# Moving to Thassos with children.



## kath.26 (Apr 11, 2010)

Hi my name is Kath, I'm married to my Greek husband whom is from Thassos, we have two children a boy of 6 years and a girl of 4 years. My husband would like our family to re-locate to Thassos he already has a house ,restaurant (which is closed and didn't really work out when we opened it years ago ) and a car. I have spent a few summers out there but i didn't work. The place is beautiful in summer but seems very boring in winter, as most bars/restaurants and shops are closed. 
The house would need a lot of work at the moment its very basic . My husbands family live in Thassos and i know they would be a big help.

But i have some worries about the move -

> My son will be starting his third year at school in September and my daughter will be starting reception, I'm worried that if we move my children will fall behind as they don't speak Greek (my son struggles a little now and has extra help with reading and writing, he has really come on since) Is extra help like this available in Greek schools.
> What are the schools like? And what hours do they do ?
> I was told the health care system is not very good and it's better to go private, is there an NHS where you don't have to pay for your health care ?
>How do the Greeks celebrate Christmas and New Year ? 
>How do you spend the winter months living on an island, where most of it's closed?
>Would there be work for me i am 26 and will be starting a teaching assistants course in September, i have office admin experience in the uk?
>The clothes on the island seem a bit tacky and expensive , do they have nice shops that are reasonable on the mainland ?
>Is mainland a better place to live with children ie more to do ?

I know i have gone on and on but will the children settle easy, or will the language barrier be a problem ? They have lots of friends in the UK but last year my son tried to play with some Greek children and they didn't seem to want him to play leaving him upset.


There are lots of questions i know, but would like some honest answers as my husband is bias of course it;s his place and he doesn't like the UK.

Hope someone will be able to help. 
Thanks for reading


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## wka (Sep 18, 2009)

Hi Kath,
First of all, welcome to the forum!! 

I don't have children but I do live on a very small Greek island (MUCH smaller than Thassos!) year-round and yes that includes the dead of winter (with my fiance who is Greek)! He is a teacher in the schools (all 3 of them) on the island and perhaps I can give you some insight, based on our experiences of year-round island living, and on his experience teaching in Greek schools, which he has done for a number of years now.

You mention the house - don't underestimate the importance of getting the house fixed up, if not by the time you get there, certainly by winter. Even on our southern Cycladic island, winter is still cold! We were considering moving to Samothrace (an island near Thassos) but the cold winters would mean we would need a very good house. Getting work done on the islands tends to happen in short, quick bursts interspersed by periods of waiting. 

As far as school - all Greek teachers are trained to deal with students whose language is not Greek; luckily children learn languages with amazing speed and it is best for them to learn the language now, rather than later. Undoubtedly they will want to spend a lot of time in Greece over the course of their lives, esp. having a house there, and they will struggle SO MUCH more with the language if they have to learn it later. It took me 8 years to learn Greek as an adult, and now after 11 years of speaking the language I am STILL learning. If my parents had taken me to live there as a child, I would have saved a TON of money on Greek courses over the years!  

What are the schools like? Small island schools are quite different from large island and mainland schools. Grades are often doubled up (1st & 2nd, 3rd & 4th) in the lower grades. There may be some classes with only a few students (my fiance has a class with only 2 students). This can breed a certain laziness on the part of the students which I suppose comes both from not having to compete to stand out in class, and also from their parents' very seasonal lifestyle if their parents or the parents of their peers make their living off of summer (tourism) work. However, the schools are intensely friendly and nurturing, there is zero crime or drugs, etc., and all the teachers know all the students very well. There are fewer resources so your kids may not have all the classes every year. For example, they may not have a music teacher (as an example) on the island for a year - during that year, your kids just won't learn music. The hours are usually until around 2:30 or 3pm although I am not sure because that may vary a bit.

