by cymart » Tue Oct 09, 2007 9:22 am
I have lived here since 1978 and am married to a Greek-Cypriot who I originally met in London.Based on my own experiences,my frank advice is to be very,very careful before you buy property or part with your hard-earned money here because many who did have rued the day!
Firstly I will admit that I have issues about Cyprus because my wife is from Famagusta and we came here with the aim of returning there.After so many false starts and living in Limassol initially and then Paphos,I am now very bitter about the situation here ,mainly because this is a country of them and us-i.e. people from the north who lost everything in 1974 and those from the south who have made millions because of our loss as land prices etc. have rocketed!This island is a hot bed of greed ,lies, racialism, zenophobia and corruption and the present leadership is a perfect example of how not 'to win friends and influence people' abroad into supporting your cause!!'The post 1974 elite in north and south who effectively control the economy and also have the political power here will never agree to any solution which they think might damage their interests!Paphos is probably the worst example of a place where a former peasant community now has more money than many of them could ever dream of a few years ago and their arrogance and boorishness knows no limits!Much as I hate to say it,the Brits and foreign buyers,most of whom are ignorant about the truth of the political situation here unless they knew Cyprus before 1974,are unwittingly contributing to the perpetuation of the situation by buying property here and thus injecting money into the pockets of those in control,although I of course understand that it is not their fault.After waiting over 33 years,many of the refugees have had enough and are now beginning to organise themselves in to pressure groups demanding a fairer distribution of wealth by imposing a property tax on any sales in the south,the proceeds of which will be used for a fund to help those who don't have any property in the south after losing everything in the north etc. unless the government immediately starts serious negotiations to find a solution tot he political problem.
Cyprus has become very expensive for day-to-day living costs in recent years and the situation is likely to deteriorate as we join the Euro in January 2008.For people coming here to retire who have a high income this may not be a problem,but anyone coming here expecting to find well-paid work should be realistic about what they can expect to earn:this affects many Cypriots of course too as by no means everyone is a property millionaire or flashy rich business man!If you are planning to work for yourself and can find a niche where there is not already too much competition,this could be a good solution but do your homework before you come here!Whilst I agree it has definite advantages over the U.K. regarding climate and lifestyle etc,Cyprus is not paradise in the way it used to be,unfortunately and the sun also shines in many other places on this planet which have far more to offer nowadays than our overdeveloped,over priced,over- crowded and I'm even sorrier to have to say,often rather untidy and dirty little island!
I wish this was just 'bitter-lemons' from a lover of Famagusta and the Cyprus that was,but I fear many other people will also admit this rather sad truth!
Martin.
