Cyprus-Forum.com

[TonyC]

There are often threads about cost of living. However the answers don't seem to give the full picture. It would therefore be good to get the prices for a typical "shopping basket" That way we "furriners" can compare prices directly with what we pay in our countries of origin.

So how about it? what sort of prices do you pay for the following (CPY)

SHOPPING BASKET
- milk
- bread
- potatoes
- rice
- Lamb Chops or something
- mince meat (hamburger)
- cheese
- ham
- toilet paper
- bottle of everyday wine
- coke (the kind you drink)
- frozen pizza
- oranges
- grapes
- frozen veg
- instant coffee
- cigarettes
- can of beer (Cypriot)

HOUSING in one of the main city suberbs
- buy a 2 bed apartment
- buy a 3 bed villa
- rent a 2 bed apartment
- rent a 3 bed villa

TRANSPORT
- petrol (litre)
- new family car (Toyota or something)
- bus ticket (eg. Paphos - Limassol)

LEISURE
- movies
- newspapers
- paperback book
- beer in a bar
- meal in restaurant (middle of the road)
- Big Mac (Big Makarios?)

Anybody who takes the time to answer all this is a real dedicated forum-fan!

[VOID]

SHOPPING BASKET
- milk 60 cents
- bread 50 cents
- potatoes 1.50 cyp for 5 kg
- rice 70 cents
- Lamb Chops or something 3-5 pounds depending on special offers at the super markets
- mince meat (hamburger) 2 cyp for maybe 12 pieces
- cheese 1-2 poundsdepending on special offers at the super markets
- ham same
- toilet paper 1-2 cyp for 12
- bottle of everyday wine 1,50 cyp
- coke (the kind you drink) 2 cyp for 8
- frozen pizza 5 cyp for 3 pieces
- oranges 50-60 cents for kg
- grapes not sure
- frozen veg 1-2 pounds
- instant coffee 2 pounds
- cigarettes most of them
- can of beer (Cypriot) 2 pounds for 6

HOUSING in one of the main city suberbs
- buy a 2 bed apartment
- buy a 3 bed villa
- rent a 2 bed apartment
- rent a 3 bed villa

TRANSPORT
- petrol (litre) 60 cents
- new family car (Toyota or something) new above 10.000,second hand from Japan,malaysia,good condition from 5.000
- bus ticket (eg. Paphos - Limassol) 1.50 cyp with travel express

LEISURE
- movies 3-4 pounds
- newspapers cyprus ones= 50 cents.Norv,svensk,dansk= 1.50
- paperback book 6-10 CYP,depending on the title
- beer in a bar 1.50 or less
- meal in restaurant (middle of the road) 6-9 pounds,meze is recomendend
- Big Mac (Big Makarios?) 1,25 on it's own,or 2.25 as a meal


Have fun compairing,i know it's a lot cheaper than Norge.

[VOID]

Sorry that i can not reply about the house prices as they are pending every day.Maybe if we have an estate in the forum that can help you.

If you do decide to move down here,i can give a number of a good estate agent in Larnaca.

[TonyC]

Sorry that i can not reply about the house prices as they are pending every day.Maybe if we have an estate in the forum that can help you.

If you do decide to move down here,i can give a number of a good estate agent in Larnaca.

Thanks Void, I have actually got an apartment on Cyprus - that is I will have when it's finished being built. I paid about 90K for a 2-bedroom apartment. It's a so-called holiday apartment, i.e. a regular apartment plus a (shared) swimming pool and a caretaker etc. - I just put house prices in the list so that people can get an overall idea of what the cost of living is.
In comparison my 3 bed, 4 years old, apartment near the centre of Oslo costs about 250 000CYP, although in the suberbs you'll pay as little(!) as 100 000- 150 000 CYP for 2 -3 bedrooms (not new), depending on the district.

It's interesting to compare the cost of living. EU products are freely available in Norway and particularly food prices have come down a lot. It's still more expensive but the difference isn't so huge.

Alcohol is still expensive because of taxes. Beer costs 1 or 2 CYP for one bottle/can. Wine begins at around 5cCYP in the store. In a bar, a beer costs around 3,50-4CYP. Cigarettes cost around 5CYP a pack

Transport is also expensive. A new family car will cost about 20 000 CYP plus and petrol costs about 70 cents.

Book and movies are about the same price, but newspapers cost about twice as much.

Wages are difficult to consider, it depends what you do. I'm a web-manager and make about 2000 CYP a month. My wife makes about the same working as a family guidance councellor for the local council.

[Sotos]

Products are not that cheap in Cyprus. Electronics for example are much more expensive here. Better if you order from abroad than buy in a shop here! What brings the cost of living down are some of the services.

[Cov]

Don't forget to include some of the main taxes that we all get hit with ,as well as the cost of essential services such as gas and electricity .

Council tax on its own adds over £1200.00 per year to my annual expenses.Then there is the income tax threshold to consider.Cyprus has a much more generous allowance than hear in the UK.

[Mikros]

Beer is more expensive though... expect to pay more than 2 pounds, as well as the bread... 50 cent is how much the worst taste bread costs... Cars cost less though, a brand new Corolla 1.4, Golf 1.4, C4 1.4, Megane 1.4 cost about 8000

[VOID]

Thanks Void, I have actually got an apartment on Cyprus - that is I will have when it's finished being built. I paid about 90K for a 2-bedroom apartment. It's a so-called holiday apartment, i.e. a regular apartment plus a (shared) swimming pool and a caretaker etc.

Ehmmmm sorry to ask but where exactly did you buy that flat?Im buying one in larnaca with a swimming pool(communal ofcourse) for almost half the price of what you bought yours.

[TonyC]

Ehmmmm sorry to ask but where exactly did you buy that flat?Im buying one in larnaca with a swimming pool(communal ofcourse) for almost half the price of what you bought yours.

Well, Void, I'm sure you got a real good buy. Of course there are many variables that affect the price of an apartment and it would be difficult to compare without checking all the details - for example location, access to the sea, views, new/used, standard, quality of fittings and installations, size, extras, access to facilities etc. etc.
People have different priorities as far as where and how they want to live - price isn't always at the top of the list.

But to answer your question, I've bought an apartment in Peyia, which you may know is about 10km outside of Pafos, sort of on the way to Polis

[VOID]

ok,mine it's outside of Larnaka,i was wondering that maybe you got ripped off,but thats not the case cuz Pafos is more expensive than other areas.Well than Velkomen till Cypern,Tony.