Original subtitles

This view is priceless.

[narrator] Imagine a world of bargain dream real estate.

Just $41,000.

What? This is unheard of for the States.

Global destinations.

-Bonjour. -I'm gonna embarrass myself.

[laughs] Fromagerie.

I love it! Great way to meet your neighbors.

-Yeah. -Yeah.

-This architecture is amazing. -[bell tolling]

And local expert know-how.

The cost of this in the States...

I think it would be double for sure.

The cost of living here is so much more affordable than the U.S.

It is definitely a bargain.

Thank you!

You can afford to live your dream...

Whoo! [laughs]

I can't believe this is going to be my new home.

...at a price you never thought possible.

You did incredible!

This is exactly what we came all this way for.

[seagulls squawking]

[Andreas] Look at this view, right?

[Anna] Yeah, it's unreal.

-[Andreas] How the sun just hits the water. -[Anna laughs]

-[Andreas] So nice. -[Anna] So pretty.

Can you imagine waking up to this every day?

-It's gonna be gorgeous. -Yeah.

Crete, the largest of the Greek islands,

a place of jaw-dropping beauty.

Even though it's just an hour's flight

from the Greek capital, Athens,

homes here are up to 40% cheaper,

because the island is less developed.

And you can still find a bargain dream home

for 150,000 US dollars.

I turned 30 this year,

and I realized that my entire life,

um, especially being the oldest of four girls.

I love the job of big sister, but I realized that it made me

choose everyone else before me.

And when I hit 30, I said, "What am I doing?"

I came to Crete for vacation a few months ago,

absolutely fell in love with it.

So I just packed my things into two suitcases

and moved to Greece.

Yeah, the view's so pretty.

I wish there were some pretty men to look at.

I'm sure we'll find some.

On this journey with me, I've got my best friend,

Andreas, and I brought him along

because he's got an eye for detail.

Anna sees the dream, but I see the problems.

I'm the one who keeps her on her feet, you know,

because it's my, uh, holiday home.

Finding Anna a bargain home 6,000 miles from Tennessee,

needs someone who knows the island inside out.

[Dion] So, Crete, there is still

a lot of great opportunities to be had.

Of course, there's developed parts of Crete,

very close to the airport.

But because the infrastructure is improving,

it's easier to get away from the airport,

where the better deals are to be made.

-Hi, guys. -[Anna] Hi.

Hiyah.

[Dion] So welcome to Crete.

It has, of course, gorgeous mountains,

beautiful sea, but why have you chosen to be here?

So I'm looking for a much slower,

more relaxed pace of life.

[clicks tongue] Yeah, she's not a city girl.

I'm a city boy, but fortunately,

she's not a city girl.

-She can visit you in Athens. -[Anna] Yeah.

-Or I'll visit her. -Yes.

-Perfect, right? -Yeah.

Nice.

[Anna] I run a business with my dad and my aunt.

I have a digital nomad resident permit where I work remotely,

and I'm able to stay here and renew it every two years.

-Super. Very smart. -[Anna] Yeah.

[Dion] So just to talk money real quick,

what's the budget here? -[Andreas] Mm-hmm.

Where -- what are you comfortable with?

$120,000 cash.

I can go up to $200,000 with a mortgage to top it off.

It's really important to me that my dollar stretches

a little further than what it did in Tennessee.

My new home needs to have two bedrooms, a great outdoor

living space, sea view, and a really nice kitchen.

I love to cook.

All I need now is the perfect house and the perfect guy.

[clicks tongue] I'll be in Crete forever.

-Let's find it. -Yeah, let's do it.

Giving up a lease on a rental apartment in Nashville

to buy into the dream is pretty bold.

But Crete has an exceptionally low cost of living,

stretches 160 miles from west to east,

takes just 12 hours to drive around,

and has 300 days of sunshine a year.

It's an adventurer's paradise.

[Anna] So, Dion, this is a really important question.

-[Dion] Yep. -I've not seen a lot of eye candy yet.

Where can I find the men?

Oh.

You know it's olive harvest season, eh?

