# Looking for advice...



## russi666 (Jul 8, 2013)

Hi all,
I've just joined the site, and I'm already looking for free advice! Haha. Me and my partner are strongly considering moving to the Paphos region. I would say we are quite young for such a big move (26&24). We've been together almost 9 years, and have been living at my parents for 8 of those. Have no loans, mortgages, children, and have very basic jobs (factory worker/weekend window cleaner & childcare worker. Basically what I'm getting at is we have no ties to 'home'.
To be perfectly honest, I think we both have our heart set on Spain, but as I already have several relatives in Paphos, I would imagine it would make the whole process a lot easier. I haven't spoken to them about it, because although I think they'd be more than happy to help, they moved there to get away from it all and I'd hate to burden them. I have approx £2k in savings, but wouldn't even consider a move with so little. I am looking to achieve savings of around 10k, as it sounds like enough to feel secure for a few months while we find our feet. We don't have many possessions that we are bothered about taking, I would assume we would get away with just paying a little extra for extra luggage allowance. Ideally, I'd be looking to go self employed. Not entirely sure of the route yet. My uncle runs a successful resteraunt in Paphos, so something like that might be an idea. I always have window cleaning to fall back on though. 
Basically any info, advice or criticism greatly appreciated. Its in the early stages, looking at late 2014, but its certainly something we're both very serious about.
Thanks in advance.


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## russi666 (Jul 8, 2013)

To clarify, is £10 a sensible amount, is there much opportunity for self employment out there, am I missing anything? Literally any opinions greatly appreciated.


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## russi666 (Jul 8, 2013)

Sorry, £10k!


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## Pam n Dave (Jun 11, 2007)

Try this link. 

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/cyprus-expat-forum-expats-living-cyprus/161747-jobs-cyprus.html


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

russi666 said:


> To clarify, is £10 a sensible amount, is there much opportunity for self employment out there, am I missing anything? Literally any opinions greatly appreciated.


£10k s a sensible amount for a lot of things but you won't last a year on that if you have to pay rent etc. You say it's just for a few months while you find your feet but what happens if you don't? Will you have enough funds to return?

When you are self employed you are running your own business, therefore you must make your own opportunities. The way you have worded your question suggests that you don't really understand this and that you may not be a candidate for self-employment. What you should be asking are questions of the business you want to run.

If your heart is set on Spain why are you looking to move to Cyprus? Having relatives here is nice but they have their lives to lead and are dealing with their position in the economic crisis. Will they want another burden on their hands? You haven't spoken to them for any advice or help but have come forward and asked complete strangers. Isn't this rather odd?

Reading you posts suggests to me that you and your partner are surviving based on others. You have not established any roots, have basic employed jobs, little possessions and few skills to offer prospective employers. Things couldn't be much tougher out here for people in your position and I would be very surprised if your relatives would welcome with you with open arms if you intend to continue your life this way.

I'm sorry if this seems negative in the lights of your dreams but frankly I think they _are _dreams in cloud cuckoo land and that you should avoid them turning into a nightmare.

Pete


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## David_&_Letitia (Jul 8, 2012)

russi666 said:


> Hi all,
> ...Ideally, I'd be looking to go self employed. Not entirely sure of the route yet. My uncle runs a successful resteraunt in Paphos, so something like that might be an idea. I always have window cleaning to fall back on though.
> Basically any info, advice or criticism greatly appreciated. Its in the early stages, looking at late 2014, but its certainly something we're both very serious about.
> Thanks in advance.


I know that at the age of 26 and 24, retirement seems a very long way off, but you really should plan long term as well as short term. The UK state pension rules require you to pay in to the UK system for 30 years in order to qualify for a basic pension. Any less, and your pension will be proportionate to what you put in. I doubt (although I stand to be corrected by others who may know better) that you will be entitled to anything from the Cyprus Govt - so how would you pay the bills later in life? Living (if you can afford it) and working (if you can find employment) in Cyprus may seem like a very attractive idea in your 20's. However, will your uncle be able to pay you enough to live on - especially in the future when you may have children and consequently only one income? Can you afford to pay into a private pension scheme on Cyprus wages? 

Living with your parents has maybe shielded you from the reality of running household expenses. You probably have not yet had to budget for electricity, gas, water, council tax etc and will be taking a big leap into the unknown. 

