In retrospect, would you move again to Greece?

Thankyou Christine for your introduction into this subject.Well a tricky one really as Greece is an on-going sore which doesnt seem to heal and probably never will.For me  personally the reason I wish I had never moved here is because I built a house here and now there is no property market as such,a few sales are going on,island houses to expats and some property in the cities but very little,so I cannot change my life,sell up and buy in a different country,with a view to my retirement,a country that has cheaper property than the UK which is crazy and put a little in the bank(not Greek bank,although any bank may be unsafe in these times)Its all fairly depressing knowing that the banks will probably not open for years in a normal way.I do realise of course that since I left the UK fifteen years back everything and everywhere has changed and probably not for the better,life,work,money,housing has become a major stress factor for most people,not forgetting debt of course,so my life would I guess have changed there and become an on-going slog to find enough money each month to survive the bills.A major change I would have made is to have put a much greater distance physically and mentally between my mother in law and myself,wasted years of stress for nothing,a non Greek woman cannot possibly imagine the antics and somewhat Middle East type mentality of the Greek mother which still prevails here,of course not all are so but for most part are and the Exenophobia will rear its ugly head.

>>>>> nooooooooo    ! even !!

1) burocratic system - i can't get what is all about (no matter we have idiotic state machine 2, but greek is in 5 points in front), 
2)  my both university diplomas not valid here, no diploma - no job...
3) and greek men are SO stubborn! (my husband don't want 2 relocate 2 my place, because is too many lakes and rivers, and not enough sun))) 

Anyway...    now i have longest vacation in my life 

Well LanaM,lakes and rivers are what I crave for,I spent many years of my life in West Sussex UK next to a tidal river with my children and what joyous days we had"just messing about on the river"picnics,crabbing at low tide,walking miles up river with lots of friends and kids to a river-side pub,lunch,beer and back again,weather permitting of course.Cold weather didnt stop us though.Greeks hate the cold and grey skies but I love looking up at shifting moody clouds.I saw a documentary a few years back of a boat trip down a river in what was East Germany,shockingly beautiful,like the Amazon,it stopped at small towns along the river on a seven day voyage,GREEN,so GREEN,I was spell bound.Different mentality here,perhaps its what one grows up with,they seem to wait for Easter,turn that lamb and then look for the summer vacation on the beach,nothing much  in between, and as Im not a beach person and never was that gets very boring.But on the subject of lakes,have you been to the sea-fed lake near Loutraki?It is very nice,beautiful.You must drive to Loutraki from the main highway or the old road without tolls and go into Perahora where you will see signs for an ancient site and the lake..Voulagmeni,as you come upon the lake you will see a small taverna on the left where you can sit exactly next to the water,nice food there.Then drive round the lake on the right hand side where you will see many tourists in camper vans parked up,Italians,French,Germans,They know the area and it is described on line as an area of outstanding beauty,there is a small village up in the mountains close by called Pissia,very pretty and green.Drive to the end of the lake near the church and there under the water is sand and its lovely and shallow for a long way out so its great for children,also a small taverna there,the weekdays are quieter when kids are at school but its never very crowded.It really is wonderful there and just before, on the road you will see a sign for the ancient site which is gorgeous,they have just finished proper concrete pathways so OK for a wheelchair or buggy,there is a small cove at the bottom for swimming,very pretty and interesting site.Its fairly steep so a slow pace back up must be expected ha especially in the heat.

   Thanks a lot!

And i liked a lot Acheron River (West Greece)  [img]river.jpg[/img]