Life in Cyprus. My experiment

update: now an order of magnitude more expensive everything

I spent the last month in Cyprus. My family and I went there do not rest, but for intelligence purposes. We wanted to understand whether it was possible to live on the island long-term - a couple of months, a year, two. I worked no less than at home, maybe even more. Engaged in all the usual household matters.

In this post, I will describe life in Cyprus in the main directions. What is on the island, which is not, what how much is what features of life. I will try not to delay.

Very important - I do not pretend to truth, I share my opinion.

Nature

Perhaps, it is worth it from nature, because this is the main reason for the island's trip. It is not too cold here, in the winter the temperature ranges around 15 degrees. In the summer, 30-35 degrees, really hot.

It rarely happens bad weather, for the month of my stay there was not a single rain, even when he was passed. However, even clouds I saw only a couple of times, and then they left for a few hours. As the local people say, if it rained, then after a few hours there is no trace from it.

When we flew to Cyprus, then I expected something like the Crimean steppe. When they left the airport - wildly surprised, everything around was green. High trees, a bunch of different colors, lush bushes, palm trees.

A little later learned that they did not understand anything about the nature of Cyprus, because it is very diverse there. You can now lie on the sand by the sea, and after 2 hours to be on a mountain tall in 2000 meters.

Also on the island lives a lot of animals, it is worth going to the Akamas National Park. There are cool houses where you come with binoculars and look at the infinite amount of wild birds.

Especially delivered citrus trees on the streets of the city - mandarins, lemons, oranges. You can still meet figs, papaya, some yellow small berries like Alychi. But you will not meet apricots, cherry and others popular in the CIS fruit - they are here to be elite, expensive and guarded.

Separately worth telling about the sea. It is very clean and warm here. In April, the temperature was 20 degrees, and in the summer it reaches 25-28. She is still sooo salty, I do not know why. I have not seen any jellyfish and other unclean, algae is also not very much.

But there are not so many good beaches, in Cyprus almost everywhere there is some gray-black color, confidence does not inspire. Therefore, you need to go to the selected well-kept beaches. Only, if what, be prepared to pay 7.5 euros for 2 beds and an umbrella, well, or take a towel with you / folding chairs like many. ????

And now we turn to the material ...

The cost of expensive

From Kiev, a flight on three there and back it costs $ 550. Schengen-visa for Cyprus is not required, just write a letter to the soap of the embassy, \u200b\u200band you send a visa for 3 months. Just print it on a piece of paper, show at the airport and go further.

On the flight the road does not end. Since you will arrive in Larnaca, and most likely go to another city - you need to take a taxi or car rental. We lived in Paphos, the most distant city from Larnaca (one and a half hours drive).

There were 2 options - 80 euros for a taxi or 75 euros for rental of small making on an automatic machine for 3 days. There is nothing to think about what - they took the car to not only get to the residential complex, but and ride on the island for a couple of days, however, right-handers are the story.

As a result, 400 kilometers passed over these days, 28 euros paid for gasoline. The total cost of renting the car - 113 euros (10 more take at the airport for parking).

The cost of housing

It stands here with the fact that in the minds of compatriots Cyprus is some kind of wildly dear country, offshore zone, villas for millions of dollars ... all this is not true. In fact, in Cyprus now a housing crisis, whole complexes are soulless, remove everything you want. All this happened due to the crisis last decades, when a bunch of investors set up elite housing on the island in the hope of restoring or sustate. And then Bach, and crisis.

As in any tourist country, housing prices are very dependent on the rental period. You can remove the same apartment for 1000 euros a week in summer and 300-400 euros per month when renting for a year. Moreover, budget apartments are for our merchants "EUROROREMON", everything is clean, neatly and with decent furniture.

As for me, I removed the apartment with a piece of my territory for 600 euros per month. Small but two-story. With new plumbing, good repairs, panoramic windows, human cuisine. If I want to shoot it again, it will cost 400 Eurobecause I already understand the market, plus the next time I will cost without intermediaries.

Communal more expensive than us. Usually people are stacked in 70-80 euros per monthWinter will be more expensive because it is air-conditioned in winter. There is no gas heating, no familiar batteries. There are some generators from gas balon, but already this.

And in the winter, it will still have to turn in winter, despite the warm climate. Houses are cold, built under heat. And when on the street at night 8 in January, it will be severe inside. So the air conditioner for heat will have to be included.

Immediately with utilities, you can also discuss the Internet. It is a problem here: if at home I pay for it 3 euros per month, then in Cyprus will 40 . At the same time, the quality will be an order of magnitude lower, you can count on a dozen megabit and dumb ping. It is enough for work, watching videos on YouTube, downloading big files per night. But relative to money that you have to pay is a big failure regarding the homeland.

Cost of products

Products are about 2 times more expensive than us. The most important principle of buying food in Cyprus is to know which network of supermarkets which products at good prices. For example, in Papantonio, it is advantageous to buy vegetables and fruits, sometimes meat. In "Lidl" we were lucky with bakery products and milk.

Separately, it is worth noting the shares. Every week, supermarkets launch new stocks, you can look at the site Lidl. Discounts vary from 15 to 50%, but they act on really necessary goods. Not as we have - on rotting meat, whisching milk or what is not for sale at all. Such shares make hiking to the store even interesting. ????

