Greece Facts

History: Greece achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, it gradually added neighboring islands and territories, most with Greek-speaking populations.

In World War II, Greece was first invaded by Italy (1940) and subsequently occupied by Germany (1941-1944); fighting endured in a protracted civil war between supporters of the king and other anti-Communists and Communist rebels. Following the latter’s defeat in 1949, Greece joined NATO in 1952. In 1967, a group of military officers seized power, establishing a military dictatorship that suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country. In 1974, democratic elections and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy.

In 1981, Greece joined the EC (now the EU); it became the 12th member of the European Economic and Monetary Union in 2001. In 2010, the prospect of a Greek default on its euro-denominated debt created severe strains within the EMU and raised the question of whether a member country might voluntarily leave the common currency or be removed.

Location: Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey.

Area: 50,948 square miles (131,957 square kilometers). Slightly smaller than Alabama.

Population: 10,760,136 (July 2011 est.)

Capital: Athens

Geography: Strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits. A peninsular country, possessing an archipelago of about 2,000 islands.

Climate: Temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers.

Government: Parliamentary republic

Head of State: President Karolos Papoulias (since 12 March 2005)

Head of Government: Prime Minister Georgios Andreas Papandreou (since 6 October 2009)

Language: Greek (official) 99%, other (includes English and French) 1%

Religion: Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%

Time Zone: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Communications

Telephone system: Adequate, modern networks reach all areas; good mobile telephone and international service.

International country code: +30

Cell phones users: 13.295 million (2009)

Internet users: 4.971 million (2009)

Internet country code: .gr

The Economy in Greece

Greece has a capitalist economy with the public sector accounting for about 40% of GDP and with per capita GDP about two-thirds that of the leading euro-zone economies. Tourism provides 15% of GDP. Immigrants make up nearly one-fifth of the work force, mainly in agricultural and unskilled jobs. Greece is a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to about 3.3% of annual GDP. The Greek economy grew by nearly 4% per year between 2003 and 2007, due partly to infrastructural spending related to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and in part to an increased availability of credit, which has sustained record levels of consumer spending.

But the economy went into recession in 2009 as a result of the world financial crisis, tightening credit conditions, and Athens’ failure to address a growing budget deficit, which was triggered by falling state revenues, and increased government expenditures. The economy contracted by 2% in 2009, and 4.8% in 2010. Greece violated the EU’s Growth and Stability Pact budget deficit criterion of no more than 3% of GDP from 2001 to 2006, but finally met that criterion in 2007-08, before exceeding it again in 2009, with the deficit reaching 15.4% of GDP.

Austerity measures reduced the deficit to 9.4% of GDP in 2010. Public debt, inflation, and unemployment are above the euro-zone average while per capita income is below; unemployment rose to 12% in 2010. Eroding public finances, a credibility gap stemming from inaccurate and misreported statistics, and consistent underperformance on following through with reforms prompted major credit rating agencies in late 2009 to downgrade Greece’s international debt rating, and has led the country into a financial crisis.

Under intense pressure by the EU and international market participants, the government has adopted a medium-term austerity program that includes cutting government spending, reducing the size of the public sector, decreasing tax evasion, reforming the health care and pension systems, and improving competitiveness through structural reforms to the labor and product markets. Athens, however, faces long-term challenges to push through unpopular reforms in the face of often vocal opposition from the country’s powerful labor unions and the general public. Greek labor unions are striking over new austerity measures, but the strikes so far have had a limited impact on the government’s will to adopt reforms. An uptick in widespread unrest, however, could challenge the government’s ability to implement reforms and meet budget targets, and could also lead to rioting or violence.

