To Stay Home or Go Home

There are millions of expats around the world. Many of these people have decided to move far away from family and friends for a chance at a better life. Some have moved to be closer to their homelands and family.

Others, like myself, have moved because they seek a different way of life. Now the millions of expats have had to make some hard decisions during the pandemic of Coronavirus. Do we stay in our current home or go to our permanent home?

Countries around the world are closing borders or severely limiting movement in and out, making it harder to get home in an emergency and probably a costly undertaking.

Do you stay or go?

Recently, I joined a Facebook Group called “Waiting This Out Abroad.” There people are asking advice on if they should stay or go home. This resonated with me on so many levels.

Currently, I am an independent expat in Greece. Meaning, I am not here working for a company, and I also don’t have any family here with me. I choose to move to Greece because I love it. But it also means I am making all the decisions during this difficult time.

My parents are in the high-risk group due to their age. They are also stubborn in their ways, and my mother still works even though she is long past the age of retirement. Due to family reasons, they are also raising my nieces, who are 15 and 7. Not an easy task in your later years.

It took several days of talking (read yelling) with members of my family to get them to understand how serious it was for them to stay home. All the while, they are telling me to stay at home as I have asthma.

Other expats have this struggle as well and many others. We stay and keep ourselves and our families safe. It also lessens the risk we pass on to strangers. But we also may be lonely, don’t speak the local language and don’t know where to turn for help.

For Once the Risk Doesn’t Outweigh the Reward

Putting myself on an airplane right now would mean a risk to me and to my family. My asthma isn’t severe in the sense that I have uncontrolled asthma attacks, but it has landed me with nebulizer treatments and ER visits when sick with pneumonia or bronchitis. I once got so sick on an airplane; I was put on oxygen for the remainder of a flight, as breathing was difficult.

If I came home, I would then need to be in 14-day quarantine from my family. Most likely, in a hotel that I can’t afford. Greece and the European Union have closed the borders to non-EU citizens meaning I would not be able to return to Greece for the foreseeable future.

The other dilemma is that I am only in the beginning process of my resident permit. I have a visa, but that would probably not get me back in. Returning to the US, I would probably lose my ability to return to Greece and maybe even before my current visa expires.

Against my heart’s desire and my anxiety, I decided to remain in Greece.

Then Greece Went on Lockdown

On March 23, 2020, Greece decided to go on lockdown. We don’t have the numbers that Italy has, but I know they don’t want it to get that bad. 20% of Greece’s population is over the age of 65, making it a good portion of the population here.

Greece, like Italy, doesn’t have the hospital infrastructure to care for a large, critically ill population. As of 2012, Greece only had 650 ICU beds in the entire country. While that number may have improved, it still can’t be enough for a country of almost 11 million people.

We, like many other counties, may only go out for essentials, work, to exercise alone or with another person with 3 feet apart, and to walk the dog. If we do, we must fill out a form, send a text, or carry a handwritten declaration.

All of this has led to more anxiety about the decision I have made to stay. I already work remotely and have not made tons of friends in Athens, so I am already isolated here.

Being told, I can only go out for essentials was an unexpected blow. For some reason, it has made the whole situation worse. Getting information in English is possible, but it is always a bit delayed. Of course, friends are helping me out, but you still feel isolated when you don’t speak enough of the language to help yourself.

Now my family is in lockdown in Texas, so I have some feeling of security this way. I am still telling my stubborn family to stay home. We have several video calls a day.

Many of my international friends have checked on me, and even new people I have never met have messaged me via my blog or YouTube channel. Maybe the world will become smaller after all this, and we will all care a little bit more.

No decision I made would have been easy, but to protect my health and my parent’s lives; the decision to stay is the right one for now.