How and why ALX.GR was created

It's strange how human habit works. When you live permanently in a place, no matter how beautiful it is, at some point the landscape around you just becomes the background of your routine. You walk beside the sea and forget to look at it. You pass by the beautiful spots and your gaze "catches" spontaneously only on the flaws: the traffic and the state of the roads, the litter, the lack of greenery, on whatever is missing or whatever projects you feel are dragging on.

And that's completely normal. Of course it's reasonable to demand constant improvements in your everyday life. The criticism and the "grumbling" don't come from ill will, but from the fact that we care about our home and we're anxious to see it better.

I was born and raised in Alexandroupoli. And to be completely honest, for many years I had exactly the same attitude. My city felt like something to be taken for granted, and harsh criticism was the easiest - maybe the only - reaction.

And then, I left.

For the past 8 years I lived and worked in Brussels. There, amid the fast pace and grey skies, living thousands of kilometres from home, the distance worked like a mirror. In fact, the idea of ALX.GR existed in my mind for all those 8 years.

This change within me began, timidly, during those summers I came back for a few weeks of holiday. Freed from the stress of living there permanently, I started seeing Alexandroupoli not through the lens of routine, but with the clear eyes of someone who misses their home. I realised the enormous value of its light, the breath of the Thracian Sea, the quality of life it offers, the warmth of its people, and above all, its huge, untapped potential.

I understood how unfair it was to dwell only on the negatives, when we have in our hands a place with so much promise.

When I finally made the decision to return for good, to keep working but now from my own city, I came back with a promise to myself: to keep that clear-eyed view alive. The idea that had been maturing inside me for 8 whole years, the time had come for it to take shape. Instead of only dwelling on what we're missing, I felt the need to turn my love for my hometown into something tangible, something creative. I wanted to lay my own small stone in showcasing our city.

And so, ALX.GR was (finally) born.

Authentic. Local. eXperience.

ALX.GR is a positive local guide to Alexandroupoli and its wider Municipality - its sea, its food, local products, its culture, and the ideas that make the city better. We are not a news site, nor a review or rating platform. We are a space for recommendations: places, flavours, and experiences we believe are worth discovering, presented in a positive and welcoming tone.

It's a platform built to showcase the professionals who work hard every day, our local flavours, and the excellent products of our region. To shine a light on the historic figures and landmark buildings that shaped our identity, our history, our culture, and our sights. And of course, to highlight our natural wealth, from our wonderful beaches to our unique habitat, even hosting a dedicated, complete database of the marine life hidden in our waters.

But the most important part of it is tomorrow. Instead of dwelling on what's going wrong, here we put forward ideas. Realistic, modern, and creative proposals that can help the city, the Municipality, and local organisations make it even better. A place more attractive to the visitor who wants to discover it, but, most importantly, a city that is more beautiful, greener, and more human for all of us, the locals, who live in it 365 days a year.

Our fellow citizens, the local market, and also the people who work hard every day in the Municipality's services to keep the city running, need positive energy and support. Alexandroupoli needs allies. People who look at it with love, who lend a hand, who propose solutions, and who build tomorrow together.

ALX.GR is under continuous development. What you see today may grow, improve, and adapt based on the feedback and participation of the local community.

Welcome. Let's go see, and build, Alexandroupoli differently.

Dimitris Siskopoulos