Cyprus-Forum.com

[michellelee]

hi you have all helped in my other post and i would like bit of help on this - can anyone advise of best areas to live in limassol - safe and near amenities and a state school - thanks

[maidmarion]

Hello Michellelee,
Firstly all the best to you and yours for your move to Cyprus.I have been looking at your previous posts and thought I would just add some answers for you all on this one:
Another House Rental Site for you:
www.peterstephenson.org.
Someone has I think probably suggested this but the best thing you can do honestly is to come over beforehand and rent a self catering apartment and then start looking as a lot of property on these sites will have gone by the time you get over but they at least will give you some idea of prices and areas.
As to location most areas of Limassol are near a state school I belive but whether they are primary or secondary you will have to investigate when you get here if you have some areas in mind in Limassol then I'm sure someone on this forum will be able to let you know.
To be honest if you drive unless you are in then mountains somewhere nowhere is that far away from anything here.
We made the move over 3 years ago with a then coming up for 2 year old like you a bit of savings,renting and looking for work and have not regretted a single minute.As long as you come with a positive but realistic outlook and like you are doing a bit of research I'm sure you will be fine.

[Sotos]

Hello michellelee, how near should the state school be? Finding a nice area near amenities is not hard but if you need a school within 10 minutes walk then this can limit the choices.

[Southerner]

I would strongly recomend renting for a while and meet up with as many ex pats as you can.

[michellelee]

hi we are deffo gonna rent long term dont want to buy x

[souroul]

mesa geitonia and kapsalos are the best areas to live in limassol in my opinion. (that have state schools nearby)

[juliesewell]

Hi Michelle

I would suggest you first of all come out for a holiday but rather than staying in tourist accommodation, you rent a private residential apartment or holiday home. Somewhere in a residential area as opposed to being just off or even on the seafront and certainly a place without a public bar etc.

Come for at least a couple of weeks to get a proper feel of the place, hire a car and drive around the areas you are interested in. If you get a good map you can circle the central area you will use most - a word of advice, anything more than 20 minutes drive from A to B is considered too far here!

I know - it sounds crazy! But, believe me - we've been here a little over 3yrs and it is true. When the car is red hot after sitting in the sun - the last thing you want to do is get in and have to drive any great distance. Particularly, if you are driving into the sun..... I drove home this afternoon at 2pm facing the sun along the highway. My steering wheel was hot and the sun coming through the window onto my legs was hotter. The A/C was on and although the inside feels cool when you are moving, it soon heats up if you are standing in traffic or at the lights.

We live about 10 - 15mins outside Limassol town and find this is an okay distance, particularly now the roundabouts have all but gone with the new highway. There are plenty of schools and (private and government run) on the outskirts and in town. If your child is young or even pre-school age, they will be perfectly settled going into the government schools. They will pick up the language very quickly without any fear of making any mistakes. As they get older - moving into a greek school is more difficult for them so it's best to start them young. Plus - you won't have to pay private school fees, which can be quite hefty.

As for money in the bank - if you open a high interest sterling account with one of the Cyprus banks you can get weekly or monthly interest added. We put a lump sum into Bank of Cyprus and we are receiving above 4% on a weekly account just now.

Mesa Geitonia and Halkoutsa are fairly close to private schools such as Foleys and the Grammar School as well as being only a few minutes from the seafront. However, traffic can be quite heavy depending on how close to the road you are. But only a few minutes to the highway if you need to travel a bit further.

West Limassol is less built up and still only a few minutes from the highway. Travelling out as far as Episkopi village is still a fairly reasonable distance to town but is very easily managed. I would suggest no further than Pyrgos to the East of Limassol.

Good luck

[norman347]

Hi Maidmarion,
Could you please explain the relevance of the peter stevenson link,because, as I am myself looking for long term rentals in the Limassol area found this link no good at all. Perhaps I was missing something.
Cheers Norman/Jean

[carolh]

I live in Kapsalos and it is a great area. near to the highway, but easy to get into town. I can walk to shops and supermarkets and there are local schools within walking distance. It is a quiet residential area but near everything!

[Gigi]

Kapsalos is a really good area, lot`s of new development going on there as well as good supermarkets and near the motorway.
My husband went to the secondary school there. He loved living there.