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Hi intheworld and welcome to expat-blog!

Maybe you could introduce yourself and tell a little more about your plans? it would be easier to get the right answer.

Good luck,
Melissa

Hi Melissa,
We are in our 40's, have a yung child and have lived for years in Italy. We both had an office job at 1200€ a month and couldn't make it to the and of the month so we put our house up for sale and decided to move. I have family in France so now we are here for a bit to see how the economical situation is going. France is a bit better than Italy, cost of living are lower and housing is less expensive, but job wise there is nothing and for opening a business they'll kill you with burocracy and taxes.
So we are now thinking of muving out of France.

My husband knows a bit Greece and loves it and it's people, so we were thinking that maybe on some of the islands (we do not know which one yet)life could be quite nice.
The idea is to open a B&B and a gelateria (italien ice cream parlor). I have imprenditorial experience since I ran my own business for years before getting an office job.

What I would like to know is the price of real estate +/-, if turism has fallen do to the crisis, cost of living, if is very complicated to open a business and in which island would it be avisable to settle in.

Thanks.

Hi there,
France or Greece eh?
We live in Greece and would dearly love to sell up and come to France!

Think very carefully about what you do. Opening a business here in Greece is a bureaucratic nightmare, I am sure some board members with more experience than me on that subject will reply.

Consider also the (normally) higher cost of living on some of the islands, the health care etc etc.   Why not consider mainland?  The Peloponnese is very under developed and offers good low price housing (especially at the moment).
What ever you do ensure you can support yourself on a private income without relying on a business income for some time......its not easy out here..

Thanks Crocer for the reply and the advise.

I figured Greece would be in a sad situation, but you know, most of the times what we see on TV does not always reflect most peoples situation until you talk with who really is there.

Hello intheworld

I totally agree with you Television say some things but when we see by ourselves we see its not true, i was this summer in Rhodos and there was a lot of tourists !

Hi,
We are all in Greece DESPERATE  ! My advice : do not consider to set up any business which will be working only 3-4 month a year.
Keep walking !

l do agree with the grocer,its difficult here and unless you have monies coming in from elsewhere to prop you up in lean times,how will you cope when the summer season stops.It is a short season its true but you need money for medical cover and rent if you dont buy,the tax on property now.Friends of mine bought a B&B in France,l told them - buy where you get flick customers as well as bookings-no listen,stuck in the middle of nowhere in a huge place,huge garden,cant cope with all the work and cant sell either,she longs for a 3 roomed place with tiny garden,they are not young.But its not just Greece,its the world over.However,greece is expected to recieve larger than normal tourists this year,bookings are high,so thats good for business.I think what is a good idea now is these retreats,where people find alternative therpies,relaxation,Reiki,etc and can nourture themselves and charge their batteries so to speak.Setting somthing up needs time planning and money.

I meant to say larger than normal numbers,not larger people,ha,the airlines will start charging larger prices for larger people soon, mustnt give them ideas.