Cyprus-Forum.com

[Beauregard]

My wife and I are tired of the Prague winters, so we have decided to move here. We have spent 3 vacations in Cyprus, since my company has a villa on the beach near Larnaca that is often empty. So we know the island a bit. However, we have a few questions, and I would very much appreciate your help:

1) We would like to live near Larnaca or Limassol, mainly because I need to be near the airport (I fly weekly on business). Could you recommend a few nice villages in which to search for property? My wife would like to be near expats, as we both speak fluent English and Czech, but no Greek. She wants to have English-speaking friends nearby, especially when I will be travelling often. Any ideas?

2) Is anyone here using a preschool in this area (Larnaca/Limassol)? We have two children, 3 and 4 years old. We would like that they study at a private English school where they can hopefully learn Greek, as well. Again, any ideas? How is the quality?

3) We don't want to sell our house in Prague, so my budget is a bit limited. Do you think it is reasonable to find a detached house, 3 bedrooms, small yard for the kids, for around 100k CYP?

4) We may rent first, just to make sure we like living here full time. Can you suggest a realtor who could help us with rentals? We would probably rent for 3-6 months. What are the typical rental prices for 3-bedroom houses?

5) We have never been in Cyprus in the winter. How is it?

Cyprus seems like a wonderful place for kids. My children always come to the island with colds, and leave tan and healthy. There are also more parks for kids in Larnaca than in the entire Czech Republic.... So we really want to move here.

Thanks for your help!

[Hazza]

First of all, welcome to Cyprus-Form Beauregard, and with a little bit of luck, welcom to Cyprus

I live in Larnaca and have done since August. I have no regrets about coming over and always feel a sence of safety when I am out, somthing which I didn't have back home in England.


I have 3 nieces who go to private English schools here. 2 go the Med-high and the eldest goes to the American Accademy. Everything is taught in English and theoretically, they are English schools. They will also have around 10 hours a week dedicated to Greek so as to learn the language which is understandable. I'm not sure about pre-school but I shall try to find out for you. I know I have have seen an English Nursery (pre-school) somewhere but for the life of me, I can't remember where it was.

At the moment, I am renting a 3 bedroom house with a small yard and a drive that fits 2 cars and I am paying £250/pw but thats in the centre of Larnaca behind Ermes/Woolworth. That probably doesn't mean much to you but for anyone living in Larnaca, they know exactly where it is. Your best bet for renting is to buy a paper here and look at the ads. Could work out cheaper than using an agent.

Oroklini has alot of British people living there. There is a good community of Brits with nice houses. Its a fairly new village. I remember when I came over 5 years ago on a holiday and it was just empty fields there with 2 or 3 houses. Now its a proper village with alot of houses.

I'm presuming that you'd also like to be fairly close to the sea/beach?

I know you are a little worried because you don't speak Greek, but most people here can speak English.

As for the winter here, its quiet but not bitterly cold. Yes you get rain, and cold winds, but its bearable.

[city]

yep, welcome to the forum!

Also Pervolia, on the other side of Larnaca, compared to Oroklini, is a village with lots of expats. Its not a new place so it has sort of an old part in the middle and around it lots of newly build houses. Its 10 minutes driving from the airport and close to the beach. Houses for sale/rent are available.