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Greek financial crisis prompts residents' to move to Nova Scotia

The economic troubles facing Greece have meant some Greeks in search of better economic opportunities are now calling Nova Scotia home.

Vasilis Vasili, a sculptor, is one of them. The art professor from Athens is now working for a stone importing business in Halifax.

"This crisis led the educated people to leave the country, especially to leave Greece a beautiful country, but the beauty doesn't feed you," he said.

Vasili is in Canada with his wife and children. His wife is a nurse by profession, but is working at a restaurant here.

Both Vasili and his wife work at businesses owned by Peter Giannoulis. Vasili became connected with Giannoulis after doing searches on the internet.

Giannoulis employs four people who have recently emigrated from Greece, but believes about 100 families have come to Nova Scotia as a result of Greece's struggles.

In Greece, there are restrictions on how much people can withdraw from their banks since the country defaulted on a huge loan. A referendum this Sunday could force Greeks to accept deeper cutbacks or get kicked out of the European Union.

It's taken about a year for Vasili to get a work permit through the provincial nominee program. The move hasn't been easy, but he doesn't regret his decision to come to Canada.

"When you find stability, when you find good people, good relations, stable financial situation, you feel [at] home," he said.

Vasili says his kids love being in Canada.

"When they learned we are finally staying, they jumped up and down like crazy because they have started to feel like Canada is their home," he said.

Vasili also recently got a contract from NSCAD University to create a work of public art on Granville Street.