The health care system on the islands is limited to the public health care system. You will probably not have a private option if you are staying on the island for your health care. If you leave the island and go to Thessaloniki or Kavala, you can take advantage of private care. On the islands, there is usually a limited medical facility that is ALWAYS staffed with at least 1 doctor (keep in mind my island is much smaller - Thassos may be significantly better) and they will send you to the mainland as needed. In general, for surgery or something of that nature, you will go to Thessaloniki. The health care system is paid for by your insurer, as in, you must have health insurance. Your husband, if he is self-employed, must pay into the self-employed insurance system so that you can all be insured. If he does not do so, you will be uninsured and that means you will have to pay everything out of pocket both at the private and at the public places. Personally I tend to prefer private (I had to have surgery recently, and I chose a private hospital in Athens) but it is entirely up to you; all doctors in Greece are very well qualified; equipment varies from place to place. 

Christmas and New Year are celebrated here, in I think much the same way. I don't celebrate Christmas myself so I'm not too sure of the differences. I don't think there is anything about these holidays that would put you off. It is a pretty big deal here. Easter (which just happened) is AMAZING in Greece.

Spending the winter months on an island, when most things are closed: good question, and since we just did this, I can answer! The island community contracts greatly, and all those who stay behind become a close-knit community. You find things to do. My fiance spent a lot of time putting on a play at his school and had lots of rehearsals with the kids. He teaches music and he started an adult choir (in addition to the students' choir) which a lot of the local adults joined in and love. We went out to eat at the few places that were open. We spent a lot of time hiking and ENJOYING the quiet island, lots of swimming (not sure how this would go in Thassos in winter), lots of just breathing the wonderful clean air and thanking our lucky stars to live in such a beautiful, peaceful, WONDERFUL place. It was truly amazing and I am dreading the summer! I don't want my island to change!!  You will fall in love with the simpler, gentler pace of winter island life. But if Thassos is anything like our island, get some dehumidifiers.

Work: as a teaching assistant, as in, working in an actual Greek school, I think it would be quite unlikely. Well, practically impossible. I think you need to forget about working in a Greek school. It is not practical for you. But you could teach English. Office admin on a small island - maybe, who knows... if you don't speak Greek (I'm not sure about this, as you don't mention it) you will have a much harder time. My experience with small island life is that everything is family-run and they are not going to hire outsiders unless for the summer. It is very hard for them to make ends meet as it is, paying an outsider and their insurance and all the rest is just asking a lot.

Clothing: our island doesn't sell clothes at all in the winter. We just brought whatever we wanted from Athens/home and wear that. There's no need to be buying clothes when you live on a small island. I'm sure that there are not only no stores to buy them, but no extra money floating around for people to want to buy them. But yes, on the mainland there are tons of great clothing stores, this is not a problem. I would just recommend bringing clothes with you (including warm winter clothes).

As for your last question, island vs. mainland for children - I'm not a parent, so I don't know, I really can't answer that. I know that my fiance's children are getting a great education, tiny class size, lots of individual attention, no negative influences, great community support. Once they get older (high school age), I'm not sure anymore. I would be worried about the lack of tutoring opportunities if they want to go to a Greek university (Greek university entrance exams are notoriously difficult and most take extra tutoring classes that are not available on the islands).

As far as language goes, it's not usually much of a barrier for children. Your children will learn Greek very quickly (much faster than an adult) and they will make friends, as on the islands there are so few kids in the winter that they will welcome any new potential friends! 

I wish you luck in your decision


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## wka (Sep 18, 2009)

Okay, I've been thinking a bit and wanted to add a few more thoughts!

Keep in mind that in the off-season, the island's economy functions to support its permanent population, and that means that you will not be able to find any specialist types of products that may be available in the summer. I had to bring whole wheat pasta and whole grain rice from Athens, because on the island, only white pasta and white rice were available. I couldn't find some condiments that I usually buy in Athens, so I brought those as well. Certain things you will learn to do without, other things you learn to bring with you. One of the hardest parts for me personally was that my island is very barren and not exactly well stocked in local produce, and the only produce is brought in on the not-so-frequent boats, so I had to make do with really meagre and not very appetizing fresh vegetables and fruits. Sometimes the ONLY fresh produce available on the island were tomates, potatoes, onions, and lemons. But again, my island is MUCH smaller and more remote (by far) than Thassos.

