moving over looking for advice

[Susan W]

Hi I am Susan, hubby's name Allan, we are coming over in 2 weeks time to look at property to rent.
My daughter in law has also been on this site for advice as we are all hoping to move over next year to live.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
My husband and myself are looking to move to semi retire,so what sort of part time jobs are available?.

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by Susan W

Hi I am Susan, hubby's name Allan, we are coming over in 2 weeks time to look at property to rent.
My daughter in law has also been on this site for advice as we are all hoping to move over next year to live.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
My husband and myself are looking to move to semi retire,so what sort of part time jobs are available?.

Unfortunately the job front is not very healthy at the moment as is the case everywhere of course,but if you are only looking to earn a little extra to subsidise pensions etc part time work in hotels, cafes, shops etc is there if you are willing to go out and find it. Don't expect it to be easy though and be prepared for low wages.
What sort of work have you done in the past and what wouldyou be lookingfor?

Which part of Cyprus are you coming to?

Veronica

[Susan W]

Thanks for replying so quickly, I am retiring early, at present I am qualified to level 4 in health and social care for mental health/ learning disabilities, also I am a curtain/blind maker.
Allan in an air conditioning engineer, also retiring early, reason for this is that my son and daughter in law are moving over also. Dont know what part we want to move to, hence the holiday in November. Well have a look about and the 4 of us will be across spring of next year to do more research. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by Susan W

Thanks for replying so quickly, I am retiring early, at present I am qualified to level 4 in health and social care for mental health/ learning disabilities, also I am a curtain/blind maker.
Allan in an air conditioning engineer, also retiring early, reason for this is that my son and daughter in law are moving over also. Dont know what part we want to move to, hence the holiday in November. Well have a look about and the 4 of us will be across spring of next year to do more research. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

It looks to me as though you are doing the right thing in having some trip over to research.
Try to get around and see as much of the island as you can aswhat suits one person does not suit everyone.
I personally wouldnt want to live anywhere other than the Paphos area but you will find others love living in larnaca or Limassol etc. IT horses for courses and only you know what is right for you.
Renting, at least to start with is wise as you know at least if you find you dont like it where you are as soon as your rental contract is over you can move somewhere else.
Use this trip to look around and get to know some areas, but it is probably too early to look for properties as anything that is available for rent now is unlikely to still be there next spring.

Regards
Veronica

[Susan W]

Cheers for that veronica, whats our line of work like out in Cyprus.Once we have been out for our research mission Ill get back in touch if not before with any queries I have .

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by Susan W

Cheers for that veronica, whats our line of work like out in Cyprus.Once we have been out for our research mission Ill get back in touch if not before with any queries I have .

Feel free to pick my brains and those of anyone else on here, thats what these forums are for. If you have any questions I cant answer there will always be someone who can.

Veronica

[Susan W]

Hi Veronica forgot to ask if you knew of any ex pat clubs in Paphos that we could visit when we are over in November. Cheers

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by Susan W

Hi Veronica forgot to ask if you knew of any ex pat clubs in Paphos that we could visit when we are over in November. Cheers

Theres the UKCA near the St George Hotel.

Veronica

[BabsM]

Originally Posted by Susan W

Thanks for replying so quickly, I am retiring early, at present I am qualified to level 4 in health and social care for mental health/ learning disabilities, also I am a curtain/blind maker.
Allan in an air conditioning engineer, also retiring early, reason for this is that my son and daughter in law are moving over also. Dont know what part we want to move to, hence the holiday in November. Well have a look about and the 4 of us will be across spring of next year to do more research. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Hi Susan,
Thinking of your experience with curtain/blind making and aircon engineering I would have thought that you should be able to get the odd job here or there amongst the expats.

What would your son and daughter-in-law be doing? Do they have children? Would they need private schools locally?

Do have a good look around the whole island before making any decisions. As Veronica says, some like one area, some like others. Personally I love the Larnaca area. Paphos is the last place I'd choose! (Sorry Veronica!).

What do I like about Larnaca? we can reach anywhere on the island, the North included, within a short period of time as the road network is good. There's not too many Brits here but enough for a regular 'fix' of English. Because there aren't too many, the locals are still very welcoming. We get tourists but are not over-run in the summer and Larnaca still retains its culture. We have hills, countryside and a view and can still find a quiet/ almost deserted beach nearby.

[kimonas]

Hello Sue and welcome to the forum,

It seems to me that your plans will centre on the younger members of your family and their ability to find work. Life is certainly much tougher for younger families moving over, especially if they have kids. There are no short answers or quick fixes - the crux boils down to the tiny salaries in all sectors of work, and the very tough jobs market for ex-pats as they are in competition with locals (and it is very much a 'who you know rather than what you know' environment here) and a jobs market that is flooded with in excess of 100,000 legal and illegal immigrant workers who come from countries where a salary of 4-500 euros a month sounds like a great deal. Added to that is the problem of the language barrier and the fact that most employees are going to opt for someone who is bilingual (or tri-lingual) given the choice - where Greek, English and Russian are at a premium).

That's the doom and gloom bit over - the good news is that for those that do have independent means (rental income or pensions) and/or who are lucky enough to find jobs (there are half decent jobs here, but they take quite a bit of finding) then life in Cyprus is a good one - healthier, more relaxing and more rewarding in terms of quality of life than the lives that many of us seek to leave as ex-pats.

Job opportunities are probably more likely to be found in those places where the action is within the still rapidly expanding economy (despite the current recession). Don't rule out places like Larnaca (new airport and massive luxury cruise ship hub marina development will create new jobs in the future) and there is a good mix of locals and ex-pats from many countries and still job opportunities in the field of education; Nicosia - financial hub and capital of the island - lots of offshore companies have opportunities - also an interesting place to live (although unbearabaly hot in the summer when it pretty much closes down anyway) and Limmassol - hugely metropolitan and many job offers in tourism etc, but also offshore work in the expanding gas and petroluem industries - the down side is the gangland reputation it has (three people were murdered gangland syle -gunned down in public places there in the last week alone).

For job searching, the EURES website is useful to get an idea of opportunities and salaries, but bear in mind that the face to face approach is best - many spend lost of time and resources sending out CVs and don't hear anything back for their efforts. You have to get out and meet people here to get jobs (on the whole).

Do get back with further questions - I can help with anything related to education and schooling as I've been lucky enough to land a job in this sector.

Good Luck!