Cyprus-Forum.com

[Judge Mental]

....about moving to Cyprus.

Whenever we have been to Cyprus we have come away absolutely loving the place, and we are currently in the process of selling our house so we can move there, but reading the posts on the forum I am getting really worried about a whole bunch of things, i.e.:

1. We have a large dog (German Shepherd) which we adore, but reading some posts suggest he will be the target of poisonings etc.

2. If we see any animal cruelty we will have to keep our mouths shut because if we say anything someone will attack us sooner or later

3. Greek Cypriots (and presumably Turkish Cypriots) can't wait to see the back of all foreign troops, and hate those that are based on the island (I am British by the way)

4. Cypriots hate all foreigners who go to live in Cyprus

5. The Banking System is archaic

6. The availability of Broadband is almost non-existent, and use of the Internet is a joke as no-one uses it (I know for a fact that if I email anyone in Cyprus it won't get an answer)

7. The cost of vehicles is ludicrously expensive

8. If I have serious medical problem I would be better off going off-island for treatment


Someone PLEASE tell me I have got this all wrong?????

Judge

[cannedmoose]

1. We have a large dog (German Shepherd) which we adore, but reading some posts suggest he will be the target of poisonings etc.

I'm not an expert on this, but my wife's family live in an area where there are plenty of dogs, which bark almost constantly, none of these have ever been poisoned. I don't think the deliberate poisoning of dogs is a huge problem, many of them eat poison left out for the plague of cats that roam the island and thus die accidentally. It may also be a more widespread practice in the country than the cities. I know it happens, but I've never known anyone personally who suffered such a tragedy.

2. If we see any animal cruelty we will have to keep our mouths shut because if we say anything someone will attack us sooner or later

There is a rather different mentality to animals in Cyprus than in the UK. It's far closer to what we would regard as a 'farmers mentality' than the ultra-liberal one that pervades in the UK. Obviously most Cypriots treasure their pet dogs/cats, but other animals such as donkeys are still treated as beasts of burden, largely because that's what they are. Again, it depends where you are, if you're in the countryside, you may see what you perceive as cruelty, just as you would see in the UK visiting some farms. As regards the poisoning of cats issue, I'm not a big fan of cats anyway, particularly in Cyprus where in areas they've assumed locust-swarm proportions. It's not the best way to deal with it, but in the absence of local authority action, people do take things into their own hands.

3. Greek Cypriots (and presumably Turkish Cypriots) can't wait to see the back of all foreign troops, and hate those that are based on the island (I am British by the way)

Wouldn't you? Think about if Britain had tens of thousands of foreign troops on its soil, and Cornwall and Kent were designated military areas under the control of a foreign power... would this not bug you? Again, as a Brit, I've never come across hostility towards me because of the British bases. There's a lingering resentment, but unless you go around with a placard in support of the bases, you're not going to have a problem on this.

4. Cypriots hate all foreigners who go to live in Cyprus

It depends on how you integrate. If you refuse to assimilate or integrate in any way, then yes, you will find Cypriots unwilling to accommodate you. However, if you make the effort, learn some Greek and try to get to grips with Cypriot social practices, you'll find them an extremely welcoming people. Some areas have become flooded with expats and have thus become dominated by English people, who want to live in England but with the sun, often called 'poushtou inglezi' (I won't translate it, but it's not nice!). I'd recommend staying away from these ghettos as they defeat the point of moving to a foreign land, i.e. learning to love and appreciate a new culture and way of life.

Again, I've never encountered real hostility, even from people I know that were active supporters of EOKA in the 1950s.

5. The Banking System is archaic

In some respects it's not yet up to British standards, but it's getting there. Plus, if you really want to, I believe there are branches of some British banks in Cyprus - Barclays, HSBC? I know that Laiki and HSBC have some sort of link anyway.

6. The availability of Broadband is almost non-existent, and use of the Internet is a joke as no-one uses it (I know for a fact that if I email anyone in Cyprus it won't get an answer)

No idea on broadband, I personally only know one person in Cyprus who has it. Email is still a problem if you're trying to use it to contact officialdom, you're right in that they don't seem to use it well. Perhaps, the impact of Europe will improve things and get the government to develop some sort of e-government policy. Again, if you know people, it helps in getting a reply.

7. The cost of vehicles is ludicrously expensive

It's more expensive that the UK, but you've got to consider the extra expense of shipping cars to Cyprus (particularly given the smaller volumes required). Second-hand cars are far more expensive, but you can apparently get better deals on grey-imports from Japan (right-hand drive) - the car might have a small dent here and there, but you can get a better price.

8. If I have serious medical problem I would be better off going off-island for treatment

In many cases, this is what Cypriots do also. It depends on the condition. Cypriot doctors are generally quite good as most, if not all have received their training in the UK, US and other advanced medical countries. The facilities to treat some conditions aren't available, so in some cases, Cypriots themselves need to get treated overseas. I'd defer to others on the general quality as I've never been treated in a Cypriot hospital, my only experience was getting a blood test for Thallasemia.