Our island, tiny though it is, has an electrician and a plumber year round, but I suppose this is just our good luck. There is also a pharmacy and a clinic with 2 (although now just 1) doctors. There is no dentist on the island so we have to leave for that. The next island over to ours doesn't have a pharmacy, so the clinic stocks the basics, and the pharmacist from one of the nearby islands takes phone orders and brings stuff over a few times/week. As you can see, it is all about careful planning, working together, and doing stuff in advance rather than waiting til the last minute.

We don't even have a bank on our island. We have one ATM but it tends to run out of money in the winter. So, the stores on the island work on a credit system. They keep a ledger and they write down how much you owe. The system works very well but we have not had to use it because we are very careful to take out money regularly and not wait until we have nothing left! Thassos probably does have banks with employees, so this is probably never a problem there, but I don't know, not having ever lived there. I've only been to Thassos once in 2006  

Ferries (transport back to the mainland) is a very big deal on the islands in winter. In Thassos this should not be a big problem at all. Thassos is close to the mainland, and I expect has frequent ferries even in winter. We really struggled in this respect because our island is VERY far from the mainland, and the ferries, already relatively infrequent, got cancelled all the time for bad weather (wind). Where you are is less windy and will probably not have this problem. But it can become expensive. Say that I need to go to the dentist. I take the ferry that leaves on Monday and go to the dentist on Tuesday. The Thursday ferry is cancelled because of weather, so I leave on the next ferry (Saturday). That means that I have to pay for hotels for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights. This didn't happen to me because I have a place to stay in Athens but it can happen if you don't. However, I am just mentioning this as an extreme possibility because I really do not believe that this would be a big deal in Thassos, because of its proximity to the coast.

Well I hope that you can tell from this post that there are some of us out here doing it on even LESS than what Thassos has, and it is WONDERFUL and I would not trade it for the world. It just takes love. I really believe that!


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## kath.26 (Apr 11, 2010)

Hi wka,
Thanks for your reply.Your answers have been a great help ,the school thing was what worried me the most (if they would pick the language up and fit in easily) . We are going to Thassos in May for a baptism - I'm hoping we will be able to arrange a visit for the children. They seem excited about it on one hand but worried about speaking Greek on the other. Unfortunately i only speak very basic Greek, understand a little more thou. There is a Greek school here in Leeds so we are hoping to start them of before we go (my husband would like to go next summer ) so we will enroll the children for this September.
I was really surprised that some Islands live with such little resources - and i was worried about the shops lol. Thassos is pretty much equipped with most essential things other than shops, but mainland is not far. 
Was it hard when you first moved to Greece ? Did you miss your family ? Think my mum would be devastated as were really close, but i really think i see a better future in Greece as a family.
My husband has a restaurant which is closed and has been for 7 years or so, it didn't seem to get much custom as it's set far back from the village. Any ideas what business would be good and could work on the island ? I was a little worried as he worked long hours on the ferries years ago, if he went back to the ferries when we returned i would be the one with the children and fear that i wouldn't be able to help them with home work and studies. 
Would it be likely for me to find work ? and around school hours ? a lot of Greek mothers seem to stay at home.

Thanks for your help


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## trouble (Nov 6, 2009)

Hi Kath, I moved to the island of Skopelos a couple of years' ago when my daughter had just turned 4 so she hadn't been in the UK education system at all. I think this helped her as she had no pre-conceived ideas as to what school would be like. She started kindergarten a week after we moved here and enjoyed it straightaway. She picked up the language quickly and now she's 6 she can read and write as well as speak it fluently.
So that's the good things - on the downside however, now she's at junior school the hours are shorter than they were at kindergarten - she starts at 8.15 and finishes at 12.25. Fortunately my work is computer based and I can do it when she's at school for those few hours and after she's gone to bed!
We have now decided to move to the mainland as not only is most of my husbands work there but there is just not enough on the island for our daughter. If you want to go anywhere on holiday or for a visit you have to factor in the ferry costs and time. 
I would say living on an island is great if you don't want to leave it or you have the money to visit the mainland when you want but it's not for everyone.
Hope you make the right decision for you and your family. Good luck