Now prices for major categories of products (spring):

• eggs - 3.3 Euro / 30 pieces
• meat - 3 Euro / kg
• milk - 1.2 euro / liter
• apples - 1 Euro / kg
• cucumbers - 0.33 euros / kg
• chicken whole - 2.5 euro / kg
• chicken fillet - 6 euro / kg
• yogurts - 2 Euro / kg
• young potato - 0.6 euro / kg
• pears - 1.3 euro / kg
• chocolate - 0.69 EUR / 100 g
• flour - 0.5 euro / kg
• sugar - 0.6 euro / kg
• strawberry - 0.5 kg - 1 euro

Separately, it is worth noting the quality of products. For example, these apples for euros per kilogram are our "Golden", "Premium". There are no these dirty, rummed and tasteless govnikyablik, which we sell people, and in normal countries they feed pigs.

All boards are 2 times more expensive, but the filling is 2 times more respectively. ????

For the month of products, we went around 250 Euro. For the sake of interest they were asked from friends who live in Cyprus for a long time - they have the same costs.

Cost of things

Here the opinion was two-way. Brand clothing is as we have or even cheaper, such as Lacoste's sneakers from the collection of this year you can buy for 30-35 euros in the official store. LEVI'S jeans saw for 25-35 euros. T-shirts in the area of \u200b\u200b8-10 euros. In general, there is no cardinal differences from the CIS.

But here some franchises are expensive, for example in Kiev I bought a sword to a small cartoon for $ 10, and then it costs 35 euros. Transformer toys are from 30 euros, we have such again in the region of 10 bucks. But all this concerns only brands. Transformers of the same quality, but without a famous name, stand in the area of \u200b\u200b1-2 euro apiece. ????

Home Supplies are generally kopeck, high-quality cups by euros, a good yoga rug in a case - 4 euros, led gloves - 3 euros. You really go to the jumbo store, you pick up a bunch of small things and leave the check at 20-30 euros. On average, everything is 2 times cheaper, even in Ukraine. About the difference as I am silent. ????

Service cost

Considering that even simple working types of vendors in the store receive ~ 1000 euros, all services in Cyprus are much more expensive than with us. This is manifested absolutely in everything. Even if you look at the chicken in the store, then you can buy for 2 euros, and fillets from it already for 6, and that if you are lucky. Just because someone has spent time and pounded this chicken.

We did not particularly enjoy the services of Cypriots, but how much it costs. For example, a male haircut costs 10 euros. Hike to the doctor - 30-50 euros. Taxi in the city - a couple of dozen euros. And such orders in everything. In general, expensive.

It is better to try to solve your problems yourself. ????

Entertainment

Here you need to start with your desires. If you are interested in clubs, parties and fun - you need to go live in Ayia napa.

And there are unreal beaches there. Many say the coolest on the island.

If you are the opposite you want calm, then go to Paphos. This is something like a large village, with fields and caves in the middle of the city. There is where to walk, people are more relaxed, everything is quiet and peaceful. Well, the sea is also cool, but before it needs to go for about 15 minutes at Coral Bay. There are good, but less colorful beaches within walking distance.

Now to answer the question - and what on the island do actually?

The first is to travel. You can go to Troodos Mountains - there is very beautiful. There is a park Akamas, about which I wrote above, there is my own wild life. There is a cool zoo, tours of winery, diving, safaris on jeeps and so on. Island, though small, but do there have something.

The second is. There are many traditional meals, all of it is mostly meat. For example, cabbage rolls from grape leaves. Or fish-sword. Or the coolest sauce "Taramas" from the caviar of some kind of fish, really liked. To try all local and immediately - you need to order a "mese". It costs 15 euros, it includes 15 traditional Greek dishes. Just keep in mind that there are almost half of them - these are different sauces. ????

The third is to engage in your hobby. I really lacked a bicycle, Cyprus is simply created for cycling. The road is very high quality and mainly even. If you need a gym - they are full. Swimming pool - especially. There is already something like. In terms of physical activity, I noticed one thing - everything is walking very much on foot. We had no day so that we don't walk at least a couple of hours.

People, furnishings in the city

I really liked Paphos. The city can be divided into tourist and urban areas. In the tourist, everything is always sitting on the cafes, an accurate marine fish and drink wine. People are very impulsed, friendly, everyone smiles. After the Motherland (especially current realities), it is amazing and very nice.

You walk down the street and you see how the English grandfather goes on something like that:

Very delivered that there are a lot of stylish old cars. All well-groomed, with large beautiful disks, Ehh ... and they are not broken there - there is no temperature drop, there are no bad roads, there are no constant precipitation. If anyone is interested, the most popular cars in Cyprus are Mercedes C, E class 7-10 years ago.

In the urban area already a little more intense, everyone is in a hurry somewhere, they do something. Although what they do in the country, which does not produce nichrome, but earns only on tourists and offshores, I do not know. ????

Roads are narrow, it can be seen that the city is old. There are very decent stores, and there are ruins. I liked my wife through the streets to walk, and I did not appreciate something. I was on a kaif in a tourist area, where everything was done for visitors, not local residents who are willing to endure student at home and curve infrastructure.

conclusions

Moral Cyprus is created for relaxed and imposing life. For me personally, this is also a place of high concentration. Nothing distracts you, you are all in yourself. Household deeds are a bit familiar, very cool work in a stream.

Materially - you need to count on the minimum budget about 1200 euros per month. About 400-500 euros will cost housing with municipal, somewhere 300 must be put on food, another 300 on other expenses, which in any case will arise. You can save and live cheaper, and you can rent a car, there is one sea fish and not fit into 3000 euros. There are someone like.

I tried to write honestly for normal people. I hope it turned out informatively, and you liked it.