# Questions from a newbie



## Benla (Jan 8, 2022)

Hello, I am Gérard, from France, aged 71 years old, retired in Thailand for 11 years

I have not made my decision to retire to Cyprus yet , just need informations 
I have a pension of 1270 euros ( but money in bank ), insurance with CFE ( caisse des français de l'étranger ) and if I go, I intend to rent a small house ( or appartement ) , I am alone
how about cost of life ? i have a simple life , don't drink, smoke et c; hospitals, food, can i buy or rent a scooter ? simple questions about every day life 
for administration, which documents to show etc ?
thanks for your answers


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## David_&_Letitia (Jul 8, 2012)

Hello Gérard, and welcome to the Forum.

The cost of renting accommodation here depends on where you settle. You will pay more in the commercial areas like Limmasol and Paphos and less in remote villages. We live in the small town of Polis in the North West of Cyprus and the cost of a bedsit would be around €150 per month and 1 bedroomed apartments here range from €200-€300 per month. A two bed apartment or town house here would cost between €350-€450 per month. You would easily be able to buy a second hand scooter here for under €500. As you state that you have a simple lifestyle and assuming that you will cook most of your food at home, I believe that you would be able to manage on your €1270 monthly pension but may need to dip into your savings now and again. As far as documents are concerned, we are living with Covid at the moment and everyone should have a Covid Safepass with photographic ID when shopping or going to any place of entertainment/hospitality. The photographic ID must be original and either passports, driving licences or Registration documents (MEU1, MEU3 etc) are acceptable.


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## Benla (Jan 8, 2022)

Hello, thanks for your reply : is it easy to have an appartment, are they signs somewhere, or we have to go to an agency or just ask people if they know a place to rent ? 
Thank you


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## David_&_Letitia (Jul 8, 2012)

It’s easy to rent an apartment. The best advice I can give you is to wait until you get here and stay in a holiday rental or cheap hotel initially. Apartments are advertised in various ways - some are just signs in the window, some are through local rental agents and some are through Social Media (Facebook). Many are by word of mouth once you have established yourself as a resident.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

One thing you should think about is care when you get older if you need full time care. There are very few old age care facilities in Cyprus and those that exist which I know about are not very nice. This is because younger family members still very much tend to look after the older ones to a large extent. It is one of the reasons we left Cyprus as the thought of being alone if one of us died with no help in our dotage was not something that appealed to us. We moved to France and we don't regret it.


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## Benla (Jan 8, 2022)

Good to know , thank you for your advice ; for hospitals, Thailand is very good ( but expensive, need a good insurance ) ; so yes, it's a thing to consider and here , I have my familyl in law to take care of me 
I take a decision in two monthes : what is appealing in Cyprus, is that it's in EU , easier for immigration


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