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Comment by BillyTheKing | Hacker News Reader

I'm half Greek, so obviously a little bias. But would love to see a more thriving tech scene in Athens. It's a cool city, with great night-life, great restaurants, and stunning places nearby, not yet super gentrified and obviously also has some archaeological sites. But it's not just 2000 years old history (yes, it's partly also pretty run-down, bureaucracy is a night-mare, etc.)

Generally speaking, it's usually sunny all year around, winters are mild, summers are hot, but one can spend those on an Aegean island..

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A thriving tech scene overnight is going to gentrify it to the point of only tech folks wanting to live there.

Speaking of bias, I would rather see that as well in Thessaloniki.

And better remote working conditions could be a way to diversify the islands economy beyond Summers.

There is always the strategy of finding non-Greek companies to work remotely for, who will have a better work culture and remote ethic.

For the economic argument, you'd still be bringing money into the country and stimulating the economy (and paying taxes), so it's not all doom and gloom that you aren't working for a Greek company to make Greece better.

except there is absolutely zero anything on permanent establishment rules. The Greek tax authorities could write one memo saying “hiring a director in Greece does not trigger permanent establishment” and that digital nomad visa program would really pop off.

alas…nothing

I don't condone nonlegal actions, but do they really check your source of income? Usually with such sorts of tax authorities I'd imagine they'd only pay attention if they notice large incomes or many people citing the same contracting source.

IANAFA and not clued up on Greek tax myself.

the digital nomad visa requires you to have a contract with a company outside greece. while you can establish your own local entity, that’s a different visa process. if you have your own domiciled outside GR and even spring for a “nominee director” you still trigger permanent establishment (the tax people aren’t the same as immigration people) and it’s still a very real risk.

now be a senior level IC having an opportunity at a global company that doesn’t have a GR office? yeah, the first year legal rep is gonna do a hard no.

and all the tax people need to do is stamp a memo…

Bias, because you live in Athens and don't want more gentrification? Or because you live in Thessaloniki and want more business there?

I personally find Athens to be a much more appealing city, speaking as a tech worker, rock climber, and (near) vegan, who has spent a fair bit of time in both.

Thessaloniki has its pros, but loses to Athens in pretty much everything I care about, other than having a nice bike/scooter-friendly boardwalk

Thessaloniki because of family reasons, hence my bias is to Thessaloniki and Halkidiki region, I would rather only visit Athens for the airport and harbour connections, or some official business. :)

If Velti didn't collapse due to shady behavior there probably could have been one.

Are you following the current tech scene at all?

There are some meetups and groups here and there to my knowledge, just not always well known unless you go out of your way to find them.

Do you have thoughts on Patras as a less crowded alternative for English-speaking nomads and setting up a remote office?

I guess the weather is also sunny and beachy ?

I've been to Patras a few times (usually while hopping over from Italy).. I'd say, the Peloponnese is amazing. If I could just work remotely from a quiet place I would probably try and find a seaside village or so on it.

But Patras, as far as I remember it's pretty industrial, it has a large-ish port, 2 nice-ish squares, but otherwise didn't really strike me as a particularly exciting/pretty place.. Weather will be good though.

If you wanna try out something different, maybe a smaller city with a more remote vibe but with quite a bit of life nevertheless and good weather - maybe give Syros a try :) It has a beautiful old venetian town, cool restaurants/bars - some nice beaches and great nature - and all the other aegean islands with varying vibes around it! But it's also not as village-y or seasonal as the other islands - definitely can recommend!

Are Aegean islands cooler than Athens in summer?

yea, they're usually windier and therefore are (and feel) a few degrees cooler. Fortunately they aren't particularly humid either (usually) which makes them feel quite pleasant imo

You can take a cool dive in the sea in them. In Athens not so much. And in Athens you have the combined extra heat of all the concrete, cars, and air-conditioning units output to bear.

That said, it's still nothing like Phoenix or New Orleans. More like San Diego heat.

More wind and less urban heat island effect would keep the temperatures more reasonable, I think.