# Moving to Cyprus soon and looking for work



## Sue and Steve (Aug 18, 2009)

My partner and I are moving to Cyprus soon and are looking for work.
I have had a varied career in Couple Counselling, helping children in schools with special educational and emotional needs and have experience in retail on the shop floor and management. 
My partner is qualified in most aspects of the building industry and engineering.
Having said all that we would try our hand at anything e.g looking after property, house sitting, dog walking, cleaning etc
We plan to come over in March/April this year so if anyone knows of any suitable vacancies please let us know via the forum
Many thanks for your time
Sue and Steve


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## zeebo (Nov 15, 2009)

Hello and welcome. 

Do either of you speak greek? Almost everyone speaks English here but it would be a big plus if you did. 

Driving is almost a must. Its weird because from the UK i used to laugh at everyone driving everywhere here but the whole place is very different and shops etc can be miles away from residential districts.

Good luck!


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

There are several things which I would advise you think about before making the decision to come to live here.
1 Do you own a property or will you be renting? If you own do you have a mortgage to pay? 

2. Jobs are few and far between especially in the building industry as building is almost at a standstill. Any jobs that are avaialble get snapped up by Cypriots and the wages are very low.

3. If you are working you must pay into the social fund and how much you pay depends on what sort of work you are doing. There are different bands for different jobs and professions. Many Brits have come over and are working under the radar, not paying social insurance, but there is a big drive to find these people and anyone caught faces very severe penalities, in some cases this can even be deportation.

I would suggest you take a look at some of the threads on jobs and cost of living.

Good luck in whatever you decide

Veronica


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## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

The issue of special educational needs has been largely overlooked in Cyprus until relatively recently. It is now on the radar since European Accession and quite a few people have now got qualifications (mostly Masters degrees) and are taking up posts in private and state schools associated with SEN. Bilingual candidates get jobs as priority as most schools have many Greek speakers as well as English. I have also seen posts advertised recently where Russian was also a requirement. If you are not qualified to Masters level, you may be able to obtain a post as a classroom assistant within a private school, but these are few and far between (and the pay is very poor). There are virtually no jobs in construction at the moment. Unemployment in all sectors is running at an all time high, and with such a small population using family networks and contacts, this makes is very difficult to find employment for 'outsiders'. I would advise trying to secure employment before you take the plunge (but this has always been a challenge irrespective of the economic downturn). Avoid at all costs the cash in hand casual employment as there is an effective crackdown on these illicit emplyment arrangements and penanlties are high.


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## Sue and Steve (Aug 18, 2009)

Thank you for replying. Yes, I do own property in the U.K, we are going to rent it out and are in the process of doing it up to put it on the market.
We plan to rent in Cyprus but only for 3 months at a time as we don't want to put all our eggs in one basket. If we cannot find work then we will have to return to the U.K.
We don't want to earn massive amounts of money, just enough to cover the bills and essentials. I have heard there are vacancies in the security sector and possibly teaching assistant jobs (even though the pay is low I would not mind)
Thank you once again for replying and giving us food for thought.


Veronica said:


> There are several things which I would advise you think about before making the decision to come to live here.
> 1 Do you own a property or will you be renting? If you own do you have a mortgage to pay?
> 
> 2. Jobs are few and far between especially in the building industry as building is almost at a standstill. Any jobs that are avaialble get snapped up by Cypriots and the wages are very low.
> ...


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## zeebo (Nov 15, 2009)

Hello, Ok you seem to have made your mind up and i wish you all the luck! 

Some things to consider though... 

- Make sure your rent will cover the mortgage (if you have one) as even a small gap will sap your cash. 

- The pound is getting stronger so great news as the money you get from rent or sale in the UK will be worth more.. but on the flip side your wages in CY will be even less. 

- It is hideously expensive out here.. As a new arrival i have been staggered as to how people survive on the average wage. I have found an extra cheap extra dirty supermarket here (like netto/aldi but worse) and it is sainsbury's prices so its getting better! FYI it is near pandora's bakery in central nicosia.

- Be realistic in your expectations.. A nice house by the sea will be around 700-800 per month and the commute, although small in distance, can be long and boring. People unlucky enough to have to work tend to live in flats in the city they work in. The big house with pool in paphos was affordable 10 years ago but not anymore! If you have a pensions or income from the UK or family here it is easier, but coming with limited means to work for a living is hard. 

- Things are very very different here.. i admit i am in culture shock myself and am attempting to adjust but it is weird.. again if your on some gated compound with only Brits then it will be the same, but if your working and living with the Cypriots be prepared!

