Episode 26: Reconnecting With My Idyllic Childhood on Syros, Greece

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Karen Lefebvre followed her childhood dream and moved to the idyllic island of Syros, Greece. A chance discovery way back in the 1980s led her parents to an unexpected family stay on the island. Now, prompted by a pandemic, a breakup, wanderlust, and an urge to return to the simple Mediterranean life she experienced as a teen, Karen finds herself harvesting olives, pressing oil, and happily renovating a new home on the very same island that stole her heart all those decades ago.
“I wake up and I do some exercises on the balcony, get my sunshine, my morning sunshine, and then I do some yoga, have my breakfast, and then I will go into town and gather whatever I need or pay whatever bills I need to…. Then I'll head down for a swim at about anywhere between 2 p.m. to 4 .pm. And I'll spend an hour or so down there swimming and chatting with my friends, come back up, have something to eat, and then in the evening, I'll get back to doing some work or go to some kind of performance, meet some friends, have some friends over. Yeah, that's a pretty typical day for me.”
Karen’s life on Syros is a long way removed from the typical stressful worker’s life she had back in Austin, Texas. But as the saying goes, ‘Leap, and a net shall appear’.
Read her full article in the May 2023 issue of International Living Magazine.
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Chapters

1. Episode 26: Reconnecting With My Idyllic Childhood on Syros, Greece (00:00:00)

2. Back to The Future, Or At Least Back To 1985—Falling for A Greek Island (00:01:58)

3. Starting A Family Tradition—Summers in Greece (00:06:11)

4. ‘The Greek People Are Welcoming and Friendly. The Hospitality is Amazing.’ (00:12:16)

5. Leaving the U.S. & Moving to Syros During a Pandemic (00:14:35)

6. Does Syros Have an Active Expat Community? (00:19:39)

7. Cost of Living on Syros (00:22:34)

8. Weather and Climate in Syros (00:23:16)

9. Yoga, Swimming, Work: A Typical Day for Me on Syros (00:24:54)

10. Renovating A New Home—‘It’s Magical’ (00:26:33)

11. Cats, Travel, and Plans for the Long-Term Future (00:31:12)