The Corfiot and all things Greek

Decisions and Considerations before moving

There are some basic decisions to be made before you move. These will differ according to personal circumstances. They include:-

• What do you want to get out of living in Greece? If you want to become one of the 'Gin & Tonic Brigade' and party all summer, well I guess that's fine, but I'm afraid that we can't help you as that's not our scene!
• Is your stay going to be on a permanent basis or just for the summer?
• Do you intend working in Greece? If you do, we would suggest that the ability to speak Greek is essential unless you intend working in tourism when you may get by with limited Greek.
• Do you want to learn at least a little Greek before you go?
• Do you intend purchasing or renting a property in the first instance?
• What you want to take with you by way of personal effects and how do you transport them?
• Do you take your car with you? If so do you drive it there or ship it?

These are just some of the considerations that you will need to make. We are sure that others will come up with many more.

To Work Or Not To Work?

Do you intend working? A single person who intends retiring and not working will have different considerations to a couple with children of school age where they both intend seeking employment. At this point in time we consider work and retirement a contradiction in terms, therefore research in this area has been minimal. Similarly, education is outside our knowledge although we understand that the education system varies considerably from that in the UK.

You should be aware that Greece has a high rate of unemployment which stood at 10.2% in March 2010. We suspect that it is even higher in Corfu. The likelihood of finding work as a non-Greek speaker is very slim.

The following are useful sources of information for those intending to live and work in Greece:-

The Greek Embassy
1a, Holland Park, London. W11 3TP. 
Tel. (020) 7221 6467 
www.greekembassy.org.uk

On advice, we made contact with the embassy at a very early stage. The press office were particulary helpful and sent a very thick paperback book which gave all sorts of useful and interesting information about the country.

Be warned if you telephone the Greek Embassy in London. They have one of those systems which give you a 1001 options depending upon the nature of your enquiry. It may take two or three goes to hit the right department! Have a pencil ready to note down the relative (different) phone numbers. We must emphasise though, that once through to the correct department, they were very helpful, particularly when I attended the embassy to obtain an import licence for our car.

Job Centres - It is our understanding that UK/EU nationals have free access to the services of the Greek employment service, the OAED (Organismos Apasholisseos-Ergatikou Dynamikou). They have a web site at www.oaed.gr.

Books - Check out the local lending library. There is one book that we have heard of entitled "Living and Working In Greece", by Peter Reynolds, ISBN: 1857036751. We can't vouch for the content though.