Couple looking to relocate to Cyprus with two children aged 6 and 3 yrs

[sara01]

Hello,
We are a couple looking to relocate to Cyprus with our two young daughters aged 6 and 3yrs , having become totally fed up with current life in uk , cost of living and continuous violence on our streets. Its a real worry what it will be like in ten years time as the uk government seem to have lost control. We have been to Cyprus a few times and feel that it would be the easiest to live and work there.
There are many questions I have but we need to find out about schools I would like to pay for my girls to go to English speaking schools so as their education would not be totally disrupted, but I would still be keen to know about Cypriot schools also.
Then there is the medical care currently we pay into a private scheme in the uk which enables us all to be seen privately is there something like this in Cyprus?
Also regarding jobs I have worked in the travel industry for eleven years so this might be an opening for me , or even something in customer service. My husband currently has a senior role as a divisonal manager working for a window plastics group , he also has dones sales for many years and has a proven track record in this area, I know I'm going on a bit but I want everything to be able to fit before we committ ourselves.

Thanks for your time
Sara01

[bloomy]

Hi Sara

We are in a similar situation, my wife and our 3 children (3, 6 and 9) will hopefully be moving next year if not the year after (things to tidy up here first)

I have asked similar question mainly regarding the schooling and we are looking to move around the Pathos area and it seems although the Cypriot schools have a good reputation the International School of Pathos has had some great recommendations and as its private will cost around £3k per child per year (Please correct me if I'm wrong someone!)

Regarding work I be looking to start my own company as it seems the general pay is very poor for example someone said on here that a nurse only gets around 6 Euros an hour so Sales, IT (me) etc would also be very poor pay compared to the UK.

I'm sure others will reply regarding Health care

Hope this helps a bit

[BabsM]

Hi Sara and welcome to the forum.

It is good to be asking these questions as they are very important. If you have a look around the forum you will see many people have asked similar questions.

Most ex-pats send their children to international schools. There are good ones in Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol and Paralimni as well as Paphos. There are differences between local schools and schools in Britain, both in teaching and construction. From what parents say, the local schools do seem to support the non-Greek speaking child well.

You can probably continue with your existing private health insurance. I suggest you ask them.

The travel industry, customer service, sales and something in window plastics are all good possibilities for work over here. Being able to speak Greek would give you a definite edge and may even be a requirement for some positions. What Bloomy says about the wages here is correct. They are poor here and you can expect wages of a fraction of what you get now. Starting up a business of your own may be an answer but its not for everyone.

Please don't hesitate to ask other questions.
Regards

[BabsM]

I forgot to say, don't let the low wages put you off as the cost of living is cheaper too.

[Veronica]

I would suggest that you dont dismiss sending your children to local schools.
Learning to speak the language woul stand them in very good stead later in life and of course as it is free to send them to local schools it will take a lot of pressure off your finances.Yes it is true that wages are lower than the Uk but lower cost of living and the better lifestyle more than compensate for this.
As for health care there are some very good insurance schemes available for families so if your current insurance company wont cover you over here you shoudlnt have any problems, just make sure you shop around for the best deal.

[yummymummy150]

Hi Sara as above post said try the greek school lots are happy there
its maybe the best when kids are young and they do get help in afternoon
but you need to go over see schools you know your own children some cope better than others
Tricia