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#10 FAQs About Remote Working From Athens: A Practical Guide for Digital Nomads

April 20, 2023/in Community, Coworking, Remote Work, Trends, Workspace

digital nomads; remote working; work from Athens

As a digital nomad, the idea of being able to work from anywhere can be both exciting and daunting. With the rise of remote work and the increasing popularity of Athens as a travel destination, it’s no wonder that more and more people are considering the city as a potential base for their work-from-anywhere lifestyle. But before you pack your bags and head to Greece, it’s important to have all the information you need to make an informed decision. In this blog post, we’ll answer 10 of the most frequently asked questions about remote working from Athens, so you can feel confident in your decision to live and work in the city..

1. How is digital life in Athens?

The internet connection in Athens is generally reliable and fast. Most cafes, coworking spaces, and hotels offer free Wi-Fi, so you won’t have to worry about finding a hotspot. If you need a more reliable connection, you can also purchase a mobile data plan or sign up for a broadband plan in your apartment or hotel.

2. What is the cost of living in Athens?

Athens is considered one of the most affordable cities in Europe. The cost of living is low compared to other popular destinations for digital nomads, such as Berlin or Amsterdam. You can expect to pay around €700 to €900 per month for a one-bedroom apartment in the city center. Monthly utilities come in at around €150 to €200. When it comes to food and drink, prices are similarly affordable. A cup of coffee costs around €3 and a meal for one at a restaurant comes in at around €10 to €15.

3. What is the climate like in Athens?

Athens has a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. During summertime, temperatures can reach up to 40°C. Therefore, taking regular breaks from the sun and staying hydrated it’s very important. The winter months are milder, with temperatures ranging from 10°C to 20°C, and occasional rain showers.

4. What is the local language spoken in Athens?

The official language in Greece is Greek, but many Athenians speak English, especially those in the hospitality and tourism industry. If you’re looking to brush up on your language skills, there are plenty of language schools and courses available in the city.

work from anywhere in the world; become a digital nomad; move around

5. How easy is it for digital nomads to get around Athens?

Athens has a well-developed public transportation system. A combination of buses, trolleys, and metro trains make it easy to get around the city. If you prefer to travel on two wheels, there are also several bike-sharing options available, including Athens by Bike and Kineo.

happy to work remotely; out of the office; freedom to work from any place

6. What is the food scene like in Athens?

The food scene in Athens is diverse and delicious, with a mix of traditional Greek dishes and international cuisine. From street food stalls selling souvlaki to high-end restaurants serving up contemporary Greek cuisine, there’s something for everyone. And of course, no trip to Greece would be complete without trying the famous Greek yogurt, which is widely available in the city.

7. What are some must-see places in Athens?

Athens is a city rich in history and culture, with plenty of iconic landmarks and sites to visit. Here are some of the must-see places for digital nomads in Athens:

The Acropolis: This ancient citadel is one of the most famous landmarks in the world and a symbol of Athens.
The National Archaeological Museum: This museum is home to some of the most important artifacts from ancient Greek civilization, including the Mask of Agamemnon and the Antikythera Mechanism.
Monastiraki Flea Market: This is a popular shopping destination for digital nomads, with an array of vintage clothing, jewelry, and handmade crafts.
Plaka: This is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Athens. It is known for its narrow cobblestone streets, historic houses, and traditional tavernas.

8. What are some of the best spots for digital nomads to go in Athens after work hours?

As a digital nomad, you might be wondering where to spend your evenings after a day of remote work in Athens. Fortunately, there are plenty of exciting nightlife spots in the city to explore. Here are some alternative options to consider:

Gazi: Gazi is a vibrant district known for its nightlife and cultural scene. It has a wide range of bars and clubs that cater to different tastes, including live music venues, gay bars, and alternative bars.
Exarchia: This neighborhood is popular with the younger crowd and offers an alternative nightlife scene. It is known for its political activism and street art. It is also home to a variety of bars, clubs, and music venues.
Psirri: Psirri is a hip and trendy district that has a thriving nightlife scene. The area has many bars, cafes, and restaurants, and it’s a great place to enjoy a night out with friends.
Kerameikos: Kerameikos is an up-and-coming neighborhood that is quickly becoming one of Athens’ trendiest areas. It has a growing number of bars and cafes, and it’s a great place to explore if you’re looking for something different.
Kolonaki: Kolonaki is an upscale neighbourhood that has a more sophisticated nightlife scene. It’s home to a variety of bars, restaurants, and rooftop lounges, offering stunning views of the city.

If you’re looking for a more relaxed experience, you can take a dip in one of the city’s many outdoor pools or enjoy a sunset from one of its many rooftop bars.

