Harolynne Bobis in Ancient Amaliada, Greece

A Modern Life in Ancient Amaliada

by Adrianne George

Reality fell into place

As a cast member of the Medicine Ball Caravan, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA native Harolynne Bobis, first travelled abroad on a trip to London in 1970 at the age of 22. She later moved to Greece in 1991 with her husband. Following what Harolynne describes as “a near-death experience” in 1997 she decided that she wanted to retire in Greece. Once that decision was made “the reality fell into place“. She and her husband bought the first house in Greece that they looked at even before they sold their home in the US. That home has since been sold and Harolynne has never looked back.

Multi-culturalism

While living in Greece it has been disheartening for Harolynne to see how the Roma, commonly referred to as Gypsies, live. “In the US, the gypsy community was forced to send their children to public schools which made an incredible difference in their lives and the lives of their children. But gypsies here seem destined to live in filth, uneducated, and be reduced to begging with the young girls getting pregnant as young as 13 and having babies which they then use to aid in their panhandling”.

But other foreigners can have it hard too. “It is more pronounced if you are working and the perception is that you are taking someone else’s job”, she says. The expat population of Amaliada consists of African and Asian (mostly Chinese) men selling CDs, DVDs, toys, etc. at the local market and around town. There are lots of Albanian immigrants who have replaced the Greeks as field workers on the farms.

Amaliada's railway station

It sounds like Greek to me

Harolynne admits that while she isn’t fluent in Greek and can get by, “I’m going to learn the language because I want to have more in depth conversations with friends, family, and neighbors”. And she is not shy. “I speak to everyone without fail and this has helped to meet people and, since I’m the only African American woman for miles around (there is an Ethiopian woman in a nearby village who is married to a native Greek) has helped people know me and understand they have nothing to fear from me”, she explains. “I have a philosophy that knowing me is big fun and you don’t want to miss any”.

Around Amaliada: Village of Savalia, a restaurant lined street, Monastery of Frangavilla

Details from murals inside the Monastery of Frangavilla

Living & Spending in Amaliada

At the end of this section you will find a global Currency Converter to calculate costs.

Cost for meals:
Now food costs as much here as it does in the US – about $900 per month.

Transportation costs:
Gas is $5 a gallon or so

Compared to your home country are most things cheap/same/expensive?
Things like dry cleaning is much cheaper in the US, newspapers are more expensive here, but vegetables are cheaper and locally grown. Prescription drugs are much cheaper.

Recommended monthly living budget:
$5,000 per month for a couple

How modern are basic amenities/infrastructure?
There are no intra-city buses here – you must drive or ride your bike. We are the only people who have a clothes dryer that we know.

Any legal hurdles all foreigners have to face to live there?
Yes, especially if you want to work. But as the spouse of a dual citizen, I didn’t have to deal with any of them.

Top 3 things you would recommend someone to bring when they come:
Food stuffs and kitchen equipment that you can’t live without that can’t be found here (like grits), clothes, books in English.