Desiree: six months on Hydra, six months in Sydney

A woman looks at photos of Hydra harbour, a donkey on a cobbled lane and Sydney Harbour, for half the year in each

Checked 26 October 2026, re-checked monthlyBy the Retirees Abroad teamGeneral information only, how we check

The story in short

Desiree, a Sydney artist who came from South Africa in 1986 and was widowed about ten years ago, splits her year: about six months on the Greek island of Hydra and six in Sydney, near her family. She teaches and exhibits in both places, the Greek Herald reported in September 2024.

Based on reporting by Greek Herald: Meet three ladies who dared to leave Down-Under for Greek island bliss (13 September 2024). This story is not affiliated with Retirees Abroad. We share it as one example of how an Australian went about it. Figures are theirs, as reported at the time.

The facts, as reported

Who
Desiree, on their own
From
Sydney (born in South Africa)
Where
Hydra, Greece, and Sydney
How
Part of the year
The house
Not stated; she has studios in both Hydra and Sydney
Income
Not stated; she is a working artist
How it turned out
Spends about half of each year on Hydra and half in Sydney, near her family

How it came about

A woman paints grey and blue island houses in watercolour at an easel, for an artist’s life on Hydra
Illustration: painting on the island.

Desiree first went to Greece in 1982, and it changed her. She kept going back. She moved to Sydney from South Africa in 1986 and works as an artist. Her husband died about ten years before the story ran. As she told the Greek Herald, “I always knew I’d end up in Greece.”

Now she lives about six months of each year on the island of Hydra, near Athens, and the other six in Sydney with her family close by.

What it costs them

A calendar split in two with a Greek boat and a gum leaf, and two keys on a ring, for six months in each country
Illustration: two homes, six months each.

The article gives no figures. It doesn’t say what she pays for a place on Hydra, what she earns from her art, or how she gets the right to stay six months in Greece. It does say she teaches and exhibits from studios in both places.

Keeping two homes means paying for both, even in the months she’s away. Our guide to two bases sets out what that involves, and our Greece page gives our own estimate of a month in Athens.

What went well

Two women talk over small cups of coffee at a cafe table, for long conversations on a Greek island
Illustration: long talks over coffee.

Greece feeds her work. She loves its history and myths and the cool greys and blues of the islands. She describes Greek people as passionate and sociable, natural philosophers, and values the long, deep conversations. Her work has been shown at a cultural centre on Hydra and in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Europe, the UK and Mexico. She says living between a young country and an ancient one excites her as an artist.

What was hard

A woman waves from an airport arrivals rail beside her suitcase, for coming home to family in Sydney
Illustration: back to family in Sydney.

The article doesn’t say. Her family lives in Australia, and the half of the year in Sydney keeps her near them. That is part of what a split year is for.

What has changed since

  • Six months away and the Age Pension. The article doesn’t say whether Desiree gets the Age Pension. For anyone who does, Services Australia says the Age Pension keeps paying overseas. Since 20 September 2026, the Pension Supplement stops after 12 weeks away (it used to be 6). After 26 weeks, the rate can be reduced if you lived in Australia less than 35 years between age 16 and pension age. Six months is right on that 26-week line. Our guide to the 6, 12 and 26 week rules explains each step.
  • Staying six months in Greece. Smartraveller says Australians can stay 90 days in any 180 across the Schengen area, which includes Greece. Unless you hold an EU passport, longer stays need a permit, such as Greece’s financially independent person permit, which asks for 3,500 euros a month (about A$5,880). The article doesn’t say how Desiree does it.
  • Health cover. Greece has no reciprocal health care agreement with Australia, and Medicare doesn’t pay for care overseas. Our guide to travel insurance for long stays covers cover for months at a time.

What to take from it

  • Retirement doesn’t have to mean moving for good. Desiree’s year has two halves, and the Sydney half keeps family close.
  • She knew Greece for decades before she settled into this pattern.
  • A split year has its own rules. The length of each stay overseas can change your pension and decides which visa you need, so the calendar is worth planning first.
  • Work you can do in both places, like her art, gives each half of the year a purpose.

The rules their story touches

  • How long you can stay overseasHow long can pensioners travel overseas? What changes for your Age Pension, card, home, Medicare, visa and insurance at 2 to 52 weeks away.
  • The 6, 12 and 26-week rulesYour Age Pension keeps paying overseas. What changes at 6, 12 and 26 weeks, updated for 20 September 2026, so you can plan a winter away around it.
  • Travel insurance over 70Travel insurance for over 70s: what changes at 70, 75 and 80, pre-existing conditions, trip caps on long stays, and what to compare. Checked October 2026.
  • Medicare overseasNo, Medicare never pays for treatment overseas. The 11 reciprocal agreement countries (none in Asia), and the 5 year rule for care on visits home.

The place

  • GreeceA Mediterranean base with a social security agreement behind your pension. At the end of 2025, 9,187 people were being paid the Age Pension there.

Sources

General information only, not financial, tax, legal, migration or insurance advice. Rules change: check the official source before you act, and talk to a licensed professional about your own situation.

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