9. What kind of work environment can digital nomads expect in Athens?

Athens offers a variety of work environments for remote workers, including coworking spaces, cafes, and public parks. Most coworking spaces are equipped with high-speed internet, ergonomic chairs, and other amenities to make your workday as comfortable and productive as possible. If you prefer working from a café, you’ll find that many cafes in Athens have a relaxed atmosphere and good coffee, making them ideal for long work sessions. Additionally, public parks in Athens are great for taking a break and getting some fresh air.

10. What kind of coworking spaces are there in Athens and where are they located?

Athens has become a truly attractive destination for ex-pats, while at the same time, locals are seeking new working environments and longing to socialize in the after-COVID-19 era. That is why many different types of coworking spaces have sprung up as well! You may find everything in the Greek capital and there are online search engines specifically for this, like coworkies.com. You may find coworking franchises, international hub brands, and independent Greek businesses like Stone Soup! These workspaces are scattered all over Athens, from Marousi in the North to Exarcheia, and all the way to Peiraeus next to the port.

In conclusion, Athens offers a wealth of opportunities for digital nomads looking to work remotely. With a thriving tech and startup scene, a rich cultural heritage, and a friendly and welcoming community, it’s the perfect destination for anyone looking to balance work and leisure. If you’re looking for a coworking space in Athens, we invite you to check out Stone Soup. Our coworking space is designed specifically for remote workers, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. We offer a diverse, innovative, and collaborative community that you won’t find anywhere else. Whether you’re a solo traveler or part of a team, we have everything you need to work, connect, and grow.

What makes a coworking community thrive is you

September 28, 2022/in Community, Coworking, Events, Personal, Trends, Workspace

The collaborative community formed in coworking spaces is characterized by fluidity, flexibility, mutual understanding, and trust among members of the space. The role of hosts or community managers of coworking spaces is crucial for the aesthetics and ambiance that each space represents and diffuses to its members and customers. Community management is a process of blurring the boundaries between activities that require communication, interaction, and reciprocity.

A coworking community is a story of stories

If we seek for a definition on the concept of community, then a collaborative goal is definitely the central point. Each member’s and host’s experience is built around this common goal that can take various forms!

The concept of community in franchises and independent spaces differs a lot. Each concept is based on the forms of relationships among coworkers and between managers and coworkers. The parameters that reveal these relationships are values, such as trust and the ambiance created, such as coziness. Sharing your needs is a one-way street. Hence it is an experience that all members of a coworking space will collect at some point. The truth is that most coworking spaces are hybrid forms. As a result, there are many variations of community and collaboration narratives.

Finally, the narrative of the community constructed in each coworking space is not introverted and isolated from the larger public space. The spaces are urban meeting points in the city and they have an impact on their surroundings. Depending on the relationship they seek with the public sphere, they are accelerators of growth for startup entrepreneurship, intervention and activism for public policies, and social action and contact with the neighborhood around them.

A coworking community is like a novel, a story composed by each member’s storytellings. That is why a host should love listening to people and learning their stories.

Social impact begins from understanding someone’s needs after listening patiently and carefully. Taking advantage of impromptu happenings and serendipity moments is a great start! Unexpected experiences are what make a coworking community look like a group of friends, colleagues, or strangers at the same time. Whatever you pick, it’s your choice, as long as it helps you flourish!

An Expat Family In Athens: Working On International Projects Remotely

April 19, 2022/in Community, Coworking, News, Office Space, Personal, Remote Work, Residents, Trends

Last six months, we had the pleasure to host George and Carla, a couple of marketers who traveled with their family from Barcelona to Athens! We talked with them about their international marketing projects and their experience as a family in Athens. We also inspired them to create content featuring Stone Soup! As part of his content creation aspirations, George just completed a Videography course in SAE! Stone Soup proudly starred in his first attempt at directing a corporate video!

Working remotely

Firstly, we asked them how they got involved in marketing as well as the pros and cons of working remotely. Before the family came to Athens they added many pins to the European map. Carla started working remotely back in 2015 after quitting her job at SoundCloud in Berlin. Back then she had already been away from her homeland, Spain, for 10 years and she was looking forward to finding her way back home. A friend was the one who connected her with a big digital project. Ever since she has remained working remotely either as a freelancer or in a permanent position. She describes her first few years as a “rollercoaster” as she craved social interaction with other team members. However, she now admits that she has mastered it and she truly enjoys the freedom she gets from working remotely. From her current perspective, going back to her previous life with a 9-5 office job seems distant and weird.

