fatcat65

Hey all, I've been reading threads on here on and off since joining the forum and i keep watching with interest. Our story is that we moved to Canada on a work permit 2 and half years ago and applied for residency. The only stumbling block we came across was that my son has autism, however, he is very independent and needs minimal support. They have refused our request for residency saying that he will be a burden on the state..blah blah blah, which is totally not the case, however, we do not wish to spend thousands of dollars fighting this in Federal court and are looking to go somewhere now where we can get some sun and be near the sea. My kids will be 16 and 18 when we leave Canada in June so no schooling required we will just need work and somewhere to live. My husband is an electrician by trade and would possibly set up his own business and employ Cypriots, however, we are really not bothered what work we do we just want enough to live on and have some time to enjoy the sunshine and sea. I'm a manager of a Day Program currently for adults with disabilities and have many years experience of Autism, obviously!! However, i'm not too fussed either what i do. We are all British Citizens...i'd like to say English but that's not allowed anymore or at least it wasn't when we left the UK!!
So my question to you guys in the know is do you see this as a viable relocation place for us? We don't ask much just enough room to live in and enough money to live on, that's it.
Thanks for taking the time to read my thread and i hope the weather isn't as bad as it is here in Canada at -30 today...lovely!!

fatcat65

Anyone???

Honest_H

Your obviously considering your options carefully. Cyprus is great to live in if you all you want it a bit of sun and sea, cos really, thats all it has going for it at the moment! Prices of everything are on the increase, and a lot of people are leaving to go back to the UK. If you have jobs, like my husband and I do, then its fine, we get paid well compared to some, so we are coping. Weekends are just great, we have two small children, so most of the summer months are spent on the beach or around the pool. Its bliss!

There is always plenty of seasonal work around the tourist areas, and if you husband turns up on time and does what he says he'll do, he could end up with a good income.

BUT, you need to work hard at it. Its took us about 4 years to settle down (have been here for nearly 6 years), and it was a struggle at times, but the beach, sea, weekends away etc more than make up for the rest of it.

In saying that, we are now trying to get jobs back in the UK as we feel its time to return. Been there done it got the t-shirt as they say. Sometimes you just realise that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. There is alot more to life than sun sand and sea, yes i know that sounds ridiculous, but, its true.

fatcat65

Hi honest, thank you for the reply. I know what you mean by moving back, however, we are in a position right now...not financially of course we will still need to work, but we want to go and see the world, and not get stuck in a rut in the UK and be sitting there when we're old and wishing we'd have done it when we had the chance. Our kids are older so they can work too wherever we go. We don't intend to stay anywhere too long we just want to go and sample life in other parts of the world.
So in terms of Cyprus, where about are you, and what are the people like...i've read there are a lot of expats on the island, but how are the Cypriots to get along with? Is there a language barrier at all? Sorry for the zillion questions but its always good to here it from someone who lives there and their experience. Do you think my OH could set up his own company fairly easily? I was thinking hotel contracts etc?
Anyway i'll not bombard you anymore and thank you so much for replying.
take care

fatcat65

anyone else live in Cyprus????

Claire woolford

hi,
i dont live in cyprus presantly but have a place in paphos and have stayed there for months at a time. Lovely place to stay and explore, really easy to make friends both english and cypriot. weather is perfect and your kids ages 16 and 18 will love it however there are a few faults- the cost of living is stupildy high and the wages out there are very poor. most of the people i was in contact with had 2 jobs and worked reallly long hours.

Kclarke

Hi we live in Paphos area and what would you like to know?

7immyboy

Good point H, the grass is never greener, only more brown! I lived in Cyprus for 2 years and loved it but I could not live there forever. I now live in Australia and it is amazing but, you know what, there is no place like blighty, for all its moans and grumbles and crap weather, I miss what I know more than anything. My friends and family, and I even miss being cold and wrapped up in a big coat. Its 11pm here and its 27 degrees and I hate that! That said, our daughter was born here and for bringing up children there is no contest. Back to the point, the sun and the sea is not all that after a while.

mystic

Claire is right about working really long hours and the high cost of living v poor wages. Things are even harder these days, as there are so many Eastern Europeans willing to do the jobs for far less pay.

Pistolpete2

Are you able to comment as to whether there are significant differences between conditions on the Turkish side relative to the Greek side which might make one a better choice than the other?

fatcat65

sounds a lot like Canada, when i first moved here i was working a minimum of 72 hours a week up to 120, now i work 50! Neither me or my OH mind hard work but there is a need for a work, life balance which when working so many hours doesn't happen. Here in Alberta the cost of living does not match the wages paid and nearly all my staff have two jobs or are just living from pay check to pay check, so i guess its the same world wide unless you work for a large international company or you don't want a life!! thanks for the reply.

zygiman

Cyprus , like any other place, is what you make of it. Do not expect things to just happen, you have to go out and make it happen. It is more difficult in Cyprus now, but still has a lot to offer and the UK is also getting harder to survive. Choices.

Veronica-K

I have lived in Cyprus for 7 years and don't regret it for one moment.
As your children will be over school age it does help as the cost of schooling is fairly prohibitive unless you have a job which pays well above the average.

However I would recommend that you do your research very thoroughly and make sure you have a good nest egg behind to support you until you and your husband find good jobs.

Veronica

zygiman

There are some Canadian Troops attached to the UN i believe. If you could find a social magazine for the service personnel, it might help. There are the usual ups and downs to moving to a new country, language of course will not be a problem for a start.

fatcat65

thanks Veronica for your advice... i think we may do a reccy there when my OH gets back from Canada. Do you think he could make a living being self employed as an electrician or do they have an abundance of eastern europeans that will do the jobs cheaper. He is very experienced with 25 years experience in all types of electrics.
We are trying to decide whether to stay in the UK now and save for a couple of years then go traveling around the world for a year or go to warmer climes for a while and live and work for a couple of years.
We are just trying to weigh up all the options. I have also looked at Portugal too but there will be a language barrier there and also my OH worked with many Portuguese over in Canada as they couldn't make a living over there.
What made you move over there if you don't mind me asking?