# First Steps - help please



## shawty06 (Feb 20, 2010)

Hey Babs I have had a read through some of your threads and would like you to help me 

My name is Gabby I am 19 years old living in the UK.
Both myself and best friend also 19 and female are moving to Cyprus March 31st.
Through a friend of a friend we have been offered the opportunity to live and work in protaras with free accommodation between the months of April untill october. We will be working for happy divers , as trainee scuba diver Instructors.
After the summer has ended and we are qualified we will be on our own! 
I just wanted to know where is the best you would advise for us to live and work in the winter as I am aware that some parts of cyprus are seasonal and shut down in the winter.
I am a qualified Lifeguard / swimming teacher and have worked in the Leisure Industry for a few years but am willing to do anything just to get myself on my feet and in a good location.
I am also looking to make new friends with people from the UK who are living in Cyprus.
Any Information would be a fantastic help <snip>

Kind Regards

Gabby and Kelly


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## Sue and Steve (Aug 18, 2009)

BabsM said:


> We've had several messages recently saying people want to move to Cyprus and asking where to start. My question to all of you is- Where did you start? Please tell me the first two things you did. To start the ball rolling,
> we....
> 
> a) came to Cyprus had a look around and decided approximately what area we wanted to live in.
> ...


Hi
Your thread made useful reading as my partner and I are planning to come over to Cyprus to see if we can make a go of it.
Up to now we are in the throes of packing and fixing up the house in order to rent it out. We plan to give it a year and have made sure we have enough funds to see us through.
I wonder if anyone can recommend any job sites for us to post our C.V's onto plus, any useful information on buying a second hand car and rental properties.
Our budget is tight so we are looking to rent somewhere for less than 400 euros a month.
Thankyou for your time
Sue and Steve


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## caroljimbob (Mar 8, 2010)

Hi, your thread makes interesting reading. Im just in the early stages of thinking of moving to Cyprus or just taking a sebbatical and having a year out there to get the taste. Im a teacher and it appears that there are few teaching jobs out there at the mo. Can anyone give me any advice on the steps I need to take to find out about jobs, teaching or other wise? Is there a web site I can post my CV to or anyone to contact? I am quite familiar with the place as Ive been out there for holidays. But its a different kettle of fish living and working there I know. 
I will need some where to rent too. Wheres the best place to be? Help!!!
Thank you 
Carol


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## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

Carol, Steve & Sue, Gabby & Kelly,
Hi and welcome to the forum. I have moved your posts to a new thread because they don't really fit in the topic where you posted them. That way you are more likely to get sensible answers!


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## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

shawty06 said:


> Hey Babs I have had a read through some of your threads and would like you to help me
> 
> My name is Gabby I am 19 years old living in the UK.
> Both myself and best friend also 19 and female are moving to Cyprus March 31st.
> ...


Gabby, 
I suggest you see how you like Cyprus and if it works for you here before deciding where you want to live in the Winter. Cyprus is a location where you can dive all year round, it is possible that you will ne offered a job after you have qualified and that may affect where you need to live.

I have deleted your email and telephone number. If people want to contact you they can do it via the personal or public message system on this site


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## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

Sue & Steve, 
I recommend you have a look round this site for information on renting property and buying cars. Both subjects are well covered. If you have specific questions that you can't find answers for then please feel free to ask.


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## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

caroljimbob said:


> Hi, your thread makes interesting reading. Im just in the early stages of thinking of moving to Cyprus or just taking a sebbatical and having a year out there to get the taste. Im a teacher and it appears that there are few teaching jobs out there at the mo. Can anyone give me any advice on the steps I need to take to find out about jobs, teaching or other wise? Is there a web site I can post my CV to or anyone to contact? I am quite familiar with the place as Ive been out there for holidays. But its a different kettle of fish living and working there I know.
> I will need some where to rent too. Wheres the best place to be? Help!!!
> Thank you
> Carol


Most private schools in Cyprus renew contracts and establish new ones in May and so you need to keep an eye out for advertisements in the local press and also in some UK national publications such as Times Education etc. In my view there are more teaching opportunities in Larnaca area with some employers needing teachers from kintergarted right up to degree level. Depending on your qualifications and experience you may be offered a package that emcompases secondary and tertiary classes (teaching at schools and college). Nicosia is also a good place to start looking with many international schools operating (State schools are a closed shop effectively for expats as teaching is a civil service appointment requiring citizenship and Greek language skills (and has a very long waiting list). Be prepared to low salaries (in comparison with the UK) - but good relative to other Cypriot job offers.


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## handsomeguy31 (Jan 21, 2010)

Sue and Steve said:


> Hi
> Your thread made useful reading as my partner and I are planning to come over to Cyprus to see if we can make a go of it.
> Up to now we are in the throes of packing and fixing up the house in order to rent it out. We plan to give it a year and have made sure we have enough funds to see us through.
> I wonder if anyone can recommend any job sites for us to post our C.V's onto plus, any useful information on buying a second hand car and rental properties.
> ...


We are in more a less the same boat. Ive done extensive research on both subjects so I can definately help you and advise. 
How much do you have to spend on a car and secondly do you own a car already and if so which model, cc size and age of car.
Also which area are you intending to move. I know the best sites for property on a long term rental basis, especially around the Paphos area.


