Fivos Avgerinos/Unsplash
The Greek island of Antikythera.
A remote Greek island has become the latest Mediterranean idyll to offer to pay people to move there, teaming up with the Greek Orthodox Church to offer new residents a monthly stipend totaling €18,000 (NZ$33,000) .
Best known for being the site of the discovery of one of the oldest analog computers ever discovered, Antikythera is located between Kythera and the island of Crete at a point where three seas converge – the Aegean, the Ionian and the Cretan.
Largely undeveloped, the 20km² island is home to secluded sand and pebble beaches, ancient hiking trails, a whitewashed village and pretty country chapels.
With an aging population of around 20, the island partnered with the Church to launch a campaign encouraging people to settle there, the The Greek City Times reported.
Families who settle there will receive a monthly allowance of 500 euros for three years, for a total of 18,000 euros, the publication specifies.
The problem: the island only has one store: a kafeneion (café) which also serves as a grocery store and a meeting place for the islanders. There is no bank or ATM, and the boat that supplies the island with food and gas cannot dock in particularly rough seas – a fairly common occurrence in winter. according to the Greek journalist.
McGregor Cat
Antikythera is about a two-hour ferry ride from the much larger island of Crete (pictured).
Yet locals consider it an earthly paradise, according to the publication, quoting retired Greek Air Force general Gianni Tzinakos who said: “There is no other place in the world where such absolute peace and tranquility can be found.”
Once a pirate lair, the island was the site of two important archaeological discoveries in the 20th century: the Antikythera Mechanism, built between 150 and 100 BC to calculate and display information about astrological phenomena, and a bronze statue of a man dating from 340 to 330 BC. young man known as the “Youth of Antikythera”. Both are today preserved at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.
Antikythera is about a two-hour ferry ride from Crete and about four hours from Laconia on the mainland.
Many small settlements in Italy attempted to revive declining populations by offering to pay people to settle there or by selling houses for a small fee.
There was the Hilltop Italian town selling homes for less than $2THE quaint village offering people $15,000 to moveAnd one abandoned house to be won for only $1.70.
Not to be outdone, the Sicilian town of Cammarata offers newcomers a house “for free”.
There’s often a catch, so be sure to do your homework if you’re considering accepting one of the offers.
