2.52/5
189 reviews
Photo by Matthieu Oger via Unsplash

Chania, Crete

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great

2019

expats

rent

apartment

year

talks

euros

monthly

starting

community

nomad

facebook

prices

affordable

leave

greeks

Chania offers a warm climate, beautiful sea, and good food which appeal to many looking for a laid-back Mediterranean lifestyle. Locals are generally friendly and welcoming, and there are scenic spots to work, such as cafes near the beach. The rental market used to be affordable, especially before 2019, and there are some café-style coworking options. In recent years, the area has attracted more digital nomads and expats, leading to a gradual development of community networks through platforms like Facebook.

However, living in Chania long-term poses challenges. The rental market can be difficult, with many landlords unwilling to rent year-round due to the preference for short-term Airbnb income during the tourist season. This makes finding stable housing difficult, even at higher price points. Public services, like police and hospitals, are noted to be unreliable. Internet quality has historically been poor, particularly in Airbnb units, although this may have improved. Social integration with locals can also be complicated and may require strong language skills and cultural understanding. Overall, Chania can be a great place if you're adaptable and manage expectations.

AI-generated summary of reviews
4 months ago

From 2015 to 2019 I have lived in Chania. There were not many expats, mainly older brithisn expats. Some artists, writers etc... Organic shops just starting ,spiritual community just starting.. Few scattered ppl across the west of Crete. It has apparently started to change now, more and more expats coming, I see more and larger FB nomad groups.. back then there was absolutely nothing of such kind. I had tried to create community through couchsurfing back then and met a few interesting people. However I can confirm what was written before. There sems to be a nomad group and coworking now in Chania. Check in Facebook, I saw it.

Since 2019 the prices have risen and rent has not been affordable anymore. that's why I left in 2019. I was unable of find an apartment to rent all year. They tolerate you from Septebemr to May, then you have to leave.. where to? Even if you were ok to pay 700EUR plus amonth for an apartment, I couldn't find anyone interested in renting out year round. Mind you I do speak greek.
The greeks just make airbnb for 3 months in summer, then go to the olive picking...dancing in winter then spring comes back. ITs a simple life for them and they don't think much ahead. And they obviously dont need the extra income from housing. They all still own houses and land, so they dont need to worry about basic needs. Easiest is probably if you just buy a house in a village. But that comes with structural problems.

Police, hospitals, public services, workers, are not reliable. Also if you have greek friends, they are nice as long as you give money, but you will never be part of the family and you can never rely fully on them. Just be warned. Good to have a mix of friends. You ned the greeks to get the greek price and to get treated right otherwise you will be screwed over all the time.

If you are ok to bitt eh bullet, it can be enjoyable. Weather and the sea is great, and food is amazing. If you are very very patient then it might be your thing. It really depends what you are looking for. Internet was terrrible back then. Dont know about now... in 2022. I could not even desing my website with the home internet in the AIRBNB apartment. People there live very much offline, at the max they have a facebook company.. so dont expect things to be organised well..

3 years ago

Really great place to live and work. Amazing hikes on the island. City has great atmosphere. Rent is very affordable. Locals are welcoming and pleasant. City centre has some great places to work from most notably a little cafe by Koum Kapi beach called Meraki

4 years ago

I've lived in Chania for over ten years now and I can't wait to get out of here. It's nice for a short visit but nothing else. Everyone talks about the hospitality and friendliness of the locals... that's only because you're a tourist and they want your money! They are corrupt, cheats, liars, and arrogant. They care only about themselves and are extremely greedy.

The police are terribly corrupt and can't be relied on. The hospital is disgusting with stray dogs roaming around inside. They still even smoke in the public hospital! I know this because I spent 2 weeks there and when I complained about it the nurse told me there's nothing they can do.

Anyway, I could go on and on about the other side of Chania, and Crete in general, that no one speaks about. I'm very disappointed and disheartened by my experience here. The paradise everyone talks about doesn't exist for me. I've had so many people share similar experiences but no one talks about them.

It's all superficial and everything is not what it seems.

