Thessaloniki- the city of Love

Today I will share the story about the magical city- Thessaloniki. I lived here two years and after 24 months I decided to present you this city from my perspective.

I came in Thessaloniki to study at City College, Sheffield University MA in Digital Marketing and Social Media. Through that period of time, I met amazing people, fall in love at least five times, gained some weight because of delicious Greek cuisine and create wonderful memories. This experience totally changed me, I think after these two years of living alone abroad, I developed my personality and came out of all this richer for a new experience.

There were a lot of challenges such as cooking, cleaning and all other things that my mom did for me. Because of all these things I like to say that this experience improved me as a person because I became aware of all the obligation that the independent (adult) life represents.

Honestly, when I decided to move abroad to start to live alone, for me the biggest challenge was to fall asleep when I am alone. A lot of people feel ashamed to admit that but when it comes to me I can say It, I don’t have a problem. I am generally a very anxious person and you know what? I made It. I started to sleep, to be relaxed and to not be scared that something bad will happen to me while I am far from my home (family). Most of the people that lived alone abroad can agree with me.

Let’s go back to Thessaloniki.

The first year I spend here at University with a lot of friends from Serbia. We went out, enjoyed in Sea, had a long late walk around the city center, etc. The interesting thing was the fact that all of us gained weight because of Greek cuisine. It’s so tasty, delicious..crazy good. Some of my favorite places are Arc, Brothers in Law, Foul to Meze and Tsuki.

Greeks are adorable, so kind, good people. People from Serbia which finished City College told me that is rare to made Greeks as very good friends. But, I have a different experience. I made very strong friendships which are priceless.

The most beautiful part of living in Thessaloniki is the fact that the first beach is 30 minutes from the city. Halkidiki, heaven on the Earth, is one hour from Thessaloniki. Beaches, beach bars, camping, sunsets, the energy that you can feel here It’s very rare and unique. After a little vacation that we use to make(go for a weekend on Halkidiki), I felt so refreshed, like I charged my batteries and I am ready for the new week.

Studies were difficult but very interesting. The majority of our professors were successful people from huge companies or entrepreneurs. It was an honor to learn from them and actually learn how things work in practice and not just learning by heart. We had opportunities to work on a real project, to make business plans and strategies for companies. Also, we visited some of the successful Greek companies and saw how they are organized.

My Master thesis is: ”The Impact of Digital Influencers in European Fashion Industry”. I did qualitative research, interviews, and my sample included the people that are PR managers of Fashion brands and Digital Marketing Managers (employed in Digital Marketing Agencies) that have clients in the Fashion Industry. This Master dissertation improved my skills and knowledge about the topic.

The only thing that I see as a mistake was the one that I made when I decided to stop with writing and put my blog on sleep mode. I had a professional photographer but I used photos only to create content on Instagram. Petros Petrou was my professional photographer while I was in Thessaloniki. He is an artist. I will bellow share some of his adorable shots.

The second year of my life in Thessaloniki was focused on internships and improving my knowledge in the field of Digital Marketing. I did a few internships and started to study the Greek language in Moder Greek Language School, that is part of Aristotelous University.

My favorite internship was the one that I did in London Makeup Institute where I had the role of Social Media Coordinator My boss was Joanna Mitakidou, one of the most famous Makeup Artist in Greece.

She is an artist with a positive attitude. In LMI, I had the opportunity to learn from the best, to meet adorable Greek models and photographer.

While I was part of LMI I took a part of creating the first book of Joanna Mitakidou ”Behind the Beauty Mirror”.

As well, I want to mention that Thessaloniki is the city of young people and nightlife. I think that I never went out like this in my life. Parties, festivals, fairs, picnics, etc. I was constantly out, drinking coffee, going out, enjoying on the beach, etc.

After two years I left Thessaloniki with tears in my eyes. But, one thing is for sure- I’ll come whenever I can find free time.

Thank you Thessaloniki, and I love you!