In April 2010 a leading credit agency assigned Greek debt its lowest possible credit rating; in May, the International Monetary Fund and Eurozone governments provided Greece emergency short- and medium-term loans worth $147 billion so that the country could make debt repayments to creditors. In exchange for the largest bailout ever assembled, the government announced combined spending cuts and tax increases totaling $40 billion over three years, on top of the tough austerity measures already taken. Greece, however, struggled to boost revenues and cut spending to meet 2010 targets set by the EU and the IMF, especially after Eurostat (the EU’s statistical office) revised upward Greece’s deficit and debt numbers for 2009 and 2010. Greece’s lenders are calling on Athens to step up efforts in 2011 to increase tax collection, shore up public enterprises, and rein in health spending, and are planning to give Greece more time to repay its EU-IMF loan. Greece responded by introducing major structural reforms, but investors still question whether Greece can sustain fiscal efforts in the face of a bleak economic outlook and public discontent.

Labor force: 5.05 million (2010 est.)

Labor force by occupation: Agriculture: 12.4%
Industry: 22.4%
Services: 65.1% (2005 est.)

Exports: $21.14 billion (2010 est.)

Export commodities: Food and beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products, chemicals, and textiles.

Imports: $44.9 billion (2010 est.)

Import commodities: Machinery, transport equipment, fuels, and chemicals.

Real Estate in Greece

As with so many other Westernized countries, the Greek property market has been hit by the recent financial crisis. Property prices in Greece had been increasing steadily since 2004, the year of the Olympics. Nationally, prices increased by 13% in 2005 and 2006. The year 2007 saw an increase of only 3.8%, with 2008 coming in at 2.6%

During 2009, the extent of the financial crisis unfolding in Greece had an impact on both mortgage availability and property transactions. Prices fell by 1.8%. The trend continued into 2010 with prices for apartments showing a year-on-year decline of 4.3% at the end of Quarter 3.

Prices in Athens fell by 3.1%. In Thessaloniki, the second largest city, prices fell 9.7%

Outside of Athens, prices are likely continue to fall over the next few years as harsh economic measures take effect on Greek and foreign buyers alike.

Greece is big...and diverse. There are no square meter ball park figures. As with any country, price is driven by demand. In Athens and the major cities this demand is usually driven by employment opportunities, the most desirable neighborhoods etc. On the popular tourist islands, the strength of the demand from foreign and Athenian buyers is a major factor.

In downtown Athens, you are unlikely to find any apartments under €2,000 ($2,880) per square meter. You really need to spend time in the city to get to know what each district has to offer.

In the Pangrati area of central Athens is a two-bedroom refurbished flat of 807 square feet. Located on the 6th floor, it has a veranda and view over Lycavittos and the Acropolis, and is a five-minute 5 minute walk to a metro station. Price: €160,000 (US$ 230,000).
In the Peloponnese, in the city of Kalamata is a recently built, two-bedroom duplex flat of 807 square feet. Price: €75,000 ($108,000).
In Rhodes Town on Rhodes Island, there’s a third-floor, two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment of 915 square feet with sea views. It’s located just one mile from the sea and town center. Price: €98,000 ($141,120).

Buying Real Estate

Foreigners can freely buy property in most regions of Greece with the exception of some sensitive “military areas” that share a border with Turkey. This mainly applies to parts of Northern Greece, but some of the islands can also have restrictions. Permission to purchase needs to be given by the local authority concerned.

Having chosen your property, the first step you should take is to hire a lawyer. Most estate agencies will recommend one. However, if you are uncomfortable with this, you should appoint one with no connection to the agency.

Another important point to bear in mind is that all legal documents relating to property sales must be in Greek. It will mean additional cost, but for peace of mind you should have every single document translated into English.

A deposit of 10% is normal on completing a pre-sale agreement. Both buyer and sellers lawyers should agree on the conditions of the pre-sale agreement.

After you have had a survey done, should both the buyer and vendor agree to proceed with the transaction, the sales document itself will be drafted by a public notary. Under Greek law, contracts must be drafted and executed by and before a public notary.

At this stage you pay any transfer taxes due in relation to the purchase. Without evidence that you have paid them, the sale cannot proceed.

