The struggles of a repatriating Greek

10 years.

It was June 29th 2014 when i took the leap of faith & decided to pursue a career abroad in the (back then) flourishing business environment of the UK.

In all fairness, this is not a post full of drama & tears about a Greek living the hard life abroad & making it 'big' in life. Life didn't treat me hard at all outside Greece. If anything, it was an easy paved ride. My previous company (an international colossus in the Tobacco industry) took very good care of me and made certain that it will be smooth & flawless move in relation to my tickets, accommodation, furniture transfer & salary in the UK. And it just kept building up since then 'till this day, that i find myself back in Athens. With a wife, two kids, a dog and a mortgage (In the UK).

My current company (an also GREAT company to work for), also made sure that my move back to Greece will be smooth & fast. I rented my UK property, arranged flying tickets, sorted out family visas, moved my furniture & found a property to rent in an affluent Athenian suburb within a month's time. As we speak I'm 110% up & running in my new role, moving all strings to make things happen for my region of responsibility as a Country Manager.

So what is this Blog post for?

It sounds like a cliché but living abroad changes you down to the core. It alters your inner values, the way of thinking, even the way of feeling. You can't speak a language properly if you are not feeling to your guts the meaning of the words that come out of your mouth. 10 years abroad is 10 years attending a 'school' that reshapes your brain. And this is what this blog post is for. My reshaped brain is not braining the Greek way anymore. Neither my wife's who is British. And this is where the fun begins....

1. The Simple Staff

Take it or leave it, Greece is a country of ruins....in ruins. At least when it comes to infrastructure & Social behavior. My British raised wife is still stroke with surprise that simple code of conduct habits which we should have caught up with the rest of Europe are still not a given for us Greeks. For example a mother with a two kids baggie crossing the pedestrian stripes on the road should be a 'no go' for a vehicle to cross. Right? Wrong. The bus should come on time & there should be enough to serve the commuters demand. Wrong again. At least the cars should stop at the traffic light, that's a given. Is it though?! Turns out you still have to be cautious when crossing the road with a red light for the cars...And OMG let's not even go to the Greek Banks topic. We are PRIMITIVE. It took me 40 hardcopies, 30 days & a bank employee full of attitude in order to accomplish opening a bank account in Greece. As if i will practice Nuclear Science with it or discover driverless cars. We are so far behind the world when it comes to financial institutions & organizations that it's sad to say the least...

2. A nation of Stereotypes & Bias

This one hurts me, both like an individual human being but also as a husband and a parent. There are some stereotypical hurdles that we haven't managed to overcome the last years. London has been a melting pot for me that loads of interesting nations come together to thrive & exchange cultures. So i've learned to be open to the world's different heritages & mindsets: The Indians, the Chinese, the Eastern Europeans, the LATAM. And actively listen. And most importantly: Respect.

I learned to respect and admire the homosexual couples. It takes "nuts" to have the courage to show your love to your partner open in public. I learned to respect different skin colors & accents. It is beautiful that humanity has the privilege to be a puzzle of differences & uniqueness. I learned to hold my judgment & do not pre-empt based on someone's profession. And most of all i learned that Greece is mediocre country (at best) with a rich history & heritage contribution, equal among other great ones (the Chinese, the Indian, the Egyptian etc etc). Unfortunately in Greece it seems that people have not still learned any of the above, at least not in its big majority. In fact, my wife had to experience at first hand the racist, stereotypical, bias mindset of a mini market local retail chain (OK!Market), when she was stopped & search at the exit from the stuff on the suspicion of shoplifting. Because she is black, so most probably she must poor and hungry...(Key note: The staff didn't even apologize when they -obviously- didn't find anything in her bag).

3. The Bright Side of the story

Like all things in life: "You lose some, you deem some". This is the case with repatriating to Greece as well. There are plenty of perks coming back to homeland. For starters, i am impressed with the digitalization & automation of anything related to the State. You want something -  you go in the gov portal & print it, apply for it, confirm it. Done! Really easy - many times much easier that the UK - in all fairness! I'm also impressed of how well the government is treating repatriating Greeks, helping them to adjust & thrive in the homeland via generous tax reduction schemes.

Also to be open & honest, my mixed race kids are 100 times happier here. They spend 120% more time outdoors, getting involved with the nature (parks, sea, zoo, farms), culture (museum, events, parades, other) & eating good, quality, generous portion food full of nutrients. I want to insist a little bit on this one since in the UK this was my big 'beef'. Food there has no taste. It could be the same thing eating a tomato or a cardboard - with eyes closed most probably you couldn't tell the difference. In Greece, everything smells at all times :-)

Finally, the proximity in amazing, breathtaking landscapes is a blessing. From central Athens (Akropolis) to the beach (Sounio Cape) to the mountain (Parnitha), everything is 15-20 minutes driving. And honestly, we should stop complaining about traffic. Unless you have lived in London, you should by any mean claim how heavy traffic looks like. What we have in Athens is just jokes, not traffic... 

Lastly (and most importantly) i have the pleasure to deal with Mediterranean colleagues due the my region of responsibility. And that is something else! Work is really done in a fun & productive way, the mentality is problem-solving driven (not problem-spotting) & business comes with what we call in Greek 'Filotimo & Zilo'. And this has a revitalizing effect on myself that i missed abroad. It builds a sense of caring for what i do & what others do for me & themselves.

Closing this blog post, i would like to share a thought & a quote that recently read while i was going through the repatriation process & i do believe it marked me deeply. "You feel more foreign in the country you hold a passport from, than any other place in the world"

So here i am back in Greece. 

Too foreign for UK, too foreign for home. 

Never enough for both...