“The second half of July has been a long gap,” George told me. “The reservations aren’t so many, but the problems come just the same.”
I rarely talk to George this part of the summer because it’s his prime time renting high-end vacation rentals. We met because of the ten week trial separation I spent on Patmos in Spring 2022. I found an apartment I really liked via his website and on a longshot asked if he might rent it to me at a rate I could afford. Because it was off-season, the owners went for it and I dropped my nice, but less exciting Airbnb.
For some time, I only dealt with George by text and email until just before Orthodox Easter, I found a group of goats in front of my apartment eating the landscaping. It seemed like the kind of thing you notify someone about and George, who had just arrived on the island to prepare for the tourism season, came over – himself completely unsure what to do – he is from Athens and had said he had never dealt with goats. Apparently, his Greek DNA had the answers because he quickly decided to clap and yell at them until they want back to where they came from – a farmer down the hillside who was raising a herd largely for the Easter feast.
Whether it was from the shared humorous experience of solving a goat crisis, personalities and ages aligning or both, George and I became friends. I find him interesting because he left his career as a bank executive to live a life that feels more balanced for him, without giving up on it being sufficiently lucrative. He managed a few properties on Patmos for a friend one summer and decided if he could get a few more, he had an income. He targeted only higher-end properties so the margins were sufficient and the quality of the clientele generally better – and because of his education, career experience, charm and high-proficiency in English he inspired confidence in an increasing number of property owners for whom he got good results.
George earned his degree in economics in Scotland, so his English is excellent. He’s traveled the world and I suspect in his younger days very much enjoyed being single. He got married for the first time only recently at just over 50 years-old.
All of this makes him interesting and a lot of fun to talk to. He’s especially insightful and rational in his way of distilling events around the world and how they impact people’s everyday lives.
Only this year, George isn’t so happy with his business. Reservations prior to August 1 were fewer than usual. He’s not committing to any theories, but it’s hard to ignore inflation, wars and people’s economic concerns.
One thing I learned in prior years of conversation with George – much of his clientele aren’t wealthy, they’re people with middle-class or professional incomes who want a luxury experience. Often, they’re groups of several couples who band together to rent a house above any of their respective means. In August, they’re often from Italy – but not exclusively.
Houses like the ones George represents are scattered throughout the island – often somewhere with a breathtaking view or beach access. Because of Patmos’ hilliness, it’s surprisingly easy to find land with a breathtaking view. There was a trend toward building more luxury homes in mid-to-late 2010’s as Patmos’ reputation began to grow and people like George became successful at booking these kinds of homes. Of course, there are also people who built vacation homes for themselves – some of whom also offer their homes as short-term rentals when they aren’t using them, as I do.
It’s impossible to fully understand complex things like real estate and vacation trends from observation and casual conversations. That said, of the people on Patmos I know, none of them are living in homes resembling the kinds of properties George represents. Some, if not many of them, have sufficient land and likely the means. From what I can tell, the luxury house with the breathtaking view isn’t necessarily the Patmian Dream.
For an American, it’s a little hard to understand why someone wouldn’t want “more house” as we say in our real estate parlance. On the whole, the location, size and appearance of one’s house is a significant part of how we signal status and derive stability. By and large – especially if you live in or around a major metropolitan area – a home is also a good investment. Having “more home” isn’t just enjoyable, it’s an investment.
That isn’t true everywhere.
When I lived in Taiwan, I was shocked to learn how many people I knew with significant money lived in homes I wouldn’t want for myself. It was explained to me that with the ever-present uncertainty about the ever-looming possibility of war with China and Taiwan’s aways shaky future sovereignty, people don’t invest their wealth in property they might very well lose should events take a poor turn. Cash in the mattress, deposits in foreign banks, overseas business and property investments – these were the preferred investments. So, people who wore high-fashion brands and drove expensive cars might well live in a nice, but average-to-modest home. Culturally, inviting outsiders – ie non-family members – to your home was off-the-table. When Taiwanese wanted to do the equivalent of inviting me and/or my friends over – they took us to restaurant and their version of country clubs. These were the hosting environments.
Greece doesn’t have this same issue. Not only does its political stability seem solid, but families have often been passing property along for generations. The tradition of giving a home to your daughter upon marriage remains strong – and for those who don’t have additional property, building another unit onto a home you have is a common substitute. The happy couple can live in a unit upstairs where they will hopefully raise a family with support from grandparents and even aunts and uncles in adjoining units.
