unless you have been keeping up with the bankrupt state of Cyprus, the diabolical title deeds fiasco,have checked the exorbitant prices for utilities and are prepared to have 45% of your bank assets [if you have a Cyprus account] taken towards the bail out, oh and the draconian shop laws [opening times unions etc] then take your pick, property prices [without title] have dramatically fallen in the last 6 months

to be honest now is not a good time to be opening businesses in Cyprus

yasus
wizard

Ok thank you I will take what you have said on board, it's so difficult, we are opening to all areas in Europe but its proving very difficult to find any where oh well I will keep researching and hopefully find the right place for us

Thank you for your reply

before you decide you need to preferably talk to native locals or spend a lot of time reading the local press, if you want to find out about southern cyprus then you could do no worse than reading back through issues of the Cyprus mail

yasus
wizard

I'm not being negative here but you are serious about emigrating and setting up a business in a country that you know nothing about?

with a 2 year old in tow?

How do you know you will be able to import the product into the country? and how well it will sell? have you done any research?

obviously not if you didnt even know about the financial crisis in Cyprus/Greece/Spain etc

Wizard HT Mod wrote:

before you decide you need to preferably talk to native locals or spend a lot of time reading the local press, if you want to find out about southern cyprus then you could do no worse than reading back through issues of

yasus
wizard

Thank you

denny.53 wrote:

I'm not being negative here but you are serious about emigrating and setting up a business in a country that you know nothing about?

with a 2 year old in tow?

How do you know you will be able to import the product into the country? and how well it will sell? have you done any research?

obviously not if you didnt even know about the financial crisis in Cyprus/Greece/Spain etc

I have done my research regarding the business and know all the questions you have asked, I am fully aware about the crisis, but hopefully this will be temporary and from other positive comments I have had it is possible even with a 2 year old in tow,

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post

Rachel
I relocated from UK along with my husband 9 and a half years ago.
Your child is of the right age to be able to go into the local government schools as he/she will not have had any UK education which means you can start them off from scratch as lessons will be taught in Greek with English coming much later in the curriculum. Other than that, it's private school all the way and that is expensive - very expensive.
As for opening a business, I wouldn't go there at this stage. Businesses are closing left, right and centre in Paphos and Limassol. Ayia Napa thrives in summer but closes after the end of October with the exception of a few bars and restaurants.
I wouldn't recommend buying a property either - rent somewhere for 12 months to get the lie of the land and then look into business opportunities after you've done 12 months here. Finding the right location to live as well as getting a business up and running close by may not be as simple as you think.
I work full time for an offshore company and we're not affected by the banking crisis and unlikely to be. I wish I could say that for the other companies here on the island.
It's not over by a long shot, the crisis is only just starting - there's talk that the Bank of Cyprus may still fold and they're closing (apparently) all but 18 of 400 branches of the Co-Op Bank!
Cyprus Airways will eventually go bust and the government cannot afford to pay the staff off.

That's all the doom and gloom over with..... Come out, rent somewhere, see how it feels before you plunge into a business or property buying, that's the best advice I can give. Schools close at lunchtime and start at 07:30 so you would need to look at what to do with your child out of school hours if you're busy running a shop. Gift shops are disappearing thick and fast - so take more time to look around the island first before sinking any of your hard earned cash into something you may not be able to sell should the need arise. You will need to have private medical insurance too if you're going to be self-employed as you will not be eligible for the state care until you have been paying your Social Insurance contributions for some time and that is means tested in any event.

We intended to purchase a house initially but decided against it after there was a slump in the property market in March 2006. We eventually gave up on the idea and are still in the same property we rented when we first arrived.

Many others we know have moved rental properties several times as either
a) the house or location wasn't right for them
b) landlords were always bobbing in and out and knocking on the door come the first of the month
c) noisy neighbours - Cypriot neighbours do everything at top note and a phone call sounds like an argument.

Other friends and relatives came out for a few years but moved back to UK. One of those had their house on the market for 2 years and other houses on the same estate are still up for sale - more than 3 years after our friends went back home.

Nice as a holiday but you do need to do more research.

