by cyprusgrump » Sat Nov 03, 2007 12:47 pm
Great thread – about time some of the ‘knockers’ had the good points of the country pointed out to them!
It annoys me immensely that expats arrive here and instantly want to change the place – there is a campaign in our village to halt development of new homes. These are people that have had a house built here – mostly on Greenfield sites – yet believe that now they are here nobody else should be able to!
Anyway, here is a list that I put together for another site some time ago – apologies if some of the points have been covered already…
1. The weather is great and it won’t rain ‘til November.
2. Planning journeys is great. I can plan exactly how long it will take me to get anywhere because there simply isn’t the traffic congestion you get in the UK.
3. Population of Cyprus = less than one million.
4. Parking is great. I can just dump my car anywhere convenient for me. I can park in the middle of the capital for 60c per day.
5. Food and drink are incredibly cheap – seasonal fruit and vegetables are literally given away.
6. My tickets to see Sting in Limassol = CY£25 each.
7. Six beers plus chocolate & crisps at the concert = CY£7
8. No crime… or to be fair hardly any crime. I can leave my car unlocked in the road with the keys in the ignition overnight. Young children go to school on their own, children (and adults) leave their toys out overnight and find them still there in the morning.
9. There is hardly any H & S bullshit. When I go to the garage I leave my engine running when I’m filling up and if I want to make a ‘phone call while I’m doing so nobody cares because nobody has died doing so.
10. When I go to the supermarket there is a little old man that will change my notes, and give me 50c for the trolley. When I come out I can start my car (to get the air conditioner working) unload the trolley and leave it running while I return the trolley in the knowledge that nobody will steal it before I come back. The girl at the checkout will be Cypriot, speaks English as well as I do and will be happy to help me pack my bags and trolley.
11. The Cypriots are the friendliest people I’ve ever met. I have true (Cypriot) friends here that I can call on if I need help. I’m invited to their weddings, christenings and funerals. Arrived on October 18th and spent Christmas day with my Cypriot neighbour celebrating with them.
12. Tonight the sky is clear and I can see a squillion stars and the Milky Way as there is hardly any light pollution.
13. My garden has the most amazing selection of fruit trees and Cypriot wildlife.
14. Bacon fries without releasing gallons of white gunk into the pan.
15. I can swim, scuba and ski here.
16. Shakespeare in an ancient amphitheatre under the stars and overlooking the sea (at Curium) is one of life’s magical experiences.
17. Tickets to see the incredible Roman mosaics and other ruins in Pafos = CY£1.
18. Cyprus uses English 3-pin plugs, has the same 240V electricity and UK ‘phone sockets.
19. I can get all UK TV channels (albeit with a 2.7m satellite dish). No TV licence required.
20. Telephone calls are the cheapest in Europe.
21. There is no recycling nightmare here – the bin men come three times a week (six times in summer) and will collect anything I can haul to the pavement.
22. Health care, dentistry, etc. are awesome and incredibly cheap compared to the UK. I can get an MRI for CY£150, my dentist has the most advanced equipment I’ve ever seen and my local GP’s clinic has specialists in every field plus an operating theatre and hospital on the upper floors. Health insurance costs us about CY£600 per year.
23. I can buy as many shotguns as I like and go hunting if I choose.
24. I pay little tax, the first CY£10,000 is tax free (a couple can live on CY£10,000) and thereafter 10%.
25. No inheritance tax.
26. My council tax is CY£110 per year which includes refuse collection.
27. The staff in my local bank know me by name and can remember the numbers of all my bank accounts so I don’t have to.
