Where to live in Athens: The crusade of the five neighbourhoods (1)

It's July, and with the arrival of the first days of unbearable heat, the moment has also arrived of my fifth and last move.

Well, this is for the readers, who have yet to find their little corner or who really want to make a home when they go abroad. I was one of those people, and believe me, it took some time. But there's no such thing as a futile endeavour, and here is my experience.

It occurred to me that I should describe a little bit about every neighbourhood, providing a useful guide for all future Erasmus students, and a general account from walking and observing the typical daily life, which we don't talk about when asked because we are so settled in our day-to-day life that it seems that...it doesn't exist! But it is what it is, and there's lots to say about the city and its people.

Kallithea

Written in the Greek alphabet, καλλιθέα, which literally means "beautiful view", or better "the best view".

Where is it?

It's location is relatively close to the centre (around 15 minutes if you're lucky enough to catch a bus or train near your house). and it's considered to be a quite good neighbourhood. It has a train station (green line) with the same name, although the area of Tavros station is also considered part of the Kallithea neighbourhoo. It seems to have it all!

And the houses?

With regards to the houses and the cost of living, I suspect that a minimum of €250 for a room won't surprise anyone, unless you're going to live in one of the lower and older houses that remain in the area. On the plus side, I can assure you that you'll have more than the minimum with regards to utensils and the various other necessities, there's even sometimes footpaths on the street. (remember what I said in previous posts about the Athenian streets).

Now in all seriousness: the houses are good, some details will be lacking, but you won't be surprised and then have regrets about making a hasty decision. Back then, I found a room in a 5-person shared flat in this neighbourhood before arriving in the city, and despite moving house later, I have no complaints about the place.

It was a second-floor flat in a street that seemed to be full of families, so I heard kids in the street every day. My room was big, and it has a small living room just next to it. It had all the necessary furnishings, with bed sheets, and also it had air conditioning and heating. Then there was the usual TV room and an open and very big kitchen, which was fantastic for 5 people, and there were no issues when meeting with friends or, according to the day, retiring to your own corner for a while to be alone.

Honestly, are there pavements or not?

Yes, there are a few. As I've mentioned in other posts, there are many areas in Athens that, being quite broken, misused and not very well maintained, there's now practically no place to walk, forcing you to walk on the roads. This is not the case in Kallithea, and although the streets are wide and generally tidy, they are full of fruit trees which gives it a certain charm, that'll make you blind to the negatives of walking in Athens: orange, lemon and lotus flower trees.

The view of the buildings is quite pleasant: terraces with plants and even little gardens with fruits and vegetables; clean porches; independent shops and little markets; local cafés... I almost had the feeling that I was in a coastal Andalusian village, a few metres away from the beach, but unfortunately here the beach is around half an hour away using public transport.

*Note: on the map, Kallithea also covers part of the industrial zone that surrounds the Fine Arts University of Athens. I won't refer to it as I did so previously and in this case I'm only talking about the residential area.

What's it like living there?

OK relax, like a good student that in part hopes to be responsible on a year like this. Almost everything you need can be found relatively close, but if you take a flat there, you'll definitely walk along the Avenue of Eleutherios Venizelos more than once, which is a big avenue where you'll find the majority of the shops, big supermarkets, and small church squares where you can sit and pass the time.

The neighbourhood markets can be found practically at the turn of each corner, and they are all of good calibre, but if you prefer traditional street markets, as in the whole city, they can be found on a determined day each week, which is Mondays in the case of Kallithea.

With regards to the squares and parks, there's a big pedestrian promenade from Mosxato (the next neighbourhood) to the Tavros station. Running along it is a cycle-lane amongst inclines and declines, intersections and green zones, up to the parks of Thissio. This is ideal place to take a walk, run, and if you stop in its small field, you can see a game in the afternoon.

If I go out, how do I get back?

OK, starting in the neighbourhood itself you'll find something than another thing that is worth it to going out at night. Amongst them, it has a slightly hidden tavern-pub called DIVER, in the street Davaki, perpendicular to the Avenue. For lovers of hard rock music and the classic, it's fantastic, and quite pretty too, with its own patio hidden from the street.

If you want to go to the centre, don't worry about the time because almost always you'll be saved by the bus, that is the 040 night bus. It leaves from Syntagma, passing through the start of the big avenue of Sigrou Fix, and then it enters Kallithea wandering around until the Eleutherios Venizelos Avenue, up to the Peiraias neighbourhood.