- If you have any links here then pull strings to get a job. The locals all use insider help for everything so you will need to see what kind of favours you can call in ;-) ..... blackmail someone or offer kickbacks.. ok that is last bit is a joke but u get the idea

mwhhahahah I'm becoming corrupt already and can't believe I said that..

sorry one last bit of advise... capitolise on your professionalism!! or talk yourself up abit.. british modesty will not wash out here and everyone is vocal about how great they are so you will need to be.


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## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

Sue and Steve said:


> Thank you for replying. Yes, I do own property in the U.K, we are going to rent it out and are in the process of doing it up to put it on the market.
> We plan to rent in Cyprus but only for 3 months at a time as we don't want to put all our eggs in one basket. If we cannot find work then we will have to return to the U.K.
> We don't want to earn massive amounts of money, just enough to cover the bills and essentials. I have heard there are vacancies in the security sector and possibly teaching assistant jobs (even though the pay is low I would not mind)
> Thank you once again for replying and giving us food for thought.



The problem is very few people earn a massive amount of money, and what people do earn is not enough to cover the bills. A teaching assistant might earn 6 or 700 euros a month for example. Many Cypriots have two (or sometimes three jobs) to put food on the table (I did the same when I first moved over). It took me 2.5 years to find a half decent job. As the family network is strong, families pool together to make ends meet. I really have no idea how younger ex-pat families survive here. I'm lucky enough to have a Cypriot family, Grandmother cooks for all the adults each day and looks after babies and toddlers whilst all the younger adults go out to work. We have a fairly strict diet (orthodox) which means we don't buy meat for quite a few months of the year and have dishes like a plate full of beans with oil, lemon and bread all sourced from the local market. The next day it will be a plate full of chickpeas with oil , lemon and horta (dandelions or other greens gleaned from the roadways). The easiest way to lose what little money you have is to continue UK shopping habits. It is possible to survive here but it will be tough as Zeebo says.


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## zeebo (Nov 15, 2009)

What? Oil on fast days tut tut tut lol... 

I can lose the meat but am still hooked on the oil and milk. Kimonas is what is the greek word for fasting food? It would be handy when trying to explain to people...


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## theresoon (Apr 11, 2008)

zeebo said:


> What? Oil on fast days tut tut tut lol...
> 
> I can lose the meat but am still hooked on the oil and milk. Kimonas is what is the greek word for fasting food? It would be handy when trying to explain to people...


Nistisima.

Are you talking about Athienitis supermarket? That is the cheapest in Nicosia.
I doubt professionalism will get you very far here. It got my husband fired. First time in his life.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Sue and Steve said:


> Thank you for replying. Yes, I do own property in the U.K, we are going to rent it out and are in the process of doing it up to put it on the market.
> We plan to rent in Cyprus but only for 3 months at a time as we don't want to put all our eggs in one basket. If we cannot find work then we will have to return to the U.K.
> We don't want to earn massive amounts of money, just enough to cover the bills and essentials. I have heard there are vacancies in the security sector and possibly teaching assistant jobs (even though the pay is low I would not mind)
> Thank you once again for replying and giving us food for thought.


At least you seem to have planned well and you will still have your home in the Uk to return if you need to. The only other concern I would have is if you are giving up jobs with decent wages to come here to work for peanuts.
As everyone has already said it will be tough, but it does work out Ok for some people and maybe it will for you.
Good luck

Veronica


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## zeebo (Nov 15, 2009)

theresoon said:


> Nistisima.
> 
> Are you talking about Athienitis supermarket? That is the cheapest in Nicosia.
> I doubt professionalism will get you very far here. It got my husband fired. First time in his life.


Thanks... Nistisima, i will remember that. 

I don't know the name other than it is in the 'estate' opposite pandora's toward the old larnaca road and just after that indoor fruit and veg market thing.

sorry to hear that... it may get me fired also, but one thing i have learned is that Cyprus is pretty a much a nation of armatures so if you can be an expert and talk authoritatively about stuff it helps.. because people are so used to hearing bull all the time lol


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## theresoon (Apr 11, 2008)

zeebo said:


> Thanks... Nistisima, i will remember that.
> 
> I don't know the name other than it is in the 'estate' opposite pandora's toward the old larnaca road and just after that indoor fruit and veg market thing.
> 
> sorry to hear that... it may get me fired also, but one thing i have learned is that Cyprus is pretty a much a nation of armatures so if you can be an expert and talk authoritatively about stuff it helps.. because people are so used to hearing bull all the time lol


i dont think you are talking about Athienitis. make sure you find that as the prices are worth the hassle.


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