Moving to Cyprus on a Budget!
Located in the Eastern Mediterranean sea just south of Turkey, Cyprus boasts one of the most appealing climates in all of Europe. Making a top destination for ex-pats and tourists. Originally known for it’s troubled political history, Cyprus has recently become a lot more popular amongst tourists. Coupled with a lower cost of living than in the UK it’s also proving a very popular choice for people looking to move and relocate. However, after a long day on the forklift, how did Archie end up in Cyprus?
A Divided Nation
Flying the flag for the South East European Union, Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean and boasts incredible weather and culture. Making Cyprus one of the most popular destinations for expats. In fact, with over 320 days of sunshine per year, they enjoy the warmest climate in all of the European Union.
However, Cyprus isn’t without fault. The entire island was split in 1974 into 2 parts; the south half of the island was declared a republic.
Where as the Turkish took control of the north and self-declared themselves the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Still in force almost 50 years later, guarded by the UN, the majority of ex-pats choose to live on the south half of the island and this is what this guide focuses on.
Working in Cyprus
Living in Cyprus
With property prices a stagerring 40% lower than the UK, but rental prices up to 10% higher than the UK. Many ex-parts choose to purchase a home when relocating to Cyprus. Lots of business owners and entrepreneurs also take advantage of Cyprus’ 12.5% corporate tax rate, compared to the EU average of almost 20%.
Cyprus isn’t all just sun, sea and sand. Along with lots of cultural arteifacts, located high in the Troodos Mountains there’s actually a proper ski centre. So you can have some winter and summer fun all in the same day if you wished!
Another bonus of living in Cyprus is the fact you don’t necessarily have to learn the language. With so many ex-pats living there, and an economy based on tourism, most Greeks speak both Greek and English. So getting along in a foreign speaking country like Cyprus shouldn’t be much of an issue.
Moving to Cyprus
As is standard with so many international moves and relocations, all your goods are packed into a shipping container. For customs purposes everything has to be itemised and packed correctly to avoid any damage. In the example below you can see all of the customer’s goods loaded into the shipping container. All the boxes are stacked up against the bulkhead as tight as possible. Once the main goods have been loaded a bulkhead is constructed from wood. Then put across the front of all the boxes to keep them in place on the shipping container and stop them moving about. The wood used also has to be treated wood so as to avoid any contamination from foreign bodies.
For this move the bulkhead was very important as it would have a car packed up against it. If the car wasn’t securely tied down it could result in crushing all of the clients belongings. So when our Transport Manager Archie carefully loaded the customer’s brand new Honda into the shipping container. There not enough space for Archie to get out, or even a sun-roof to escape out of. We thought it would be best if we just left him in the car to make sure it didn’t roll anywhere and got to Cyprus ok – Which it did and now Archie has a fantastic sun tan!
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