Once signed by the parties (buyer, seller, notary, and attorneys), the sales document is then forwarded to the relevant land registry to be filed. This is an important step, as title will vest in the buyer only upon such registration with the relevant land registry.

Buying Costs

The cost of buying property in Greece differs according to whether a property is previously owned or recently built.

Properties built with construction permits issued since January 1, 2006 do not incur any transfer taxes; instead V.A.T. (currently 23%) is calculated over and above the contractual price.
Undeveloped land and previously owned properties do incur transfer taxes ranging between 7% and 11% of the contractual price, depending on the particulars of a specific property.
Other costs associated with the buying of a property are:

Mandatory lawyers’ fees: 1% on the first €44,020 ($63,390) of the contractual price. Reducing to 0.01% as the property price increases.
Notary fees: 1.2% of the contractual price.
Land registry fees: 0.475% of the contractual price.

Health Care

When the World Health Organization published its final set of country rankings for health care in 2000, Greece was ranked 16th of the 190 countries surveyed. When very small nations are removed from the table, it was ranked in 9th place.

With ratings as high as that, you would imagine that health care in Greece is very good. Overall, it is. However, as with other branches of public services in Greece, it is bureaucratic, dysfunctional and under-funded.

The Greek National public health system (IKA) is provided free or at low cost to residents paying into the National security system.

If you are in employment in Greece, your employer will make deductions and contributions to the health care system automatically.  EU citizens and individuals from countries with reciprocal agreements will also qualify for free or reduced cost procedures and medications.

There is no reciprocal agreement for either Canada or the U.S., so unemployed/retired individuals would need to provide for private medical insurance.

There are several Greek companies offering varying degrees of cover and premiums.
International companies providing cover in Greece include AXA PPP Healthcare (website: www.axappphealthcare.com), BUPA International (website: www.bupa-intl.com) and International Health Insurance (website: www.ihi.com). It should be noted that, unless you are already covered, you are unlikely to be sold health insurance over the age of 65.

Dependent on your location, and availability, the cost of visiting a GP privately can vary enormously. In general though, you should expect to pay between €30 ($43.20) and €50 ($72).

Visa Requirements

Entry visas: A visa is not required for tourist visits to Greece for a period of up to 90 days for U.S and Canadian citizens.

Note: Non EU citizens looking to stay in Greece for more than 90 days require a National Visa. This is issued for Greece only and does not permit travel to other Schengen agreement countries. It is only when you have been working/living legally in Greece for a continuous period of five years that you may qualify for an EU wide work/residence permit.

There are several types of visa, as detailed below.

Employment and Residence Permits for Non-EU Nationals

Temporary residence permits: Short-term residence permits (valid from 3-6 months) are issued by the Aliens police office in the area of residency of the individual concerned and only when the individual can show evidence that he/she has a compelling reason to prolong his/her stay in Greece. The application must be submitted at least 15 days before the expiration of the original 90-day period. If a temporary residence permit is approved, a stamp will be placed in the applicant’s passport. The fee for the short-term residence permit is €36. Extensions for tourism purposes are not granted.

Foreign nationals wishing to stay in Greece for significantly more than 90 days will need a residence permit. Permission to work is granted with some residence permits, in those instances a separate work permit is not required.

If you have entered the country on a visa, you need to apply for residence permit at least two months before that visa expires.

Applications are made at the local town hall. The following documentation is required:

Visa from a Greek Consulate or Embassy
Copy of passport
Two passport-sized photos
Proof of medical insurance
Health certificate from a Greek public hospital, proving that no contagious diseases are present (all fees are paid by the applicant)
Proof of local residence
Proof of adequate financial resources to live in Greece
An employment contract (if applicable)
All documents need to be translated into Greek. These should be translated by a lawyer, a certified translator or the Greek foreign ministry department of translations.

Residence permits are valid from a one to five year period.  These can be renewed if the application for renewal is submitted two months before the initial permit expires. You can apply for permanent residence after a five-year period.

Retiree visa: Individuals from outside the EU who wish to live in Greece after they retire need to apply for a “D” Visa. You would need to prove that you have an adequate monthly income, and provide proof of sufficient medical insurance. If you cannot provide proof of an adequate income, you would be required to deposit €24,000 in a Greek bank account.

Greek Citizenship by Descent: Any national (EU and non-EU) who can prove Greek descent has a right to apply for Greek citizenship. If the application is successful, they are free to live and work in Greece.

Children born before 8 May 1984 to Greek mothers, children born before 16 July 1982 to Greek fathers, or grandchildren of grandparents born in Greece are eligible to acquire Greek citizenship.

Embassies

U.S. Embassy in Greece, 91 Vasilisis Sophias Avenue, 10160 Athens, Greece; tel. +30 (210) 721-2951; e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; website: http://athens.usembassy.gov/.

Greece Embassy in the U.S., 2217 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington DC 20008; tel. (202) 939-1306 or (202) 939-1332; website:  www.mfa.gr/www.mfa.gr/AuthoritiesAbroad/North+America/USA/EmbassyWashington/en-US/.

Canada Embassy in Greece, 4, Ioannou Ghennadiou Street, 115 21 Athens, Greece; tel. +30 (210) 727-3400; fax +30 (210) 727-3480; e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; website: www.canadainternational.gc.ca/greece-grece/.

Greece Embassy in Canada, 80 MacLaren St., Ottawa, ON, K2P 0K6; tel.  (613) 238-6271(3); fax (613) 238-5676; e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; website: www.greekembassy.ca.

Cost of Living in Greece

Sample supermarket prices from the Carrefour grocery store. All prices in U.S. dollars

Butter (250 grams)    $4.25
Milk     $1.44 liter
Philadelphia cream cheese (200 grams)    $2.56
Eggs (6 large)    $4.03
White sugar    $1.17 kilo
Nescafe original (100grams)    $3.86
Lipton’s tea (20 bags)    $2.19
Whole chicken     $5.40 kilo
Pork steaks     $6.18 kilo
Lamb (whole/half)    $11.50 kilo
Stewing steak    $7.34 kilo
Tomatoes    $2.09 kilo
Onions    $1.07 kilo
Potatoes    $1.37 kilo
Bananas    $2.09 kilo
Pears    $2.36 kilo
Apples    $1.73 kilo
Olive oil      $3.66 liter
Coca Cola    $1.44 liter

Taxes in Greece

Income Tax

If you are a resident in Greece, you’ll pay income tax of between 15% and 40% on income earned on worldwide income.
 
If you are a non-resident, you are only taxed on income earned within Greece.

Value Added Tax

The standard VAT rate in Greece is 23%. Some items, like food and medicine, has a reduced VAT rate of 11%.

Real Estate Tax

Property valued at less than 243,600 euro is exempt from real estate tax. Property over that amount is taxed at a rate of between 0.35% and 0.94%.

Financial Matters

Currency and exchange: Greece uses the euro. US$ 1 = €0.67 (May 2011)

Opening a bank account: It’s fairly simple to open a bank account as an expat in Greece. All that is needed is €150, a local address and a passport. Getting a credit card is only slightly more difficult, a residence permit is required, as well as a tax return and proof of income; thus expats will need to have a work permit and employment in order to qualify for this privilege.

While both financial processes are fairly uncomplicated in terms of legislation, prepare to spend some time filling out a pile of paperwork.
 
ATMs: You’ll find ATMs at bank branches and along the street. Many Greek banks have their ATMs in glass-enclosed rooms just outside the bank itself. The doors will be locked, but there will be a card reader. Your ATM card, from whatever country, will open the lock. Just slide it in and enter.

