# Living expenses.



## pearsews (Mar 15, 2011)

Hi, we are hoping to move to Cyprus within the next two years, and I recently worked out our basic annual living expenses here in the UK. I would be interested to know how they compare to Cyprus.


Food £4420 a year. (there's just two of us, about £85 a week)
Electricity £750 a year. (We have a small bottle gas supply which I have not added.) 
Oil heating £1300 a year. 
Community charge is £1176 a year
Telephone £180 a year
Car Tax £370 a year
Broadband £216 a year.

A total of £8412, about 9800euro. Obviously I have not included petrol etc as this varies, and no housing costs.


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## philly (Feb 5, 2010)

I think the fact that this post has had over 50 views and no-one has replied just about sums this subject up !


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

check out CYPRUSBILL


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## pearsews (Mar 15, 2011)

zin said:


> check out CYPRUSBILL


 Have done that previously, it doesn't really answer my query, but thanks for the kind 
suggestion Zin.


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

pearsews said:


> Hi, we are hoping to move to Cyprus within the next two years, and I recently worked out our basic annual living expenses here in the UK. I would be interested to know how they compare to Cyprus.
> 
> 
> Food £4420 a year. (there's just two of us, about £85 a week)
> ...


Food will be about the same. Maybe a little more as you would be more inclined to go out for a meal in Cyprus than the UK.

Electricity will vary, between May and October you will be using airconditioning more and during winter you'll be using a radiator or the heating option from your air con unit. Bottled gas heaters are also an option. Oil heating is uncommon. If you are paying £2000 a year for electricitiy and oil expect to pay about the same for Electricity alone. There's also the cost of water you need to consider. Someone else who lives in Cyprus may be able to correct me on both as the prices have shot up in recent years.

Community charge will be A LOT less and I believe is a yearly tax on your electricity bill. This will include waste disposal, police fees and I think a TV tax (if it still exists). This will maybe be a tenth of the price of what you pay now, however if you rent an apartment you need to consider the communal costs of the building which can be about £200-£300 a year depending on the place.

Internet options can be found here: Cyprus : Broadband in Cyprus
Most ISPs provide a home telephone option. 

The mobile options are MTN and CytaVodafone

Cytamobile-Vodafone
MTN Cyprus : Home

Car tax and car insurance are a lot lower. Think a quarter of the cost and for full insurance.

Petrol cost is less than the UK, currently about £1 a litre. 

Apartment cost is a lot lower as well. £500 a month for a 2-bedroom in Limassol, even less in Paphos or Larnaca. 

Income tax is a lot less too. Tax free upto £19,000 a year and then 20-30% on anything higher.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

I agree with Zin on many points but would recommend avoiding using aircon. Aircon is unhealthy as you get the fridge to oven to fridge effect when you go in and out and canend up with serious chest infections etc. Also of course it is expensive torun.
We have aircon but in the 7 years we have been in Cyprus we have n ever user used it.
We use ceiling fans and in really hot weather we also use pedestal fans. We always use a pedestal in our bedroom which keeps us lovely and cool. For heating we use electric oil filled radiators and calor gas fires . I estimate that our electricty bill is around 1.300 per year for a 3 bedroom property. We work from home and have 2 computers going all day plus television and often at weekends and evenings there are 2 televisions as I banish my hubby to the front room if he wants to watch sport while I watch a film or something. 

Our water bill is very low with the most we have ever paid being 24euros for three months.
However in other places such as Peyia and Tala etc I believe they pay more.

Veronica


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

Veronica makes a good point. Also anything that generates heat will consume more electricity, so if you use a dryer in the UK you can avoid the electricity cost of that in Cyprus as you can actually just hang your clothes outside to dry. Plus you drink less tea in a warmer climate so less kettle running costs!


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## pearsews (Mar 15, 2011)

Thank you Zin and Veronica for your informative and helpful replies to my query. 
I do agree with you Veronica about the air con. I lived in Cyprus for three years when there was none, just used a free standing fan, the only heater was a three bar electric fire..(remember those?)...and a gas bottle for the cooker. As for property we hope to rent a house to start with, not on a complex, and as we won't be working (retired) so the tax saving will not effect us. 
Great to be able to dry the washing outside though...not much of that this year in Scotland!


