# Retiring to Halkidiki region



## A.Dey (Jan 29, 2015)

My wife and I are seriously considering a permanent move to the Halkidiki region of Greece and are hoping the forum could answer some questions for us. We lived in Spain for 10 yrs so we are not unaccustomed to living on the continent or the legal bureaucracy involved. I am retired and therefore would not be seeking work.
We would be looking for a long let furnished property preferably near to amenities such as shops doctors etc. (near the coast would be nice but not a priority.)
What national health service is available for retirees? i.e. cost of prescriptions, treatments, doctors etc.
What documentation is required to live in Greece on a permanent basis? i.e. Greek National insurance No., residence permits, registration documents, etc.
How long does it take to obtain such documents?

I would be grateful for any information, advice, recommendations and guidance you can offer.
Thanks in advance,
Allan


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## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

*question on living in greece*

hello Allan,firstly you cannot claim for health care,you would need private cover,only those paying into the system can have it,its very poor anyway.I have mentioned General and Allianz previously.Better to get that whilst in Greece not the UK,they will make all paper work up in English for you.You are EU members so you need to do nothing more than register yourselves at your nearest police station,show some legal documents to them,on line sites tell you what they want to see.If you will scroll down to other pages where I have explained about private medical costs away from your private cover which are mostly very reasonable and easily found here in Greece.Your biggest medical costs would be A&E and any surgery.You will find that rental costs are lower at the moment so you should find a good deal,just be careful of renting a flat in a block as the renter may have extra costs ...lights in halls, gardener,water for garden,lift maintenance etc..etc,,a friend of ours pays 500 for 2 months water for the garden in summer-crazy!There are not so many GPs in greece as doctors usually specialise but you can pay 20 euro to one and they will write out your prescription,many tablets can be bought by yourself over the counter,Even heart tablets etc..if you are continuing on a prescription from the UK.They have brought the price of drugs down a bit so it is all possible.They mostly use generics here,you can get the originals,just you must pay a little more for them.


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## A.Dey (Jan 29, 2015)

Thank you for your invaluable input. The information is much what I suspected based on the general unsubstantiated info i have gathered here in the UK. Based on your advice I think it would be best for me to come over to Greece for a month or two and start the process from there.
I'd be grateful for any other contributions from yourself that you may think of that would be helpful, and from and other forum members who have input 
Thx
Allan


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## OldPro (Feb 18, 2015)

I agree with concertina, paperwork is not a big problem, rentals in an apartment block can have 'add ons' and healthcare should be private.

Since you have lived in Spain, then obviously you realize there will be 'differences' to cope with. Sometimes though it helps if you say why you have chosen a place and what your expectations are. What made you leave Spain for example and what do you expect to be better in Greece? Why the Halkidiki area?


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## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

*move from spain to greece*

hi OldPro,yes it would be interesting to know why someone would move from Spain to Greece,what would be changing in their life?What can they find here that is missing there for them?I do look at various different country forums to understand how people feel about moving and their likes and dislikes about a country,the expectations or disappointments,I sometimes look at the Australia forum as I have 2 brothers there who have driven me mad by saying for 30 years...its so fantastic here...... and I wonder if that is really true,lots of people wanting to return to Dear Old Blighty,especially engineering types from Aus.I guess we are all perhaps looking for Utopia.


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## OldPro (Feb 18, 2015)

Well there has been a general exodus out of Spain by Brits concertina who discovered the impact of exchange rates on their income. Right now, the Euro is low against the pound but a few years back it went quite high and people who had moved to Spain to their little villa with a pool discovered that a 25% hit on their income was not something they had planned for. Consequently, they couldn't afford to live there and returned to the UK where the social welfare system would take care of them in many ways. 

I'm not suggesting that is the case with A.Dey necessarily, but it was the case with a great many Brit expats in Spain. Others who needed to work have been affected by the unemployment rates in Spain. Others simply discovered that it isn't all wine and roses and were unhappy as expats. 
https://www.google.ca/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=RA7mVK92w--MAcTPgogF&gws_rd=ssl#q=brit+expats+leaving+spain

I particularly liked this guys rant, it could as easily be about Greece.
I Hate Spain - I Hate Living in Spain & The Spanish...

What you always find missing in rants like that are any acceptance of personal responsibility for their own life. Everything that goes wrong is always someone else's fault.


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## Brisargr (May 10, 2014)

Hi

I am also a retired person and live in Halkidiki where I built my own house (using labour I contrcted myself).

You say you lived in Spain before? Where you retired then? If yes you should have obtained from UK a form 60 (think that was the number) that you take to local Greek EKA office and obtain the Greek health cover (book). You will receive the same support as any Greek. As a retried person you will only pay 10% of the prescription charges.

During my 10 years here I have found the Greek health system to be very good and have no complaints.

I have managed to change my mindset to overcome all the bureaucracy and strange ways, except 1. I still can't accept appointments that are made but not kept! Still perhaps one day!

Best of Luck

Brian


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## OldPro (Feb 18, 2015)

With 10 years in Greece Brian you are obviously one of those able to accept and adapt to the differences between your home country and Greece. Managing that change of mindset is not something the majority of people can do.

I find the appointment issue amusing. My wife will arrange a time to Skype with her Sister in the UK and more often than not it never happens. That's because her Sister is one of those people who always lets the now interfere with anything that was pre-planned. For example, if her daughter shows up and says, 'let's go out to lunch', she goes. Irregardless of what she might have agreed to with someone else. Living in the now is not confined to Greeks but it is far more common in Greeks. In fact, it is almost universal with Greeks.hwell:

I always remember a Greek friend explaining 'avrio' and 'meta avrio' to me. Avrio means tomorrow literally but in more practical terms means 'sometime in the next week' while meta avrio means after tomorrow literally but in reality means, who knows, it's in the hands of the gods.

Arranging an appointment for noon just means sometime today. MAYBE!


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