jona31

Morning all...Me and my wife are seriously considering emigrating from uk to Cyprus most likely within next 3 years. We are wanting to rent for 12 months or so t o see how it goes and preferably would like to rent in an area where there are other ex pats around us....can anyone tell us where abouts mightbe a good area?....
What are the schools like, are they english speaking ? Are
they state paid or do we have to pay for schools etc.....what are the job prospects like? Any advice would be appreciated...
I spent 2 years In Episkopi about 12 years ago with the army but that's always different I suppose and I guess a lot has changed since then..thanks...

dorsetfam

Good luck with the move. Most of the cities will have reasonable UK ex pat communities. Just depends on whether you want to completely immerse yourselves in an area that has reducing Cypriot representation, or wait to live in village environment.
Think that renting before a purchase is a good decision if you haven't been to/from cyp much since you were at Epi.
Also how old are the children, if they are young enough then putting them into a greek speaking school won't be a bad thing, but if they are coming up to gcse time then perhaps one opf the 'international' schools maybe a better option. But as i understand it most of the interantional (fee paying) schoold don't teach greek
We have been out here 5 months. we have young twins who go to an english owned nursery that has a greek member of staff. The can say numbers 1-5 in greek (1-10 in english) and there understanding of greek is already putting me to shame. Nursery fees are much cheaper than UK but the class ratios are not as stringent.
Job wise, try and find employment before you come over. If niot then please keep a good savings pot before you come whilst you look. Salaries are on average lower than UK for the equivalent role.
Hope that helps for starters

richtaylor

Bring plenty of cash with you if you are considering it, enough to last you a good couple of months and then some set aside to take you home if stuff doesn't go to plan... jobs as I understand it aren't the easiest to come by at the moment although if you work for yourself or something like that then Cyprus would be the perfect place for you.

A nice bit if lifestyle arbitrage if you can work freelance for companies in the UK and live in Cyprus...

jona31

Thanks, much appreciated...Our daughter is 7yrs and son is 6months but it will most likely be in a couple of years, we intend to move for our daughters last junior year before she goes to comprehensive shcool or the equivalent, hopefully she will have made friends and learned enough by then...We deffinitely intend to seek / secure employment before we arrive and hopefully will be able to get in a few visits before then to check out different places and meet prospective employers and other expats in a similar circumstances. Do you mind me asking where you have moved to in cyprus..how are you finding the area etc...much appreciated thanks....

zygiman

You have to also think of where in Cyprus you want to live, as the distance from one side of the island to the other can play a big role.

dorsetfam

We're in Coral Bay, Paphos. But there a Brits in all places on the island!!

zygiman

We are in Limassol, on the south coast, in the middle of the island, so easy to get around the island. Lot's of nationalities, a good mix. The business centre of Cyprus is situated in Limassol, so lot's to do year round.

Veronica-K

You will find that your oldest child will find it extremely difficult to fit into the scene in state schools here. There are some horror stories that come out of the schools about how foreign children are treated.
You would end up having to take her out of state school and put her into private school and that will cost you 7-10K per year.
To find a job that pays enough to cover the cost of schooling and pay all your normal bills is almost impossible.
Even if your child did settle into the local school most Cypriot children have after school lessons in order to pass their exams and that can cost almost as much as private schooling does.
Most Brits who leave Cyprus after a year or two are those with school age children because they just cannot make ends meet.
My advice is to think very very carefully, do your research very thoroughly and make sure that if you do take the decision to come that you have at least one years money behind you and the wherewithall to return to the UK if everything goes pear shaped.
Sorry if that sounds negative but after 7 years of living here I have seen too many families plans go awry at the expense of their childrens education.

Veronica

zygiman

The move to Cyprus, or anywhere for that matter, is a very heavy weight on people's mind, when their is children invilved.
Cyprus is going through an economic downturn, like everywhere else, so do come prepared. If you can arrange work before you come to Cyprus, even better. To come here with children, with no work, is not a good idea at the moment. Your children will mix in, children always do, and the language is not a problem, but when their friends keep on leaving, then they get disheartened, so the area you choose is important, try to go to an area with a good mix of nationalities.

Veronica-K

sorry Zygiman but I have to disagree about the children mixing in. It is a well know fact that British children are being given a very hard time in state schools, particularly secondary schools.
Before anyone puts a child into a state school I would recommend visiting the school and talking to parents of British children who attend to find out what the situation is.
We were talking to a family a few days ago whose grandson was attending the school at Emba. He was regularly getting beaten up by the local kids and in once incident he was knocked to the ground and kicked in the head. He was knocked unconscious. When his parents complained to the school they were asked 'what can we do about it?'
This family has now returned to the Uk as they cannot afford private schooling for their children and the grandparents are selling their house to go back.
This is not an isolated incident, I hear many similar stories.
My concern is that far too many parents do not research thoroughly enough and the children are often the ones who end up suffering so that the parents can chase a dream.

zygiman

This is a case of bullying, it happens the world over. I meant by mixing in, the kids normally pick up the language faster than the adults, and so are able to mix in faster. The amount of Russian kids floating in Russian, Greek and English at a very young age amazes me. Expat kids will have no problem with English in Cyprus, and will pick up Greek fast.

Veronica-K

sorry Zygiman you are wrong. There are huge problems with the schools in respect to foreign children.
I suggest you read the posts by kimonas on the other forum you are a member on. He is heavily involved with the school system and tells it is it is.

jona31

Thanks for you input veronica k and zygiman.deffinitely worth a huge amount of research on my part.

zygiman

Research is very important. Integrating in certain cities in Cypus is obviously easier than others. Hopefully more people will give their views. I still stand by my thoughts, that Limassol, being a multiculteral centre, is one of the best places to educate the children. The schools are used to multiculteral children, and it is not dominated by one country.

Mitzyboy

Whereabouts in Cyprus do you live at the moment?