As for George, remote working came along with his promotion to a Regional Marketing Manager at SAE Institute 7 years ago. He points out that getting to work from anywhere as long as you have WiFi is very tempting. You only have to find the strength to defeat the “pyjamas syndrome”. Professionally his main challenge was to train, manage and inspire a team of young professionals exclusively from a distance. Interactions are limited to online tools and this fact consequently limits the dynamics between people.

Marketing projects they are proud of

Their positions as marketers granted them the opportunity to work remotely and enjoy traveling all over Europe at the same time. They involve themselves in many facets of marketing, so we wanted to know more about their interests in this continuously expanding creative field. Carla enjoys working on digital marketing strategies. She loves thinking of ways to find the target audience of her clients online. She also finds challenging to plan out multiple a/b experiments to test what type of targeting may perform the best. As for George, he prefers working on social media projects as there is a more direct interaction with the audience. Aside from that, he likes running event promotion projects, as they move faster, with a greater variety in designs.

Working in the marketing field means that you are designing projects that can be both impactful and creative! We asked our members to pick a couple of marketing campaigns they dealt with that are worth mentioning. George feels quite proud of a marketing campaign he runs across five countries, promoting a new portfolio of Games Production courses. It was challenging as he had to overcome cultural and market diversity issues and manage to create consistent storytelling. Carla could not help but point out that she is currently running a campaign to promote the platform adeccojobsforukraine.com. It is a portal created to connect employers with refugees and this goal motivates her to give her best. Any employer can sign up and upload their vacancies and the displaced workers can upload their CVs. It operates as an effective matchmaking platform supporting all the Ukrainians in this terrible moment of their life.

Traveling to Athens

Their story continued in Athens, where they have been staying for the last six months. Together with their one-year-old daughter, Emma, they traveled to the Greek capital and decided to try focusing on their marketing ideas from here. They both agree that Athens is a lively and exciting city with plenty of things to do and international people to meet. They comment that strolling around may not be that easy but there are so many nice spaces to go to, like the Niarchos Foundation and the National Garden. There is no doubt that having a family limits the number of outings they can have. However, they have realized that there are also plenty of international families in Athens as well, even in Stone Soup!

George and Carla on their marketing projects

Why work from a coworking space?

Working from a coworking space can help in achieving a work-life balance. They find it motivating to leave the house and add some flavor to their work life. If the coworking space neighborhood is full of choices (as it is in the case of Stonesoup), then even better! This way they can also pursue their interests as well. For example, aside from their marketing work Carla is exploring the digital art scene and curates content for her Digital Art District project on Instagram. They both find it inspiring to stay creative so they also do some paste-up street art together every now and then (instagram.com/lovnoir). When we asked them what is their biggest motivation lately, they passionately agreed that their number one mission and success story is named Emma, their fantastic daughter that rules their colorful world!

George and Carla part of Stone Soup family

#10 FAQs about coworking: A practical guide for Athens, Greece

November 15, 2021/in Coworking, News, Remote Work, Trends, Workspace

“We have the talent. We just need to work together. Different environments need to overlap, connect, and interact in order to transform our culture. In order to create a sustainable community based on trust, we value”:

collaboration over competition
community over agendas
participation over observation
friendship over formality
people over personalities
value ecosystem over value chain

These are some lines straight out of the coworking manifesto published more than 10 years ago! Does coworking still sound relevant to you?

After two years into this world-changing pandemic, the answer is more than obvious. Remote working has become the norm while more and more professionals seek new ways of balancing work and life and living off their passions. Millennials and GenZers, who are always craving new experiences and travel around the globe, prefer working from different destinations instead of an unchangeable and set office. And one of those up-and-coming coworking pins on the map is the Greek capital, Athens!

We strongly believe in the idea of flexible workspaces and we love to see our community expanding, for that reason we thought it would be a great idea to present you with:

#10 FAQs about coworking in our beloved city of Athens!

1. What is coworking and who is a coworker?

Coworking is the new way of reaching your professional and personal goals! If you just need your laptop and good Wifi to work from anywhere, or if you just can’t stay in the same office (or city) on a long term basis then this is your ideal way of working! Coworking means working alongside together. Sharing a workspace with people who may possibly become your friends or fruitful networking contacts but are NOT necessarily your colleagues. Coworking means that it’s your choice to hang out with them today or focus entirely on your projects tomorrow by setting your limits. Coworking means neither one-way socialization nor professional solitude.

