hours or more. Often the electric is off in our neighborhood and just two blocks away towards the center of town the lights are blazing.
About once a year so far we lose the water for several hours.
The population of Karystos, at the last census in 2011 is 5,112 in the town itself. In August the population almost doubles as it is a popular resort for Greek and foreign travelers.
Karystos did experience a building boom from 2003 to 2008 with many three story apartment houses, maisonettes and vacation houses being built in the town, suburbs and the surrounding villages. In particular in Aetos and Miloi.
Karystos has a hospital which is only a block and a half away from our apartment. It has ambulances and serves all the surrounding villages including Marmari and it’s villages. The hospital has an x-ray department and a laboratory equipped to do all the blood tests, urinalysis etc. They can usually handle any emergencies that come along, but if it’s something very serious, they will send you over to Athens in the ambulance on the ferry.
There are several doctors and dentists in town. We choose a dentist that was educated in Edinburgh, Scotland and speaks very good English, and most of the doctors can speak English fairly well.
There was virtually no crime in Karystos until the financial crisis and now the crime rate is still low but you hear stories of houses and stores being broken into.
In the spring, driving up the mountain road leaving Karystos the air is filled with the fragrance of wild thyme and lavender and chamomile, like a potpourri bag that has spilled it’s contents. During the day, after a spring shower there is almost always a rainbow and most times you can see both ends.
We are about a ten to 15 minute drive from Marmari, the Dritsas ancestral home and the ferry that takes us over to Rafina on the main land of Greece, 28 nautical miles away, about a one hour trip.
Since we have moved here inflation has reared it’s ugly head. The ferry boat trip to Rafina which for two persons and a small car used to cost about €30 for a round trip now is €80. Gasoline went from €.80 per liter to €1.70 per liter.
And you can see daily increases in the food prices. But still, all in all it costs us less to live here than in the U.S.
Weather
January and February: Starts getting cold in January with temperatures in the low to mid 40’s F, (4 to 5 C), and very humid. The winds start up and the rain starts falling (sometimes blown horizontally). During the day almost after every shower there is a rainbow.
Karystos usually doesn’t get snow, that is until we moved here. The winter of 2005 we had a snow fall of about 2 inches (5 cm) and in 2007 an even larger snowfall , about 4 inches (10 cm). No one in town could remember so much snow in living memory.
Although the snow is usually gone by noon time, the 2007 snow hung around for a few days. It was very cold with temperatures in the mid 30’s F.
The mountains in back of us get snow and are snow capped usually from late January to March.
In 2007 with the big snowfall they had to melt the ice on the roads in town. They don’t stock up on road salt for the winter, because this is an unusual event. They used the fire department’s water truck filled with sea water and sprayed the roads. Since the temperature was not at freezing this worked quite well.
March and April: The temperatures starts to moderate with sunny days that get into the 70’s and cold nights that drop to the 50’s or sometimes in the high 40’s.
May and June: The temperature steadily gets warmer, climbing into the low 80’s during some days, but normally about the mid to high 70’s with the nights dropping to into the low 60’s
The Meltimi starts in June and lasts through to September but can also occur sometimes in May and October. The Meltemi wind was known by the ancient Greeks as the Etesian northern winds, results from a high pressure system laying over the Balkan/Hungary area and a relatively low pressure system over Turkey. it is one of the few Mediterranean winds that do not necessarily die out at the end of the day. You can expect its maximum during July and August. The wind starts in the early afternoon reaching 4-5 Beaufort and dies out at sun set. However, not uncommonly it reaches 5-8 Bft during the day, perseveres during the night and blows 5-8 Bft again the next day; a pattern which can be repeated over many days, sometimes even up to ten days.
The winds in Greece and most of Europe are measured by the Beaufort scale, a visual scale devised for sailors. 4 Beaufort is about 20 mph and 8 is about 62 to 74 mph, gale force, so you can see it gets pretty breezy here. We can’t keep any furniture out on the terrace for fear of losing it to the wind.
July and August: Temperature start to rise into the 90’s but the night always bring relief dropping back into the high 70’s.
August is also the height of the tourist season for Karystos. The town fills up and all of the joints are jumping, the beaches crowded and may town festivities usually every night like out door concerts and theater.
The summer also brings the threat of wild fires, last year being one of the worst on record in Greece. Karystos had a few small fires that were quickly extinguished by the local fire fighters, who man lookout posts around the town.
September through December: The crowds have left and life is back to normal. Probably the best weather. The temperatures can still be hot during the day but the nights are pleasant. You can swim usually up till November and sometimes into December. December can be a beautiful month with bright sunny days.
Nightlife
There are about a dozen night clubs and many bars in the Karystos area. The music is all disco, Greek style. The clubs open about 12:30 to 1 a.m. and go on all morning till 5 or 6 a.m.
Karystos Cinema starts up the beginning of July. It’s a cinema in the old tradition, open air. They usually run new films that are only a few months old.
In the winter at the library on Wednesday nights, there is a film club that shows classic films for a very small admission of €1.00
During the summer months the tow usually post a schedule of various activities like concerts, theater and dance exhibitions.