-Ah, OK. -So all the -- the strong men,

they're in the fields right now... -Ooh.

...gathering the olives, so.

Ooh!

We'll find some along the way, yeah.

-Perfect. -Yes.

Anna's search for a Greek bargain and the man

of her dreams begins on the eastern side of the island,

in Nofalias.

A tiny mountaintop village with a tiny population.

With the average price of a two-bedroom apartment

in Nashville being around $300,000,

this traditional stone cottage is a steal.

So the price of this property is 149,000 US dollars.

Because it's not discovered by tourism,

and it's the actual local Cretan village life,

it has this price. It's real value for money.

[Anna] Oh, my gosh. I could never afford this

if it was in Nashville.

It looks beautiful from the outside.

I can't wait to see what's inside.

It looks great, but it's also a bit remote.

That's what I want to know. Is this too remote?

Is this the right amount of remote?

That's what we're here to find out.

-[Andreas] So exciting. -[Anna] Me too.

OK, this is so cute.

Oh, my gosh.

I'm not gonna lie, it feels really cute.

[Andreas] I don't know, Anna.

Like, look at the windows.

I can see the mountains.

This is incredible.

At 893 square feet, the main feature of the house

is the kamara, a stone arch traditional

in older Cretan homes.

This bargain house comes with a fitted kitchen,

two bathrooms, two bedrooms,

and a terrace with sea views.

[Anna] I love this traditional archway.

It feels very old Crete, which is really cool.

Yeah, this is cool, but it's also dangerous.

I mean, imagine coming down at night wanting a glass of water.

You may hit your head like...

-I don't know. -...going into the kitchen. Heaven.

I don't know, maybe.

-OK. So... -[Andreas] Hmm.

Do you think this is the primary?

[Andreas] That's a good question.

It's a little bit small.

Yeah, it's not necessarily as spacious I always like.

Maybe this isn't the primary.

So, we'll see.

-Oh my gosh, this is so cute. -[Andreas] OK -- yeah.

-[Anna] This feels more open, right? -[Andreas] This is cute, OK.

[Anna] Yeah.

I would maybe wanna get --

I don't know if you could fit a bigger bed, but I would try.

I love this, this is adorable.

Ooh -- yeah, that's a nice view.

-That's so pretty. -Cute church there.

[Anna] Yeah, peaceful.

It's a little quiet out here.

I think if I'm gonna be building my life and maybe,

you know, meeting some people,

I might need to be a little bit closer to civilization.

I agree with her on that.

And I think she does need to be near...

men.

That's my matchmaker right there.

He's gonna make sure I find one.

-OK. -There's no way.

I mean, come on.

-OK. -There's no way.

-I mean, come on. -[laughs]

[Anna] The shower is not a bad size.

-This is -- -Can you sit on the toilet

without being -- -Look, I could --

And...

-Mnh-mnh. -[Anna laughs]

Mnh-mnh.

So now is the moment of truth. Give it to me straight.

-[Anna] So loved the windows. -[Dion] Mm-hmm.

I love the outdoor living space.

-It was really beautiful. And the view, incredible. -[Dion] Yeah -- yeah.

The bathrooms were a bit small.

So, having seen this, does this change

anything moving forward?

Yeah, I think I've seen what the low end of my budget

can get, and I'm not knocking it at all.

This is a beautiful home, but I think for the modern

style I want and maybe a little bit more space... -[Dion] Mm-hmm.

...probably I have to go to the higher end of my budget.

-All right, fair enough. -[Anna] OK.

-Let's have a look. -[Anna] Let's do it.

-Yeah. -[Andreas] Yeah.

The bathrooms may have been just too small

for six-foot tall Anna.

Upping her budget will, however, give Dion

a wider selection of larger homes to show her.

Time for a sundowner in style.

You know, usually I'm a tequila girl,

but we're in Crete, so we should have raki, Yeah?

-Sounds good. -You want to try it?

-[Anna] Yeah, let's try it. -Perfect.

[Andreas] Your new life now, Anna. Enjoy it.

