At the end of their holiday, many travellers to Greece think: "It was great". Some may want to stay there "at some point", like STS did. But is the "feeling of life" that you "inhale there" really so great? Young Greeks think differently.
Setting up a (second) residence on an island is not that difficult. Lots of people do it on Spanish islands, and the Internet is full of more or less clever tips for emigrating. Whether it makes sense is another question.
In addition, thank God there are no huge second home complexes like those in Spain that are simply thrown together without any consideration for appearance or the environment (often without permits).
Anyone who has ever been to one of the Aegean islands in winter, which are so beautiful in summer, will quickly lose the desire to stay for a longer period: it is cold, windy, drafts come in everywhere, almost everything is closed, the sea is unwelcoming and absolutely nothing, but really nothing, is going on.
Dramatic population growth
Young Greeks have a very distant relationship with their country. The motto is to get out of here as quickly as possible. Since 2013, up to 100.000 people (in some years even fewer), mostly young people with good education, have left the country every year because of the lack of prospects and low earning potential.
This brain drain means new problems for Greece: the state pays for people's training but does not benefit from it. These qualified workers are lacking in the country. While it used to be the Albanians or North Macedonians who came to work, they are now increasingly looking for better-paid jobs elsewhere in the EU. The problems are not hidden from tourists either. Receptions are open for shorter hours, restaurants close earlier, and one often gets the impression that a shortage of skilled workers is also an issue.
The elderly are left behind: 22% of the population is over 65 years old (in Austria it is 19,8%, in Ireland only 15%). Deaths far exceed births, the population has been falling steadily since 2011 and currently stands at 10,5 million.
While there was a baby boom in Central Europe after World War II, this growth was completely absent in Greece due to civil war, military dictatorship and emigration.
Islands as problem areas
Before tourism, the living situation on the islands was particularly precarious and led to extreme migration to the mainland and abroad, mostly to the USA, Canada and Australia.
Emigration occurred in waves at the beginning and then in the middle of the 20th century, and most recently intensified after the Greek economic crisis. Between 1950 and 1975 alone, more than a million Greeks left their homeland, 600.000 went to Germany, only a few to Austria. Many smaller islands were in danger of complete depopulation. Agriculture was hardly possible anymore due to soil loss through deforestation, olive plantations are still a lifeline, but only profitable when there are at least 400 trees. Island tourism, which began to emerge in 1970, brought some relief where an airport was built, but still suffers from its seasonal nature.
Mini schools
The Greek government tried to counteract this. Since 2020, there has been a state bonus of €2000 for every birth. Both parents are entitled to four months of "paid leave" after the birth (similar to the maternity leave period in Austria, only much shorter). New childcare places are also being created, largely with EU funding.
There are special programs for the (small) islands. Subsidized "public service flights" to the nearest centers (eg Rhodes or Sitia on Crete) enable residents to run errands or receive medical care in the higher central locations, with partial reimbursement of travel costs through insurance. For tourists, these flights offer easier access to remote destinations, which are often only served by ferries twice a week, although the shipping connections can be cancelled for longer periods in autumn and winter due to weather conditions.
On many small islands, the state offers schools from kindergarten to high school. Although there are often only a few students per class, if these schools did not exist, all families with children would immediately move away. Teachers who commit to teaching on small islands receive tax breaks.
The young Maria from Kasos, who works in a hotel on the neighboring island of Karpados, speaks very positively about the lessons in small classes. She says that this way she has at least learned English quite well.
The state's measures are having an effect: on larger islands such as Rhodes, Kos and Crete, the population has even increased slightly, and on several smaller islands it has at least stabilized.
The Americans arrive in August
In the small town of Aperi (355 permanent residents) on Karpados, the effects of emigration can be seen quite clearly. The village is considered very wealthy because many of the second generation of emigrants to the USA still have strong ties to their homeland and spend part of the summer there. The otherwise empty family houses are generously renovated, money is invested in the local savings bank and lavish family celebrations with numerous guests are held in the local restaurants. The restaurant owners live off this turnover for a long time. The small salad and the few drinks that the author and the guests from Austria consumed as the only guests in a local tavern are negligible in comparison. Nevertheless, the landlord spoke very openly and in June he was already longing for August, "when the Americans finally come".
The mail plane
The small island of Kasos (approx. 1000 inhabitants on 66km2) is really remote in terms of transport between Crete and Karpados. The ferry from Rhodes comes once a week, but there is a small public plane almost every day (a Dash 8-100 from Olympic with 37 seats), which shuttles back and forth between Rhodes, Karpados, Kasos and Sitia like a regional bus. The flight attendant, who already knows us from a previous flight, is in a great mood and asks about further travel plans. The number of passengers is very manageable, but the island's population is eagerly awaiting the Amazon packages brought from Rhodes, because there are no clothing, shoe or household shops on the island.
Internet orders are the way out
Stavros Manousos from the Hotel Anagennisis is happy to pick up guests who arrive by plane from Rhodes and Karpados (seven minutes flight time from Karpados!) by car and also tells us about American and Canadian Greeks who come in July and August. Then he is happy to see the hotel fully booked and the three tavernas in the main town of Fri have more guests.
Stavros also addresses a problem that also applies to other islands: the water supply. There is simply not enough water for the number of visitors, which then has to be brought in from the mainland or from Crete, which is difficult and expensive. This means that many islands are actually not suitable for tourism at all.
On Kasos, 2024 will mark the two hundredth anniversary of the massacre and the almost complete extermination of the population by Ottoman troops after an uprising by the Greek population. Numerous events are on the program.
Big city feeling in Sitia
Sitia (Crete) is the end point of the "mail plane". The friendly flight attendant greets us very friendly again, everyone knows each other by now. Although it only has 10.000 inhabitants, after the small islands the place feels like a big city equipped with all the facilities.
But not everything is ideal here either: when the season ends at the beginning of October, the olive harvest is on the agenda. Some restaurants are still open, but the number of guests is manageable. After the harvest season, many people are unemployed, which means getting by on around €500 (there is a 10% child allowance). Self-employed people can only hope to have saved enough during the season.
As beautiful as Greece may be in summer, the problems cannot be denied.
This article was written by: Mag. Wolfgang Ludwig
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