# moving to cyprus



## jacqui holden (Sep 24, 2008)

Hi have been on the forum many times doing research my husband and I are hoping to relocate to cyprus next year if we can sell our house.
we are both team managers for a global company , and my husband is ex forces he served 15 years in royal engineers, 3 commando brigade he was based on dekhelia road.
we have been to cyprus many times we are back in nov/early dec we understand that pay is lower and hours of work maybe longer but we love it!
we are in property damage restoration (fire&flood) and would need employment prior to moving to cyprus we understand that managment positions would not probably be available can anybody please point us in the right direction.
as i have been reading research is an absolute essential.

for all those living the dream i am sat writing this in the cold with the rain pouring hard aaahhh!


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## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

*Work prospects*



jacqui holden said:


> Hi have been on the forum many times doing research my husband and I are hoping to relocate to cyprus next year if we can sell our house.
> we are both team managers for a global company , and my husband is ex forces he served 15 years in royal engineers, 3 commando brigade he was based on dekhelia road.
> we have been to cyprus many times we are back in nov/early dec we understand that pay is lower and hours of work maybe longer but we love it!
> we are in property damage restoration (fire&flood) and would need employment prior to moving to cyprus we understand that managment positions would not probably be available can anybody please point us in the right direction.
> ...


There have been some excellent posts on the forum which sum up the problems that ex-pats have in finding suitable work. Those prospects are mixed. The major problem for management positions is likely to be the langauge barrier, for whilst a lot of positions don't require Greek per se, most support workers in organisations do not speak much English and therefore being able to speak Greek is a huge plus (but very difficult to achieve as the local dialect is difficult to pick up). The other major barrier is the family and associate network which makes things tick over here. Unless you know the right people, anything other than casual work, bar work and repping is going to be difficult to get into. Jobs are less secure here and permanent contracts difficult to negotiate. Experience doesn't seem to count for much either with Cypriot employers at least, who will start workers off at the bottom of scales no matter how much experience they have. The local employment base is also very well qualified. Many Cypriots hold at least a bachelor and a masters degree (I don't know any of my family for example who are Cypriot - dozens of them - that don't have degrees), and it is not unusual to find holders of masters and bachelor degrees keeping shop. 

Many ex-pats are drawn to opening their own businesses or working for other ex-pats who are more in tune with what is expected of employer-employee relationships. Of course as many people have noted on this forum, if you expect to find work with similar working conditions to the UK you will be disappointed. People do work long hours here for vanishingly small wages. There is much competition from migrant workers and many employers know that most of their workforce can easily be replaced, so they expect much from their staff. Having said all of this, as Veronica has pointed out, many people do manage to get by and live comfortable lives. Many ex-pats also supplement their pocket money wages with income from other sources such as rent on UK properties. Many others manage very nicely as they carry on their UK jobs via the internet. The best advice I've seen on the forum is not to burn too many bridges. Many rent first before committing themselves.


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## jacqui holden (Sep 24, 2008)

kimonas said:


> There have been some excellent posts on the forum which sum up the problems that ex-pats have in finding suitable work. Those prospects are mixed. The major problem for management positions is likely to be the langauge barrier, for whilst a lot of positions don't require Greek per se, most support workers in organisations do not speak much English and therefore being able to speak Greek is a huge plus (but very difficult to achieve as the local dialect is difficult to pick up). The other major barrier is the family and associate network which makes things tick over here. Unless you know the right people, anything other than casual work, bar work and repping is going to be difficult to get into. Jobs are less secure here and permanent contracts difficult to negotiate. Experience doesn't seem to count for much either with Cypriot employers at least, who will start workers off at the bottom of scales no matter how much experience they have. The local employment base is also very well qualified. Many Cypriots hold at least a bachelor and a masters degree (I don't know any of my family for example who are Cypriot - dozens of them - that don't have degrees), and it is not unusual to find holders of masters and bachelor degrees keeping shop.
> 
> Many ex-pats are drawn to opening their own businesses or working for other ex-pats who are more in tune with what is expected of employer-employee relationships. Of course as many people have noted on this forum, if you expect to find work with similar working conditions to the UK you will be disappointed. People do work long hours here for vanishingly small wages. There is much competition from migrant workers and many employers know that most of their workforce can easily be replaced, so they expect much from their staff. Having said all of this, as Veronica has pointed out, many people do manage to get by and live comfortable lives. Many ex-pats also supplement their pocket money wages with income from other sources such as rent on UK properties. Many others manage very nicely as they carry on their UK jobs via the internet. The best advice I've seen on the forum is not to burn too many bridges. Many rent first before committing themselves.



i wouldn't be looking for a managerial position any way it's too stressful i deal with people who have had major fire and floods so it is with just a better quality of life, however i agree with what you say and thanks for giving clarity we would not be buying in the near future but as with anything of this grand scale you must research, visit, then decide we have satalite companys all over the world but not in cyprus! check out our site it is called Munters really... this is not an advert for business we act on behalf of insurers.
thanks maybe we will live the dream eventually


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