Moving our family to Kefalonia

[by sjp]

Hi there, this is my very first post so you might have to bear with me.
My husband and I are thinking of moving out there with our two children who are 7 and 10.
My eldest daughter as been there since 2005 after meeting her Greek boyfriend while working as a holiday rep. We really want to go as this is a permanent move for her and we want to keep our family together. We also think it would be a better life for our kids as things go from bad to worse here in the UK.
We know it won't be easy at first, we'll have to find jobs and somewhere to live. My biggest worry is the kids, will they settle, how will they go on in a Greek school not being able to understand what the teacher and other pupils are saying.
We are coming out there on the 23rd Aug for a couple of weeks hopefully to meet a few people in the same situation as ourselves and to get as much info and advice as possible.
I'd love to hear from anybody who as made the same move with children and I'd be very grateful for any advisc.
Sue

PS I posted this on another forum and got back lots of negative responses all of which seemed to be from people who only spend a couple of weeks a year out there. Do they really know well enough to give good advice?
Sue

[by jsaston]

Hi Sue

Firstly, let me say you lucky lucky thing. Being able to move to Cephalonia is my dream. Dont worry about your children not fitting into school, they will pick up Greek much quicker than you will, and will fit into school life easy. There are some British and German children living on the Island that I know of. The biggest problem which you already know about is finding work on the Island, and the wages are not any where near what you will get back in the UK. This is the problem we have found, when looking into moving to Greece. I know people who work the summer months, and struggle a bit in the winter time. Depending on your skills and education you may find it easier to find work than you think. For example my wife is an IT profeshional, and she has been told by our Greek friends that she would have loads of oppertunities to teach the local children Computer Studies, English, and other related subjects. The Greek's like to give their children a good level of extra education outside of school. Myself I am a Semi Profeshional Wedding Photographer, and if I ever got the chance to move out to Cephalonia thats what I would be looking into, many couples travel to Greece every year to tie the knot, I was one of the them. and Cephalonia attracts lots of UK couples for that reason. I suppose the biggest thing you need to have is plenty of cash to get you by until you have found work.

My friends live in and around Skala, which is a lovely village in the south, they rent a small house for about ?400 per month, then rent out there flats back home, just incase they ever need to come back home, plus that gives them an income from renting to.

The only other thing I suggest is if you dont already speak Greek, then you will need to do a crash course, basic words are fine for holiday, but when it comes to living there, you will need a good command of the lingo. I have started evening classes at my local adult education centre, which is giving me a good understanding of Greek. None of this is rocket sience, you probably know all of this already. Dont let anyone put you off giving it a try, I know you get these people who say, its hard, it wont work. A lot of these people will never leave this mess of a country, and the ones who have left and are still saying it is hard, well they did it.

I wish you luck on Cephalonia, its a beautiful place to live, not like Britian at all, and if you get it to work please let me know, as I think about going 20 times a day.

Regards Jon...

[by erroll]

I would say the very best of luck too.. and my only worry would be employment in the winter time..... my Son moved to Skiathos in the spring a few years ago, and as a chef, had no trouble securing well paid employment with a Scottish couple, until September..... the island shuts down, direct flights cease. and the island sleeps for six months..... he ended up going to France for the winter, returning again in April.... but no negative thoughts !!!! work hard in the summer months and live off your money in the winter !!! best wishes.