We came on holidays at least twice each year from 1992 before we finally made our move on a permanent basis in March 2004. We also had the assistance from Cypriot friends who pointed out all the pitfalls and steered us in the right direction. We were looking at rentals part way up the mountain but told 20 minutes driving is too much to work and back - we realised after 6 months, they were exactly right! Since the highway was finished, it now takes me less than 15 minutes to get to work - a godsend in the current daytime temperature which with the humidity levels are pushing it to a "real feel" of 39C and we haven't even hit August yet!

Don't get me wrong, we love our life here and haven't actually set foot back in UK since the very day we left it but there are lots of things that aren't good too..... Lots of animal cruelty and incessant poisoning of domestic pets, cut throat business dealings (and if you do well with a business, don't be surprised if someone does exactly the same either next door or directly opposite you).

Cyprus has the highest electricity costs in Europe and internet connection is also expensive in comparison to speed and costs in UK. We pay €70 each month for 12mbs broadband speed, internet connection, calls from our landline and a basic TV package - with PrimeTel.

I'm happy to answer any questions as best as I can if you wish to contact me.

"off topic"

Hi shell,
haven't seen you commenting on the cm lately,I have been trying to keep up but been very busy [personally] But things are not looking too good, we should know in the next few day what pressure the lenders are placing on the government for the next cash issue,fingers crossed it will lead to privatisation of the 4 main SGO's to start, the people need more competitive pricing of utilities

brian

Hiya Brian
I don't like the new format of the Cyprus Mail for the commenting section very much since they changed the whole new look of the website.
I do tend to share my comments via Twitter though.... @CyprusPictures

Yes, Cyprus badly needs competition in respect of utilities - the EAC and telephony service being the 2 main culprits of extortion.

Rachel, given that I've never even visited Cyprus you you might find it odd that I am replying to your post but my work (both paid and voluntary) brings me into a lot of contact with migrants into the UK and I thought that you might find the following insights helpful before you commit yourself.

1) Language.

Even if you plan on living in an ex-pat community or neighbourhood, the language of officialdom will be in the language of the country. And even those officials who can speak your mother tongue (possibly a reasonable expectation in Cyprus) they can make your life difficult for you if you don't at least show willingness to learn their mother tongue and acquire some basic knowledge before you arrive. Also, any official/legal documentation is going to be in the local language and you will need to find a way of having it translated so you know what you are signing. I'm amazed by the number of people who come a cropper in relation to property purchases/leases etc and I wonder how much of this is due to not ensuring that they have read an accurate translation of the contract that they are signing.

2) Culture.

Never underestimate just how differently things are done in another country, even one that superficially looks very similar to your home country. Never assume that things are the same the world over. For example, students who come here from the Baltic States never manage to complete their courses in my School of the University. Why? Because the courses are mainly taught by women, the majority of their fellow students are women and they never get used to the idea that the Dean, 2 out of 3 of the Associate Deans are women and the same ratio applies to the Programme Director team. Both male and female students are used to a much more male dominated culture and struggle with the idea of women being in positions of authority, able to tell them what to do. I would imagine that this must be a real struggle when migrants from here, whether temporary or permanent, find themselves in the reverse situation. Research what those cultural differences are likely to be and think long and hard about whether you will be able to adapt to them.

3) Diet.

Not one to be underestimated. Now that Polish shops have sprung up all over the place it is easy for Polish migrants to the UK to get the taste of home but all of those I come across express surprise at just how much more costly those familiar products are here compared to what they are used to back home. I would imagine that Marmite is easy to come by in Cyprus along with most familiar foods and brands but it is always cheaper to eat as the locals do wherever you go. What seems lovely and an adventure whilst on a holiday can soon pall if that is what you are eating every day and if it is very different from your usual diet. Never underestimate the need for comfort eating (ie something very familiar) when you are trying to settle in a new country. There is so much that is new and different to try and get used to when moving to another country that sometimes the only thing that helps you cope with it is sitting down to familiar food on the table. But if you can't afford it then there is no comfort to found there.

4) Cost of Living.

