Cost of living in Crete (Greece)

General Expenses

Crete has everything you could be looking for, whatever your tastes and budget might be. In fact, the incredible diversity of lifestyles is one of the major reasons for its immense popularity. The table below compares prices for food, leisure and other basic expenses in Crete with LA, London and the statistical average for Greece in 2023.

Accommodation

Generally, private property is quite cheap in Greece by international standards. And as Crete is one of the most diverse places in the country, the island's real estate sector provides plenty of options for all budgets. Therefore, the figures below do not really represent any individual deals, showing instead a statistical mean or average ranges:

Public and Private Transport

Crete has a well-developed public transport infrastructure, including flights, both local and domestic, and numerous ferry routes that connect all parts of the island. In addition, you can get almost anywhere on the island by road, the quality of which is pretty good, even though there are still no highways in the modern sense of the word.

The only thing missing in Crete is trains, although the local government purports to do something about it. Private vehicles are quite affordable too, but the current gas crisis and the consequently high prices for petrol sometimes make it cheaper to travel by bus or even taxi. Let us see how Crete compares to the other places:

Medical and Educational Services

Greece is famous worldwide for its high-quality and affordable medical practitioners. And if you move to Crete with kids, you will find lots of very good schools, colleges and universities too. If you would like to settle in an English-speaking community, you should look for a house in Chania West, Rethymno, Lasithi or Heraklion.

Summary

As you can see, Crete can be a lot cheaper or much more expensive than the rest of the country. And the table below shows how much cheaper the island is overall compared to Los Angeles and London: