# Areas to explore - with view to living



## RMcC (Dec 31, 2013)

We are in the early stages of planning our move to Cyprus which we hope to make in around 2 years time. I intend doing as much research as possible including visits to areas we may consider renting long term

I would be very grateful for information on some areas for us to explore while we are on holiday next month(June). We will have a hire car during our 2 weeks in country and enjoy exploring so can combine seeing the island and looking at potential areas to rent when we eventually make the move.

We like the Paphos area and are keen to retire to an area that has a friendly expat community. We would be looking to rent a villa in a complex with a shared or private pool.

Any information on possible areas to explore would be greatly appreciated.


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## Ken and Valery (Jan 17, 2014)

Cyprus being such a beautiful island its difficult to pin out an area. Paphos probably has a large expat community. Peyia is lovely and Coral Bay Region. We also looked at Secret Valley although one is a little bit out of it there. We have friends in Pissouri and it is great location. It has that sort of 'everything' about it. Nearby supermarket, good restaurants a typical Cypriot village, and also a fabulous bay area. And I would say more expats than Cypriots there I am sure. Probably these locations are not scratching the surface to be frank. Other expats will have even better ideas maybe. But Paphos region ending somewhere around Pissouri before Limassol is where we would choose. Having said that we were in Limassol not that long ago and there are some really swanky nice regions there. We were surprised.It has a more cosmopilitan feel to it, but some regions of the city are frankly ugly....Suppose it depends on your values and what is important for you. Areas for us that we would stay away from are remote or rural areas. Such as Polis, Latchi, and the Paphos road going out there or Trodoos, beautiful places but just to inconvenient and remote for us. If your also thinking of renting long term spare a thought about the winter months and a suitable central heated home or well constructed insulated home. If you cant find such then at least make steps to be prepared .The modern Villas are grossly inadequate in my opinion unless they have been upgraded or improved with insulation etc. We grossly underestimated this, as stated in a previous post regarding Heating. Goodluck with your search!!.


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## RMcC (Dec 31, 2013)

Ken and Valery said:


> Cyprus being such a beautiful island its difficult to pin out an area. Paphos probably has a large expat community. Peyia is lovely and Coral Bay Region. We also looked at Secret Valley although one is a little bit out of it there. We have friends in Pissouri and it is great location. It has that sort of 'everything' about it. Nearby supermarket, good restaurants a typical Cypriot village, and also a fabulous bay area. And I would say more expats than Cypriots there I am sure. Probably these locations are not scratching the surface to be frank. Other expats will have even better ideas maybe. But Paphos region ending somewhere around Pissouri before Limassol is where we would choose. Having said that we were in Limassol not that long ago and there are some really swanky nice regions there. We were surprised.It has a more cosmopilitan feel to it, but some regions of the city are frankly ugly....Suppose it depends on your values and what is important for you. Areas for us that we would stay away from are remote or rural areas. Such as Polis, Latchi, and the Paphos road going out there or Trodoos, beautiful places but just to inconvenient and remote for us. If your also thinking of renting long term spare a thought about the winter months and a suitable central heated home or well constructed insulated home. If you cant find such then at least make steps to be prepared .The modern Villas are grossly inadequate in my opinion unless they have been upgraded or improved with insulation etc. We grossly underestimated this, as stated in a previous post regarding Heating. Goodluck with your search!!.


Many thanks, this is very helpful information and we will make a point of visiting the areas mentioned when we are over next month. We have spent a 2 week period in Limassol and a week in the Troodos mountains, we really enjoyed the stay but both agreed they would not be areas we would consider as an place to live long term. We keep getting drawn back to the Paphos area and have spent some time in different areas to try and establish what might suit us best. We are really looking forward to the holiday next month and maybe getting a better idea of an area we can really start to concentrate on.
I note your comments about being prepared for the winter months and to consider this when selecting a long term rental. I find this forum very informative and above all honest.
I will have to ensure my good lady is warm in the winter months as she feels the cold much more than me and we cant have her unhappy!!!!


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

I agree with Ken that while the Polis area is really lovely and great for a day out its not that good for full time living as it is a bit remote. Having said that in the past couple of years there have been more shops etc opened there with a big Papantonio supermarket so its no longer necessary to come to Paphos for shopping.
The most popular areas among expats are the villages around Paphos, with the most expats probably being in Peyia. Peyia and Tala are close to Coral Bay with lots of choice of restaurants and bars so great if you like going out to eat a lot.
20 minutes or so from Paphos.
Closer to Paphos, still on the western side are Chloraka, Emba
On the Eastern side of Paphos are Anavargos and Konia(where we live). They are very close to town and the general hospital and close to the motorway, so handy for getting around the island.
We are just 12-15 minutes from the airport. 
Going out of Paphos on the eastern side the most popular villages with Brits are Anarita, Timi and Mandria. All very handy for the airport and just 15 minutes from town.


