new member from NI to Cyprus

[Tom]

Hi all,
my name is Tom and my wife and I are from Belfast, Northern Ireland. We have just bought a property in a new development in Protaras, Cyprus. At the moment we will be hoping to rent the property out when it is finished, but also quite like the idea of possibly upping sticks and moving to Cyprus completely.

We would love to hear from all and anyone who has taken this step before us with all the pleasures and pitfalls that this step may have taken.

Hope to hear from as many of you guys out there as possible, talk to you all soon,
Tom

[Jessie_K]

I have never bought property in Cyprus, but I visit the country every year and love in.

I am seriously considering relocating to Cyprus for a while. I will share my process with you.

[Tom]

Thanks very much Jessie, I am VERY new to all this and was starting to wonder if anyone was out there who read my post and was going to reply.
good luck with whatever you are going to do, and likewise, I will keep you up to date with any steps we take.
Tom

[Donnabelle]

Hello there, I am kind of new here too but I would like to welcome you and your wife to this site, this is a great way to communicate, make friends and do a networking from all over the world Best regards from Dubai United Arab Emirates.

[paulmatt]

Hi Tom we have purchased in Protaras and rent our villa out.Is your property close to being finished.
Everyone we have met over here has been friendly and helpful the only pitful is finding a good paying job.

[Angela and Neal]

Hello everyone
The common theme seems to be a good paying job. It seems like home if you have money you are fine, if not, then it is rubbish.

[kathyd]

Hi Tom ,
my name is Kathy and husband Tony. We are thinking of a possible move to Cyprus .

Presently we live in Ballygowan and have lived here for the last 6 years after returning from S.Africa.

Friends of ours have also just bought a timeshare in Protarus and my brother has bought a villa in Freneros .

Tony and I and 2 kids aged 11 and 12 are going out to stay in his villa in July for 2 weeks...11th-25th. We are going to have a really good look around .

I have been researching this and from what I can see the issues are work .
I lecture in a college in Health sciences and was offered a job as a science teacher in a school last year .
However at the time i was shocked by the salary at £800 a month but have since found out that it was not that bad!!!!
My husband is a freelance TV Cameraman and both of us get the feeling that we will have to be self employed and bringing in an income that way as jobs are hard to get.
I have an online business as well that I am desperately trying to build up to bring in the income we need .
I saw your email as i was about to switch off this evening and thought it would be good to make contact.

I lived in S.Africa for 22 years and no matter what anyone says ...its hard to beat an outdoor lifestyle. I know that once you live in the sun you get used to it,but it definately makes life more pleasant.
Going into our sixth Winter,i think the darkness is eventaully chasing us away.

Kathy

[debbie]

Don't come to Cyprus with rose tinted glasses........it has taken me nearly 2 years to adjust to Cyprus life (women definately find it more difficult than men).

But now I love it, I don't think I'll stay forever but it's better than being in the UK.

Wages are low, and there are lots of bugs, snakes and spiders !!!!(there was a big hairy one in my sink the other day). Shopping is a bit of a task as to get the best prices you have to visit several shops....there's no Tesco's here. And you have to get used to maybe we can do this tomorrow (tomorrow never comes). You have to slow down or you'll go mad......

If there is anything else that you would like to know just drop me a line and I'll be delighted to give you as much info as I know..

Take Care
Debbie

[kathyd]

Hi Debbie
thanks for getting back with some info. I have lived in several countries and know that it takes a while to adapt .
My father went to work in Africa when I was 11 and I spent a few years there before boarding school and then every holiday .
I have been through the culture adjustment which is mentally not easy and its probably for those reasons and the fact that I have 2 kids in school that makes me thing about this long and hard .
if it was just me I would just go!
Also my husband and I have fairly good jobs and we know we have to have some kind of an income coming in .
My Internet business which is transportable is really our ticket and then we can try and look around.
Its a hard decision when you have the family to think off.
I hate the winters in the Uk.
I spent 22 years in S.Africa and I loved the outdoor life.
My husband places tennis for Ireland and is also an outdoor person who loves sport. Both my kids are very outdoor as well.
As for the bugs and spiders I really like them!
I am a biologist and in fact collected insects when I lived in Uganda..I nearly became an endomologist..I find them fasinating. [thats an insect specialist by the way!]
So that one is a positive for me!

one of my main concerns is the schools. I have heard they are very good and would be keen to know about areas and schools for the kids to go to .
my brother told me about the shopping!

Interesting to hear that you prefer it to the UK,why do you think you will not stay?

As I lecture in an FE college I would love to try and get a position there but it seems a bit limiting.
I emailed a few colleges with no reply and feel that maybe there is just too much competition in Cyprus to consider outsiders...just not sure.

Anyway ...I am sure you will enlighten me!

Kathy

[Pam n Dave]

Hi All,

I started a thread about forms etc then spotted this one.

We've been coming to Cyprus for years now and the last time we came we thought about selling up in the UK. We found a villa but decided that we shouldn't make major decisions while on holiday as we may regret it.

We got home and promptly regretted not making the decision while we were on holiday.

Our house is now on the market and we are making a dash back to Cyprus to see if we can still get the villa.

We plan to rent it for the 1st year and so far everything seems easier that I expected. I've had an estimate for moving the furniture of £1750 and that's door to door, it will mean finding some labour to help load the container and there will be a £300ish charge at the dock in Cyprus.

The cars are a different story. Transport doesn't seem to be a problem but it may depend what side of bed the customs officer got out of whether I get a charge or not.

We will be out 4th to 18th July and if the villa isn’t available will also be hunting, so if anyone knows of anything to rent around Polis and the villages we may be very grateful.

It will be great if we can keep this thread running and use it to pool our experiences.

Pam n Dave.