Ah I love a good debate! *;-)

Flat and barren? I can't agree that the Larnaca area is flat. Larnaca district covers the area from (West) Kalavasos to Vavatsinia, (North) Kornos, Kochi, Athienou, Pyla (East). The area includes Stavrovouni and the hills all around there. It also includes the hills around Voroklini, Pyla, Troulloi, Athienou. We may not have the mountains but we do have hills! As someone who has a problem with heights, I would freak if I had to drive along some of the roads in the Troodos area, especially on a daily basis.

I will agree that this area looks dry and barren from the motorway. But hey why not get off the beaten track? Get of the motorway, take a back road, see where it goes. You will see Larnaca district is not barren.

Famagusta District in the east of the island is flat but it is also not barren Have a look at the earth around Frenaros its a lovely red colour, with a good texture, great for growing produce. It is where most Cyprus potatoes are grown.

As regards the East shutting down from October to April, that is not entirely correct. The resorts of Ayia Napa and Protaras shut down but Larnaca does not. There is a tourist market all year. I had a 33% occupancy rate over the winter and was fully booked the previous November, and March with odd weeks in between. It doesn't even die at Christmas! I could have rented the apartment out several times over at Christmas. But then the tourists here are 'rich' Nicosians. Larnaca is where they come for a weekend or Christmas break!

Oh and we have places of interest too! Kalavasos Tenta, Lefkara, Choirokoitia, Stavrovouni, the Salt Lakes, Hal Sultan Tekke, Kition to name a few.

I have to agree with Grumpy (sorry I don't know your proper name). If you are aiming at trade with the tourist market there are more tourists in the Paphos area, but your question was where to retire? Personally I prefer to be away from the hustlle, bustle and noise of the tourist area, which is why we have chosen to retire to a village 6 miles outside Larnaca.

As regards water cuts, there is a lot about this in the press. Anyone who has lived in the South of England will be used to water rationing (hosepipe bans) and if you are old enough, the stand-pipes of the 1960s. Larnaca area has not banned hosepipes yet. We have a tank and that is sufficient for our needs. We are careful with water and we have not run out of it yet. We can take several showers, run the washing machine, do the washing-up... no problem. We just don't wash our car or driveway in the dry months.