The advice from Pete is sound. Most successful self employed people are highly motivated entrepreneurial types who have imagination and a sense of direction. Are you one of these? You stated that you’re not sure of the route yet…

Like Pete, I’m also sorry if this all sounds negative – but you asked for advice. I wish you luck in whatever you decide to do…


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## russi666 (Jul 8, 2013)

I would always ensure I had enough for return flights should things not work out. I perhaps haven't worded the question as best I could, what I was wanting to know is, with the way the economy is over there, do expats still have the disposable income to spend on 'luxuries' such as window cleaners or eating out etc? Obviously I don't know the extent of things over there. In England, whilst I am repeatedly told by the media that the UK economy is on its knees, I haven't witnessed any of this first hand. The joinery company I work in the factory of has gone from strength to strength. On top of that, I do very well from my weekend window cleaning round, regularly making the same in one day as I do working half a week in the factory.
As for possessions, I seem to have misled you there as well. Although living with my parents means I don't have much furniture etc, it has also allowed me to have quite a large disposable income, allowing me luxuries of all the latest technology, mobile phones, ipod, ipad, designer watches, designer clothes etc, but what I was trying to portray is that its all gear we can spread across 3 or 4 suitcases and will not need specialist transport. Anything we can not take can be left at home in storage at my parents in case things dont work out.
As for not asking my relatives for advice, I dont know how to word this without it sounding awful, but I'm not at the stage where its a definite yet, and I would much rather waste the time of complete strangers than my relatives. When I get closer to the move, I'll certainly talk in depth about it, and I know they'll be happy to help, but I'm reluctant to burden them if I don't achieve the end goal. 
The reason for Cyprus as apposed to Spain, when thats our desire, is simply because whilst we are in love with everything Spanish, quite simply its terrifying to even consider moving to a country where you know absolutely no-one. Having family in Cyprus makes the whole thing a lot less daunting. And in fairness, despite its problems, its a beautiful place, with glorious weather, where the expats I know seem happy. 
We dont really want to offer our skills to employers, rather going self employed. But on the topic, my partner is deputy manager in schools after school club, fully qualified. Sounds better than it is. Not a great wage, but there's always going to be people needing childcare, and I have my window cleaning. I'm a dab hand at joinery, as its what I've done for the last 8 years in the factory, but its not something I enjoy or would look to continue.
thank for your comments!


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## russi666 (Jul 8, 2013)

The way I'm looking at it, possibly naively, is that the worst that can happen is I save 10 g's, try and fail, run home to mummy with an empty back pocket.


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## russi666 (Jul 8, 2013)

And you are right what you say regarding pensions, and to tell the truth, it isn't something I even considered. Reading that has concerned my partner, and she is going to look into it. I also agree with you that it seems a long way away, and for that reason I struggle to see it as a problem. Very much the wrong attitude to have, I know, its just how it is. I think I'm going to continue with my savings until I hit the target £10k, and take it from there. Despite the negative comments I still fancy it!
Much appreciated so far guys.


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

russi666 said:


> I would always ensure I had enough for return flights should things not work out. I perhaps haven't worded the question as best I could, what I was wanting to know is, with the way the economy is over there, do expats still have the disposable income to spend on 'luxuries' such as window cleaners or eating out etc? Obviously I don't know the extent of things over there. In England, whilst I am repeatedly told by the media that the UK economy is on its knees, I haven't witnessed any of this first hand. The joinery company I work in the factory of has gone from strength to strength. On top of that, I do very well from my weekend window cleaning round, regularly making the same in one day as I do working half a week in the factory.
> As for possessions, I seem to have misled you there as well. Although living with my parents means I don't have much furniture etc, it has also allowed me to have quite a large disposable income, allowing me luxuries of all the latest technology, mobile phones, ipod, ipad, designer watches, designer clothes etc, but what I was trying to portray is that its all gear we can spread across 3 or 4 suitcases and will not need specialist transport. Anything we can not take can be left at home in storage at my parents in case things dont work out.
> As for not asking my relatives for advice, I dont know how to word this without it sounding awful, but I'm not at the stage where its a definite yet, and I would much rather waste the time of complete strangers than my relatives. When I get closer to the move, I'll certainly talk in depth about it, and I know they'll be happy to help, but I'm reluctant to burden them if I don't achieve the end goal.
> The reason for Cyprus as apposed to Spain, when thats our desire, is simply because whilst we are in love with everything Spanish, quite simply its terrifying to even consider moving to a country where you know absolutely no-one. Having family in Cyprus makes the whole thing a lot less daunting. And in fairness, despite its problems, its a beautiful place, with glorious weather, where the expats I know seem happy.
> ...


A piece of advice: when you post on the forum use the preview facility and read what you have written from an objective point of view. I say this because your first post gave a totally different impression from this one where the description of your working skills, for example, is a far cry from having "very basic jobs (factory worker/weekend window cleaner & childcare worker."

