Return home, if they could get a job with similar wages…

More and more Greeks that came to settle in Australia in the past decade, are packing up and moving back to Greece in masses.

We have recently received several accounts of Greeks returning home, and though there are no official figures, everyone in the Greek community knows of someone who has recently returned to Greece.

Many of them left when the pandemic broke out, when businesses shut, leaving hundreds of them, without a job or access to the support offered by the government, due to their visa status.

Already, we are told, many have regretted their decision, as the pandemic is escalating in Greece, and successive lockdowns are being imposed. And with the borders shut, they are not able to return.

This issue, of migrants returning to Greece has been highlighted on the Facebook platform E.N.A. (a page designed for the newly arrived Greek migrants), where many of the members describe their experiences and express their thoughts on the subject.

It is interesting to note that Kapa research identified in a survey conducted last year, that 45% of young Greek expats are considering returning back to Greece within the next ten years.

In the survey that questioned 3,000 young Greek expats living in 34 countries, their responses demonstrate that many of them would willingly return home, if they could get a job with similar wages (49%), or if the economy improved (44%). From the survey, 38% said that they wanted to return to be close to family and friends, and 24% missed the climate and environment. Only 20% said that they had no intention of returning to their homeland.