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## wka (Sep 18, 2009)

Hi Kath,

I think sending your kids to a Greek school is a great idea! Greek is a difficult language for adults to pick up. I know this from first-hand experience AND because I teach Greek (both ancient and modern) to adults now. So ANY chance of learning as a child should really be jumped at! Adult language learning is totally possible - I didn't start learning Greek until I was 18 years old and a first year student at university - but it is the HARD way to do things. I think your kids will really surprise you! Chances are that they will be fluent in a short time, especially with the close-knit community found on the islands. If anything, if I were you I would be looking at this as a positive for your children - becoming truly bilingual is a real blessing for anyone, not just because the language can be "useful," but it is good for brain development to be able to express oneself verbally in more than one language. Most people who were reared bilingual are very grateful for that! Those of us who weren't just wish we had been!

You may be able to take Greek classes as well at the Greek school - many offer programs for adults. My mother (her only connection to Greece is that I live here!) has been taking Greek lessons for the better part of a year through a Greek school in the US. Some of the schools have a lot of community outreach, and if you can get involved in that now, it will be an easier transition. Of course, on the islands, which are used to lots of tourism, there are usually a lot of English speakers around.

You ask some really good questions about leaving home and family. I think they are very important questions. Everyone in a dual-country marriage has to face this, unless one of the partners has no family ties. So just as your husband left his family behind in Thassos to go to the UK, you're facing doing the same thing in the other direction. For me, I'll be honest, I wanted to go to Greece for Greece, not for my fiance - I hadn't even met him yet and wouldn't for quite a few years! I was a fluent Greek speaker when we met the first time!! Since I was going for my OWN motivation and reasons, my parents didn't really understand it. Maybe they would have understood more easily if I were married to someone from here. But as it was, they were pretty convinced that it was a "phase" that I would get over. I think they saw me off to Greece for the first time (6 weeks in the summer of 1999) in the hopes that I would hate it and decide to stay in the USA after that! Of course, the opposite happened....

As it turned out, my mother came to visit me in Greece in 2001. We went to Athens, Paros, Naxos, Crete, Amorgos, and Santorini, and she absolutely fell in love with Greece and has visited I believe 7 times now, most recently in December when we went all over the Peloponnese as well as Naxos and Folegandros. She usually starts planning her next trip to Greece on her flight back to the USA! She has already told me about her plans to visit in September. And as I mentioned before, she is taking Greek classes! So that is one possible outcome - probably the absolute IDEAL outcome, in that my going to Greece actually made my mother VERY happy, happier than she would have been if I had stayed home. My father has never been to visit and I do miss him a great deal.

The answer to your question is that I DO miss my family - I miss them a lot. But I don't suppose I miss them anymore than if I lived in California and they lived in Boston. The fact that I'm in a different country isn't that big of a deal. It might have been a big deal for them at one point, before they "got used to the idea" of Greece being a normal place much like home! Especially when I was on my own, before I met my fiance, they were probably worried a fair amount about me. And I worry about them because of their advanced age and health issues. But I think that's a normal thing that all adult children of aging parents go through. And I really don't think that any of these issues are any different from children living long distances (but still the same country) from their parents. (I realize that this applies more to Americans, Canadians, etc than to people from smaller-sized countries!)

