Bought Greek Apartment, Still Waiting for Electrician to Show 'Ávrio'
KEY POINTS
- •Kathleen O'Donnell moved from Boston to Athens in 2022 and eventually bought an apartment there.
- •She found that many shops and restaurants close for two weeks in August, complicating everyday tasks.
- •She also learned 'ávrio' from contractors means an indefinite wait, unlike her punctual Boston experiences.
Kathleen O'Donnell, a Bostonian who quit her job in 2022 to escape hurried life and moved to Athens, discovered buying an apartment here is like entering a bureaucratic black hole. She adores sipping freddo espressos while locals vanish August shops for two weeks—grocery runs require furtive planning worthy of a heist. Sunday errands? Forget it. Major stores close, small shops bail early Saturday. Contractors promise to arrive 'ávrio'—a Greek concept translating roughly to 'maybe, sometime, or not.' Despite 14-hour summer workdays for the tourist workers, her dream slow life means waiting for electric lights before the Mediterranean summer ends.
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(1 of 3)Living in Greece means groceries vanish for two weeks every August and your electrician is on 'ávrio' time—which could be next month or next year. Your slow life is basically a suspense movie, except the horror is no lights.
In Athens, 'tomorrow' is a Greek tragedy. Meanwhile, every store closes simultaneously for August like a plot twist no one asked for.
Bought an apartment in Greece, got a front-row seat to the disappearing shops rehearsal and the all-star cast of always 'ávrio' electricians.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 8/25/2026 | Author: Kathleen O'Donnell
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