Here at Brits in Crete you share first hand experiences of those already living here through livelihood articles and professional advice. BritsinCrete.Net has dedicated pages on living on Crete. We guide you with a checklist of things you need to know when you plan to settle in Crete and the Islands of Greece, or plan a long stay including:
- ex-patriate "life" on the Island of Crete, Greece.
- Finding a Job in Crete including working advice, and facing the Greek bureaucracy.
- Cost of Living and Supermarket Shopping.
- Bringing the kids to Crete? - English speaking ex-pat schools
- How to Import a car to Crete/or owning a motorcycle.
- Buying a Property in Sunny Greece.
- Making Money from Letting Your Holiday Home incl. the National Tourist Office, EOT License Requirements.
- All About Building Your Dream Home's Swimming Pool
- Who Pays Tax in Greece? - 2011-2012 Special Property Tax.
- Retirement/Bereavement in Crete, as it applies specifically to the British and Irish.
After several years of faithful service, we thought it was finally time to re-vamp the old front page and replace it with a slicker, more topical one.
So what’s new?
We’re refreshing the content and tied it all in with our social media activity, by introducing a fresher and more dynamic “Latest News and Views” section which will keep you informed on what we’re up to and any useful insight we think is worth sharing.
The site gives us a fantastic platform to build on as we aim, as always, to continue to develop our service – so watch this space.
We know how busy you are but if you have a minute, have a browse and see what you think. We’d welcome any feedback and thoughts.
Like so many debacles in the EU, it started with the unelected European Commission. It’s immune to voters, but not to lobbyists and corporations. Under the guise of “consumer protection” or “food safety” or some other harmless moniker, it generates zany laws that tend to benefit large corporations. But last week, it went too far, even for Europeans – not that we don’t already have enough crises on our hands. It passed a law that banned restaurants from serving olive oil in refillable containers, such as cruets or dipping bowls.
On January 1, 2014, their use would become illegal. Instead, olive oil would have to be served in a one-use-only bottle, labeled in accordance with EU standards, and equipped with a tamper-proof “hygienic” spout. A restaurant owner in Greece, for example, who buys his special olive oil from an artisan producer in Crete, would be out of luck; that small producer wouldn’t be able to comply with the costly stipulations. The restaurant would have to switch to an industrial supplier that can ship the special restaurant bottles with their tamper-proof spout and EU label. The small producer would be cut out.
In May each year, the island of Crete, and many Greek Communities around the World hold remembrance celebrations of the Battle of Crete - a battle which lasted for 11 days, from the 20th to the 31st of May 1941, and was one of the most significant battles of the Second World War..
This year is the 72nd Anniversary of that epic battle, and as always, some of the last surviving veteran soldiers of the battle are in Crete along with representatives of the allied governments to remember and pay tribute to all those heroes, both military and civilians, who fought and died so the rest of the world could be free, to honour and to be honoured...
In another act of sheer lunacy the small glass jugs filled with green or gold coloured extra virgin olive oil which are familiar and traditional for restaurant goers across Greece and Crete will be banned from 1 January 2014 after a decision taken in an obscure Brussels committee earlier this week. From next year olive oil "presented at a restaurant table" must be in pre-packaged, factory bottles with a tamper-proof dispensing nozzle and labelling in line with EU industrial standards.
Ever wondered what the amount of money that Greece just got loaned looks like? Have a look at the infographic here
Eastern Crete - We've got a new visitor! Apparently it's called a Huntsman Spider.
It's about the size of my hand and only has six legs either through trying to mate with something beyond his match or getting attacked by an eagle or some other larger creature that was not afraid to approach such a huge beast. We have called him Attilla the Hun(tsman). He absolutely beats anything that comes near him. We are both staying well clear.
Is there a spider expert on the island than can advise us please? If Attilla the Huntsman eats Mossies we will love him forever but if he takes a fancy to human flesh we may respond differently.
This Envisat image (Click it to see larger version) is dominated by the island of Crete separating the Aegean and Libyan Seas in the eastern Mediterranean.
The largest and most populous of the Greek islands, Crete is home to numerous beaches, fertile plateaus, caves and high mountains.
Located at the centre of the island, Mount Psiloritis (also known as Mount Ida) towers over the others at 2454 m. According to Greek mythology, the god of sky and thunder – Zeus – was born in a cave here.
At the top of the image we can see the southern portion of the Cyclades island group, including the islands of Milos, Ios, Anafi and Santorini.
While most of these islands are peaks of a submerged mountainous terrain, Milos and Santorini (the two backward-C-shaped islands) are volcanic.
This image is a compilation of three passes by Envisat’s radar on 11 December 2010, 10 January and 11 March 2011. Each is assigned a colour (red, green and blue) and combined to produce this representation. New colours reveal changes in the surface between Envisat’s passes.
From the European Space Agency
There is an interesting conversation on the use of metal detectors in Greece in the Brits in Crete Forum: http://bit.ly/Z7Nu37] . It seems somewhat absurd that Brits Living in Crete, who are clearly hobbyists of the pastime cannot do what they do in UK i.e. they are deprived of the right to go beachcombing in Greece. It is against the law.
In general terms an outright ban by EU governments on use of metal detectors contradicts Articles 34 and 36 of the EU. Greece bans the use of metal detectors by ordinary people on national security grounds and cultural heritage. Period.
From 15 April 2013, British nationals in Greece will submit passport applications to the Identity and Passport Service - IPS in the UK for processing.
The British Embassy in Athens said: "We are making important changes to the way we deliver British passports. The UK government’s goal is to ensure that all British nationals living overseas receive a consistent, trusted, secure and efficient service whilst keeping the costs as low as possible. In order to do that responsibility for issuing passports overseas passed from the Foreign Office and its posts overseas to the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) – an Agency of the Home Office, which already handles all passport applications from people living in the UK."
Full details can be found here
The UK's #HMRC has changed the rules regarding #VAT payment on vehicles entering the #UK from April 14, 2013.
HMRC calls the new system: Notification of Vehicle Arrivals (NOVA). It is intended to improve the process for notifying HMRC and paying the required VAT. This is another bureaucratic nightmare if you take a vehicle into UK. You have to not only inform HMRC within 14 days but pay VAT, if it is required during that time period.
The best way to handle NOVA is to do it yourself online or assign a tax advisor or freight forwarding agent to handle on your behalf.
More details on our dedicated page: Vehicles into UK: New VAT Rules Effective April 15, 2013