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## Miss Daisy (Jan 24, 2011)

Here are my expenses - I am one person living in a 2 bedroom villa. I rarely use AC in the summer or heat in the winter. I do not use an electric clothes dryer, even in the winter. I do use a gas hob and it costs €12 per bottle and it will take you more than a year to use 2 bottles.

Water: €30 for 3 months (I have a drip irrigation system for my small garden)
Electricity: Average €50 for 2 months
Council fees: €440/year (big increase this year)
Petrol: €50/month max - I don't drive much, plus I have a scooter for short trips
Private health insurance: approx €1200/year for very good insurance
Home insurance: €370
Car Insurance: €390
Scooter Insurance: €100€
Groceries (including cat food and litter for 2 spoiled cats): €150/month
Phone/internet: €40/month I also use pay as you go for my mobile and that is about €35/year.


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## Geraldine (Jan 3, 2009)

Miss Daisy said:


> Here are my expenses - I am one person living in a 2 bedroom villa. I rarely use AC in the summer or heat in the winter. I do not use an electric clothes dryer, even in the winter. I do use a gas hob and it costs €12 per bottle and it will take you more than a year to use 2 bottles.
> 
> Water: €30 for 3 months (I have a drip irrigation system for my small garden)
> Electricity: Average €50 for 2 months
> ...


Miss daisy,

Can I ask who you use for your car/house insurance please ?, it sound reasonable, I need to look at a lower premium for next time.

Many thanks.


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## pearsews (Mar 15, 2011)

Miss Daisy said:


> Here are my expenses - I am one person living in a 2 bedroom villa. I rarely use AC in the summer or heat in the winter. I do not use an electric clothes dryer, even in the winter. I do use a gas hob and it costs €12 per bottle and it will take you more than a year to use 2 bottles.
> 
> Water: €30 for 3 months (I have a drip irrigation system for my small garden)
> Electricity: Average €50 for 2 months
> ...


Hi Miss Daisy, 
I was very interestedin your expenses, comparing them to ours. 

I had mistakenly put car tax, in fact that is car insurance. On top of that things I missed off my list were:

House Insurance: £916 a year 
Television Licence: £145 a year
Car Road Tax: £181.50 a year
Mobile Phone £15 a month (contract)

So all things considered it must be cheaper to live in Cyprus.:clap2:

So thanks very much for the info Miss Daisy, very much appreciated.


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## pearsews (Mar 15, 2011)

pearsews said:


> Hi, we are hoping to move to Cyprus within the next two years, and I recently worked out our basic annual living expenses here in the UK. I would be interested to know how they compare to Cyprus.
> 
> 
> Food £4420 a year. (there's just two of us, about £85 a week)
> ...


Missed off this list were:

House insurance: £916 a year
Television Licence: £145 a year
Vehicle road tax: £181.50 a year
Mobile Phone: £15 a month (contract)

Bumps the total up a bit! An extra £1422.50 a year....


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## Miss Daisy (Jan 24, 2011)

Geraldine:

I use AB Insurance - they are in the Cape Greco area near Agia Napa. Call Maria at 996 16894. Webiste is AB Insurance. The car insurance is through InterLife Insurance Company. Please note that I have no affiliation with either business.

I don't know where you live in Cyprus, so this agency may not be practical for you.
They also arranged my health insurance - it's through Lloyd's of London.

I plan to look into car insurance next year with HYDRA (they are all over Cyprus). They arranged for my scooter insurance and home insurance.

I previously had car and home owner's insurance through Laiki Bank and AB Insurance got me much better rates.

I'm sure you know that your insurance costs with vary with the make and age of your car.


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## Geraldine (Jan 3, 2009)

Miss D,

Thank you, I live in the Paphos area, we have an Interlife office here, but will certainly get a quote from Hydra for both house and car.


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