Living the Life in Kos
Sometimes dreams really do come true if you want them badly enough and are prepared to make the necessary sacrifices that come with the realization of every dream. When love blossomed for Karl Matterson, a 28 year old graduate from the London School of Economics, he didn’t expect to end up emigrating to a Greek Island he had never visited prior to meeting Kos born Eva Papadopoulu.
Karl moved to Kos at the beginning of last year, ‘I moved to Kos to be with my fiancee, Eva who is expecting our first baby. Eva was a student with me in London; we have been together for three years, she wanted to live with me in London full time but she became very unhappy, she didn’t like the fast way of life and she couldn’t get used to the cold weather, so she went back to her family home. We still kept in touch - I wanted to go with her but with work, having no money and no room in her family home for me it wasn’t a possibility, so we kept in touch every day via the internet and skype and we met up at every opportunity we could. I missed her like mad and when my grandmother died she left me some money so the first thing I thought about was to go and look into buying a small house or apartment in Kos to be with Eva, when I found out about our baby it made my decision final I was moving.’
Today Karl and Eva spend their time getting ready for the new arrival, ‘I have found a job in a local bank, working 30 minutes from home, there is lots of work and enough money to support Eva and our new child. To be honest our life is so busy trying to get ready for the little one, we are getting the nursery sorted and we have nappies up to our eye balls!’ Eva said, ‘I understand the meaning now of ‘blooming’, because I know it’s a bit of a cliche but I actually am! I was so unhappy in the UK, everything seemed to be rushed and I couldn’t handle the pressure. Everything was so depressing, looking out the window every morning to a grey, wet, rainy sky just didn’t help my mood, so I had to go home again it broke my heart to leave but I had to think about the future. Now Karl is here and I have a little life growing inside me I couldn’t ask for anything more.’ In between work and getting ready for the baby, they spend their time going to the beach, shopping and going to the local cinema. They have also made a couple of trips to mainland Greece because Karl is fascinated by Ancient Greek history and wants to experience as much of the country as possible.
The cost of living in Kos is cheaper than in the UK. We run a Citroen AX, a small hatchback, I go to work five days a week which is a 30 minute travel each way and the car only costs around 25 Euros a week.’ Property is also cheaper in Kos compared to the UK. An average price for a luxury apartment is 90,000 euros and villas cost around 167,000 euros. ‘My grandmother’s legacy enabled me to buy a house in Kos outright and still have a little put by for a rainy day’ Karl and Eva have a small house in a charming fishing village within walking distance to the beach and alls of Eva’s relatives. It has a garden and two double bedrooms, an open plan kitchen and living room and balconies overlooking some stunning scenery. In the village there are a couple of bars and two restaurants and some other expats. The house is only 10 minutes drive from the airport, ‘which is perfect for when my family and friends come here to see me or I go back to the UK for a while,’ Karl adds. ‘I believe we will live here happily ever after, at first it took me a while to get use to living here in Kos, and being an only child it was overwhelming to suddenly have a big Greek family, but they have adopted me as if I were their son and have helped further my language skills.’ In the future Karl wants to support his growing family and maybe set up his own family business catering to the island’s many tourists. Karl’s life at the moment is perfect, ‘I love the weather, the beach, my job and the atmosphere of the island and when the little one comes along the place will change but it will be even more perfect!’