Elias and I moved from Sweden about 7 years ago. And, yes, we don’t regret the decision, because although life in Greece is not always ‘hassle-free’, it is so much easier to be happy here. And founding ‘HouseFinders Peloponnese’ was the best thing that could happen! We meet and interact with so many incredibly interesting people from all over the world with different cultures and different backgrounds. And we all have one thing in common: the love for the Mani and the Peloponnese. Today we’re joined by Vivienne and Albert Robertson who chose the Mani many years ago. Please note that all drone videos used in this blog post are made by Albert Robertson.
Can you help me with a short presentation of you both?
We are both professionals from the UK who have had full careers in both the public and private sector in England and Scotland. Travel is our passion and we have visited many countries over the years including those in The Caribbean, Far East, Europe and the United States of America. We are now in the fortunate position where we can reduce the amount of time we work and have relocated to our favourite part of the World, The Mani on mainland Greece.
When did you visit Greece for the first time? And what part of Greece was it?
We had a vacation in Greece for the first time in the late 1990s but visited again to a place called Stoupa in 2003. That visit changed our lives.
What is your “why the Peloponnese” history? And why did you choose Mani?
We visited the Peloponnese almost by accident on a last minute vacation in August 2003. We chose the general area because Vivienne’s mother had spend many happy summers visiting here with Greek friends of many years and told amazing stories about the area. We fell in love with the Mani almost immediately. It had beaches, mountains, history and mythology. We did not want to go home. We were back three months later researching the purchase of a property here and agreed to a new build bungalow in traditional style with a local architect the same week. It was a good decision and we had a mainly good experience of purchase and build and have enjoyed our home here for over 20 years now. Finally moving here as our home in 2020 and buying a second house in the mountains in 2023.
Do you remember your first memories of ‘being for real’ a part of the Mani? When did you leave behind the feeling of being a tourist here?
It is difficult to answer this as we visited every year for 17 years for short periods but we got to know and be accepted as locals by many members of the community, both Greek and non Greek after that time. It is a gradual process as you adapt to a new culture and lifestyle.
What is your experience of Greek culture when it comes to meeting foreigners?
We have always been made to feel welcome here in The Mani. This welcome has continued and become a deep bond the longer we have been here. We have learned much about thr culture, the food and the history of the area and now feel like locals. We deeply love our adopted home and feel proud to be part of a diverse and close community now.
Some of our clients are ‘first-time visitors’. And sometimes they are worried about their ‘social life’. Is it difficult to find other people who share your hobbies or passions?
We have never felt alone here with so many things going on within the community. The organised activities are many and varied and the area lends itself to many outdoor hobbies all year round.
Is everything going as you have imagined with your Greek life? Would you do anything differently than you did?
We have had a very positive experience on the whole here but now realise we were very lucky in some of the naive decisions we made early on in our time here. We are now learning the language and have a good group of professionals around us to advise us on the “big decisions” around home purchase, tax status, health and general government requirements. In hindsight we should have done all of this from a much earlier stage. We can now deal with almost anything life throws at us in our adopted home. Our advice is seek advice early and seek recommendations from those you trust on the best professionals to engage with.
Can you describe in just three words how and if your lives have changed since you decided to move to Mani?
Relaxed, happy, healthy.
Useful links
- “The Lookout at Milea” Viviennes and Alberts page on Facebook where you can book a stay in their “Mountains House” in the village of Milea. And also find more general information from the area
- More from “Why Mani and the Peloponnese: one story, many voices”
- HouseFinders Peloponnese properties for sale
- Blog Husigrekland.se, blog Domwgrecji.pl
