Cost of living in Crete
This Cost of Living in Crete page is from the Living in Crete section of the Completely Crete website. The Cost of Living in Crete is considerably lower than in most countries yet has a high standard of living and an amazing quality of life. However, it is very difficult to make precise cost comparisons between Crete (Greece) and the UK and other countries. Wages are lower here, so you would expect prices to be too, which means that a work's or retirement pension would go further here than in the UK. Food and General Cost of Living
We found that with many things, what we would pay in the UK in pounds we would pay the same in Crete BUT IN EUROS. For example, if something were to cost £1 in the UK, you could buy the equivalent in Crete for 1 (about 70p). Generally alcohol is cheaper in Crete. Most local spirit and wine is produced by the person selling it to you, and there's no duty of course. Imported spirits and wines are more expensive.
As you would expect, some items are more expensive than in the UK such as branded toiletries, cosmetics, sun lotions etc. Also 'British' foods such as Heinz baked beans, HP sauce, Kellogg's cornflakes, Typhoo tea bags etc are more expensive too. But if you choose to eat more like a local and opt for only fresh seasonal locally produced foods, take advantage of local markets and eat out at non touristy places you'll soon find the Euro in your pocket goes so much further. Eating out
A meal with wine for two in a traditional kafeneion regularly costs us no more than 15. A plusher eatery or Estiatorio will probably cost 20-25. A carafe of local wine from the barrel will set you back about 4-6, but watch out for the free carafe of Raki at the end of your meal if you are driving. Utilities Electricity is charged on how much you use and you'll also pay a small standing charge every two months.
You will need to pay local council tax which covers the cost of refuge collection, street lighting and this is included in your electricity bill, together with your TV licence fee, (whether you have a TV or not!). Expect to pay for electricity roughly the same amount as you would in the UK for a similar sized home for electricity and gas combined. And of course you don't have costly council tax to pay. Unlike many Greek Islands water is less scarce, but is still a precious resource. Again, you pay for what you use. Our water bill is very low - about 6 per month, but sewage costs added to this will make the water charges about ½ what we paid in the UK. Telephone cost vary between companies and mobile telephone providers. We've found that costs compare very favourably to UK telephone company charges and rates. For some more detailed and very useful information on utilities in Crete click here. Motoring Costs Petrol varies from place to place and from garage to garage in the same place, so shop around. Just coming up to the end of 2007 and we have found petrol at 1.14 - but we have also seen it at 1.30. This is a bit cheaper than the UK and is around 0.93 per litre. Car insurance is cheaper here, because there are far fewer thefts, although the accident rate is high per vehicle ownership. However, the actual number of accidents is far less than in the UK, for example, as there are far fewer cars. I recently (October '07) paid 240 for 6 months fully comp on a Citroen C3 1.1, without any no-claims bonus - which works out at about £345 for 12 months. The Greek equivalent to car tax is 93 for 2008 (about £75). Enjoy the cost living in Crete!
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