Cyprus-Forum.com

[allison adams]

what would you advise a new person going to live in cyprus of the pros and cons BE HONEST PLESAE

[devil]

A new person? Breast feeding and Pampers!

[sirox101]

the pros : its hot ! the cons : youl have your savings eaten and the salarys crap and the cyproits have the manners of dogs and the majority of english are there were balaclavas and stripey tops haha

[denizaksulu]

The most important thing is your Sun Protection.

[Beth_Josephine]

Don’t come over thinking everything is exotic and that life is a doodle. The wages here are extremely low, compared to the UK. The average wage is that of £400 - £500, £500 if you are really lucky! And don’t expect to work a lovely 35hour working week for this amount, some times it is more.

Bring sun block!

The winter (be it maybe only 3-4 months) is cold.

Locals will rip you off, if they know that you know jack sh*t.

You may come across people that refuse to speak English to you, on the basis that you are living in their country, you have to speak their language, even if you have been here for 5 minutes but this isn’t every where, I’ve only come across this type of person about 5 times.

Try to avoid the big chain supermarkets, they are expensive but if you do use them, do not buy their fruit, it is way over priced, you are better off going to a local market or shop.

[beverley10]

Come over with an open heart,mind and eyes.Come over with plenty of money as ,unlike the UK,you get nothing given to you in Cyprus.Do'nt expect to find work unless you are a con artist,dodgey geyser or really do have a skill and speak fluent Greek.Even then,the wages are very low and prices are very high.Rent first and ship your goods over as they are much more expensive in Cyprus.Do,nt bring your car unless it is new and low cc but check first as this area is very grey and another rip off! If you have a medical condition that needs medication on a regular basis you will not have it covered with medical insurance but can queue at the local general hospital with your appropriate euro card and pay cy£1.40 for your prescription,you then go to the hospital pharmacy where you will wait again and when you get to the window they may not have it in stock!Failing that you can buy most things at pharmacies at a price!On the plus side,utilities are cheaper than UK and weather is bright and cheerful,but winters are cold once the sun goes down.Eating out is a joy and the sea is clear as a bell.Avoid a lot of ex pats as they can be colonel blimps trying to change Cyprus into a little britain!

[Crivens]

My main con is the driving. Don't think if you will get someone crashing into you, think when. Luckily the speed limits are nutterly slow must of the time so it's doubtful serious damage will be done (unless you stupidely go out late at night when people turn Limassol into a F1 circuit). Just to make the point here that living very close to London (probably 10 million+ people overall) for over a decade and commuting for an hour and a half a day on the M4 caused me to see probably about half of the accidents I have seen here in 6 months. Seen 3 in the last week. One was someone crashing into the back of a car waiting at a red light on a straight road (by the Starbucks by the Municipal Gardens) and another was down my straight road towards M&S (someone didn't look when pulling out of a junction - nice!).

Cheers

[Crivens]

Also I see you are a woman, so pros according to my female friends is that (in this case Limassol) here it is amazingly good for women. A lot more shoes, clothes, accessory etc shops totally aimed at women compared to a similar sized town in the UK. Basically Limassol is a bird town when it comes to shops apparently (we are normally down the pub or playing the XBox on the projector at this point so I don't really know....).

Unfortuantly, for women, the con is apparently that unless you are amazingly thin then most of it is useless. Much more so than in the UK. This was also said by a visiting friend of mine who I would say could do with adding a bit of weight. She was basically about average size when looking around. And come to think of it, most Cypriot woman are very thin. I mean it is fairly obvious to spot the "fatty" Europeans a lot of the time By the looks of things fitness and excercise is very big here. A lot of gyms and sport equipment shops basically (very cheap too). One of my friends goes to the main Limassol gym and she reckons pretty much everyone in her classes is pretty fit, whereas in the UK over half in her classes definitely needed to lose weight and get fitter.

I'm not a bird, but that's what I heard.

Cheers

[JB Bear]

Allison

I have lived in Limassol for 10 years, and from what the other posts have said is actually correct,

but if you can live or except this, then Cyprus is OK,

I came over for business reasons, instead of paying 40% tax in the UK I now pay 4.25% see the difference, but for this I did get shit on from the Cypriots mainly because I am a woman

but it didn't stop me, I classed this as a challenge and win, but it did take me 2 years or more, but I did.

My opinion is as long as you have an open mind and know what to expect then you will be OK and also if you can make it past the 2 years then you are home free.

but life is not a bed of roses over here, it was hard to live over here when I first came, and I do think it has got easier since we joint the EU but this is my opinion.

people can tell you what its like but I personally think you have to experience it for yourself

anyway good luck what ever you decide.

[Cyprus Vending]

what would you advise a new person going to live in cyprus of the pros and cons BE HONEST PLESAE

Learn the following:-

How to say NO.

Does it say English Idiot or Smuck on my forehead.

How to shout louder then they can.

Stand up for yourself.

AND

Ask for the Cypriot price - NOT the English price.

Apart from that you will get on fine --- we are..............