Cyprus-Forum.com

[emmacheck]

I'd love to hear from anyone who has moved to Cyprus from England. My parents, fiance and I would love to move. I am compiling information slowly. I have looked at the costs of moving. I have also looked into bringing over our dog Harvey.
I have only ever saw positive points with moving to Cyprus but i want to know the negative ones too!
Do the hospitals look after you? Is the cost of living expensive? (I only know what i have saw as a tourist) Is there alot of admin work/office jobs for English speaking people? I know the locals are friendly towards tourists as it is their job to keep customers happy, but are they as friendly to English residents? I want to know your story's so we can decide whether it is for us?

Thanks

Emma and family

[cyprusgrump]

Emma, try the search facility first… there really are dozens of threads about the cost of living, bringing dogs in, etc.

[roseandchan]

emma which side are you looking to go to?

[craigbeck]

Emma,

Be careful - take the rose tinted glasses off. Cyprus is not the paradise the estate agents would have you believe.

1. It's not that much cheaper to live in Cyprus than the UK
2. You will need private medical insurance - the NHS does not exist in Cyprus
3. Things move very slowly in Cyprus, it can be quite frustrating when you are used to dealing with UK companies
4. If you move into a flat you are likely to be without water for weeks at a time
5. It's very difficult to get work unless you speak Greek
6. The heat is around 40 degrees at the moment - try working in that


Having said all that I can understand you wanting to leave the UK where a dozen kids get stabbed to death each week and it rains for 360 days of the year!

Just make sure you see the bad as well as the good

Craig

[Z4]

Emma,

Be careful - take the rose tinted glasses off. Cyprus is not the paradise the estate agents would have you believe.

1. It's not that much cheaper to live in Cyprus than the UK
2. You will need private medical insurance - the NHS does not exist in Cyprus
3. Things move very slowly in Cyprus, it can be quite frustrating when you are used to dealing with UK companies
4. If you move into a flat you are likely to be without water for weeks at a time
5. It's very difficult to get work unless you speak Greek
6. The heat is around 40 degrees at the moment - try working in that


Having said all that I can understand you wanting to leave the UK where a dozen kids get stabbed to death each week and it rains for 360 days of the year!

Just make sure you see the bad as well as the good

Craig

Wise words there Craig.

We had our heart set on moving over (we were there during winter) but have since decided against it. Cyprus is not really the place to go and work but to retire it would fantastic.

Think about Emma and don't make any rash decisions.

[Brittania]

Emma,

Be careful - take the rose tinted glasses off. Cyprus is not the paradise the estate agents would have you believe.

1. It's not that much cheaper to live in Cyprus than the UK
2. You will need private medical insurance - the NHS does not exist in Cyprus
3. Things move very slowly in Cyprus, it can be quite frustrating when you are used to dealing with UK companies
4. If you move into a flat you are likely to be without water for weeks at a time
5. It's very difficult to get work unless you speak Greek
6. The heat is around 40 degrees at the moment - try working in that


Having said all that I can understand you wanting to leave the UK where a dozen kids get stabbed to death each week and it rains for 360 days of the year!

Just make sure you see the bad as well as the good

Craig

you're right there isn't an NHS in Cyprus (thankgod). Instead they have something that actually provides free, quality healthcare.

[Bill]

Wise words from both craigbeck and Z4.

The comments I've heard so many times from expats living in Cyprus is " A lovely place to retire to but no good if you need to earn a living and bring up children"

I would expand on that ~ it's a great place to bring up children, the freedom and lack of vicious crime is similar to the UK 40 years ago ~ children can be children without you worrying about them every 5 mins.

Education can be a problem ~

Work ( seasonal ) is easy to find but the salaries are poor and you will very difficult to find well paid work if you don't speak Greek ~ if you have a trade or are able to start your own business it would be better but nothing is guaranteed except the possibility of being disappointed.

Locals friendly ~ how do you know ? whilst you are on holiday the chances are that you were being served by Eastern Europeans in the tourist spots ~ Cypriots friendly to residents possibly yes possibly no depends where you are ~ on the whole there are few problems ~ I've certainly had none and I live in a Cypriot residential area ~ no doubt you will buy / rent in a predominately Brit area anyway.

You will need medical insurance initially until you have paid enough into the system to qualify for treatment although that may be changing soon ~ perhaps .

The usual period is between two to three years before most immigrant Brits give up and return home ~ often very bitter with the experience and sadly blame Cyprus for all their problems .

Life in Cyprus is / can be great and whilst some things are cheaper mostly it's on par with the UK price wise but the wages are substantially lower and it can often be a struggle to live ~ still there are many happy with the move and manage ok ~ it depends on what your expectations are.

Bill

[Bill]

you're right there isn't an NHS in Cyprus (thankgod). Instead they have something that actually provides free, quality healthcare.

Where do you get the free from Brittania ~ even if you are paying into the system it's dependant on your earnings .

Bill

[Z4]

Wise words from both craigbeck and Z4.

The comments I've heard so many times from expats living in Cyprus is " A lovely place to retire to but no good if you need to earn a living and bring up children"

I would expand on that ~ it's a great place to bring up children, the freedom and lack of vicious crime is similar to the UK 40 years ago ~ children can be children without you worrying about them every 5 mins.

Education can be a problem ~

Work ( seasonal ) is easy to find but the salaries are poor and you will very difficult to find well paid work if you don't speak Greek ~ if you have a trade or are able to start your own business it would be better but nothing is guaranteed except the possibility of being disappointed.

Locals friendly ~ how do you know ? whilst you are on holiday the chances are that you were being served by Eastern Europeans in the tourist spots ~ Cypriots friendly to residents possibly yes possibly no depends where you are ~ on the whole there are few problems ~ I've certainly had none and I live in a Cypriot residential area ~ no doubt you will buy / rent in a predominately Brit area anyway.

You will need medical insurance initially until you have paid enough into the system to qualify for treatment although that may be changing soon ~ perhaps .

The usual period is between two to three years before most immigrant Brits give up and return home ~ often very bitter with the experience and sadly blame Cyprus for all their problems .

Life in Cyprus is / can be great and whilst some things are cheaper mostly it's on par with the UK price wise but the wages are substantially lower and it can often be a struggle to live ~ still there are many happy with the move and manage ok ~ it depends on what your expectations are.

Bill

Thanks Bill

We will, however, be moving over in 10-15 years more than likely. This will give us more time to save money so we aren't too dependant on working over there, and by then wouldnt mind working for £750 a month!

[pissouri]

Again a lot of people taking out of their back sides again. Just to clarifiy:

1. There is a NHS and is very good, charges/costs are based on your income, i..e if you earn a combined income of less than CYP18,000 a year then all treatments at the hospitals are FREE!!! over CYP18,000 it is charged on a scale system. However private treatment is still a lot cheaper than UK.

2. As is the case in the UK, work is availably, the type of job and salary depends on you education and experience. Not speaking English is more of a disadvantage than not speaking Greek in Cyprus. In a lot of instances if you don't speak English you will have more difficulty than not speaking Greek. (Apart from some rural villages)

3. Freindly locals, again all depends on you attitude, if you are a chip on your shoulder and still think that Cyprus is part of the British empire and the locals are here to serve you, then you will have a problem. However, the right attitude, respect for the culture and country goes a long way.

4. If you plan to work full time, then this should be a factor when deciding where to live/buy, i.e. don't expect to live in Ayia Napa and expect to find lots of work in other than the tourist industry, which is seasonal.

I suggest you look at area's on the outskirts of the big towns like Limassol and Larnaca, close enough to commute to work and close enough to beaches, etc. for the weekends and lower house prices.