Why it is here
Why Thessaloniki is on the list.
A city is listed when there is evidence that people move there. This is the evidence.
- Thessaloniki is the second-largest Greek municipality in the 2021 census (319,045 residents, after Athens with 643,452 and ahead of Patras with 215,922), and its regional unit has 1,092,919 residents. [N1]
The Fernshore Index
How it grades, factor by factor.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Cost of living
54 of 100MixedCountry figure
Price level 0.595 of United States prices (2025).
Source: Price level index (GDP), Greece. Checked 15 October 2026.
Climate
33 of 100WeakOwn figure
Thessaloniki's own normals (HNMS, 1991-2020): 5 comfortable months a year (April, May, June, September and October); July and August are above 32 °C and November to March are under 18 °C.
Source: Climate normals 1991-2020, Thessaloniki. Checked 15 October 2026.
Safety
54 of 100MixedCountry figure
Global Peace Index 2026: 53rd of 163.
Source: Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank. Checked 15 October 2026.
Healthcare
58 of 100MixedCountry figure
WHO UHC service coverage index 77 (2023).
Source: UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1). Checked 15 October 2026.
Schools
UnknownCountry figure
Our research doesn't cover schools yet.
Community
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Lifestyle
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Work and career
85 of 100StrongCountry figure
Strong: a residence route for remote workers exists (digital nomad national visa, Migration Code Article 68) and fixed broadband is 44.7 per 100 people (2024), over the 30 line.
Source: Law 5038/2023 (Migration Code), Article 68: digital nomads (permit type Z.1); Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Greece; Digital nomad visa: frequently asked questions. Checked 15 October 2026.
Retirement
85 of 100StrongCountry figure
Strong: the residence permit for people with sufficient means (type I.8, Article 163) has no age minimum and no deposit, lasts 3 years and renews; five years of lawful residence can lead to permanent long-term resident status (Articles 144 and 145). The minimum income is about EUR 3,500 a month. To be safe, have more than EUR 3,600 a month. The permit gives no right to work.
Source: Law 5038/2023 (Migration Code), Article 163 paragraph 8: residence permits for third-country nationals with sufficient means (type I.8); Law 5038/2023 (Migration Code), Articles 143 to 145: long-term resident status (type M1); Ministerial decision 225679/2024: amount and proof of sufficient means (Government Gazette B 5223, 17 September 2024); Residence permit for financially independent persons. Checked 15 October 2026.
Internet
100 of 100StrongCountry figure
44.68 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (2024), over the 30 line.
Source: Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Greece. Checked 15 October 2026.
English
95 of 100StrongCountry figure
EF EPI 2025 score 592 (rank 20), in EF's High band; the 2026 edition was not found on 15 October 2026.
Source: EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Greece. Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, United States passport
85 of 100StrongCountry figure
Strong: the digital nomad visa is open to US passport holders who work remotely for employers or clients outside Greece, with no Greek job offer and no age minimum. It lasts up to 12 months, and a two-year residence permit can follow. The income test is a net income of more than €3,500 a month (about €42,000 a year, or about US$47,100 at the ECB rate of 15 October 2026), plus 20% for a partner and 15% for each child. No deposit or investment is asked. The visa fee is €75. It does not allow work for a Greek employer or Greek clients.
Source: Law 5038/2023 (Migration Code), Article 68: digital nomads (permit type Z.1); Ministerial decision 225679/2024: amount and proof of sufficient means (Government Gazette B 5223, 17 September 2024). Checked 16 October 2026.
Visa, Canada passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for Canadian passports is being checked
Visa, Australia passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for Australian passports is being checked
Visa, New Zealand passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for New Zealand passports is being checked
The country
More on Greece.
Questions about Thessaloniki.
How big is Thessaloniki?
The Municipality of Thessaloniki had 319,045 residents at the 2021 census, the second most of any Greek municipality after Athens (643,452). Its regional unit had 1,092,919. The Greek tourism organisation places it on the Thermaic Gulf.
What is the weather like in Thessaloniki?
Average daily highs run from 9.6 °C in January to 32.3 °C in July (HNMS, 1991-2020), colder in winter than Athens or Chania. Fernshore counts 5 comfortable months, with highs of 18 to 30 °C: April, May, June, September and October.
How much is rent in Thessaloniki?
One advert, available from 16 September 2026, asked €800 a month for a furnished 59 m² one-bedroom flat in the centre, with no deposit stated. One asking rent is not an average, it may be gone, and other costs in Thessaloniki are unknown here.
How far is the airport from Thessaloniki, and how do you reach Athens?
Thessaloniki International Airport "Macedonia" is about 15 km from the centre, roughly 20 minutes by car, according to the Greek tourism organisation. It lists Athens as about 500 km away, with a flight time of about an hour and onward options by plane, train or road. City transit fares are not known here.