-To Crete. -To your new life.

-Yamas. -Yamas.

-It's really nice. -Wow, very good.

-Exactly what we needed. -I know.

It's a new morning and a brand new day

of house hunting on Crete.

-[Anna] So where are we headed? -[Dion] All right.

We are going now

to a special village,

much bigger than yesterday.

So tell me a little bit.

You're now here for a little while.

-It's getting real. -[Anna] Yeah.

So this process of finding a home to purchase

and actually... -Yep.

-...do it. -Yep.

It's really overwhelming, it is,

but I really feel in my heart that this is home

and it's time for me to... -[Dion] Mm-hmm.

...you know, set my roots

and get building, yeah. -Absolutely.

It's a choice, right?

It's a good choice.

Next stop, covering just over nine-and-a-half square miles,

the largest village on Crete, Kritsa.

It's just six miles west of the coast.

House prices here are cheaper

than the island's beachside homes,

but a little higher than villages further inland.

I know this lovely spot down here.

There's some music sometimes.

[Anna] OK. Yeah, this is awesome.

It kind of reminds me of Nashville,

there's music everywhere.

[playing traditional Cretan music]

♪♪

[clapping]

-Bravo! -Bravo!

[speaking Greek]

This is exactly what I pictured when I thought of moving

to a Greek island. I love this little street.

-The church is right there. -[Dion] Yep, here we are.

-[Anna] Oh, my gosh! [Andreas] Oh!

[Anna] Is it this whole building?

It is the whole thing. And have a look at the view.

-[Andreas] Come on. -[Dion] Gorgeous, right?

-[Anna] That's stunning. -[Dion] Yeah.

If you feel like I have to get out tonight, it's only

15 minutes away from Agios.

The price is 214,000 US dollars.

[Anna] That price is insane!

-I can't wait to go see it. -Yeah.

[Dion] All right.

Built in 2008, this 700-square-foot

modern village house is within walking distance

of all the essentials.

Something of a similar size in Nashville could cost

between $400,000 and $700,000.

Oh, my gosh!

-Oh. -This is, like,

really spacious, actually.

-[Andreas] This is cute. -[Anna] It's so cute.

[Andreas] And it is spacious.

I love that I'm just, like, standing here

in my kitchen, and I can see

that view. -[Andreas] We have a view outside.

[Anna] Yeah, this is insane!

This modern village house has an open-plan

living room and kitchen,

two bedrooms, a bathroom, and two terraces.

Oh my gosh.

This is so cute.

-[Andreas] That is nice. -I -- [clicks tongue]

-Oh wait -- well -- -[Andreas] Is this the primary?

[Anna] I don't know.

-[Andreas] Maybe it is. -[Anna] But that's insane.

I mean, just having that view is --

[Andreas] Waking up and seeing that view...

-[Anna] Yeah -- yeah. -...it's great.

[Anna] Oh, this is really cute too.

-It's very similar. -[Andreas] Oh.

I like that they both have this view.

-I mean, that's just unreal. -[Andreas] I can't.

So that might be my guest room, AKA your room.

-Exactly, yeah. -But let's look around.

Oh my gosh. This is a view.

-This is -- -[Andreas] Yeah.

The view is spot on.

You can see the church. I'm obsessed with that church.

You can see the sea, all the mountains.

That's one of my favorite things about Crete,

is all the mountains. -Also, you can see

the olive trees. Maybe you find some farmers

or hot men working. -Yeah.

[laughs]

And I guess when you come visit, once I decide I'm ready

to talk to you, we can just meet out here.

-Fine by me, I don't mind. -This is insane.

It's a beautiful home.

The one thing I'm looking for in a bathroom,

if it's possible, and it has been

really hard in Greece is to find a bathtub,

and it can't just be any bathtub,

because I'm six-feet tall.

It's not like a need, but it would be

really, really nice.

Oh my god!

-[Andreas] Oh! -That's awesome.

I really like this. Like, it's --

[Andreas] This is good, this is -- I think, this is

the selling point for the house. -[Anna] Yeah.

