Digital nomads, a new working reality. More and more Europeans and Americans choose our country to work remotely. Elli Kasoli met them in Syros, where they have created a whole community, and spoke with them.

“I work remotely and right now I can work from wherever I want,” says Elodie Ferso, the company’s sales manager.

“In general, we can work from wherever we want for our business,” says entrepreneur Dennis.

Reporter: Do you have a base?

-“No, we don’t have anymore. We don’t have a home back home, we don’t have a home anywhere,” says athlete manager Lindsey.

Hundreds of digital nomads have Syros as their first choice to spend even a few months of their lives in Greece. But why does this happen? The Sky camera arrived in the capital of the Cyclades and we got up close and personal with families of digital nomads. They told us why they chose this particular island and how they live their daily lives with this very special way of life

-(Safety) is important mainly because we have a child. “The fact that she can go out and run around the block by herself, go out, have a good time and we don’t have to worry about it is amazing,” Joe says.

Journalist: – So this is why Syros is chosen again and again?

– Yes, it is a very important reason, of course.

Lindsay and Joe together with their daughter left Buffalo, New York 2 years ago and live as nomads in different countries of Europe. We found them in Syros, drinking coffee in their favorite shop, while at the same time working from their computer.

“It’s a luxury that we only need our laptop. E-mails, video calls, we can do these virtually. So sometimes we work from home, sometimes from here in the cafe and in the company’s shared workspace,” says Lindsey.

Journalist: Do you work from the sea?

– Yes, if we have an internet connection, yes, of course.

“We can choose how to spend our time, to have family moments together, school and work. We wake up in the morning, my wife takes the kid to school, I like to swim at the beach which is very close to where we are now, we do yoga together and then we work,” Joe emphasizes.

What’s it like to work overtime? Where do you want from? And many times with a view of the port of Syros? Elodie is French and worked for 15 years in large companies. Now, together with her partner and daughter, they live like nomads all over the world.

“The important thing for me is that I have my daily life and my routine, but at the same time I have much more space to do things that I love. On a typical day I take the girls to school and then go back to the common work area. Sometimes I do yoga in the morning”, says Elodie Ferso and adds:

“I feel a very deep connection with Greece and that’s why I convinced my partner to come here. At first he was worried about the island and that he won’t have everything but after six days he wanted to buy a house in Syros. He loved it.”

Asa and Dennis came from England to Greece for the first time. Their children go to school in the morning while they shape their schedule as they want.

“We are not based on a specific location when it comes to work. Sometimes we have to go back to England. We combine holidays and work and this is the best for us, we do slow (experiential) tourism”, says Asa.

“It’s a holiday but it’s actually part of our lifestyle,” notes Dennis.

Through a company with offices in many parts of the world, these people arrived in Greece and got to know Syros. At this moment there are more than 15 families on the island. They stay for 3 or 6 months, help them find a home and through activities to become members of the local community.

“Most of our customers are from America and Canada. It is enough time for them to feel that just as I live here and you, they too will live here, like locals”, says the manager of the Digital Nomads Management Company, Myrto Mavromati.

In Syros, an educational center has also been created for the children of the digital groups. SKAI was found inside one of these rooms here there are children who are 7 to 10 years old. It is a different way of teaching than what we are used to in Greece. It is a hybrid and innovative teaching system. The children here do maths, English, they also learn a little Greek, but mainly it is experiential, we go on many trips to get to know the island.

“There is an initial introduction to the Greek language, I also teach them a little Greek and more everyday expressions and we encourage them to get in touch with the local community, to develop friendships with children from the island”, says the English teacher, Fotini Komninou.

And the benefits to the local community of the island are very great. They leave a lot of money and this makes this winter in Syros, the capital of the Cyclades, more touristic than ever.

“They leave money, they leave tips a lot. They come and work over here. It supports the local economy immensely. They eat out. They have children, they have families, the island gets its life from this”, states the businessman, Giorgos Prokopis

And it is not only the cafes and restaurants, according to the brokers the digital nomads who go to the area and stay for months rent houses which are closed all winter thus offering the locals a good income even in the heart of winter.

“It clearly has a big impact on our profession as well. We are starting with the rentals, we have rented several houses and of course too many of them, because they live and understand what Syros is, they also make purchases”, states the broker, Evangelos Tsipolitis.

It seems that digital nomads have found their home in Syros.