Cyprus-Forum.com

[MACKAM1955]

Hia me again well weve been here now nearly three months and have moved into our lovely house in Peyia,the problem is work as a plumbing and heating engineer i thought I would walk into work here , not so ive done about 8 days in three months for a brit plumber, it seems the place is awash with expats living and working in Cyprus, there is no chance to work on the sites and all work seems to be spoken for with the Brits,so if your thinking or living here and working it will be a struggle.

[avyixy]

Eric, the grass is always greener on the other side is a saying we should be only too aware of.

Unfortunately this is what happened to me. I came to Cyprus with my parents 19 years ago with the idea that everything would be great and we would be able to find work so easily due to us being from the UK and speaking fluent English. We would make a fresh start and live an easy going life!!

How wrong could be be? It has been said many times before that it is not what you know but who you know here and that is so true.

I did manage to find work and have been at the same job for 10 years but I am not happy and everyday regret coming to Cyprus. However there is no going back for me because I now have a family of my own.

I have said it before and I will say it again, Cyprus is a paradise only for the retirees who do not need to make a living and raise a family.

I only hope it is not too late for you Eric and if you want you can go back.

[MACKAM1955]

As you say it is a paradise for the retired and people well off,at the moment I do not regret coming here as its early days yet,we have sold everything in UK and made a commitment to Cyprus, I am to young to retire and not finacially well off to sit back and enjoy Cyprus, its still early days yet and your right again its not what you knw its who you know, I have gone through life always managing to find something to get through life and I expect the same will happen here as in the UK, life has a path for you and Im just following that path.

Thank you for youe reply

Eric Wood

[avyixy]

Eric, I hadn't thought of it in that way before. If that is the way it is then the path I have been following is a very winding one with many steep slopes downhill. lol

Hope it all goes well for you.

[unique_earthling]

i was speaking to a friend the other day about working for them selves and the pit falls, he is an electrician, he said the only way you can win is to have many jobs, and charge cheaper than the locals than charge the going rate and only get a few jobs, word of mouth goes round very quick, and if your good and your cheap then i am sure you will eventually get work.

[Jim]

Eric. I do sympathise as I know quite a lot of people in a similar position as yourself. I've lived in Cyprus for several years though I actually work in another country as do quite a large number of Expats who live here. The competition for the limited amount of work is fierce and getting more difficult each passing week as more people who think they can make a living here, arrive on the island. I've commented on other boards to people making enquiries about work here that the work situation is close to saturation point; especially for skilled tradesmen. I do hope you manage to turn the corner and start picking work up on a regular basis.

Jim

[susanbunny]

The trouble with a lot of these boards, is that people will not tell you truth about finding work here. It is difficult. My husband had one job last month £25 for fitting some fans and shelves. You can't live on that. I do a little better with my job, but we never go back to the UK for visits, never buy clothes or cosmetics, all we do is pay our bills and eat. There is not industry on the island to speak of, the tourist industry yes, but the pay in bars and shops is terrible, as there are so many people will to do it for nothing an hour virtually. Plus the hours a terrible. This is not the place to be if you need to carry on work. If you have a big fat pension, then it is fine. A huge drain on our resources are people coming to visit, they think you are on holiday too, and should run them about, and eat out. My advise to anybody is rent first see how it goes......

Susanbunny

http://www.cyprusvillas4rent.co.uk
We are always looking for new property to rent out long term.
http://213.228.233.205/TranslationPlus_CityLifeline_Version/CyprusExpatsCalls Your own UK numbers for family and friends to call, 7p a minuet to your mobile and 4p a minute to your landline, at anytime of the day.

[unique_earthling]

Your right susan bunny all this censor rubbish on other forums doesnt give a realistic picture, i think most are retirees anyway so have a whole different perspective, this is a balanced forum, with a diverse people, greek cypriots, turkish cypriots, middle easterners, expats, young movers, europeans and it runs the whole gambit of feelings and beliefs. very refreshing to be able to speak how you want about what you want. Of course with hopefully respect for others and leave out personal attacks, but it can get heated at times. Even if we disagree, we still get on and on many occassions we find we agree on somethings. I think the forum is interesting, and of course we get people who need to buy a widget and dont know where to go, or others need advice on other things, but mainly its what ever pushes our buttons and its all good, even the bad and the ugly. And most have a good self esteem and dont take it all too seriously.. And you can get quite fond of some of them even though they are a bit grumpy and perverse. OHHH i feel another group hug coming on... run for it..

[andri_cy]

I hate group hugs!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lee lee]

eric just think you could be back in uk, rain, wind, muggings,yobs, nobody given you the time of day,burgleys, being ripped off, fuel prices, can you tell i lived in london!!!!! lee