I think I might actually really like this property.

-I don't know, I didn't -- -[Andreas] Yeah.

I didn't expect this.

-This pretty much nailed it. -Yeah.

When moving to a new country,

speaking the language goes a long way.

-Do you -- do you hear that? -[speaking Greek]

-There's a guy selling fruit. -Oh, my gosh!

Hi. [chuckles]

[Anna speaking Greek]

[Andreas] Are you gonna buy some?

I think so. I think I have to, yeah?

[Anna and vendor speaking in Greek]

-How many are you gonna get? -Um, I'm just gonna get two.

-I don't need that many. -OK.

-[Anna] That looks good, yeah? -[Andreas] Yeah.

[Anna and vendor speaking Greek]

-[Andreas] That was fun. -[Anna] That was fun.

Impromptu, love that. Who needs a supermarket

when you got a man in a van?

[Dion] So, guys, what do you think?

-I'm honestly really impressed. -Yeah.

It's a lot of my boxes, for sure.

There's more space.

Um, I like the layout of it a lot better.

Obviously, you killed it with the jacuzzi.

All right, so let's talk budget.

The asking price is 214,000 US dollars.

[Anna] That's an incredible price.

-[Dion] Your budget is $200,000? -[Anna] Yeah.

-Look, budget wise, we're very close. -[Anna] Yeah.

I feel we can even, like, get there,

like, fully in budget. -OK.

-We're gonna give it a try at least. -OK.

-Let's talk strategy after we've seen all the properties. -[Anna] OK.

And then we'll -- we'll see how we can use

all of that and have this conversation

with the seller. -Yeah, that sounds great.

In Crete, there's something for all budgets,

from whitewashed cottages to five-star splendor.

Driven by foreign investment, and a new infrastructure,

the property market is booming

and is predicted to keep rising.

[Anna] A cat. [laughs]

How cute.

Yeah, you're gonna see a lot of cats, I guess.

Yeah.

I love cats.

You know the little yayas that walk around

with the bags of food? That's gonna be me.

-Exactly. -Except I'm 30 years old.

Next stop, the upscale town of Elounda,

the Beverly Hills of Crete.

11 miles north of Kritsa,

this is where Greeks come to spend their money.

It's aspirational, and for Dion a chance to show Anna

how much bang she can get for a bit more buck.

[Dion] So we're in Elounda now.

Gorgeous village, as you can see.

And now we are really in a high-end village

with stunning views. -[Anna] Yeah.

All right. So here we are.

-To get everything on your wishlist... -Mm-hmm.

...we have to really maximize a little bit the budget

that you gave me. -OK.

And it has a bath.

-[gasps] -[gasps]

So just hold that for one second, because the price

is 342,000 US dollars.

OK. All right.

When I think about what I could get in Tennessee

for $342,000 versus this view,

-I mean, just the drive up was amazing. -Yeah -- yeah, yeah.

-We'll see -- -Yeah, we'll see

if it's worth it. -Yeah.

-[Anna laughs] -All right. Let's have a look.

-[Anna] OK. -[Andreas] OK.

This 1,290 square-foot wildcard home

is just moments from the beach.

Being in the center of a bustling community,

all essentials are on the doorstep.

A house of similar size in Nashville

could cost between 600,000 and 700,000 US dollars.

Oh, wow. [chuckles]

-[Andreas] Oh. -This is so cute.

-And look, it's like -- -Another arch.

Yeah, yeah. It's like the house in Nofalias.

-Yeah, exactly. -But I love this.

Like, ugh.

-This one feels a little bit more modern than that one. -[Andreas] Mm-hmm.

[Anna] I think it's because there's more space here

and more separation between the kitchen and the dining area,

which I'm obsessed with. -Yeah.

I like this little built-in right here -- oh!

It's a --

I mean...

do you think this is the primary?

[Anna] Yeah, do you think this is supposed to be my room?

OK.

-[Andreas] Do you wanna try it? -[Anna] I think I do.

I mean, there's a cute little cubby hole, but I think, um...

Oh, you do actually fit.