Ok, so here are some of my views:

Ex-pat disposable income: It's difficult to lump all ex-pats into one category this way. I know people with plenty in the bank and others who have to live off of pensions, some with difficulty. Many have had to return home although not always for financial reasons. Having said this I think you'll find the majority of ex-pats still eat out, perhaps not as often as a few years ago and have enough money to enjoy their interests.

Jobs: The bigger question with regard to jobs like window cleaning is whether there are too many of them out there. I don't know the answer to this but others may help. I do know that if you look in the free papers here you will see lots of people advertising services and there seems to be many pool cleaners, car repairers, hairdressers and others all operating in a limited market. This is not just ex-pats. There are an amazing number of opticians, pharmacies, kiosks and bathroom fitting shops in Paphos and I can't believe they are all doing well.

Media: Your view of what the media has said is quite right. The media companies have the job of making profits and they never let the truth get in the way of a good sensationalist story.

Relatives: I understand what you are saying about talking to relatives but I also might suggest you are missing an opportunity to gain first hand knowledge and opinions from those living and working here and who know the country and problems in depth. Don't forget the majority of ex-pats here are retired.

Employment: I now understand a little better what you are saying about being self-employed which will suit your windows cleaning aspirations but I doubt will suit your partner.

The most important thing that you wrote is contained in your opening sentence. Keep and safeguard a “rescue fund”, just in case.

On the basis of what you have written in this last post you come across as more mature than the impression I got from the first and I can see you have formulated an outline plan and have some decent skills in hand. On this basis I would say give it a go as you are young enough to recover from any disaster occurring. But don't ignore the other good advice posted on this thread regarding pensions.

The best of luck to you both.

Pete


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## russi666 (Jul 8, 2013)

Has anyone got any good sites for long term rental properties in the Paphos area? Want to get a feel for prices, sizes etc.
Thanks
Russ


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## stevedb45 (Mar 7, 2013)

Hi Russ,

If you do a google search for *long term rental cyprus* you should get plenty of decent results that will get you started 

Regards

Steve


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## paulenew (Aug 27, 2012)

Hi 

It is very difficult to find a job out here even basic bar work, employers are looking for very young attractive girls to lure customers into their pubs, there are a lot of cleaning jobs available (which is what I do) but believe me when I say it's very hard work working in this heat and the wages are terrible , 
There are lots of properties to rent shop around and you can find something quite reasonable and cheap, we pay €350 per month for a decent sized 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment, 
We came out with only our clothes and money in the bank and booked into a hotel for 4 weeks n went from there, finding somewhere to live buying a car etc etc,
Expats do still eat out as its quite reasonable if you find the right places to go,
I would say shopping is more expensive , electricity is very expensive and the cost of living is more expensive if you don't budget and don't act as though your on holiday all the time or you will end up an alcoholic lol 
Over all you need to budget over here and it takes time to settle and make friends, I would say their is no job prospects over here, all professional jobs go to locals, unemployment is very high over here, although if you speak Russian you stand a good chance of getting some seasonal work, 
On the plus side is the weather it is amazing to wake up at 6.30 am every morning to the sun, 
I wish you both well whatever happens you are both young, 
My husband and I have been here for 2 months now he is retired (50) and I clean villas I'm (44) 
Our motto is better to have tried it than to have regrets wondering what if? 
You can always go back home if it doesn't work out
Good luck x
Paulene
Ps don't be offended by the answers from some people they are just being honest , but everybody s situation is different x


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## russi666 (Jul 8, 2013)

No, I really appreciate all the comments. Its always the negative ones I prefer to be honest, because although sometimes it can be annoying to be stopped in your tracks, its much better to be prepared for the worst. I've been speaking to my Mum about it (its her brothers/my uncles and their families that live there) and she has been very supportive. And Paulene, I agree 100% with your motto. I'd never forgive myself if I didnt at least try it. 
One thing that has really played on my mind a lot:
At my Grandads funeral just after Xmas, my Uncle came to the UK for the first time in years. Whilst driving him back to the airport he said to me "I always said I'd only come back here for funerals. Its so depressing, look at the sky, its grey, I'd forgotten how grey. I cant wait to be back in the sun in 6 hours"
And I notice almost every day on the way to work. Its grey. Awful.
I have a couple of business ideas in the pipeline, but I've got plenty time to explore them. Definately pencilling in late 2014/early 2015 for it. And if it goes wrong, so what? I'll have had a cracking adventure! I'm off to peruse some properties. Anyone got a site for commercial property rental?
Thanks
Russ


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