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## Sue and Steve (Aug 18, 2009)

handsomeguy31 said:


> We are in more a less the same boat. Ive done extensive research on both subjects so I can definately help you and advise.
> How much do you have to spend on a car and secondly do you own a car already and if so which model, cc size and age of car.
> Also which area are you intending to move. I know the best sites for property on a long term rental basis, especially around the Paphos area.


Hi
We want a car that is in reasonable nick, small is good, medium even better.
Am not sure how much is reasonable to pay for a second hand car out there, if I said as cheap as possible without compromising safety then that would be my criteria.
We plan to start off in Larnaca, rent for three months initially and if we don't get jobs we will look to other areas as finding a job is paramount.
We would ideally like to rent something with two bedrooms however, we would consider a one bedroomed place as long as the lounge area could fit a bed settee for when we have family over.
Hopefully you can point me in the right direction.
Cheers Sue and Steve


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Sue and Steve said:


> Hi
> We want a car that is in reasonable nick, small is good, medium even better.
> Am not sure how much is reasonable to pay for a second hand car out there, if I said as cheap as possible without compromising safety then that would be my criteria.
> We plan to start off in Larnaca, rent for three months initially and if we don't get jobs we will look to other areas as finding a job is paramount.
> ...


Hi Sue and Steve,
The best person to advise you would be BabsM as she lives in the larnaca area and I am sure she will have some names of rental agencies in that area.
Normally it would be hard to get accomodation for 3 months at a reasonable rate as long term is usually 12 months or more and anything less than 4 months is classed as short term and more expensive. However as there are so many empty properties you may find you wil get a bargain. Don't be willing to pay the first price you are given, make an offer well below and you will probably find the owner will meet you halfway.
As for a second hand car, they are more expensive here than in the Uk where I know prices have come down a lot in the last two years so you need to bear this in mind.

For jobs sites go to the sticky thread on useful links and you will find some links there.
Good luck
Veronica


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## handsomeguy31 (Jan 21, 2010)

Sue and Steve said:


> Hi
> We want a car that is in reasonable nick, small is good, medium even better.
> Am not sure how much is reasonable to pay for a second hand car out there, if I said as cheap as possible without compromising safety then that would be my criteria.
> We plan to start off in Larnaca, rent for three months initially and if we don't get jobs we will look to other areas as finding a job is paramount.
> ...


You wont get a cheap car out there. You can import one with Andrews shipping for 410 + VAT on a roll on roll off service which is the cheapest, I promise. Now you do have to pay import tax on it so it has to be 1.6 or under not to be stung but I heard a little rumour that this is abolished 31st March 2010 but Ill let you know as Im shipping mine soon. Ive seen a Nissan Sunny 1991(Shed) asking price of £2500 approx. Do you have a car in UK already. 

Property wise Ive been looking in Paphos and know all the good sites for property there. Ive had a look at my bookmarked pages and they are all Paphos websites but if you change your mind to Paphos I can direct you perfectly as Ive sniffed them all out now. A good use of the search engines will help. <snip>


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## zeebo (Nov 15, 2009)

hello. You will not find a cheap car here.. I have two cars that i am bringing over, one is a 10 year old banger but once i was hear i realised i could get about 3k for it.. amazing if your selling but you just cant buy cheap.. Its funny its almost as if the cypriots like being duped and paying too much.. I'm intrigued by this phenomena and want to understand it but they just won't buy cheap when given the choice, and this isn't linked to quality.. they just don't feel satisfied unless they have paid loads for something.. An example is they will walk past a great restaurant that is reasonably priced and stroll into McDonalds and pay double... i dunno if it is an 'emulate the west' type thing?


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## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

zeebo said:


> hello. You will not find a cheap car here.. I have two cars that i am bringing over, one is a 10 year old banger but once i was hear i realised i could get about 3k for it.. amazing if your selling but you just cant buy cheap.. Its funny its almost as if the cypriots like being duped and paying too much.. I'm intrigued by this phenomena and want to understand it but they just won't buy cheap when given the choice, and this isn't linked to quality.. they just don't feel satisfied unless they have paid loads for something.. An example is they will walk past a great restaurant that is reasonably priced and stroll into McDonalds and pay double... i dunno if it is an 'emulate the west' type thing?


The car price phenomenon is related to the lack of rusting in the climate here - if your banger has rust, no one will buy it. Also be prepared for a longish wait - there is a reluctance to reduce prices, but generally no one is in a rush about most things - I see the same (in my view overpriced) cars parked up at cross roads - that have been there for several years now. My sister in-law has had a car on the market for six years (with no reduction in price). Also bear in mind that new emmissions regulations will mean higher taxes for polluting cars, so the market in second hand cars might cease up altogether.


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## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

Sue and Steve said:


> Hi
> We want a car that is in reasonable nick, small is good, medium even better.
> Am not sure how much is reasonable to pay for a second hand car out there, if I said as cheap as possible without compromising safety then that would be my criteria.
> We plan to start off in Larnaca, rent for three months initially and if we don't get jobs we will look to other areas as finding a job is paramount.
> ...


Have you got an idea as to what part of Larnaca you want to live in? Town Centre, tourist area, Oroklini, rural area, village?


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