Linked to the above, make sure that you have an accurate picture of not only what your expected income will be but how far it will stretch in your country of choice. Soft fruit farmers near me attract droves of seasonal migrant EU workers from the old eastern bloc countries every summer who think that the minimum wage they are going to be paid is a fortune. And then they arrive and find that they are going to struggle to survive on it much less saved money to send home from their wages. Linked to this and the above, they are likely to be living a taxi ride away from the nearest shops and whilst most of the farms will run a weekly minibus shuttle to the nearest town for them to go shopping in a supermarket, they end up with a social life that revolves around drinking cheap booze from Lidl in their caravans because they can't afford the taxi fares to get anywhere. I know that you are going to be in different circumstances but you will still need to do your homework about what is a realistic probably income and how does this compare to your likely outgoings. We tend to assume that the UK has a high cost of living and don't realise when on a holiday budget just how much more expensive the cost of living can be in relation to incomes in other countries.

I could go on but I think that the overall message is probably coming over loud and clear - never ever underestimate the adjustments that you will need to make and always do your research very thoroughly before you go.

SM

The Bank of Cyprus "haircut" has been released - the figure will be a little under 50% (47.5% bail-in) on all deposits exceeding 100,000 euros.

here is a nice little story about property deeds..INVALID URL

this person was lucky some have been waiting 10 to 12 years and still don't have theirs

yasus
wizard

I know people who had been waiting 14 years when I was working for a property agent/developer in 2005.
They still don't have their title deeds to this date....

Rachal1084 wrote:

Hi

Me , my husband and 2 year old are looking to relocate to Cyprus, as cliche as it sounds we are just looking for a new life in the sun.

We will have enough money to put a deposit on a small villa and looking to open a Gift Shop Business (not to worried about the shop as the product is very successful and sells itself)

I really would like advice on where in Cyprus would be suitable for our needs, we need somewhere coastal with preferably an all year round tourist trade, but also somewhere with a nice school, we can both drive so wouldn't be too bad if we bought a Villa maximum 10 minutes drive from the shop.

I apologise for being quite vague with my information, I am very new to forum chatting, also we really are shooting in the dark, originally we were looking at Spain, but I got married in Cyprus in June, and it just felt right, I would be very grateful for any advice please. And thank you for taking the time to read my post :)

I don't think a holiday forum is the right place to be asking these kind of questions, you need one of the hundreds of Expat forums that are on the Internet. You can get them all via search engines.

doe wrote:

I don't think a holiday forum is the right place to be asking these kind of questions, you need one of the hundreds of Expat forums that are on the Internet. You can get them all via search engines.

Rachel,
If you give me an idea which part of the island of Cyprus you are considering - I can put you in contact with some of the forums and also another forum which is very informative as opposed to being a "chatty" forum.

I don't really know lol, so sorry to be so naive in here very new to all of this, lots of people have said don't even consider Cyprus at the moment, so might just have to get my thinking cap on again
Thank you for replying to my post and being very helpful

If you're really serious about Cyprus Rachel, I would just sit back for a while longer and wait to see how this crisis all pans out.... Give it another 12 months and then revisit the idea, perhaps?

We came to Cyprus for a more relaxed lifestyle and although I'm still putting in the same 36 hours each week as I did in UK, I now do them over 4 and a half days (Mon to Fri with Weds afternoon off) I'm much happier than I ever was in UK. Saying that, I'd always wanted to live abroad from being in my mid 20s when I started to travel more and more so after I went to work for a UK tour operator in 1995.

There is an ExPat section on Holiday Truths which may be of help to you here: http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/forum/pats-and-owners-abroad-f37.html

If you're determined, it will all come out right in the end - you just have to be making the move for the right reasons and it's not all about life in the sun.

It can become very draining for the 2 months of the year that we have very high humidity here in Cyprus. News today is that from Friday the temperatures are going to go above 40C which means "living" will be locked in with the air-condition on at 26C. That's the office for me - at home, we only have an A/C unit in the bedroom.

TV will be being watched outside in the back yard under the stars for the next month. It's the only way to keep cool in the evening until bedtime. My living room will be 35C - even at midnight!

Hi

Thank you for such a positive reply, I like you have always had travelling in my heart and spent 10 years travelling, I have been a rep then was in sales, I loved living away from home, for many reasons not just the sun, I will take on board everything you have said and really appreciate you taking the time to reply, I will do it just looks like I might have to bide my time.

Thank you again for your reply

Regards