Hi I'm considering taking a year out of work to gain some professional exams (self study). Luckily I have around 10k euro to finance this and I'm considering Cyprus as a destination. Having been there before twice I really like it and the people. I would be very grateful if someone could give me some idea of the cost of living there now in regards to :

1) rental of 1-bed. Nothing extravagant but not dingy either. any good websites?

2) Bills like electric, internet etc

3) Cost of food, travel. (no car so buses?)

many thanks in advance!

No Takers?

Any advice would really be most welcome. Thanks again

Having worked in Cyprus for a couple of years I can say it is not a cheap place to live and would be pretty close to UK living costs.

If you want to stay in Pafos try pafilia services for rentals they usually have reasonable rents on long term rentals.

10k for a year would be very tight you would need to take a part time job but finding one would be difficult.

Bills were on par with UK
Car rental is expensive and public transport is very poor

Good luck

Many thanks. I appreciate the advice. I may have to re-think my plans

In the case of electricity, there have been huge increases in charges due to the explosion last year, a vat increase, and charges for renewable energy. Water has increased dramatically too.
Pressure on rentals comes out good as there is oversupply, so you can get a good deal.

The other responders to your query are right, mostly, but so negative!

You just need to be a cut above the rest in Cyprus, I landed with 300 Euros back in 2008 with no job anything. I am still here! Living costs are the same as England but who cares? Look how much more you get for your money in terms of well being and lifestyle.

Cyprus isn`t easy to crack but it isn`t has hard as some make out, if it was then it wouldn`t be full of Brits. And just like anywhere else, you can live as cheaply as you need to.

Under 3) I would recommend the Cyprus Carpooling platform, which can be reached at http://taksidi.org/. Mostly Brits use it and you can get places cheaply. It's all about sharing a ride with other users.

As you are plugging this on other forums it would appear that you in fact have something to gain by getting people to use it.

Definitely not, I just thought that it is a wonderful idea for Cyprus. Thus, I thought why not posting it around (also on other forums) so people would hear about it and use it if it is according to their lifestyle and if they want to save some money while travelling across Cyprus. Taksidi.org is completely free to use (no monetizing features) and community driven, which means that if we, the people in Cyprus won't use it, the project won't survive - which would be a pity.

I had a look at the website and to say it is free to use is not true.

Larnaca Nicosia Sun, 27 May 01:51 €5
Larnaca Airport Limassol Sun, 27 May 01:54 €15
Larnaca Airport Paphos Sun, 27 May 01:55 €25
Larnaca Protaras Sun, 27 May 01:56 €15
Larnaca Paralimni Sun, 27 May 01:57 €15

How is that free?
Its cheaper to use the bus service from Larnaca airport to Paphos @ €18 and Larnaca to Paralimni for €15 dosnt strike me as particularly cheap either.
Someone is making money out of this scheme. As people seem to be charging for this so called car pooling are they insured to carry paying passengers?