On the other hand, the areas of Gazi and Petralona will also captivate you, especially Petralona, which is also quite a relaxed neighbourhood. In these areas you'll find party clubs (in Gazi in particular, on the blue line, Kerameikos station) and high-quality restaurants, and typical taverns with good prices. I mention these neighbourhoods because they are quite easy to return from, even by walking, being 20 minutes away in the case of not having access to the train.

So... why did you leave?

At one point I just wanted to be closer to the centre, as I was always going there for different reasons during the week, amongst them being entertainment and friends. So yes, it did partially influence my decision, not being two minutes away from the house when you go out, but this won't affect everyone. As I told you, the Kallithea neighbourhood had everything to be relaxed and well-supplied, so if that cost time each night of partying, it was compensated for by having a sunny room. However, changing rooms lead to more discoveries...

Victoria

Before I begin, I'll say that my second house was between Victoria and Omonia, two neighbourhoods that have a lot in common, but that's not saying that they are equal.

Βικτορια, a name that evoke its success, is the furthest from being a place that you remember any conquest of which you'll feel proud.

Where is it?

It has a train stop (green line) with the same name, and its exit leads to the main square on the street 3 Septembriou.

It's right in the city centre, that which is currently known as Athens for its inhabitants, and this has its advantages and disadvantages (as it did with Exarcheia, but with certain distinctions. If you want to know more, read this post). Regarding Exarcheia, it's only a 10-15 minute walk away, so if you need to go there it's quite convenient.

Also the street 28 Oktobriou is a good reference, or Patission as the majority call it (a long street that goes from the centre to the northern neighbourhood of Ano Patissia. "Ano" in Ancient Greek means "above" or "high", in this case it's like "Higher Villaverde"). This street is riddled with buses and trolleys that connect you to many points of the city and is literally 10 seconds away from Victoria Square, as it is from the same square in Omonia (which is a mere 7-minute walk away).

And the houses?

The prices for shared flats range between €150 and €250, depending on the conditions of the flat, the number of flatmates, or the street. As a reference: the closer you are to Attiki station (green line), the better the conditions. The closer you are to Omonoia or Metaksurgio (neighbouring districts), or the Larissa station (red line), the conditions are worse but cheaper.

The thing is that, the neighbourhood in itself, is quite dirty and not well maintained. It has old houses from the 19th Century, which are falling apart and are becoming more and more abandoned to time. The majority of those that are liveable will have been renovated in the 70s to have a lower price (€150), they are usually big with their pros and cons. Others more recently renovated will cost slightly more.

PROS: in addition to a lower price, which will help you save a little if you're doing your Erasmus there for a whole year. There are quite a few flats already furnished, ready to be lived in, and big too. Many streets are quiet, if they're far from the square or the main big streets, and despite the dangers that people talk about, you'll generally have no problems. In addition, lots of the doors are big and the majority of the porches have been renovated to avoid break-ins.

CONS: some things will break down because they're old, like the washing machine (prize for the most malfunctions of the year), the kitchen or the heating; or the way it works will be rather antiquated in itself (the typical drainage tubes for dirty water that, if you forget about them, will award you with your first experience of an in-house flood). But the worst thing, without doubt, has to be the bugs, cockroaches being amongst them. If you'll reside in this neighbourhood during the second semestre you'll have to get used to seeing them every now and then in the house (without being scared, as there are many snakes for these cases).

There's not usually air conditioning, but there's nothing that can't be solved with a ventilator from the electronics shop.

My personal experience was in a ground-floor flat at the beginning of Acharnon street (which is quite long), 10 minutes away from both Victoria and Omonoia. The proximity was quite advantageous for me, as I said, and having a nice flatmate rather helped. But we had a real graveyard of cockroaches during the Spring months, that weren't hot at least because, being a ground-floor flat, we weren't exposed to the sun, and the air was always fresh.

Will I be able to walk without being harassed?

Sadly, I think that you'll have less problems if you're a man when you take a walk, but this is my opinion given that, as a girl, the biggest inconvenience is catcalling from the gypsies and the Africans that all live in this area. I fear that it's very difficult to get away from them, but the strategy is to ignore and carry on, which usually works. It's so lucky that, up until now, no one has ever followed me or stopped me from walking.

