To D Neale

So good to find someone speaking sense. I cringe everytime I read posts about how wonderful everything is here. Most of us will have moved here because we holidayed here and thought it would be a brilliant place to live. For retired people with a nice pension it probably is wonderful all the time, but if you have to earn a living it can be very difficult. The person who started this forum would not fit into the first category and therefore needs to know of experiences of other people in a similar situation. I think living here is a bit like a marriage - everything is great for the honeymoon period which can last for over a year and then the gloss can start to wear off and you see things for how they really are. I am sure Baccybabs is having a great time in her village but according to her previous posts she only moved in February so is still very much in the honeymoon period. I too was very outgoing and friendly when I first arrived but found out that this friendlieness and need to try and fit in was a mistake and misinterpreted by certain older male members of this community. We nicknamed a young Cretan friend of ours 'negative Nikos' as he would tell us all the bad things that could happen here, and of course we were newcomers and did not believe that these things could happen. But sure enough what he said has a certain ring of truth in it.

Good advice from all especially concerning the children, the village we live in has a population of about 850, we rebuilt an old cottage with the local builders and all our neighbours to be,  just had to come round and put in their fivepenneth worth on everything from the extension to why you put washing machine in outside room and not in proper place,  the banjo. The majority of the people have made us very welcome and invite us to parties etc and always ask about are welfare, even ask me to do jobs for them, but there are still locals who will not even reply to a kalimera, tikanitae ?

As for the kids here exactly the same as the adults, majority are great but a few are little beggars and when kids from other countries are about they can be little nightmares. For adults to integrate you just have to try a little, for children I think it would be a lot more difficult.

What ever your decision good luck  

Yes, it is far too easy to make generalisations about living here. Just as only a relatively small segment of the populations  of towns in the UK and elsewhere can be found fairly regularly in the local pub, so it is with Cretan villages. The majority keep themselves to themselves and visit the local tavernas only on special occasions, when specifically invited by friends, or occasionally as a relaxing break after a hard day's work. However, they are just as friendly and will happily engage in conversation or just pass the time of day, but spending every evening drinking is not their scene. And, of course, there is always the exception - the village grump and/or doommonger. There may be some truth in what they say, but you'd be well to check it out with a few other villagers as well, just as you would do in the UK or any other country.

Although we only moved out here just over two years ago, my daughter lived out here in the mid-1990s and I'd been visiting this area of Crete several times a year since before then.

As with any move to another country, you do need to do an awful lot of homework before you even decide to move and quite a lot more before actually moving! If you are retired, in good health and with sufficient income to live a reasonable lifestyle, and have an open mind, you should have minimal problems if you do your homework first.

Under any other circumstances, you need to do triple the amount of homework - and then some! Having any sort of work experience or qualification, however good, in anything other tourism or the building industry is pretty irrelevant. Even then, it is not going to make much, if any, difference to your earnings and it is certainly not going to guarantee you a job, especially in the off-season.

Those likely to encounter the most problems will have school age children. Please take heed of what has been said earlier in this thread and elsewhere on this site.

Regards,

Welcome HPeponi, we can never have too many on here offering local knowledge, and we're pleased to see your posting.

Regards,

Delighted to "meet" you, HPeponi, and welcome to the board.  I'm glad you joined.  Those of us who are newer (than 20 years) to Crete could well do with your insights.  Thanks for the post and I hope there'll be many more!

Kilkis, I had to laugh at your quotation.  Of course it's an exaggeration and, like other generalizations, isn't a true picture of the real complexities, but for me it rang true.  I've never lived amongst people it describes more aptly.  We're fortunate to number some of those angels in our parea, while watching out for the devils with haloes and wings for disguise!   Incidentally, I find the latter are usually the ones who most impress the visitors and tourists with their glibness.

Wecome to HPeponi sounds like somebody who may get a lot of contacting as I have only read good sense from the two posts so far please keep using the BIC aswe all need good advice at times. And no I am not saying we do not get good advice normally.  

Quote:


This thread is award-worthy.  Is there a BIC award program?

There are negative and positives to any country beyond schooling and children.  Living the dream in Crete can also be difficult for the parents - especially if they cut ties with the UK financially and cannot then afford to return to the UK if they find that their dream isn't what they expected.
You need to have a strong and stable, self contained family.  Yes you'll get help and be welcomed by locals - but if you can't talk to them - how can you get involved in village life except from a distance.  If you children learn greek it will of course be different for them but as a parent you're likely to remain an outsider with other local adults.

Don't expect the same standard or ease of health service that you might find at home - you're spoilt in the UK compared to here.  It's antiquated, doesn't have much money or at least the hospital in Ag. Nikolaos (east Crete) doesn't - you even have to go out to the local pharmacy and buy your own sample bottle.  You need to look into E106's and European Health Cards - PM me if you want more of my experiences on this. 

Expect to have at least six months of running around with lots of paperwork to many different offices here before you'll get everything you need, most importantly your all ever powerful tax number.  And you'll need to fill in a tax return every year if you buy a property or car.

Consider the cost of heating in the winter and cooling in the summer and the fact that Crete has many areas to it - i.e., the west is different from the east, from the south etc., so where are you going to decide to live?  Yipee - there's no council tax - you pay through your electricity bill I believe but it does naturally impact on the services provided. 

The summer can be much too hot but the seaside is a great place to keep cool.  If you want to live in the mountains you'll keep cool - but are likely to be above the snow line (yes there is snow) in the winter.

The jobs here (if you can get one) are low paid, mainly in the tourist industry and long hours.  The building trade seems to provide good opportunities.  A lot of local teenagers find that they want to be in the towns (where accommodation is usually more expensive) because of the lack of anything to do and the antiquated ways of the villages and villagers (mind the donkeys and goats). Your children however, may love it. 

There seems to be a higher respect (especially from the children) for society and property compared to the UK.   Religion is also a strong part of the community but it won't be forced on you nor frowned upon if you don't attend.

You are  expected to 'keep to your own kind' although you will be made very welcome but you will always remain an outsider and in the minority because that's who you are.  It is not a multi-cultural place to live, not yet, anyway!