Miguelito wrote:violet wrote:Miguelito wrote:Alexandra wrote:Greece must be a hell hole if it's worse than Nigeria. I get the feeling they're just pulling these numbers out their asses.
Bless
The Greek islands are great, and not too pricey -- although they are pricier than they should be as they're on the Euro.
Greece ranks low because it's hard to find good employment; but Costa Rica ranks high with a lot of retirees. So, there is certainly no consistency in these rankings. If Greece was full of retired British expats that didn't need to find a job (seemingly like other countries on the list), instead of younger people that want to work, than Greece would rank higher.
Wouldn't Greece also rank low due to it having to be financially bailed out two or three times and it having been a major stopping off point for refugee immigrants in recent years?
I don't see why their government's budget problems would have an effect on how it ranks as an expat destination. As for the migrant crisis (I will use the term migrant, as the BBC does: "The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants."), again it doesn't really pose any hardships on expats living there. At the height of the migrants entering Greece I spent two weeks between the Turkish coast and the Greek islands. I did see many migrants in Greece, where they would set up small tent cities near the main ferry ports. They had zero desire to stay on those Greek islands, nor did the Greek government have a desire to keep them there. They would register themselves in, and then be on a ferry onwards. They didn't bother anyone, and certainly wouldn't affect any expats there.
Then You are a bit naïve. Sweden, the undisputed Emperor of humanitarian super powers, has turned down the benefits to match EU levels. We are also trying (though this had been difficult due to ultra-naïve politicians) to reduce the influx of new migrants. Germany is doing the same. Austria has rather verbosely threatened to build walls to certain nations if the first ports of arrival (Greece and Italy) keep on sending people further north instead of registering them and providing for them.
This will eventually lead to a buffering up of desperate people in Greece and Italy, and to a lesser extent in Spain with very little hope for any future. And those nations are in no position to provide the life that the people arriving had hoped for. Add to this the problems already facing most EU countries due to free movements within the Schengen area. You mention that they registered and then were on a ferry onward, but registering is usually the last thing they want to to since registering in Greece by the Dublin convention prevents them from being granted asylum status in Sweden or Germany. We nowadays check against the EU database even though lenient immigration officers sometimes look the other way.
A great example of what can happen when You have too much influx of desperate people without any ability or power to give them a life is Lebanon in the 1970's. Or maybe the suburbs in Birmingham. And remember that the EU still receives a lot of people that noone knows what to do with. This usually does not bode well for the future.