I gather that your husband plans to reopen his restaurant. I know less than nothing about the restaurant business but what I have seen on my little island is that generally speaking it is a business in which you work REALLY long hours for a few months per year, in order to make enough money to spread out over the rest of the year. It's very good, when you have this kind of a living, to have the other partner in a regular year-round job, because sometimes you just don't make as much in 2 months as you need to. And keeping the restaurant open year-round is usually not the solution to this problem. As far as what work you could do - luckily for you, you can work legally in Greece! You can try giving English lessons, there is always demand for that. Almost ALL work in Greece is found once you arrive on the ground and look around, meet people, and hear about people who are looking for someone. Another option could be online work. If there is work you could do online, you could do it from anywhere. 

As for Greek mothers staying home... I've heard that too, but it's not what you see in reality. All Greek mothers that I've ever met, work. Sure, some of them might not work as long hours as before, but they still work. Greece is an expensive to place to live if you're Greek, and providing for 3+ people on 1 salary (when the basic salary is €700/month) is pretty near impossible, so mothers do work.


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## kath.26 (Apr 11, 2010)

Hi trouble and wka,

Thanks for your help. My husband and i are really torn between mainland and Thassos , i haven't spent much time on the mainland but my husband lived there for a few years in Kavala. I love the natural beauty of Thassos but feel that the children and i may get bored in the winter.
My husband say's there are better job prospects on mainland he worked in the airport as a ground worker, and was offered a job in Thessaloniki 4 years ago. 
I think there would be more to do on mainland but we have no house there, i don't think i would like to commit to buying at first .
I will definatley be starting Greek lessons myself with the children and get the ball rolling.
If we were to move to the mainland which is the better place ?. Is there a place which is populated with English speakers?
As you can see were really undecided at the moment but hopefully our visit in May will make things a little clearer.

Thanks for all your advice


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## wka (Sep 18, 2009)

Hi Kath,

Kavala is just the closest mainland town to Thassos, it's not anything "special" either as regards English speaking population, job market, or anything else. It's a nice town, but it sounds to me like if you went there it would be simply to be near his family.

I don't think one could move to Greece, without jobs lined up, with children, unless s/he were independently wealthy. For this reason, your husband would have to find a job and then move - so the job would most likely determine your location. The advantage of living in Thassos is that you ALREADY have a house AND a job (the restaurant, assuming it would make money). 

If you are asking where would be good to look for work, Athens and Thessaloniki are the obvious places to start if you don't have a location that you would prefer. That's because half the population lives in Athens/Peiraias, and the second largest city is Thessaloniki. But then you're living in a LARGE city (in the case of Athens) or a large city (in the case of Thessaloniki). I'm not sure this is the experience you are looking to give your children.

If I were you, I would sit down and write out a list of your priorities, and divide them into "non-negotiable" (i.e. must-haves) and "negotiable." For example, you might decide that "access to good health care, access to high quality education, year-round income of more than €2000/month" were non-negotiable, and "good weather, within 5 hours of his family, near an international airport, small class sizes" were negotiable. Whatever is important to you. And then maybe I or others can help direct you to what parts of Greece would be best, or even if living in Greece makes sense for your family at all.

Bear in mind that living in Greece is _dramatically_ different from holidaying here. We get all the good stuff, but we also have some hardships that you may not be used to, or you may feel you don't want to inflict on your children. Overall, the decision to live here (like the decision to live anywhere) is one that is best made after a lot of thought and research. So I think it's great that you are thinking and asking questions!!

I do agree with your husband that there are better job prospects on the mainland in general; again this goes back to what I was saying about the island economy being very family-oriented and if you don't want to continue your family's restaurant, you'll have a hard time finding work.

As far as places on the mainland that are populated by English speakers - I don't know the answer to that. I would say Athens is probably your best bet. I don't know of any mainland English speaking enclaves. The only places that come to my mind are all located on various islands. But Athens does have a lot of English speakers (as well as speakers of every language you can think of). But then you're living in a metropolis of over 5 million people.


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## trouble (Nov 6, 2009)

Hi Kath, I really wouldn't get hung up with trying to find a place with English speakers, just try and find a place which feels right to you and offers something in the way of employment. Renting a place will let you get a feel for the place and if you decide you don't like the area then it's easier to move.


