Cyprus-Forum.com

[ttoli]

Greeks Seek Work in Cyprus as Economic Malaise Provokes Exodus

Photis Karavasilis, a car mechanic from Volos, Greece, used to work as a builder because he couldn’t find a job in his chosen profession. He now earns 25 percent more grilling meat 650 miles away in Cyprus.

Karavasilis, 25, moved to the eastern Mediterranean island in July after a friend told him about a vacancy at a restaurant in Nicosia, the capital. He makes about 1,000 euros ($1,338) a month, compared with the 800 euros he was taking home in the construction industry in Greece.

“I came to Cyprus in search of something better,” he said after a shift cooking souvlaki kebabs and putting salad in pitta bread. “The whole system here is better than in Greece.”

Greeks heading overseas have typically been students, doctors and bankers seeking education and jobs. This year, more blue-collar workers with no language skills are looking to escape economic hardship just as they did in the 1950s. As a fellow Greek-speaking euro member, Cyprus is a main destination.

Unemployment in Greece was 11.8 percent in the second quarter, while in Cyprus, the rate was 7 percent, according to data from national statistical offices. In the 25-to-34 age bracket, joblessness in Greece was 15.8 percent. The highest rate was for car mechanics, at 18.1 percent.

Labor Offices

“There is an increase in the number of Greeks visiting labor offices in Nicosia and e-mails sent to us by Greeks in the last five months,” said Panagiota Lyra, district labor officer at the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance in Cyprus. “They are generally holders of higher education degrees or people in their 20s to 40s who lost their jobs.”

The Cypriot economy grew for the second straight quarter in the second quarter after it shrank 1.7 percent in 2009. Greek gross domestic product has fallen for seven consecutive quarters, shrinking 2 percent in 2009, and the government and European Union predict a 4 percent decline this year.

So far, figures show a small increase in the number of Greeks working in Cyprus because the latest data available goes through the end of April, before the summer tourist season. The increase was 0.9 percent to 9,515 from 9,429 at the end of April 2009, according to the labor ministry.

Maria Paraskevopoulou from the tourist region of Halkidiki in northern Greece got a degree in business administration in 2008 and came to Cyprus three months ago. She worked as a business consultant in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, for 500 euros a month and earns almost twice that in Cyprus as a trainee.

Speaking Greek

“No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible to find a job in Greece,” said Paraskevopoulou, 25. “I thought of looking abroad for employment. Here people speak the same language and this counts a lot and I could easily identify where there were opportunities.”

Almost 74 percent of college-educated Greeks would abandon the country if they could, as Prime Minister George Papandreou increases taxes and cuts spending to avoid a debt default, according to a survey of 22- to 35-year-olds by Kapa Research and published in the To Vima newspaper on Aug. 29.

In the 1950s, many Greeks of a similar age fled to places such as Australia and Canada following the civil war in the aftermath of World War II.

While the unemployment rate for university graduates was lower than the Greek national average in the second quarter at 8.1 percent, it was still higher than in Cyprus.

Reluctant Exit

“If I could have found a permanent job in Greece, I would have surely stayed there,” said Christos Choutoukoglou, a 35- year-old mathematics graduate from Thessaloniki who arrived in Nicosia on Aug. 26. “If there is some movement on the labor market in Greece, I will think again about relocating back home. But I don’t see it happening in the next five years.”

The travel time from Greece and the willingness of Cypriot employers to cover relocation expenses are additional incentives for Greeks and their families to relocate for longer, said Phryni Yiakoumetti, senior manager at the human resources consulting department of PricewaterhouseCoopers Cyprus.

It takes an hour and 40 minutes to fly to Larnaca, the city with the biggest airport in Cyprus, from Athens and about two hours from Thessaloniki.

“Cyprus is an attractive destination for Greeks mainly due to a high standard of living and cultural similarities,” said Yiakoumetti. Her company has received more enquiries over the past six months from Greek nationals, she said.

Karavasilis wants to spend at least a year working in Cyprus to save 5,000 euros before he decides whether to return back to his home town in central Greece. He told his friends at home that he would try to get them work too.

“I do not like it that much here to tell you the truth,” he said. “It was the better pay that brought me to Cyprus.”

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-2 ... xodus.html

[Paphitis]

Cyprus and Greece are EU member States you idiot!

All EU citizens are allowed to move and work in Cyprus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ttoli]

Cyprus and Greece are EU member States you idiot!

All EU citizens are allowed to move and work in Cyprus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God!!!, You bite easily dont you

[Paphitis]

Cyprus and Greece are EU member States you idiot!

All EU citizens are allowed to move and work in Cyprus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers for that , I have an EU passport

Well then, piss off to France!

[kurupetos]

A better title for this topic would be: "Poor b*stards"

[EricSeans]

Cyprus and Greece are EU member States you idiot!

All EU citizens are allowed to move and work in Cyprus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God!!!, You bite easily dont you

So do you, apparently. Take your teeth out next time you're giving BJs to squaddies on the BZ, old boy.

[ttoli]

Cyprus and Greece are EU member States you idiot!

All EU citizens are allowed to move and work in Cyprus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God!!!, You bite easily dont you

So do you, apparently. Take your teeth out next time you're giving BJs to squaddies on the BZ, old boy.

BZ?

[EricSeans]

I wouldn't have expected a whoring carpetbagger to know much about Cyprus. BJ was easy enough for you.

[ttoli]

I wouldn't have expected a whoring carpetbagger to know much about Cyprus. BJ was easy enough for you.

Ah one of my favorite shows, thanks for reminding me
http://www.tv.com/b.j.-and-the-bear/sho ... mmary.html

[Paphitis]

Cyprus and Greece are EU member States you idiot!

All EU citizens are allowed to move and work in Cyprus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers for that , I have an EU passport

Well then, piss off to France!

If you're an EU citizen, let me know when you cross the Green Line and I will get a friend of mine to meet you, show you around and possible even get you an interview!

He is a top guy!