Best Cities in Greece
AthensAthens and Thessaloniki are compared across affordability, safety, healthcare, career, culture and food, and public life. Athens has the broader all-round edge, while Thessaloniki leads on affordability. The better fit depends on which of those relocation priorities matters most.
How they compare
- Athens
- Thessaloniki
Objective 0–100 scores from source-backed CrossBorders data. Green marks the category leader; gold is the overall leader.
Category by category
Is Athens or Thessaloniki cheaper to live in?
Thessaloniki has the lower open-market one-bedroom rent on a new lease, at about €554 per month, compared with €735 in Athens. Against one typical employee's mean net pay, Athens is sharing likely at roughly 62%, while Thessaloniki is sharing likely at roughly 50%.
Is Athens or Thessaloniki safer?
Thessaloniki edges ahead (71 to 68). Serious violent crime is very rare in both cities; the real nuisance everywhere is pickpocketing in busy tourist and transit areas, on par with Rome or Barcelona.
Does Athens or Thessaloniki have better healthcare?
A tie at 63 — solid but not standout in either city, with plentiful doctors and decent English availability, sitting behind Berlin and a notch under Lisbon on overall system depth.
Is Athens or Thessaloniki better for your career?
Athens leads (57 to 49), with somewhat stronger pay and a modest tech base, although its local market remains shallow and unemployment high. Thessaloniki is narrower still, so both cities work best for people bringing in remote or external income.
Does Athens or Thessaloniki have a better food and culture scene?
Athens edges ahead narrowly (74 to 72), its museums and ancient sites unmatched, though Thessaloniki holds a strong local claim as Greece's best eating city, with a restaurant scene locals argue outdoes the capital's.
Does Athens or Thessaloniki have better public spaces and street life?
Athens leads (61 to 58) — both cities wear visible grime and neglected upkeep openly, but Athens's ancient agoras and walkable central squares edge out Thessaloniki's, whose long seafront promenade and Aristotelous Square are still genuine free assets.
The verdict
Choose Athens for the broader all-round balance, especially if healthcare matters most. Choose Thessaloniki if affordability matters more. Compare their rent burden and day-to-day strengths before deciding.
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