Travel Info: How to Get to Greece

Flying to Greece can be expensive. There are very few direct flights to Athens, so try and find a cheap flight from the U.S. to another European city (like London, Munich or Paris) and then look at smaller European airlines for a connecting flight to Greece.  

To find cheap flights, try a cost comparison website like Skyscanner (website: www.skyscanner.net).

Making Money in Greece

Getting a work visa

Non-EU nationals wishing to live and work in Greece must apply for a work permit which must be applied for by the employer. The granting of a Greek work permit depends upon the foreign individual’s citizenship and his or her intended time of stay in Greece. For further information, contact your nearest Greek Embassy or Consulate.

Setting up your own business

For information on setting up a business in Greece, see the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce: www.amcham.gr.

Making money overseas

If you’re interested in finding a way to fund your life overseas, there are a whole host of “jobs” that you can do from anywhere in the world. These are jobs that you can do from the front porch of your beach house…jobs that allow you to work in the morning, leaving the afternoon free for relaxing, reading, snorkeling, sailing…

These days, the world is more interconnected than ever and the possibilities for a portable paycheck are almost never-ending. You don’t need an MBA or thousands upon thousands of start-up cash to create a business for yourself that can easily fund your life overseas.

Here are just some of the ways you can do that.

Travel writing: Of all the kinds of writing you can do—fiction, academic, marketing, technical, etc.—travel writing is the most fun…and the most rewarding. Perhaps you already took a long vacation this year. You might find it hard to explain to that voice in your head—the one that monitors your bank account—that you’re going to take another. But if you can make enough money selling a story about your trip to cover its cost…or at least defray, say, the cost of the airfare…well, then, that is not such a bad arrangement.

Take Sandra Kennedy. She retired from teaching and wasn’t sure how she’d keep myself busy. But now here she gets paid to travel, take pictures along the way, and write about what she recommends other people do and see. She finds it hard to believe it’s even a real job!

Sandra has stayed at lavish haciendas, eaten the freshest foods in Ecuador, gotten to know the smiling, helpful locals. She’s been to a Shaman healing ceremony, rode horses in the Andes and learned to weave. And then she sat sipping fresh mango juice, relaxing by the pool.
Sandra takes notes and photos along the way and spends a few evenings writing up her impressions while they’re fresh in her mind. Once she’s back home, she puts them into proper sentences and then finds an editor who will pay her for them.  

Five-years on, and Sandra’s portfolio is filled with travel articles and photographs from Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Portugal, Uruguay, Argentina, Alaska, Maine, Oregon and Washington. And many of those articles came out of trips she enjoyed for next-to-nothing or even free.

An online business: Did you know that there’s a great way to make money from the comfort of your own home anywhere in the world, doing exactly what you’re doing now?

When Larry and Beatriz visited Medellin, Colombia they fell in love and knew they had to live there. Luckily for them, they were easily able to use their existing skills to create a business opportunity that translated from Coral Springs to Colombia.

At first, it was every two months. Then once a month. But that wasn’t often enough for Larry Snyder. So in 2008 he packed his bags, and he and his German shepherd, Hans, took a one-way flight to Medellin, Colombia.

“I started traveling to Colombia with my girlfriend Beatriz—who’s now my wife. She was making frequent trips for her clothing business in Florida. My work as a nurse in the Coral Springs E.R. meant I could schedule six days back-to-back and then take eight days off,” Larry says.

Beatriz started her own clothes manufacturing company in Colombia and Larry had an online business offering continuing education to nurses—something he could run from anywhere. So he went back to America and cleaned out the house. As a registered nurse, Larry knows about health care and hospitals so he turned his existing skills into an online business he can run from anywhere. And he couldn’t be happier.

Photography: Walk into your back yard, kneel down, and snap a photo of a flower in your garden…or capture a shot of your grandchildren playing with a football. Did you know that these photos could earn you $25…$50…even $150 or more for each one?