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## RMcC (Dec 31, 2013)

Veronica said:


> I agree with Ken that while the Polis area is really lovely and great for a day out its not that good for full time living as it is a bit remote. Having said that in the past couple of years there have been more shops etc opened there with a big Papantonio supermarket so its no longer necessary to come to Paphos for shopping.
> The most popular areas among expats are the villages around Paphos, with the most expats probably being in Peyia. Peyia and Tala are close to Coral Bay with lots of choice of restaurants and bars so great if you like going out to eat a lot.
> 20 minutes or so from Paphos.
> Closer to Paphos, still on the western side are Chloraka, Emba
> ...


Veronica
Many thanks, lots of useful information and a number of areas for us to visit when we are over next month - cant wait!
We are in a villa near Coral bay for our first week and in Paphos for week 2 so should be able to get around most of the areas you listed
Regards


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## RMcC (Dec 31, 2013)

RMcC said:


> Veronica Many thanks, lots of useful information and a number of areas for us to visit when we are over next month - cant wait! We are in a villa near Coral bay for our first week and in Paphos for week 2 so should be able to get around most of the areas you listed Regards


we are now here in the wonderful Island and really enjoying our time in the sea caves area, we have a small villa for this first week and are really enjoying this area. Have been out to visit a few of the places listed but find it a little difficult to know exactly where to look. We head to Paphos on Wednesday for our second week and will explore the areas you have mentioned when we are there.


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## DH59 (Feb 23, 2010)

Where to look for your permanent home depends on your lifestyle requirements really, I suppose. Our thoughts have changed over the time we've been considering a move over there. From wanting to be remote, to thinking we would be better to be near more facilities.

A couple of years ago we came over and just drove to various villages picked off the map, and made notes of where was nice and where to avoid. Even then, you are never sure until you are actually living there. If you are renting, there is always the chance to move once your tenancy is expired if you are not happy, and living there will give you chance to look in more detail at various places.

We came over a few weeks ago, and I had lined up some possible places by searching the property rental sites before we came. We found a couple of them and one of them looks to be the place we might look at more closely when we arrive. We will possibly book a few weeks in a holiday let at first, to give us chance to have a better look at things.

Good luck with your search!


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## RMcC (Dec 31, 2013)

DH59 said:


> Where to look for your permanent home depends on your lifestyle requirements really, I suppose. Our thoughts have changed over the time we've been considering a move over there. From wanting to be remote, to thinking we would be better to be near more facilities. A couple of years ago we came over and just drove to various villages picked off the map, and made notes of where was nice and where to avoid. Even then, you are never sure until you are actually living there. If you are renting, there is always the chance to move once your tenancy is expired if you are not happy, and living there will give you chance to look in more detail at various places. We came over a few weeks ago, and I had lined up some possible places by searching the property rental sites before we came. We found a couple of them and one of them looks to be the place we might look at more closely when we arrive. We will possibly book a few weeks in a holiday let at first, to give us chance to have a better look at things. Good luck with your search!


many thanks, your search sounds very much like ours has been over the past 2 years, we have been on a few holidays and always take time to look at properties available at that time and visit some areas to have a good look around. It will be another 2 years before we make the move and our plan is to get a short ( 3 month) let to allow us time to really explore our short list of possible areas to settle - we will be renting.
I do hope you find the right property and area to settle in and many thanks for your comments.


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## madcow (Jan 10, 2010)

Hi , I hope your stay is going well .
What has been said about winter heating is true , thier double glazing always makes me think of the tv advert when they used to land a helicopter outside and the presenter would drop a feather inside next to the window to highlight no draught ....in Cyprus they would fail miserably .
We are in our 4th year now last November we moved to a house with Central heating , what an expensive winter we just had , over 2000e on gas .
Our first 3 years have been on Secret Valley and we will probably move back there , we liked it a lot.
Good luck with your search.


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## RMcC (Dec 31, 2013)

Very many thanks to everyone who helped with great suggestions for places to explore while we were on our holiday in June(it already seems a lifetime ago). We had a great holiday and did a lot of driving around all the areas mentioned, it was a real pleasure driving around the island and it his really cemented our plans to retire there in the next few years, we are now starting to plan in detail for a move sometime in 2016.
Having looked at all the areas mentioned this time and information from our previous visits on holiday we have decided that the Sea caves / Peyia / Agios Georgias area is where we will be looking to long term rent.
Many thanks to everyone and I hope it is not too hot in Cyprus, its a pretty dull morning in Scotland(again). I will continue to read all the great advice on the forum and keep updated as our planned move gets closer.


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