Is English widely spoken in Thessaloniki?
EF scores Thessaloniki 611 in its 2025 English index, against 592 for Greece overall (20th) and 616 for Athens. It is a test-taker index, a rough guide to a city, not a measure of daily life in shops, offices or public services.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [N1] 2021 Census results of population and housing: resident population by region, regional unit and municipality, Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT). Checked 15 October 2026. Municipality of Thessaloniki 319,045 residents in 2021, 325,182 in 2011; Regional Unit of Thessaloniki 1,092,919; Patras municipality 215,922 is third. ELSTAT's site refused connections on 15 October 2026, so the PDF was read from the Internet Archive copy of 4 January 2026.
- [W3] Climate normals 1991-2020, Thessaloniki, Hellenic National Meteorological Service (HNMS). Checked 15 October 2026. HNMS climatic data portal (https://www.emy.gr/en/climatic-data), normal values for the period 1991-2020, read from the portal's data service on 15 October 2026 (data created 17 March 2026). The service labels the monthly mean of daily highs 'max'; the service gives no monthly rain totals, so the rain test was checked against the older HNMS city page (period 1955-2010, http://newportal.hnms.gr/emy/en/climatology/climatology_city), where every month with a comfortable high has under 150 mm. Station Thessaloniki (airport), id 36, 40.53 N, 22.97 E, 3 m. Monthly mean daily highs 9.6 (January) to 32.3 (July).
- [C1] Price level index (GDP), Greece, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 59.54 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [S1] Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank, Institute for Economics and Peace. Checked 15 October 2026. Greece ranks 53rd of 163 countries, score 1.828 (ranking table, report PDF opened 15 October 2026).
- [H1] UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 15 October 2026. Greece: 77 out of 100 (2023), read from the WHO Global Health Observatory data service (indicator UHC_INDEX_REPORTED) on 15 October 2026.
- [K1] Law 5038/2023 (Migration Code), Article 68: digital nomads (permit type Z.1), Hellenic Republic, Migration Code (consolidated text on Taxheaven, a private legal portal; official Gazette text not opened). Checked 15 October 2026. National visa for up to 12 months for third-country nationals who work remotely for employers or clients outside Greece; sufficient means EUR 3,500 a month net, plus 20% for a spouse or partner and 15% for each child; visa fee EUR 75; no work for Greek employers; a 2-year type I.8 permit can follow. Greek text; carries the scheme first created by Law 4825/2021.
- [K2] Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Greece, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2024: 44.68 per 100 people, read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [K3] Digital nomad visa: frequently asked questions, Work From Greece (Marketing Greece, a tourism-industry body, under the auspices of the Hellenic Government). Checked 15 October 2026. Plain-English summary for non-EU applicants: visa up to a year, apply at the Greek consulate of main residence, no right to work for a Greek company. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs pages (mfa.gr) refused automated access, so this is the page the Ministry points to; not an official legal text.
- [R1] Law 5038/2023 (Migration Code), Article 163 paragraph 8: residence permits for third-country nationals with sufficient means (type I.8), Hellenic Republic, Migration Code (consolidated text on Taxheaven, a private legal portal; official Gazette text not opened). Checked 15 October 2026. Permit lasts 3 years and renews for equal periods; family members may join; no right to dependent work or independent economic activity. Greek text.
- [R2] Law 5038/2023 (Migration Code), Articles 143 to 145: long-term resident status (type M1), Hellenic Republic, Migration Code (consolidated text on Taxheaven, a private legal portal; official Gazette text not opened). Checked 15 October 2026. Five years of lawful, continuous residence, income above the minimum wage plus 10% for dependants, full health insurance and a Greek language and history test; the status is permanent (Article 145 paragraph 7). Article 143 paragraph 2 excludes study, protection and diplomatic permits and does not name the sufficient-means permit. Greek text.
- [R3] Ministerial decision 225679/2024: amount and proof of sufficient means (Government Gazette B 5223, 17 September 2024), Ministry of Migration and Asylum (published in the Government Gazette; copy hosted on migration.gov.gr). Checked 15 October 2026. For the type I.8 permit (Article 163 paragraph 8, a and b) and for digital nomads: at least EUR 3,500 a month, plus 20% for a spouse and 15% for each child, shown by a foreign pension, a bank account or own funds with a lawful origin, without working in Greece. Greek text.
- [V1] Residence permit for financially independent persons, Ministry of Migration and Asylum. Checked 15 October 2026. The page only lists two clarifying circulars (23 June 2022 and 7 November 2022, both written under earlier law); it confirms the permit exists but gives no requirements. Used for the permit's existence only.
- [F1] EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Greece, EF Education First (private test-taker index). Checked 15 October 2026. Score 592 (down 10 on the previous score), global rank 20; the page lists Athens 616 and Thessaloniki 611; the 2026 edition was not found on 15 October 2026.