2. What is a coworking space?

A coworking space is a place where you can have all that! Essentially, it’s a shared workspace that offers flexible options for all professionals. The layout may vary but usually, it incorporates co-working areas, private offices, and common areas in its premises: Coworking areas include an arrangement of hotdesks for members to work from, private offices for those who want their own closed space, and common areas like kitchens, terraces, and lobbies where all of the above share a cup of coffee together! Common areas are essential for socializing and every coworking space has its own meeting point! Moreover, coworking spaces include meeting rooms and/or call rooms. This way members can hold business meetings and communicate with their clients and partners from all over the world!

3. What kind of coworking spaces are there in Athens and where are they located?

Athens has become a truly attractive destination for ex-pats, and at the same time, locals are seeking new working environments and are longing to socialize in the after-COVID19 era. That is why many different types of coworking spaces have sprung up as well! You may find everything in the Greek capital and there are online search engines specifically for this, like coworker.com. You may find coworking franchises, international hub brands, and independent Greek businesses like Stone Soup! These workspaces are scattered all over Athens, from Marousi in the North to Exarcheia, and all the way to Peiraeus next to the port.

4. Is the location of a coworking space important?

You can imagine that even if we live in a digital world, coworking spaces are still physical, so location is important! Make sure that you pick the one that suits your everyday urban explorations! If you fancy the northern suburbs of Athens and their classy restaurants, parks, and calm ambiance, look for coworking spaces in Kifisia or Marousi. If you prefer to follow the urban vibes and stay in touch with everything that goes around in the contemporary Athenian scene then the center of the city is a must-be. The center of Athens has plenty of coworking spaces so if you are looking for a taverna in Psyrri, a bar in Exarchia, or a gallery in Koukaki then there are many coworking spaces to pick from. And lastly, it’s the Greek Riviera in the south where there are a couple of options as well! If you are driving then parking is important! Coworking personnel will be happy to share with you the best cost-effective options around their area but they usually do not include parking fees in their membership options.

5. What are my membership options when I want to join a coworking space in Athens?

In almost all spaces you will find a wide range of memberships to match your needs. There are packages starting from a few hours and daily passes to monthly plans and long-term agreements! Each coworking space in Athens usually has its own policy, but flexibility is one of the most important attributes! How much would you stay in your ideal workspace? No need to answer right now! Feel free to try whatever suits you and your timetable and you can always upgrade or downgrade later. Don’t hesitate to ask the community manager on the spot for the most convenient solution.

6. What is a coworking desk?

A coworking desk is the main element of a coworking space: Ιn the coworking slang we call it either a “hot desk” or a “dedicated desk”. In the first case, there is a first come first served rule and coworkers pick a different desk each day depending on availability and on how early they arrive at the coworking space. In the second case, coworkers are assigned to a dedicated desk for exclusive use and it usually includes more office amenities, like a locker or other furniture, and you get all that with an upgraded membership.

7. What is a private office in a coworking space?

Except for the desks in the open areas of a coworking space, you may also find some closed areas that serve as private offices. If your project requires privacy, if you run a team or if you just prefer to work in solitude but you still want to have a cozy chat during lunch and coffee breaks then you should go for this option. Private office tenants usually have access to their offices 24/7 so they can drop by whenever they feel inspired to get back to work! It is also a great way to have your team gathered together in the same space without having to worry about long-term leases, commitments, and monthly utilities!

8. What is a meeting room?

Are you ready to have a creative brainstorming session with your team or partners? Is an important client coming and you are looking for a place to host your meeting? Do you have one of those long zoom calls and you want to feel comfortable in a professional setting? Those are reasons to book a meeting room! Some meeting room hours are usually included in a coworking membership or there might be an extra cost. If you are not a member and just want a meeting workspace for a day or more this can work for you too!

9. Can I find professional equipment that I can use in a coworking space?

Usually yes! It depends on what each space has to offer and what you need! Is it a monitor or a TV? An ethernet connection? A printer? Is it a 3D printer? Is it a copy machine or a scanner? Most workspaces offer monitors as a minimum since they are a must-have for a creative professional. These are either included in membership or you can rent them as an add-on at an extra cost. Advanced services like ethernet connection or phone lines are in most cases available on demand; their installation cost varies according to the agreement you have with each space. Never hesitate to ask for all those little things that will make you feel more comfortable and creative!

10. Can I bring my four-legged friend with me?

Most coworking spaces are inclusive of cats and dogs but they require a heads up before you decide to bring along your fluffy friend. Feel free to ask what a workspace’s policy is on that!

Do you have any more questions about coworking? Let us know!

Collaborative workspaces are here to stay and the new ways of working remotely that came up during the pandemic boosted their importance. Flexibility is awesome only if you are the one who’s choosing your desk and your community of coworkers! If you are in Athens, why don’t you check out the available coworking spaces and see which one will make your everyday life a little more extraordinary?