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## Bogias (Apr 14, 2010)

*thassos infos*

Hi kath all the above is correct nothing more to say
but now for thassos that you want to learn more 
the shops is good the winder you can find better prices
kavala is very near just 1 hour and half to go to the some there (dont tell that i have said to go there you will find many shops like england)
in thassos you will find many but many enlgish that working or having there own company like cafe small bars hotels and other things 
and off-course many that just stay there to spent all they life here in thassos a good article to read is this
search in goolge for discover thassos site try to find in about thassos-follow the locals-a well cept secret.
they dont let me to put link from the site sory 
from my best english friend that i have here.
now for work you can work in the tourist business easy for 6 mount

if you want more infos about thassos dont bother to ask me or in my email
after all im the prince of thassos LOL


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## kath.26 (Apr 11, 2010)

Thank you for all your advice,

Think my husband and i really do need to sit down and do a list of priorities. We are really torn between Thassos and mainand what we have on one we cant have on the other. Its all very scary the thought of leaving my family behind - my parents have helped us so much in England. 
Bogias is there English people with children living in Thassos. The house is in Potos it's very nice but would need a lot of work (its a small house that gets rented out) but it's got great potential. My husband wants us to move over and live with his parents until the house is ready (i would prefer to do it bit by bit and pay someone to do the work whilst were not there) Is this possible?
Thanks for all your help 

I will keep you updated with our decision xxxxxxx


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## Bogias (Apr 14, 2010)

mmm i think i have seen this story again someone that i know he start to built a house from england and he pay more about 30.000 
the best is to find a good contractor or a engireer bulder to do it right (not to a villager not to albano) what you want to do???
to make it bigger or just to fix somethings???
if you want a engineer my futher is one he built 2 floor houses and sell
your husband is from england or from here???he will know people


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## Elena1902 (Apr 17, 2010)

Hi Kath
I moved to Keramoti (the small village where you catch the ferry from to go to Thasos) 4 years ago with my Greek husband and 2 small children.

i would definately say that it would be better for yor husband to have a job gaurenteed before you make the comitment to move over as things are not so easy here.

About your children speaking Greek my twin girls started nursey only understanding very basic greek which they learnt from my in-laws and know they speak the language fluently which is great.

I'll be very honest and say that i found it very difficult to be away fom my family and friends and all the silly little things like fish & chips, curries, Chinese, driving over to the white rose center to go shoping (i'm from Bradford originally) but i do have good days when i'm releived that i don't live in the UK as life is much better here and alot more safe for the children.

Helen


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## kath.26 (Apr 11, 2010)

Hi Bogias the house is small but can be extended , my husband is from Potos . Is it expensive for work like this to be done ?
Hi Elena , i know Keramoti a little as i spent a some time there when my husband worked on the ferry boat, is it a small village ?
We are going to Thassos in May so we will be having a little look at the local school and showing the kids around hopefully.
If you dont mind me asking , do you work ? I have always worked in the UK and enjoyed been able to have shopping trips and little luxuries , will i be able to do this ?
Are clothes for the kids ok ? In thassos some seem a bit tacky. Do you find there is plenty to do for the children in winter ? 

Thanks Kath

Kath


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## Elena1902 (Apr 17, 2010)

Hi Kath

Yes Keramoti is the little village it's ok i've got used to it now the summers here are great we go to the beach every day and the kids love it (but we do have alot of mosquitos) the winter is dead so we tend to send alot of time with my in-laws there isn't much for children to do in the winter to be honest  which can be a bit frustrating.

As for kids clothes Kavala is a very nice town it has some of the shops that you would find in the UK but it is very expensive to shop there especially for children so i tend to buy in bulk every time i go to England 

We have our own business at the airport so it was easy for me to get a job, but i have a russian friend here who speaks greek & english fluently, she has been here 4 yrs like me and she can't find a job, the only thing she found was as a cleaner or as a shop worker.
Her problem is that she is an accountant and she didn't want to take a job that she felt was beneath her. 
And i think that it would have been the same for me i'm a hairdresser by trade and i didn't manage to find a job in a salon.