What I’ve seen most are homes that are nice, but not especially grand – and usually modestly sized. Two-thousand square feet would be quite large and 1,500 is much more common. I’ve heard from a few younger people who have gotten married and either had their own house built or added to the family structure that they have added comforts and amenities their parents and grandparents didn’t have – like what one person called his “home theater” – which I later learned from his wife is an extra room with a large-screen TV and a couple of very comfortable arm chairs. It’s not like a few families I know in Westlake and Agoura who literally have specially-built rooms with theater-style seating and surround sound. Nonetheless, it is a shift toward American standards of comfort and success.
In many cases, construction is not cost-prohibitive. While everything is relative to income, the cost to renovate or construct here is MUCH lower than stateside. For example, the family who I bought my house from had consulted one of the two architects here on Patmos about expanding to three beds, two baths – exactly what I hope to do one day. At the time – maybe 2019-ish – the expected cost was $50,000. In Westlake, you could easily spend that or more on a kitchen remodel. Yes, $50,000 is a lot for the average Greek – and yet, for many Patmos families with property and businesses around the island, it’s not necessarily out-of-reach.
One of the most interesting examples of anyone I know here is Nicholas – who owns the apartment hotel we used to stay in for our first couple of visits. Nicholas and his family are fantastic people who I still see and enjoy. Over the course of the four weeks Emily and I spent at Nicholas Studios in 2010, we slowly got to know the family better and better. Nicholas and his wife Theologia were living in a slightly expanded studio unit on the bottom floor of the apartment-hotel. It had a full-kitchen and two-bedrooms, unlike all the other units. At the time, Nicholas drove a Hyundai sedan back when Hyundai was still seen as a cheap and chincy car. He drove that care into the ground over the course of fifteen years and is currently working on the same plan with a Toyota RAV-4.
As we spent time with the family, we learned both husband and wife are from old Patmian families – and through inheritances and some purchases – the couple had a lot of property. As if we were with a centipede, other shoes kept dropping. We learned they own a prominent water-side restaurant, a couple of homes in the Kastelli, another hotel in Skala and several of the most central buildings in town housing multiple retail and food service businesses. These were not people who needed to live in a small unit under their hotel. Eventually, they built a small house on the ground of their apartment-hotel that blends into the property. Even this is probably no larger than 1500 square feet. But they want to be on-site to run their business, even though they have a larger family home in the nearby Kastelli neighborhood that would be maybe a five-minute commute.
Obviously, one family does not a story make.
At the same time, I think their sensibilities are more typical than not. After all, there is no Custom Kitchen section of the appliance or hardware stores and no one pushing central air installations as you exit.
One of the reasons developers were able to buy properties with stunning views affordably is because locals don’t value those as places to live. Living on a hillside outside of town, not on a farm or away from a “settlement” (aka a village without the legal status), just doesn’t make good practical sense. Family, community, walking – these things all seem to matter more than an expansive, American-style home.
Interestingly, Nicholas’ attitude about cars seems prevalent. Now that my residency card is imminent, I’ve begun considering a used car. My initial goal was a used motor scooter – but in researching, it’s easy to buy an incredibly cheap used car in Greece and making a car my first purchase would eliminate the need to rent a vehicle – car or motor scooter – each summer. On an economic level, it probably pays off faster. Sometimes you don’t really notice something until you become familiar. Once I looked at used cars online, I realized – practically everyone on Patmos is driving either a used or a very old car. Most of them have few features. No one has big screens with GPS, CarPlay and climate control. I don’t think many people have hands-free bluetooth capability. A 2002 Peugeot, Hyundai and Fiat hatchback is preferred. This makes sense in a place with narrow roads, limited parking, where you don’t drive more than 15 minutes to get anywhere and typically less – when you need to drive a car at all. And when you do need a vehicle and you’re not transporting bigger items or multiple people, you probably are taking your motor scooter.
At one point, I thought a lot about how people on Patmos live happily with less. I’m no longer sure that’s right. With enough money and determination, you can get almost anything. I have kitchen tiles imported from Italy. Nicholas could easily have a real home theater and a car like mine in Westlake that could have the cabin cooled or warmed to perfection before he even opens the door. He’s no rube – he even spent a year or two in Florida when he was young working at his uncle’s restaurant. Nicholas knows those things exist and they’re within his means. Maybe they just aren’t so valuable.
It seems to me, there’s a reason why I left my comfortable Tesla behind and am happier driving a Hyundai i10 or riding a motor scooter here. It’s not being happier with less. It’s finding there’s a context in which the Tesla adds no joy, no value. What if walking to the supermarket means seeing the sea and visiting your friends and neighbors? Maybe living on-site with guests from around the world is a richer experience than living removed from them in the Kastelli? Perhaps a home theater with surround sound and theater chairs is a waste of space when your niece, nephew or grandchild is downstairs, hoping you’ll spend some time with them before the family matriarch serves dinner for everyone?
Maybe it’s not being happy with less. Maybe it’s completely different goals.