The majority of them usually have businesses nearby (restaurants, shisha clubs, fruit stalls, even hairdressers), and not all of them will give you any problems. In addition, these businesses have the advantage of providing you with a different environment from those on the street, which have are purely commercial with an American style, with more independent shops and objects from different countries, and the greengrocer's is a minute from your door.

As for the views, they aren't the best. According to the highest point of the street one can see the Acropolis from afar, but that's the thing that stands out the most of everything you can see. The rest, as I said above, are streets and quite broken houses, that have its charm if you imagine them in their golden days. And the beauty is that two centuries ago Victoria was the rich and well-off neighbourhood in Athens, prior to the increasingly more frequent migration, which is why there are abandoned houses in ruins. Nowadays there's hardly any city without a central neighbourhood in disrepute.

Other than the cockroaches and catcalling, what else can you tell us?

It's an intensely cultural neighbourhood. I can't say that living there was a bad experiences because everything was close-by, and once you get used to dealing with the minor inconveniences you feel at home.

I liked taking a stroll to and from Eksarcheia, or up to the supermarket. There are several around Victoria Square of all kinds, both mini markets and supermarkets (Carrefour, AB, Sklabenitis,... there was also an old Dia% now closed for many years). On the other hand, there's a huge number of electronics shops and restaurants from the Middle-East. It's the first time that I've tried food from many Eastern countries (not including Indian and Turkish food) next to my house.

In addition, nowadays there are many groups of refugees that are around in this neighbourhood, given that during last year many families of refugees from various countries linger in the Victoria Square seeking asylum, and this has lead to many volunteers taking over out-of-use buildings and converting them into shelters for the immigrants until they have permission to enter the EU. If you live around there, you'll definitely end up talking of them with someone or it will be amazing to help someone out without delay from home.

Shouldn't I go to university at some point?

This neighbourhood is next to several universities: Economics and Architecture are less than a 10 minute walk away, and the Law campus is 10 mins or so by bus. In the Architecture campus, better known as Polutexneio (Polytechnic), you find the Fine Arts Erasmus office, as this campus used to be where the classes for this degree were conducted. The rest of the universidades are generally connected by bus, so with the metro you can go round in circles unnecessarily.

This building may also end up being one of your favourite spots if you like sports, given that it has a free gym, (and a bit old), and an acrobatics room (aerial fabrics) and rock climbing that's open to the public and autonomously managed by those who use them. You can go to either of them without belonging to the university, but remember to contribute, as there's no other way that places like this could be maintained.

For other types of sports there's a huge sports centre in Evelpidon called "Panellinios", where you can find all kinds of disciplines. I'll dedicate a post to them some day, as they are worth it.

And walking at night?

Ok, if you go out in this area maybe you'll be a little worried about walking at night, but there's really no danger, no more so than you'd find in other parts. That's to say, it's all down to luck. The worst case, you'll find yourself in an unpleasant situation with drug addicts in the middle of the street. Until you get used to it and checking the street that you live on, maybe you'll be more comfortable walking with someone else.

The nightlife, on the other hand, is within shouting distance. As I said, Exarcheia is 10-15 minutes walk away (when you climb the hills and descend them), and then there are two more places where it occurs to me that you could arrive after a short walk:

• Plateia Protomagias: a square in the middle of the Evelpidon Park (5 minutes from the station). This park is very pretty during the day for a walk, sit on the benches and watch the dogs playing, or going for a run. During the night this square is usually dark, but at the weekend, weather permitting, there are several free concerts organised, normally of hip-hop or punk (Greek and International). There's a money collection for different causes, something for political reasons. They are usually announced on Facebook or on posters throughout the neighbourhood, so keep an eye out.
• Lower Kerameikos: the station with this name (blue line) takes you to a square with elegant and expensive clubs that has nothing to do with what I want to say. Kerameikos is a large neighbourhood and connects with Metaksourgio (square that's 15 minutes from Victoria). On that border there's a hidden maze of streets that have several very interesting taverns, pretty, cheap and located in generally pedestrian areas. There are really ideal to go with big groups of people, to eat well and have a few drinks of raki.

*If you go further, in Victoria there are several night buses. the 500 (makes the night green line) and the 11 (which is a trolley, passes through Syntagma) are the most useful.

I've gone on enough, we'll continue in the next post with the remaining three neighbourhoods. Happy flat hunting, travellers!

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