I hope i don't sound to negative as i really do prefer living here than in England but i think that when you are about to make a big decsion you really need to look everything, some thing that i didn't have the opertunity to do especially when you have children.


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## kath.26 (Apr 11, 2010)

Hi thanks Elena,

We definatley have a lot to think about, would be great if we my husband and i could have our own business. I would worry about home work for this kids and helping them ( i would have no chance ) .
Were your children born in Greece? My son is 6 years old and was born in the UK before we were married , and for the past 6 years we have been trying to register him in Greece which is proving to be very complicated.


Kath xx


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## Elena1902 (Apr 17, 2010)

Hi

We have twin girls who will be 5yrs old next week they were born in Halifax hospital but we went to the Greek Counsilor in Leeds and we registered them so that they could have dual nationality,it happened very quickly and very easily have you tried going there?

I feel the same about helping them with their homework it hasn't started yet as they are only in pre - school but i already feel concerned not being able to help them as much as i would like.

Are you still coming over in May to check things out?


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## kath.26 (Apr 11, 2010)

Hi Elena

We are still coming over on Sunday if the volcanic ash dissapears, will be great for the kids to have a look around the school in Potos. Cant wait now - will look out for you in the airport x


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## Elena1902 (Apr 17, 2010)

Are you coming over with the manchester flight this sunday?
Because i'm going to the UK with the lunch time flight on sunday so i may just see you there.


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## kath.26 (Apr 11, 2010)

Elena1902 said:


> Are you coming over with the manchester flight this sunday?
> Because i'm going to the UK with the lunch time flight on sunday so i may just see you there.


Hiya

All been well were going from Birmingham on Sunday - it was about £250 cheaper but we go from Manchester in August, don't think the ash has affected UK just yet but keeping my fingers crossed , were going over for my husbands nephew's baptism we haven't seen him yet.
Will you be in the airport at that time ?


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## Elena1902 (Apr 17, 2010)

Hi Kath

I'm on the 12.30 flight from Kavala to Gatwick on sunday.


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## SatavroulaAthens (Jun 14, 2010)

Dear Kath 
The Greek country places are really nice to live, and you may realize after some time that the place offers you a great way of life. 

The children will face difficulty with the language during the first year. 
But they will soon learn. 

As you say , you have experience in sales or administration. So, try to do things right, the way you know. You will find great opportunity to succeed – as you noticed, others don’t work properly, don’t know how to manage prices and things like that and generally most of them are not professionals. I am sure that if you try you will make a difference .

Greeks' way of behaving towards foreigners is not always the best. But you should not give it much thought. The most probable is that they may feel a little jealous about you, which is nice, it means they rate you higher . 

Just be friendly with all and things will go nice. Because Greeks can also be very warm, friendly and kind

The health system - we all know here- it doesn’t do much. However you HAVE TO be in it if you have a job – self employed or employed by others. Only if you are completely without work you can choose to register with a private health system.

Feel free to ask anything


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## kath.26 (Apr 11, 2010)

Hi Satavroula,
Thanks for your reply, we will be going back to Thassos in a four weeks (can't wait now) . So we will look into things a little more. Althoe i think my first step is to get learning Greek a little better and hopefully my little boy can begin greek school here - you have to be six so unfortunatley my little girl can't go yet.
Would you say it's better on the mainland or island for children ?

Thanks Kath


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## SatavroulaAthens (Jun 14, 2010)

kath.26 said:


> Hi Satavroula,
> Thanks for your reply, we will be going back to Thassos in a four weeks (can't wait now) . So we will look into things a little more. Althoe i think my first step is to get learning Greek a little better and hopefully my little boy can begin greek school here - you have to be six so unfortunatley my little girl can't go yet.
> Would you say it's better on the mainland or island for children ?
> 
> Thanks Kath


I really don't know where it is better. I don't know the place. Do as you feel better. You will see and you will sense where you prefer to live. 

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