To Kostas and Pernille
Aufgegeben von Rob Bartlitz in Griechenland Forum
Hi Kostas, hope you're well.
First of all, I apologise, I certainly didn't mean to downplay the difficulty Greece is finding itself in. I actually agree that Greece has had it worse than most countries in Europe with the austerity measures recently imposed and the astronomical rise in prices.
However, I have close friends and family living in Poland, Germany, Spain, USA, Sweden and France and every single one of them is absolutely adamant that their situation is by far the worst and they get very upset when I try to suggest that others might have it worse than them.
For instance, the UK and particularly London have been voted recently as the most desirable places to live in... by European foreigners. By sheer contrast, anyone who actually lives here sees a totally different story and most of us unfortunately absolutely hate living here.
We have been hit by severe austerity measures for nearly a decade now and have just about given up now. It is telling thing that so many foreigners want to live here and yet most British want desparately to move out to another country as they've simply had enough of being pulled and pushed about by the successive governments.
I know a lot of people here who cannot find a job, have lost their houses and businesses, are struggling with debts to the tune of tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds (this is actually very common in Britain, people just pretend that it is not happening to them and get further and further into debt). There are cuts imposed everywhere and majority of wages have been frozen (mine has been for the last two years, for example, while all prices have risen unbelievably high in the meantime). There is widespread depression, despondency and anger. Just about everyone I know keeps constantly talking about emigrating, they're so thoroughly fed up.
What I mean to say is that, like the old saying goes - "grass is always greener on the other side", i.e. we always imagine everyone else is far better off than us. I sometimes find it really weird (and at times a little funny I have to say) that my Greek and Polish friends desparately want to live in Britain while my British friends desparately want to live in Greece or Poland :)
The world is in turmoil and we are all struggling very badly. There is no denying that Greece has been hit the worst in recent years. Because of my intrinsic love for Greece, I sincerely hope that Greeks can find a little bit of political peace and prosperity soon.
If I ever moved to Greece, it would be purely for the beauty of the country itself. This is, I suppose, the decision you have to make, Pernille. You see, a recent survey has found that Danes are the happiest nation in the world and that it is one of the best countries to live in. Would you agree with that or do you think the survey got it wrong?
What I'm saying is that if you do move to Greece, do it for the right reasons and make sure you do the homework first. This really applies to any country you move to. I have first hand experience with this as I have moved countries myself and know the pitfalls you are likely to encounter. It never is how you imagine it before you move there, never.
Whatever you decide to do, I wish you all the best.
Regards,
Rob