Daily life
Prices are a little more expensive here for food, gas and clothing because we are on an island and everything has to get here by ferry or by way of Chalkida which is 70 kilometers to the north.
Dinner for two with salad and wine usually runs around €20, unless you order fish, then it can be as high as €40 or €50. The cuisine is mixed with a few Italian restaurants, pizza parlors, grilles, and full menu restaurants. You can also get great meals at any of the Ouzerie’s which specialize in mezethiaka (snacks) like grilled octopus, fried cheese, shrimp, and almost anything else you can think of , accompanied by ouzo mainly, but you can order wine, beer or just a soda if you like.
Computer:
We have ADSL hook up for our computers, it’s supposed to be 2 mbs down but we usually get about 1.5 mbs. In 2007 they installed fiber optic cable from the mainland to the island. Before that we were getting dial-up speeds.
We stay up to date with the U.S. via NPR (National Public Radio), the U.S. newspapers. We get the radio through the computer, feeding it to the speakers. You can also get BBC and any other station you like this way, and all of the newspapers are on-line.Inside the house we have a wireless setup so Vivian and I can both be online.
We have Skype installed on our computers and frequently talk to our daughter in-law, my brother and my sister.
Television:
Greece went all digital in 2011 but there are still some analog stations broadcasting. We receive about 30 channels. Many channels feature American films with Greek sub-titles. Unfortunately, they tend to run the same films over and over again for the season with some new ones thrown in. Several Showtime and HBO series have been shown.
They run a lot of old TV series like Bay Watch, Smallville, and all of the crime shows like CSI, NCIS, NYPDB, Hill Street Blues, Law and Order et al, Friends, Top Gear, and lots of others. One station carries the Discovery channel and the History channel programming along with some British shows.
Subscription TV is available through OTE or satellite dish.
They tend to run a lot of infomercials selling everything from weight reducers, body toners,air mattresses, car polish, power tools and kitchen gadgets.
There are two music channels including MTV Greece that feature the latest music videos, American and Greek. We also receive BBC, Dutche Welle, and CNN. for the latest news in English and other informative programs.
What drive me crazy is that none of the programs start or end on the scheduled times. If a movie is scheduled at 10 p.m. it can start 20 minutes after. I can’t quite figure it out. It makes it very difficult to tape anything, you have to set the VCR to 45 minutes before and after the scheduled times. Many of the better movies are shown after 1 a.m. And commercials, fogedaboutit. The popular movie channels run commercials about every half hour for about ten to twelve minutes and approximately 20 to 25 commercials at a time.
The Greek programing includes soap operas (Turkish soaps are popular), talk shows, a version of the Home Shopping Network, news, news analysts, weather, pretty much of the same programming that you get in the States.
TV is still the great wasteland.
Ambience
Karystos has the feel of small town U.S.A. in the 50’s
Lots of restaurants, and a big selection of small specialty shops, grocery stores, green grocers, butchers, fish stores, bakeries, pharmacies, sweet shops and clothing shops appliance stores, computer stores, china/crystal and gift shops. The is also a travel agency, SET, in the main square (lower part). (We booked airline tickets through them and it was very satisfactory.)
There are at least five gas stations, one Opel automobile dealer, one used car lot, a dozen or more auto mechanic shops, one large auto parts supply house.
There are also at least 5 good sized super markets, one of them being Carrefours which opened this past spring.
You can park your car on the street and walk to all shopping, pay the utility bills, and grab a coffee on the waterfront.
The waterfront is about 4 blocks long filled with restaurants, ouzories, taverna’s, cafes, ice cream parlors and one sweet shop, all with outdoor seating.
Although there is inside seating available many Greeks prefer to eat outdoors. Even in some of the coldest months you will find some hearty souls dining outside.
The dock which runs the length of the waterfront is filled with fishing boats and private yachts and sailboats from all over the world.
Greek Orthodox is the state religion so all of the religious holidays are observed with business closing and on some holidays, celebrations with parades or dance exhibitions.
Name days are celebrated here more often than birthdays.
Beaches
One of the highlights here are the beaches. Around every corner is a beach with crystal clear blue water and sandy beaches, not like Jersey sand, coarser, like fine gravel. Quite a few of the beaches have showers and bars, or a restaurant not too far away. Before or after August you can usually find a secluded beach all to yourself.
Snorkeling is great around the many rocks and you can see an abundance of marine life. When the wind is calm the sea is like glass, and when the breeze is up there will be small waves, but nothing like the Jersey shore.
What I miss most
- Not seeing the family often.
- Not being able to go online and order anything that I want when I want. Very few companies ship to Greece, probably because of the red tape involved and taxes. For instance Amazon will only ship books to Greece.
- The online stores in Greece do not have the selection that the U.S. has.
- Really great steaks
- Philadelphia cheese steak sandwiches and hoagies
- A great hamburger
- Philadelphia Scrapple and soft pretzels
Regrets
As FAS (ol’ Blue Eyes) once sang…”Regrets, Ive had a few; But then again, too few to mention.”