Hi Angela and Neal
My wife Jane and I moved out here last August, and so far we're really enjoying it. We let our house in Gloucestershire and rented an apartment here, thinking we wouldn't buy until we knew the place a bit, and I'd advise anyone to do the same. Our apartment is really huge, 3 beds, 2 baths and only costs us £300 per month, the price of a bedsit in many parts of the UK. So there's a profit! We live in Giolou, pop.800, between Pafos and Polis in western Cyprus. There are 20-odd Brit families here, not enough the swamp the local community like has happened in Tala and Peyeia. Our landlords live downstairs, and their generosity is unbelievable - we keep finding packages of local produce on the stairs. We struggle to keep up with that! The village has a primary school; the secondary school is in Polemi, 8km away, but for expat children the international school in Pafos is a better bet as they can be on a severe learning curve with the new language on top of the academic stuff. As to health care, Cyprus has a Health Service of sorts, but it's only free for low-income folk. What you really need is health insurance. Without that, it's a paying job, although visiting the doctor usually costs about CY£10. Drugs are bought at commercial prices, some cheap some dear. I couldn't say about hospital treatment, we've not needed it yet. As to work, wages in Cyprus are low, and I don't think it's a proposition to be employed unless you're of professional or executive status, and even then salaries would be lower than you are used to. Self-employed is the way to go; I'm a web designer and Jane's a hypnotherapist, and 9 months down the road things are starting to build up - you really need some working capital to get you over the initial hump. The other side of the coin is that many prices are cheaper (except for imported stuff). You can get nice pork for CY£3 per kilo, a haircut is CY£3, council tax is £35 p.a. One nice thing is that this society has far fewer rules and regulations, and even the tax office is very laid back.

I hope this screed is a bit helpful. I did find originally that there's quite a bit of misinformation on the web, if there's anything else you want to know, and I'll do my best. We've had a lot of help, and it seems good to pass it on.

Best of luck
David