7 years ago

$3000 average cost of living in Chania?!
If that was the case Greece would not longer be in recession 😂
I just moved to Chania from London and here’s my list of expenses to whom it may concern:

All prices in euros for two people.
1. Two bed flat semi-centrally located (15’drive to the city centre) ~ 450 euros
2. Petrol monthly ~ 200 euros (1.58/l on avg year round)
3. Utility bills monthly (electricity,water,heating) ~ 130
4.grovery store monthly ~ 300
5. Broadband/ mobile phone ~ 70
6. Eating out / drinks ~ 200
7. Private health insurance ~ 80 per person
8. Gym membership ~ 40 per person

Total: 1590 euros /1821 usd for a couple on average, to leave In Chania. Not sure how that 3000 usd got estimated but 🤷‍♂️

7 years ago

✅ Great weather and sea

✅ Good food

✅ Affordable rent (off-season)

✅ Friendly locals

✅ Nice cafes and workspaces

✅ Very safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Warm now

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Easy to make friends

✅ Easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Good hospitals

✅ Roads are pretty safe

✅ Freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ People can speak basic English

✅ Safe for women

✅ Family friendly

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

❌ Unreliable public services

❌ Limited long-term rental availability

❌ Declining affordability

❌ Poor internet (reported in past)

❌ Very expensive

❌ Not much to do

❌ Gets cold in the winter

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ People smoking tobacco a lot

❌ High alcohol consumption

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

11°C / 52°F cool

12°C / 54°F cool

17°C / 63°F cool

18°C / 64°F cool

23°C / 73°F mild

29°C / 84°F warm

25°C / 77°F warm

23°C / 73°F mild

20°C / 68°F mild

17°C / 63°F cool

16°C / 61°F cool

Real (median)

12°C / 53°F
cool

12°C / 54°F
cool

16°C / 61°F
cool

18°C / 64°F
cool

23°C / 73°F
mild

28°C / 82°F
very warm

25°C / 77°F
warm

23°C / 73°F
mild

19°C / 66°F
mild

17°C / 62°F
cool

16°C / 61°F
cool

Humidity

nice
63%

nice
67%

nice
65%

nice
58%

nice
47%

nice
55%

nice
56%

nice
54%

nice
59%

nice
65%

nice
70%

nice
67%

Most common

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

Rain

rainy
69mm

rainy
96mm

rainy
88mm

dry
22mm

dry
1mm

dry
3mm

dry
0mm

dry
27mm

dry
30mm

dry
13mm

rainy
199mm

Cloud

pockets
34%

pockets
29%

pockets
25%

pockets
30%

pockets
14%

clear
9%

clear
6%

clear
7%

pockets
11%

pockets
27%

pockets
45%

pockets
37%

Sun

seek shade
3 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
10 UVI

avoid sun
11 UVI

avoid sun
10 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

safe
2 UVI

Remote workers

200 people

233 people

240 people

700 people

400 people

489 people

400 people

778 people

640 people

650 people

371 people

250 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Chania's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

Help pick the best photos for Chania and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

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$4,495 / mo

31 Mbps

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.52/5 (Rank #418) 189 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍6 liked it 👎2 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	🧐 Pricey: $3,902 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 13 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🌞 Perfect: 21°C70°F (feels 21°C70°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 73%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	😊 High: 80%
👌 Safety	Great
👩 Safe for women	Okay
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Great
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Great
🤝 Lack of racism*	Bad
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Good
💰 Income level*	Mediocre: $1,436 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Okay
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Good
😄 Happiness*	Okay
🍸 Nightlife	Bad
📶 Free WiFi in city	Bad
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Good
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Good
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Good
🎅 Startup Score	Okay

🌍 Continent	Europe
🚩 Country	Greece
🗓️ Average trip length	9 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	13 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌦 21°C 70°F + 😊 Comfy (73%) = feels 21°C 70°F
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Beat
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	EUR 100 = USD 115
💸 Tipping	Yes, 7.50%
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
☕️ Best coffee place	Archontakis
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	6% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	89,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$17,230 / year
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 75% 👱‍♀️ 25%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Skroutz
🏠 Apartment listings	Spitogatos
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	EasyJet
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Monarch
🏥 Best hospital	Chania Central

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$3,902 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$2,170 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$3,040 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$869 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,773 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$3,609 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$415 / month
🏠 Median home price	$311,395
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$83 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$118 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$423 / month
🍛 Dinner	$17
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$2
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$5
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$3
👩‍🏫 International school	$9,571 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$25 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$5 / trip
💰 Estimated tax on $50,000	$13,000
💰 Estimated tax on $100,000	$29,920
💰 Estimated tax on $250,000	$79,420