Hi. I have been thinking of looking to make Cyprus a base for myself and to operate from professionally. Cyprus is convenient for travel to the Midd East. I work in the Fund/Finance sector. Looking at all the threads I get the impression that it is more expensive to live than Dubai (which is double the price of the UK). The people in the South are awful, land and property in the North are as stable as property in Kabul. Ex pats are leaving in droves and no one has any work. I am a life long expat and wish to remain one. Is Cyprus really as bad as you guys say?

Although the cost of living has certainly increased since entry to the EU, it still hasn't risen to the level of the UK. Goods in the stores can appear expensive, but the incidentals of life like petrol, parking and eating out are still a lot cheaper and the overall tax burden is less, particularly company taxes if you are self-employed, which I guess from your post that you are.

Compared to Dubai, you will see some enormous discrepancies in prices because of the duty free status - so buy any household electronics before you leave. You will pay a lot less in rent than you would in Dubai, which can have a huge impact on your overall living expenses.

The other advantage is that as a UK national, you can get a yellow slip entitling you to live and work in Cyprus as another EU state, so there's less bureacracy than Dubai or other non-EU destinations.

Thank you for the insight. I will be visiting over the next few months to get a feel for the place and look at accom etc. Thanks again.

Cud anyone give an idea of driving times on the Island. Paphos to Limassol. Lanarca to Nicosia. I want to live in the Paphos region but think I may have to have the biz in Nicosia or Lanarca/limassol which may dictate where I live. thanks.

The island is pretty small and there's (finally) a good road network connecting all of the major towns. Paphos to Limassol is around 45-50 minutes and about the same from Limassol to Nicosia. I usually plan around 2 hours from my house in Nicosia to our place in Kissonerga, which is the other side of Paphos.

Nicosia to Larnaca can be done in 30-40 minutes. It's probably the same from Limassol to Larnaca, although I don't recall ever driving that route, but it's all highway and about the same distance. The speed limit on the highways is 100km/h and we drive on the left like the UK.

Thank you very much, helpful in a bit of planning. I am pushing for a move into the Paphos area but need to talk to my biz partner as he has children in tow. I have been looking at Kissonerga so may bump into you one day in person.

Cyprus is a great place to live and if your partner has children in tow then the paphos area is as good as any as there is a good choice of schools, both private and government ones.
If you live in the Paphos area then I would say that Nicosia and Larnaca are probably not the best choices for your business due to travelling distance. Limassol would be a better choice if you don't actually want the business to be in Paphos.

Hi. Thank you. The decision has been made to move and the wheels are in motion. I think we have in mind the town to home the company and will need to sort out accom. I expect we will be over in the next few weeks to nose about and see.

Hi Beerhunter

Hope the plans are coming along well. One thing you may wish to look at is the airport timetables for flights over to dubai and the like. Depending on your frequency of travel this may be important.
My wife has to go to Brussels with her work, and flights to mainland Europe business airports seem to be twice a week. Certainly not 4 x per day like heathrow to paris. Larnaka airport is a bit more geared up than Paphos.
I can recommend the paphos area for the kiddies, variety of school, nursery options etc. We are in Coral Bay area.

Looking back at your original post you always hear a few horror stories but life certainly isn't bad. After years of coming back and forwards for holidays and property searches, we moved over a couple months ago. Our removal man in Cyprus said he has brought more people over in 2010 than departed in 2008, perhaps things are picking up. It seems most people who have left we either retirees on very little income other than the state pension, or young couples who couldn't get on the housing ladder in the UK, didn't have much in the way of savings and saw Cyprus as a nicer life. In both cases the exchange rate issues have hit these 2 groups hard.

You mention you are in finance? What field? I too am in finance.