From a summer destination people visit TO a place they choose to build a life, a business and a long-term base.
For decades, Greece was the summer destination: the islands, the coastline, the food, the light and a slower pace of life.
Today, Greece is increasingly being considered not only as a place to spend a holiday or own a second home, but as a potential base for international business, investment and family life.
Recent developments have brought this into sharper focus. In September 2026, Bloomberg reported that hedge fund founder Chris Rokos was moving his tax residency to Greece and would establish an office in Athens. The Financial Times also reported plans by Millennium Management, a global investment firm managing more than $97 billion, to open an Athens office.These are significant signals. They suggest that Greece is beginning to attract interest beyond tourism and traditional property investment, reaching into the world of international finance and professional services.
But is Greece becoming the new Dubai?
Perhaps the more interesting question is whether it is becoming something different altogether.
Beyond tax: why Greece, and why now?
Tax policy is an important part of the story. Greece has introduced specific regimes designed to attract foreign tax residents, including qualifying high-net-worth individuals, overseas pensioners and certain professionals relocating for employment or business. More recent measures have also sought to attract investment professionals and encourage a greater business presence in the country.
For some individuals, these incentives can make a meaningful difference to the financial case for relocating. Eligibility, however, depends on the applicable rules and each person’s circumstances as a move to Greece is not automatically more tax-efficient for everyone.
Of course tax alone does not explain the broader appeal. People who have the freedom to choose where they live are making decisions according to several factors. They consider the location of their businesses, the accessibility of international markets, the education and wellbeing of their families, the environment in which they want to spend their time, and the quality of life their wealth can support.
Greece brings several of these considerations together.
As an EU and eurozone member, it provides a European base. Its geographical position connects Europe with the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, while Athens offers an increasingly extensive network of international air connections. For internationally mobile individuals, business owners and families, this connectivity matters. It allows Greece to be considered as a base from which to maintain international relationships, rather than simply a place to withdraw from them.
The Mediterranean climate offers long periods of outdoor living, access to the sea, and a lifestyle built around food, culture and social connection. For families that usually spend much of the year indoors in colder climates, this can represent a meaningful change in how daily life is experienced.
The appeal is not simply the weather. It is what the weather makes possible.
Athens is changing, too
A country cannot attract long-term residents on lifestyle alone. People who intend to establish a permanent base need good infrastructure, housing, services, transport and places where they can work, live and raise a family.
This is where the transformation of Athens becomes particularly relevant.
The Ellinikon, the redevelopment of the former Athens airport, represents one of the most ambitious urban regeneration projects in Europe. It is bringing together residential communities, a metropolitan park, commercial and leisure destinations, sports facilities, a marina and new public spaces along the Athens Riviera.
Developments such as Riviera Tower, Little Athens, Riviera Galleria and the wider sports and park infrastructure are part of a much broader change in how Athens is experienced and how it may function in the future. The first residents in the new residential developments are expected to arrive from early 2027, according to the project’s latest official announcements.
The Ellinikon is not the whole story of Greece’s development, of course, but a highly visible example of how the country is investing in the places and infrastructure that can support a more international way of living.
For Greece to sustain this momentum, these ambitions will need to translate into high-quality delivery, reliable infrastructure and places that work not only for international newcomers, but also for the people who already live here.
From destination to home base
Perhaps Greece is becoming more than a tourist destination. The recent interest from international investment firms, the evolution of its tax framework and the transformation of Athens suggest that the country’s role in the international landscape may be changing.
Whether Greece ultimately becomes a major global hub on the scale of Dubai remains to be seen. That will depend on sustained investment, infrastructure, business activity and the country’s ability to turn international interest into lasting value.
Greece may not need to become the next Dubai. It may simply need to become the best version of itself.
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