# What would you bring from the UK?



## CliveO (Oct 28, 2011)

Hi Guys,

I'm in the final stages of my move to Cyprus now and this forum has been a godsend but if you were coming from the UK now, knowing what you know now, is there anything you would bring because either you can't get it or it's very expensive? An example is, I love Yorkshire tea and I'm fairly sure they won't sell it in Cyprus so I'm thinking of packing a few boxes to bring with me.

Also, I heard that the electricity can be a bit up and down but you can buy a device to plug your sensitive equipment into to provide a steady supply, anyone know if these are expensive?

Thanks
Clive


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

CliveO said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> I'm in the final stages of my move to Cyprus now and this forum has been a godsend but if you were coming from the UK now, knowing what you know now, is there anything you would bring because either you can't get it or it's very expensive? An example is, I love Yorkshire tea and I'm fairly sure they won't sell it in Cyprus so I'm thinking of packing a few boxes to bring with me.
> 
> ...


Hi Clive, You can buy Yorkshire Tea here but of course it is more expensive than in the UK. 
We usually stock up on things like indigestion tablets, antihistamines etc as they don't weigh much in our cases but cost a lot less than in the UK.
Maybe if you are shipping boxes over its worth putting things like toiletries and cleaning products in as they tend to be more expensive, although now we have several euros shops etc it has made a big difference to the cost of such items.

I have never heard of those devices for electricity but we have never found any problems with our electric supply.


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## Nilla (Jul 28, 2011)

The thing you mean is UPS, they don't actually give you an uninterrupted power supply for long periods of time but enough time to switch off your equipment in case of a power cut so your drives don't break, so not a replacement for electricity in the same way a generator would be. Unless your running high end software for things like animation though the occasional cut is unlikely to break your pc, so it's not something most people need, but if you want to look at up try pixmania or singular computers I think they start at 500-600 euro. And the electricity supply here is fine, in the villages you might get the occasional power cut every couple of months, I was unlucky because I came here just before the power plant explosion in July and during this period you had daily cuts lasting for several hours.

Here's what I'd bring from the UK!

*Clothes*; Because they're a lot more expensive and the selection's quite poor. Limassol is better than Paphos for shopping but it's still not great. I've only found Debenhams, M & S and Peacock's in Paphos and it's not where I'd buy clothes if I lived in the UK, I went looking for a silk pyjama last week and the only one I found was 70 euro which I wouldn't mind paying but the quality wasn't very good, you'd find something similar for a third of the price in England which seems to be the general rule. Also the selection for winter clothes isn't great and a lot of houses here are not well insulated so it gets damp and cold, I wish I would have brought more warm clothes. Also slippers, because even with heating on the stone floors stay frosty!

*Electronics*; Anything electronic like tablets, laptops, mobile phones, game boxes and cameras is much more expensive and the selection is again not the best. 

*Cooking ingredients*; I like to cook and I like specialised food stores which I haven't found here. Things I miss would be Asian ingredients like oils and spices, proper truffle oil, nice balsamic, ricotta and marsala wine. Now I haven't turned every stone so there might be more of that here than I know but a lot of things that I used to take for granted are definitely not easy to find here. 

*Make-up/perfumes*; Any of the more expensive brands would be a lot more expensive here and it's easy to fit in the suitcase so I wouldn't bother with loreal shampoo but if you have a wife that uses brands like lancome or yves saint laurent, get some extras before you go. 

Good luck with your move,
Nilla


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Take a look at this website

The UK Abroad - The Shopping Bag without the Jet Lag - Directory

It gives lists of british companies who deliver to Cyprus.


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## Geraldine (Jan 3, 2009)

CliveO said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> I'm in the final stages of my move to Cyprus now and this forum has been a godsend but if you were coming from the UK now, knowing what you know now, is there anything you would bring because either you can't get it or it's very expensive? An example is, I love Yorkshire tea and I'm fairly sure they won't sell it in Cyprus so I'm thinking of packing a few boxes to bring with me.
> 
> ...


Hi, 

Cold remedies, Beechams, Vic, Synex. 'Happy Nose' for certain!!

I bought a surge protect adapter for my laptop, €25.


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## Puffik (Nov 27, 2011)

"white goods" tend to be a lot more pricey - anything electric/electronic in fact, also kiddies' toys. ELC are anything from 30% more up to twice the price. 

We buy a lot on line, in particular in the Sales - massive savings and delivery charges are not always high.


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## philly (Feb 5, 2010)

Bring all that you can as almost everything is more expensive than the UK

And I am not meaning that in a nasty way its just the truth, if you look at what everyone has written above it just about covers every itme we need lol

Bring it all and stock up every time you go back


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## Waterdog (Oct 24, 2011)

Bring all that you can as almost everything is more expensive than the UK.

Hi,

Begs the question, apart from wine, is anything cheaper than in the UK?

Currently floating between the UK, Portugal & Spain but will be in Cyprus in the New Year.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Waterdog said:


> Bring all that you can as almost everything is more expensive than the UK.
> 
> Hi,
> 
> ...


Fresh fruit and veg is cheaper, Bottled gas is half the price, petrol is cheaper, water bills are ridiculously cheap. (our biggest water bill was 24euros for 3 months) We pay less than200euros community tax compared to 1.500 sterling 7 years ago. Income tax is much cheaper and you can earn over 19K before you pay any tax at all.
On the whole despite higher food prices the cost of living evens out. We certainly would not have the same standard of lving if we went back to the UK.

Veronica


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## Waterdog (Oct 24, 2011)

Thanks


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## linnie1963 (Dec 20, 2011)

Very useful information. We are thinking about moving out in April 2012. Having read these messages it has made my mind up to bring all the furniture.


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## philly (Feb 5, 2010)

linnie1963 said:


> Very useful information. We are thinking about moving out in April 2012. Having read these messages it has made my mind up to bring all the furniture.


Very sensible and honestly the best thing to do


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## Geraldine (Jan 3, 2009)

philly said:


> Very sensible and honestly the best thing to do


I brought everything that wasn't nailed down!! So glad I did too.

I didn't bring my small dishwasher and wish I had, I can't seem to get sparkling crockery/cutlery, everything has smears.

Opening the box of my Christmas things was like Christmas again and meeting old friends. I can't believe how expensive that kind of thing is here!!


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