Imagine if, every time you went on vacation, with your camera in tow, you could make up to $800 for those pictures you snap. There is no great secret to breaking into photography—even if you have no experience and only use a simple point-and-shoot camera, it can still be a way to fund a new, more relaxed, and fun lifestyle.

Photos are used everywhere…newspapers, magazines, billboards, websites, technical manuals, and almost any published material. Someone has to take those pictures. Why shouldn’t that someone be you?

Take David Morgan. He wasn’t any hot-shot photographer when, with a Vivitar camera in hand, he traveled across Asia for six months. He dined with the Privy Counsel to the King of Thailand…met the late Mother Teresa…and shook hands with the Dalai Lama. He took a week-long, four-wheel-drive journey across Tibet. He went trout fishing in a pristine mountain stream in Bumburet, a hidden valley in the Hindu Kush. He also got to see secret religious ceremonies rarely witnessed by outsiders.

The icing on the cake was that he found a textbook publisher who needed the photos from his trip. Not only did his connections save him money, but he actually made money… over $6,000! What’s more, a few years later, the publisher offered to pay him again when the book went to a second edition.

Photography really can open up the world to you. As a “working” photographer, you can pickup-and-go any time you choose…get on a flight to any number of far-flung destinations…and enjoy the freedom of the photographer’s life.

A money-making website: A few years ago I decided to try my hand at creating a website that would make me some extra money. My idea was simply to create an informational site that would make money through people clicking on ads and other money-making links.

When it comes to retirement income, I want the money coming in, regardless of where I live.
Having a money-making website gives me that flexibility. I can do this from anywhere in the world. All I need is a laptop and an internet connection. If I choose to retire abroad permanently, I just have to make sure I have internet access. And if I decide to spend a year or more traveling the world, I can just plug in at hotels or cafes along the way.

I didn’t want to “go into business” and have to source and ship products, or deal with customers. I just wanted to write informative pages, and make some money with ads.

The site I created was CoffeeDetective.com. As its name suggest, it’s about coffee. I’m not a coffee professional, and have never worked in the coffee business. I just like coffee.
I wanted to write about something that interested me, and see if I could make some money along the way. Well, the site has been up for almost five years. It now gets over 3,000 visitors a day. And this month it looks like the site will be making me about $6,000.

Copywriting: Why exactly did you buy a whole caseload of nutritional supplement made from the oils of mold-infested Bolivian tree bark? Spend $3,000 to drink foul-tasting mare’s milk whilst undergoing the Spartan regime of a yoga retreat in Outer Mongolia?

Undoubtedly, it was because some devilishly clever person persuaded you to. It was something that you simply had to have...had to experience.

The big earners of the writing market are copywriters. Effectively dream sellers, many of them can earn fantastic money. By writing letters for the direct mail market (you and I might call it junk mail or spam), they persuade consumers to buy companies’ products—health products, financial products, self-improvement products, and travel products. You name it, and you can bet there’s a copywriter involved somewhere along the line.

Hospitals use copywriters, charities use copywriters. Whenever a business or organization needs to pro-mote itself (through a press release, leafleting, online, a newsletter, or other forms of media), it also gener­ally hires a copywriter.

Paul Hollingshead went from making $6.50 an hour stacking shelves in a grocery store to making $400,000 a year as a copywriter. Paul “works” a few hours a day. He writes one, maybe two letters a month. Recently, he moved with his family to a little historic town in the Vermont countryside. He has no bosses, no commute. He writes from a little cottage steps from his house, where he is surrounded by peace and quiet. For a break, he says he’ll walk over to the old Inn across the street for lunch…grab a coffee at the local market...

A top-notch copywriter can easily command $8,000 per letter. Imagine getting $96,000 in fees each year just for writing 12 letters. But that’s only the start of things. But, before you get carried away, note that not all copywriters earn quite as much. To get a six-figure income, you’ll first need to establish a track record. Of course, there are many countries in the world where that kind of money goes a long way. And again, it’s another wonderful career you can do from anywhere in the world.