rachkeel

hi there everyone

can u all pls help my family and i are thinkin about moving to cyprus my children are 2 and 3 and my husband and i are 28 and 30. Can anyone help us with were the best places to relocate are? we would like to be by the coast and somewhere were there is work for my husbandwho is a catering engineer (fixing maintaining catering equipment) he is fully qualified in electrics, plumbing and gas. What are the schools like out there for my children etc??

plssss help

Honest_H

Hi,

I'd stick to one of the major towns, say Larnaca or Limassol if you want to be near the coast. There are lots of nursery schools around. Have you thought about Cypriot schools or English (personally stick to English - they will learn there, Cypriot nursery's tend to be more of a baby sitting service).

Jobs - mmm not sure.

rachkeel

thanks for ur help. We have found some jobs on line that look ok. What is like looking for work out there? if you had to live somewere in out situaion were would u pick? how does the scool system work?

Thanks
Rach

Honest_H

Myself and my husband were very lucky (eventually) getting jobs. We both work for huge international companies. We don't need to speak Greek and get paid very well in comparison to other jobs we've had here (coach rep for Thomas Cook, Lifeguards at the water park etc). We like living in Larnaca, its near the coast, not too far for me to travel to Nicosia to work everyday, its smaller than Limassol, so easy to get to know where everything is.

If I had to do it all again, I'd live somewhere with a big ex pat community. We thought we'd be able to fit into "village life". It hasn't worked to be honest. We were told that it wouldn't work, but didn't listen. I can understand why there are big communities of Indians/Pakistans etc in England now. Everyone needs to stick to their own, cos very few locals will let you into their communities.

We've learnt a lot about people while we've been here. Its very sad that people can't live with each other, but its the way it is, not just here, but all over the world.

Schools - they run similar to the UK, nursery, primary and senior. Greek schools are free, English school are fee paying. Private nursery is about 180 euro's for basic half days. Its extra for swimming, gymnastics and music lessons. We pay about 4500 euro per year for my daughters private primary school.

We tried starting out with Greek nursery, it was a disaster to be honest, my daughter cried everyday for a year!

gerryalton

Hello..i am Gerry..i am planning to relocate in Cyprus..so please help me regarding this..

Honest_H

What do yo need to know?

dorsetfam

My wife and I have twins of just over 2, we are in the Paphos area. We moved over a couple months ago.
The children go to a english run nursery that has a Greek member of staff so take the older children for Greek lessons. There is also a mix of Greek/English children. Costs are cheaper than UK, as mentioned approx 180 euros per child per month for every morning, but the ratio of staff to children is much lower than the UK.

I would certainly try and make efforts to secure employment before you leave. It gives you piece of mind. Salaries will be lower than UK for the same job.
Ensure you have enough money in reserve if you don't find a job before you come over.

Given the present climate there are some 'bargains' to be had in the property world, but do your homework before you commit.
Regards and good luck

Veronica-K

The advice dorsetfam gives is sensible regarding securing jobs before you come over.
On the whole jobs are scarce these days as they are everywhere and pay is much lower than the UK.
I would not recommend anyone with young children moving over unless you have at least one years money behind you to see you through hard times.
As for areas, I would recommend the Paphos area as it has the biggest expat community so it would be easier for both you and your children to find friends.

Regards
Veronica

Kclarke

Hi what would you like to know? we have been here for two years and at the end of the school year are returning to the UK to make some life changing decisions regarding which country we would want to live in.Let me know what you would like to know ie schools etc and we can [email protected]

Kclarke

hi what do you want to know? we moved with our son for a two year trial and are returning to the UK to decide what to do next.Our son goes to a private English school (ISOP) Just let me know what you need to know and i will see if I can [email protected]

Kclarke

We are in the Paphos area and I think the area is lovely especially where we are in the hills. Forgot to say in the last post.

desertmum

Agree re other posters try to get a job for at least one of you before you arrive. Re Paphos - yes it has a high number of British ex-pats, but that means more people scrabbling for fewer jobs. It also tends to be more seasonal in paphos as it is predominantly a tourist area.

Limassol and Larnaca (and Nicosia) are more commercial based and more 'year round' for many jobs. They also have ex-pat communities. I haven;t found any problems with living in a village and feel as integrated as I want to - we mix wiht our Cypriot neighbours, but don't live ineach others pockets. It is not an easy place to live if you are struggling financially, and as your children get older so the costs will increase re education etc.

It is a wonderful place to live if you have work or are retired.

Veronica-K

I cant agree about Paphos being seasonal as it has a very high number of expats and unlike the East coast where most of the resorts close down for 4 months in the winter, Paphos is a year round resort, although of course the winter months are much quieter on the tourist front than the summer.
Nicosia has a reputation for being unfriendly and not a nice place to live.
Limassol is the main commercial center so there are more jobs there but many of those jobs are with off shore companies who bring in their own staff. Also the Russian presence is very much stronger in Limassol.

I would still advise that no one, especially those with children should consider moving here without at least a very healthy bank balance to sustain them for some time and if possible a job to come to.

Patricia1

If I were you I would forget the move to Cyprus until your children have finished their education. I have lived in Cyprus for many years and was so thrilled when my daughter and grandchildren decided to move over. It was decided to send the children to a greek school so that they would integrate better with the other children, what a big disaster that was. The children were placed at the back of the class and left without any assistance from the teachers at all, they were bullied by the other children because they did not speak the language, many times my daughter tried talking to the teachers to no avail. Sad to say my daughter had to eventually return to the UK with my grandchildren as she could not afford the cost of private education. Something else that has to be considered when making the move is the cost of health insurance, there is no NHS here, count your blessings for all the good things that the UK has to offer and stay where you are is my advice.

steen1976

I love Cyprus but wouldn't move there in a fit. Far too much corruption.