# Why Greece?



## greekwedding (Aug 14, 2007)

Why did you choose to move to Greece? Did you have to do it for your job? 

I just want to go there, because it has so much history.


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## Ali (Sep 16, 2007)

I never wanted to leave my home. I came to Grecce to help my sister when she had her first child. While I was doing that i met and fell in love with a man. Either i had to move to greece or he had to move to the UK. Cercumstances made it clear I should be the one to move. Really I dont want to be here, but i love my husband and i need to make a life here. There are many positve sides, it is better for children, and life is calmer. 
What is your story?


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## sambacasual (Oct 25, 2007)

My story is typical of someone my age,i first went to Greece on holiday,loved it,then saw more of it on subsequent holidays/travels.got to know locals and expats in a certain area,took a job in a bar in a tourist resort and the rest grew from there!
I love the place,the people are so charming and quirky,their way of life has a real set of values that i feel are sadly vanishing in the UK,the weather is fantastic,i've always loved the sea/beaches and now i have them at my doorstep,the food is really nice and also healthy,the general vibe of the place just seems to fit in with what i want from life,so why not make it home for good?


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

sambacasual said:


> My story is typical of someone my age,i first went to Greece on holiday,loved it,then saw more of it on subsequent holidays/travels.got to know locals and expats in a certain area,took a job in a bar in a tourist resort and the rest grew from there!
> I love the place,the people are so charming and quirky,their way of life has a real set of values that i feel are sadly vanishing in the UK,the weather is fantastic,i've always loved the sea/beaches and now i have them at my doorstep,the food is really nice and also healthy,the general vibe of the place just seems to fit in with what i want from life,so why not make it home for good?



Did you manage to get to grips with the language


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## sambacasual (Oct 25, 2007)

Nea,mu milao ligo ellenhika....

It's coming on well,slowly but surely,it's hard to practive though when every Greek you know wants to speak to you in English!


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

sambacasual said:


> Nea,mu milao ligo ellenhika....
> 
> It's coming on well,slowly but surely,it's hard to practive though when every Greek you know wants to speak to you in English!


Its been my biggest challenge, speaking Spanish .... but when I listen to a Greek speak I just think I could never master that


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## sambacasual (Oct 25, 2007)

To be honest it's not really that hard,once you've learnt the alphabet it gets easier,the grammatical structure isn't that dissimilar from the french many of us were made to learn in school and as for the vocabulary,well that just comes along nicely,a word a day at the very least,on top of your normal learning curve.


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## Clairey1 (Jan 4, 2008)

Sambacasual...do you live on an island or mainland? I am looking to move over within the next year or so to teach English, buy property and hopefully set up a business in a touristy area...any recs?


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## VERGIS92 (Sep 8, 2008)

Clairey1 said:


> Sambacasual...do you live on an island or mainland? I am looking to move over within the next year or so to teach English, buy property and hopefully set up a business in a touristy area...any recs?



I'm from and live in Crete, it can offer a busy life both in the summer and winter,
teaching english is a good idea, living costs are quite high it's only rent
that's very cheap compared to the UK, Greece is badly regulated in many
ways and highly corrupted, The 'Colombia' of europe , the only thing I like
about it is that life is less stressful, Crete and islands have very low crime rate,
Whereas Athens area is really bad


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## wordshaker08 (Sep 11, 2008)

Hello there

Am new here but couldnt help but respond to this post.

My partner and I are looking to move to Thessaloniki as I was born there, but have lived the majority of my life in Australia. In May 2008, my parents took the huge step of returning to Thessalonoki after a 40 year absence. Talk about gutsy. BUT...they are having a difficult time adjusting to certain things but are loving it. So, the bottom line is, my parents are there so that is merely a bonus.

Broe (my partner) can basically work anywhere he likes in the world so it has been up to me to choose where we would like to start our new adventure for the next couple of years. Thessa seemed like the logical place to go. Reconnect with my roots, spend time with the folks and enjoy the various things this country offers.

So there you have it. A two pronged reason as to why we want to relocate in March 2009.


Best wishes


Joanna


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## zefif (Aug 14, 2010)

Joanna, did you end up relocating? If so, how did it go? I live in Australia and have lived here most of my life though I was born in Greece and went back (with the family) and spent all my teens there. The family is pushing me to move back now that they're all getting older, as am I! I hate Athens and could never live there, but we have family on Paros and Naxos too so if I moved back it would be to one of those islands.


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## priggipisa (Mar 8, 2010)

sambacasual said:


> Nea,mu milao ligo ellenhika....
> 
> It's coming on well,slowly but surely,it's hard to practive though when every Greek you know wants to speak to you in English!


That's so true! I knew Greek before moving here, but have to say Greeks I had met online were a big part of tuning up my Greek before my move here. However, now here, finding anyone that has learned English wanting to speak English. I'm ok with it now, but at first my thought was... I'll never learn better Greek this way!


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## priggipisa (Mar 8, 2010)

zefif said:


> Joanna, did you end up relocating? If so, how did it go? I live in Australia and have lived here most of my life though I was born in Greece and went back (with the family) and spent all my teens there. The family is pushing me to move back now that they're all getting older, as am I! I hate Athens and could never live there, but we have family on Paros and Naxos too so if I moved back it would be to one of those islands.


Though I've never been to Paros or Naxos, I recommend you go there. I'm Greek, but lived in the US most of my life. However, I didn't grow up in a big city, but a city with pop. of about 220,000; what my husband calls "village", so adjusting to big city like Thessaloniki was difficult (and it's not as big as Athens, which wouldn't even be a consideration for me). I'd prefer to live in a village on the outskirts of the city, so I could have the best of both worlds.


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## ezappas (Dec 5, 2012)

I can only tell you my story: I met my Greek husband at college in the U.S. We married and moved to Athens soon after. The first year or so was a nightmare of culture shock and misunderstandings with my in-laws since we had no common language. I learned to speak Greek fluently within 6 months out of self-defense!!! However, I fell in love with the country heart and soul. My children were born in Greece but we moved back to the U.S. after ten years because of economic opportunities. We are now retiring and moving to Corfu, my husband's home island, to live for good. I can't wait!!! We have been married for 40 years, have our home built and ready on Corfu and a retirement income. Greece in the 1970s was a much different place: monocultural, literally crime-free, and welcoming. The only foreigners I knew were married to Greeks. The cost of living was low. Greece today is in a terrible crisis as you all know. I would not move there unless you have work sufficient to live comfortably. If you do, you will love it if you live "with" the Greeks, not apart from them.


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## priggipisa (Mar 8, 2010)

Sounds familiar.. moving after 10 years to the US for economic opportunities. We've been here 11 years now, and are seriously contemplating moving to the US for same reason. With the economic crisis here, unemployment is up to 26%. However, like you, we've also discussed returning here when we're both retired. Had you asked me that my first 3 years here, I would've jumped on the first plane back to NY with only consideration to travel here for vacation only. It was definitely an adjustment, but now I find myself torn about leaving and it's for economic opportunities only that we consider now.


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## Ptolemy3367VV (Jan 6, 2013)

Greece is beautiful and very diverse. For vacation and honeymoon it's a top destination.


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