-Oh, my God. -It's a little tight.

I don't know that I can really --

-I can't fit here. -It's a bit high too.

So if I wanted to like, I don't know, stretch

in the morning. -[laughs]

No, so maybe this isn't the primary room.

Maybe this is for the kids.

I don't know -- yeah, the kids.

-My niece and nephew, yeah, OK. -OK, yeah.

This charming village house

has a kitchen-diner, living room,

two bathrooms,

and three bedrooms across two floors.

-This is so cute. -[Andreas] OK.

Downstairs is definitely not the primary.

[Andreas chuckles] Yeah.

-[Anna] This is so open. -[Andreas] Maybe this is the primary.

-[Anna] Yeah, I would think so. -It's really nice.

[Anna] You're definitely not getting this room, babe.

-[Andreas] It's cute. -[Anna] It's cozy, but it's open

and the windows and I mean. -[Andreas] It's really nice.

Don't hate that view.

Found the bathroom.

Look, there's the bath I asked for.

-Oh, OK. -It looks long.

I kind of want to test it out and see if I can fit in there.

-[Andreas] Do it. -Yeah, I'm gonna do it.

Ooh!

You know, I think --

I think I may -- ooh! -[Andreas laughs]

Whoo!

-I think I prefer the jacuzzi. -[Andreas] Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. [laughs]

This would be good for the kids, though.

The main selling point of this beautiful home

is the spectacular terrace.

[Anna] Can you imagine waking up to that every day?

-[Andreas] Amazing. It's so beautiful. -[Anna] Yeah.

-[Andreas] Yeah, I guess there's a lot to think about. -[Anna] Yeah.

All right, so what do we think?

-It's a beautiful house. It really is. -It is.

[Anna] It's got a lot of charm to it, it's very whimsical.

I get it. I get why it's the price it is.

I did not want to walk outside.

I -- I wanted to leave you here and just sit

and look at the view for the rest of the day. -Yeah, amazing.

-[Dion] Yeah. -The view is stunning.

-It's amazing. -[Dion] Yeah -- yeah.

So we've looked at three properties in three different

price categories.

And so you really can make a well-informed decision.

Yeah, you've given me a lot to think about.

I'm -- I'm overwhelmed.

I couldn't have asked for a better,

hard decision to make.

♪♪

[Andreas] So I think we have some decisions to make.

We have some decisions to make?

Well, it's about my bedroom, too, you know?

-OK, whatever you say. -[Andreas] OK.

Uh, let's talk about the property in Nofalias.

[Anna] The bathrooms are just a no-go for me.

Like, I'm having flashbacks as we speak.

-Also, it was a little dark. -It was dark, yeah.

-I think that one's a no for me. -[Andreas] OK.

Then what about the one we saw now?

-The luxury one. -[Anna] Yeah, I mean, it was fabulous.

It is a lovely home, but I think it makes more

of a vacation home rather than a home-home.

OK, well, that leaves us the one in, uh, Crete.

[Anna] Absolutely love the home in Kritsa.

I mean, it just -- it felt like a home, and it didn't feel like

I would have to do a lot of work for it.

-That jacuzzi. -Yeah.

-[Anna] And I -- -That was chef's kiss.

[Anna] It was just beautiful, and I loved the village as well.

I would bring a little Tennessee here,

and I would put some rocking chairs out front.

So I think that would be cute, and it would be --

So American.

So, I mean, what do you want from me?

[speaking Greek]

So my big news is I have officially settled

on the island.

The house in Kritsa checked so many boxes,

but ultimately, because I love to cook, the kitchen just

wasn't big enough for me.

My forever home has to be just right,

and I didn't feel that 100% in that house.

I found a perfect long-term rental.

I'm absolutely loving my life here.

OK, so this is my house.

This is my living room.

Here's my kitchen.

This is my bedroom.

And the best part is I have a guest room for Andreas.

I also stay pretty busy feeding the local cats.

I think I have like ten babies now. [laughs]

Yeah.

So the search for my perfect home continues.

And my perfect man.