Milo wrote::lol:
I love the wit on this Forum, sometimes the insults too
The first year in Cyprus is by far the most expensive its a never ending money pit when you move house, but moving to another country even more so. You should expect this
Do get used to a different way of life, accept it, its ok, do not buy UK branded products you don,t need them
Eat Greek food when out its good and its cheaper, find a butcher for your meat, not the supermarkets, eat the local village bread, not sliced white crap,go to the local shops or markets for fruit and veg, what you pay for a small bag in the UK you get a kilo for here
Don,t switch on your a/c all the time in the steaming weather buy a HUGE ceiling fan, a/c keeps you cool BUT once you go out in the weather again you can,t cope as well.
Bills are cheaper apart from electric, so save elecric, switch off all standbys lights etc when not in use. It will help.
Furniture, white goods etc more expensive here BUT by the time you have shipped over probably near comparable. Clothes are more expensive and you will not find the cheap but good quality, here its either expensive or crap. So as some of us women do on a normal vist back to UK go with an empty suitcase and stock up.
All foriegners from colder climates get Pools, its the novelty of it and of course they are soooooo good now, we have one its our second that we have owned BUT its an expensive toy very expensive!! You don,t need it! you have a BIG POOL very close by wherever you live here, the locals know this, but they forget to remind you when buying or renting a place with a Pool
And there is a serious water shortage.
I find that we survive on less than half that we needed in the UK, and we go out to eat ten times more. Mind you we don,t pay rent or a mortgage as we are a little older
Leave your UK ideals back in the UK, expect a lot less moneywise but bring quite a bit with you and rainy day money for IF its not for you. Give yourself a year at least to adapt. But Cyprus is fab but its NOT going to be easy, at least at the start.
I have been here only 3 years, I still am finding out things still adapting and I thought I would fit in easily
Importantly learn some Greek!! My OH has, all self taught with books and CD,s and it has defo opened doors for him he is already bi-lingual, I just learned the good manners but am trying more now. Greek speakers will get work much more easily.
Even if you do find it more expensive, you have to ask yourself is THAT the only reason you left the UK. You will have a whinge on occasion but don,t worry it will go away. There is something to be said for throwing open the blinds in the morning and the sun always shining and your cars still on the drive where you left them
We may not be here for ever BUT one thing Cyprus has done for us is show us a quality of life we never had, a slow down of pace needed, a social life we yearned for but where too busy to have, an all round better life for us, and its NOT been without its problems, but we are glad we did it very much
thank you very much,, by far the most sensible and endeering piece of advice yet,, only confirming the fact more that I need to get out of this hole and into the sun.
I swear he laughs.
