I have just read Victoria Hislop's account of buying a house in Crete in the Sunday Times. She articulates so clearly the reasoning (or lack of it) behind the desire to buy a house in Greece - the reason that we all love to live here even though we complain and mutter and protest and strike from time to time!This is what she says:
"There was nothing remotely logical or rational about buying in Greece. We could easily have continued to go each summer and rent, or stay in a hotel. Even at the time the whole exercise was irrational and not an entirely 'sensible' thing to do. The property market in Crete has slumped; there are many houses that have been waiting for buyers for years". She goes on to list the new taxes to be paid and the ones that haven't even been thought about yet. She knows that her house is probably worth less than what she paid for it four years ago and then....""All that aside, at this minute........ I have few regrets. When I opened my laptop .... my screensaver reminds me why we took this huge decision. There in front of me is a picture divided into two: half of it is deep blue and the other half bright blue, the lower half is the sea and the upper half the sky. Even when I am not there the existence of this and all the summers we have enjoyed there is in the back of my mind, and the image of the view is ever present."
Well done Mrs. Hislop! This is how Greece can claim you as its life long admirer, how it gets under your skin, and how you will forgive (almost) anything when you look at your favourite view, listen to your favourite music and eat at your favourite taverna. It is also the reason why prices remain reasonably stable - in Corfu at any rate - though there are always bargains to be found!
Susan