Hope this has helped a bit.

[sk]

hi!
about dogs,it is true that some of them do get poisoned but its not that big problem.we have 7 in my neighbourhood and they are all still alive!!!!just dont let your dog eat anything from the ground
about animal cruelty i would advice to call the local authorities and report it.they will not say your name and that its u who called.if u do report these cases see it as a way of u helping cyprus to reach a better level of animal "respect".i dont think u will have problems with the neighbours.
about the troops and the hate of foreigners....well ,the population expansion of cyprus happened quite fast ,its something he island had never seen before.some problems do arise but as far as i know its not with the british, its with other people from other countries that usually commit crimes(pakistanis,etc)**this is not a racist comment against muslim asians ,its simply a fact***. i havent noticed any problems with europeans or chinese. of course if u do get into a fight i suppose its normal if they tell u to get out of cyprus!!!and as cannedmoose said,if u dont hold a sign that says u want the british bases to stay in cyprus ,u will not have a problem
about hate for foreigners, well if u learn some really basic greek and respect the religious traditions( eg.when visiting a monastery for an excursion women should not go with a mini skirt etc) as a british u will not have a problem
about the banking system,i have no idea about it yet since i am still a university student and i depend on my parents for financial support
about broadband internet connection,most of my friends have broadband connection. it will not be a problem as long as u dont live in a remote area.last summer when i had broadband while i was for vacations in cyprus the had 3 different broadband options (3 different kinds of speed) depending on your computer.they were really helpful which i have to admit it surprised me(it seems EU started to have an effect hehe...).the only problem was that it got disconnected after 12 hours of continuous use and i had to log in again.i dont know if this has changed.
about cars,i have no idea since i am using my parent`s cars
about medical problems,well i am a medical student,i will be a doctor in august(finally!!!) and i did have some of my sixth year rotations in cyprus.what i can say is that the level of private doctors and private clinics is very good.i wouldnt recommend the goverment sector unless its a simple operation and it will take place at makario hospital(i am talking about nicosia,i dont know about other cities), the nicosia general hospital is not recommended!!now that the new nicosia hospital will finish(by the end of 2006 hopefully) i think the situation will improve since part of the problem is the old equipment they use.from private hospitals /clinics i can definately recommend apollonio and ippokratio in nicosia.i ahve been there and the services they offer are very good. of course there are more private clinics but i havent been to them so i cant say anything about them.
i hope i could help a bit with my answers,if u need more info just post your questions!!

[Judge Mental]

Guys - really appreciate your rapid replies - it has eased my concerns considerably - many thanks

Judge
aka Chris

ps - the thought of my wife wearing a mini-skirt at ANY time is inconceivable - she is 48 and can't bear showing her legs off....except to me of course

[cannedmoose]

ps - the thought of my wife wearing a mini-skirt at ANY time is inconceivable - she is 48 and can't bear showing her legs off....except to me of course

No problem Chris, I'm sure all will be fine... just think that you'll be able to sit outside virtually every night from April-October without freezing your backside off!

[Judge Mental]

that's what we are really looking forward to.......we have got so many people who WANT to buy our house its getting stupid, and not one of them can proceed because they haven't sold their houses yet!! Talk about frustrated

[sk]

hehe...well ,i think u will be safe in cyprus then!!!at least from the priests!!!hehe..

[Alex L]

Judge, good luck with your move - I'm envious - keep us posted about how you get on.

[davidp]

Hi Chris,

Good luck with the good old English 'property chain' i don't think i've encountered anything quite so frustrating.

re your enquiries; i have been resident in Cyprus for only three months but can offer these observations.

Broadband is slowly making inroads but will be first available in the major towns. i'm in a village so i don't expect it to arrive here soon. On a positive note, I have a dial up connection with CYTANET and regularly connect at 45kbps. This connection seems much faster than the UK equivelent.

As has been previously mentioned , poisoning is common in the villages and country areas where the targets seem to be dogs, cats and snakes although in our area the locals encourage black whip snakes as they eat the brown snakes. Having said that i hav'nt seen one snake yet dead or alive.
my neighbour has two dogs which are never let out from her garden, she also has several cats which roam but seem to come to no harm.

all the best for the future

David

[Judge Mental]

thanks for this david....as you have a head start on living there could I seek some info from you?

1. Can you recommend a good bank? I am drawn towards Alpha for no particular reason other than some friends bank with them and are pleased with them - they tell me that I need a Sterling A/C and a CYP account - and if I have my pension paid in sterling into that a/c and then transfer into the CYp a/c I get a much better exchange rate

2. Did you buy or rent? if rent can you suggest a good agency to approach for a rental property? if buy, did you deal with a private builder? any recommendations?

3. where do you live? looking for recommendations on where are the best areas to look at - we are considering the Angoyra/Prastio area between Paphos and Limassol - any views on these areas?

Many thanks in dribbling anticipation

chris