Cyprus-Forum.com

[Get Real!]

I have just come back from Limassol where I was offered a pa/secretarial job with a salary of CYP700 per month.

I'm afraid you'll need twice that much to have a comfortable life here.

[Bill]

I have just come back from Limassol where I was offered a pa/secretarial job with a salary of CYP700 per month.

I'm afraid you'll need twice that much to have a comfortable life here.

I normally agree with some of your posts get real but this time I think you are talking rubbish.

How on earth do you think most Cypriots live on the pretty poor salaries available in Cyprus.

I will agree however to have a comfortable life a lot more than £700 a month is needed ~ but we are not talking comfortable in a three bed villa in a exclusive area ~ we are talking about the difference between starting a new life in Cyprus or the dreadful prospect of being in a two bed flat in a depressed area somewhere in the UK with her two boys being pressurised to join the local headbangers gang out of peer pressure and with druggies lurking on most street corners.

Just for the record I will often put a negative response when needed to most posts on this and other forums regarding moving to Cyprus from the UK as most people have their rose tinted glasses on when thinking about the move and never do enough research ~ they eventually find out that they are not on holiday any more and the reality hits them hard ~ a lot go home bitterly disappointed and often broke.

Clare's situation is very different ~~ she can't afford to live where she is now and the alternatives are going back to the UK or moving to Cyprus ~ both will be a struggle to live BUT I'm sure that Cyprus will offer a better and safer standard of living than the UK ~~ if she is going to struggle in both places she may as well struggle in Cyprus and have a happier life than she would in the UK with less worries about the two boys.

It's not going to be easy starting a new life in Cyprus but knowing the alternative it's got to be the best bet ~~ I certainly know which I would choose given the circumstances and that's Cyprus .

£700 a month can go a long way if your careful and you certainly won't starve to death ~~ all it needs is a bit of sound financial housekeeping and shopping in the right places.

There is a lady poster with one child on another forum who lives quite well on much less than that and recons it's the best move she has ever made ~ she finds it a struggle sometimes but on the whole it is worth it compared to the UK .

Anyway I believe after working for 6 months Clare will be entitled to family allowance for the boys ~ it's not much but it will certainly help .

The only problem I can see is that she will need someone to look after the boys after school whilst she is working but I guess she may have the same problem in the UK .

Bill

[Get Real!]

I have just come back from Limassol where I was offered a pa/secretarial job with a salary of CYP700 per month.

I'm afraid you'll need twice that much to have a comfortable life here.

£700 a month can go a long way if your careful and you certainly won't starve to death ~~ all it needs is a bit of sound financial housekeeping and shopping in the right places.

What constitutes a comfortable life is relative. A single income of CY 700 p/m with three kids is not something I would travel across continents to find.

[EasyE]

I have just come back from Limassol where I was offered a pa/secretarial job with a salary of CYP700 per month.

I'm afraid you'll need twice that much to have a comfortable life here.

If you insist on drinking champagne and smoking the finest cigars......then yes!

[orokliniservices]

I personally do not think £700 is enough to survive on with 2 small children. Yes a wage of £700 is a decent one, but you have a lot of costs to think about at the same time.. Rent, Childcare or Schooling, and transport.. not to mention bills to pay. I've been here 1.5 years and we're still struggling at times and we clear more than double what you'll be making.
Make sure you do all the homework before making the decision.

[Eliko]

Clare26, I think you will find it extremely difficult to survive on such a small income, however, if your circumstances are such that you are already on the breadline where you are, I would be inclined to act in accordance with Bill's suggestions.

Do study the pit-falls carefully before you commit and make sure of your employment opportunity, other than that, good luck with your intended venture, be positive and God Bless you and your young family.

[Clare26]

Thank you Paramed for the website link, thank you Bill for your understanding and realistic advice, and thank you to everyone else who has commented and mentioned the pitfalls as well as the positives.

We have no choice but to leave our present situation, and it's so so difficult to come to a decision. I suppose there are other alternatives - we have the whole of the EU to chose from - but there always seems to be some barrier, be it the cost of living, language, etc, etc... I'm really beginning to feel as if we're stuck between a rock and a hard place, but we have to soldier on and Cyprus does seem to be a happy medium.

Thanks again everyone. Keep the comments coming and if anyone out there has any other bright ideas please let me know!!

[devil]

I'm afraid you'll need twice that much to have a comfortable life here.

You don't live up to your moniker, do you? £1400/month would get you a luxurious life, not a comfortable one. £700 will not be easy, I agree, but by no means impossible. IF the lady could find an old village-style house at £200 or thereabouts, with a patch of land for the dog (note the sanitary requirements/quarantine below), she could grow all her own veggies, year round, and be reasonably in a starting position.

Now the crunch, which will be the bad part and I fear may be a deciding factor. There is free movement of dogs within the EU, provided you have all the vaccinations etc., microchip and paperwork, but not from Kenya. The dog would almost certainly have to go into quarantine for 6 months (either the UK or Cyprus), even if the vaccinations etc. conform. Now, it MAY be possible to negotiate home quarantine (in Cyprus, not in the UK), as opposed to a very expensive formal quarantine, but the conditions for this would be all formalities up-to-date, vet certificate of health, fenced garden from which the dog could not escape and total confinement (i.e., no walkies, no contact with other animals, a vet, if needed, would have to come to you etc.). If you contracted this, the Veterinary Service would visit you, without prior warning, 2 or 3 times during the quarantine period.

Certain breeds of dog, such as Pit Bulls or other potentially dangerous ones, are forbidden outright.

There may be a way round the quarantine regulations, but it will require the complicity of someone in a European country where quarantine is not required (but the dog would still require all jabs, pills, microchip, and paperwork). That is to allow the dog into the EU country legally and keep it there for a few weeks so that it conforms to EU transfrontier regulations and then import it into Cyprus.

As a dog-owner myself, I know that learning this will hurt you, and I'm sorry. In the long, it may be better and cheaper to rehome it to a good owner in Kenya, hard though I know it is to part with a member of the family, but only you could make this decision.

[devil]

Further, Kenya is not a country with dispensation according to http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/liveani ... _03_en.pdf

More information regarding import regulations for dogs, cats and other species, inspection and quarantine fees and application forms can be obtained (in English) from:

Animal Health and Welfare Division, Veterinary Services Headquarters
At: 1417, Lefkosia (Nicosia) Cyprus
Tel: +357-22805152/5/253
Fax: +357-22805174
mailto:[email protected]

[Get Real!]

I'm afraid you'll need twice that much to have a comfortable life here.

You don't live up to your moniker, do you? £1400/month would get you a luxurious life, not a comfortable one. £700 will not be easy, I agree, but by no means impossible. IF the lady could find an old village-style house at £200 or thereabouts, with a patch of land for the dog (note the sanitary requirements/quarantine below), she could grow all her own veggies, year round, and be reasonably in a starting position.

That’s based on the assumption that she would be interested in living the life of an old age pensioner in some stupid village growing vegetables and doing barter!