By Anastasia Liapaki
“Hania is paradise for a couple with children!” is a widely held truth about the city. Locals, however, often complain that for single people it can be difficult to make new connections…
Αnd yet! Winged love has never been absent from the clouds that brush against the White Mountains. Here, we will share stories of people who met and came together in Chania.
The first story features two women, Paula and Raquel, from different countries who met in Chania and are together since last year.
When and how did you meet?
P: We met once during a Digital Nomads dinner. We just introduced ourselves and then we met again on a brunch in Nea Chora that was organized by Digital Nomads.
R: And we continued talking and walking together, we went to the beach after that brunch.
P: And we got to know each other and then we kept in contact.
As far as romance is concerned, is it easier to meet expats than locals?
R: For me, it’s easier. We don’t share the same vision in what a relationship should be, I guess. It would be difficult to try something with locals, to be honest.
P: It’s easier to connect with people who have the same background as you, that have been traveling to many places. It’s also the language barrier – if you don’t speak Greek, you’re not immediately going into a big group of friends who are always speaking in Greek.
When did you arrive in Chania and why did you come here?
R: I first came in 2021 after a friend from Athens told me Chania was nice and had no COVID-19 restrictions. Since Barcelona was very restricted, I flew to Heraklion with four friends, discovered Crete, loved Chania, and decided to move.
P: I lived in Athens before moving to Portugal, Australia and Spain, actually in the same place where Raquel is from! Out of nowhere, I started missing Greece. So I was like, I have to go back. After visiting a friend who had moved here, I went back to Athens but wasn’t happy, it felt too big. So I decided to move to Chania, where life felt more peaceful.
Would you see yourself living here for a really long time?
R: Although for both of us commiting to a place is difficult, I think I will always be going back to Chania, because now it is part of my life. Even if I leave, I will stay here for some periods or be half in Spain, half here.
What interesting activities have you shared so far?
R: We have been together to an eco-printing workshop in Araneida studio. We have also been together in a stone carving workshop in Apokoronas where we were only two people, so we learned a lot in four hours.
We go to concerts. Live music concerts in the Archaeological museum, events at KAM and the Mikis Theodorakis theater. Once we went to a violin concert in a big hotel in Agia Marina. Sometimes we go to Politechneio for traditional music. We have been to the YouCA theatre as well. And to a flamenco guitar concert in Comixadiko. We liked that a lot!
Any excursions or road trips?
R: That’s mostly what we do, going on excursions, road trips, adventures, mostly to the south of Crete, Paleochora, Sougia. We have been to Gavdos together.
What are you most excited about for the future?
R: I want to discover more parts of Greece this year because I have mostly been in Crete. Our 2026 plans include Samothraki and Ikaria. Also Italy. We just had the idea to maybe go to Sri Lanka next year. Or Madagascar.
