# Want to Relocate



## Donairman (Jul 18, 2014)

I just recently returned from Greece, it was the first time I have visited in 28 years, I went to bury my dad, who died within hours of landing in his home country. I have been considering the last few years on relocating to Greece, the plan was to help my ailing dad relocate, after having left his home country in 1960. I would appreciate any help or guidance, Ideally I would like to purchase a small food establishment so I could live and work. My family has been in the food business for 45 years, so it is my main knowledge. Anyone having any ideas, guidance etc feel free to post. Thank you in advance for any help.


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## Kyle86 (Aug 15, 2014)

Have a browse through businessesforsale.com for starters, unless you want to start your own thing....


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## Donairman (Jul 18, 2014)

Thank you Greatlly appreciated


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## ChryssaN (Aug 17, 2014)

*Please be very careful about making such a move*

Hi,

Please really consider this move carefully and plan as much in advance as possible. The crisis in Greece is very real and it makes it really difficult to open and run any new business. Especially in the restaurant sector where many people who have no other means to make money open up small restaurants in every corner and run on extremely thin profit margins. 
My friendly advice is avoid it if you can since Canada offers many other opportunities for growth. However, I do appreciate that there could be a strong urge inside you to make the move that perhaps you father didn't have the opportunity to enjoy. But please really be realistic and think what is really the most important thing in your life. To lead a life with your family or close friends in a safe and predictable future or to live in a risky environment where your life's investments could disappear pretty fast?
I would strongly advise you to postpone your plan for a few more years to see if the economy stabilises a bit. The economic downfall hasn't stopped yet despite what the media and politicians want us to believe.
If you really can't stop yourself from doing this move I 'd advise you not to invest any money in the beginning. Go work for a business similar to the one you want to open close to the area that you want to open it. See for yourself what is like to work in that sector and area. See their problems and see how many clients they have and how much they can make. Experience that for at least a whole year before opening your business because seasonality can make a big difference. 
That's the advice I can offer you. I wish you the best of luck in whatever decision you make.

Chryssa


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## Donairman (Jul 18, 2014)

I truely appreciate your advice, my move is at least 2 years away as I have business interests in Canada that I must attend to first. I realize that the crisis is no wheres near ended. When I do make the move I would work for someone else first to understand how business is conducted in Greece. This move does not come lightly, I have thought about it for a long time. WHen my father passed away I finally realized life is short and its not always about the money at least not for me anymore, I can do with less materialistic goods and a better healthier life. I wish my father had made the move, he had purchased property to retire on, toiled daily for two months planting fruits trees, olive trees etc, never to see the fruits of his labour. I greatly appreciate your advice, a very sincere thank you.


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## ChryssaN (Aug 17, 2014)

You are so right about money not being a true purpose in life. I totally agree with that. I know Greeks who have immigrated to Canada in the 60s and 70s and all their lives they worked and saved but really enjoyed only a fraction of the money they made and then passed it all to the next generation. I don't think that's what I would want from my family. I 'd rather they enjoyed their lives and their time with me and pass me less or no money at all. But then to teach me how to live my life to its fullest with less material things. 
I am really happy that you are being really careful about this move and you have planned it very well. Keep searching. Make use of any relatives that you trust and make some good friends that could dedicate some time to help you out. Good people relations and a spirit of "I have the power to control my life" (which you already have) can make all the difference. 

Best of luck


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## Donairman (Jul 18, 2014)

My father taught me how to fish... meaning he could have given me fish and feed me for a meal or teach me to fish and survive, The best thing I got from my dad was his work ethic, bar none that is the best thing he could have given me. He was so worried about making money for his family ( and he did) that he died after suffering from cancer for ten years. I will be honest I did not want to move to Greece, after reading and watching all that went down a few years ago, I blamed the younger generation, I was all set to make a move to Brazil after two years of careful planning, but when I landed in Greece to bury my dad in a village outside of Kalavrita, I knew I was meant to be there. Once again thank you for your kind words and your wisdom.


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## Kyle86 (Aug 15, 2014)

Well done Don! I like your philosophy on life, similar to mine and exactly why I chose to (re)settle in Greece rather than any other country and I haven't looked back since...

Just curious though, in your last comment you said you "blamed the younger generation" for the crisis. How on earth could they be responsible for it??


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## Donairman (Jul 18, 2014)

My theory on that would be long and complicated, I find them to laid back and relaxed, they wait till they get pushed, they believe whatever the government tells them until it's too late. When I said the younger generation I meant around my age and perhaps a little older, 45 - 55 because they give the kids too much, then the kids expect too much. We worked for my dad at an early age, we were taught that you had to work to make it through life, you had to learn to be smart, think for yourself. You know Greece has one of the highest cell phones per person ( I think last statistics I read 2.3 cell phones per person) who in the hell needs that, in my opinion ONE is too many. We got along fine without them for centuries all of a sudden it's a necessity of life? The old Greeks learned to live on what they had ( most not all) and not expect anything. Of course like everything else these are my assumptions and like everything else I am sure I am not correct in all my thoughts. I think like a business person, the country should be run like a business and nothing else, if it loses money then it goes out of business. Alot of the Greeks that migrated away after the 2nd World War ( like my parents) were and are hard workers, our Grand Parents were hard workers....This is true for a lot of Countries, but I am Greek and proud to be Greek so I only concern myself with Greece.... I am sure I have run off topic but I hope you get what I mean. Thank you for replying.


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## Kyle86 (Aug 15, 2014)

Right, understood. I thought you meant moreso teenagers and young adults, which normally I would blame their parents...


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