Moving from Malta to Cyprus.

Hi Foxy

1. Cyprus is much quieter and Cypriot people are much more genuine in my experiences so far - we have found them to be fine people  - we've been here a year now and love it.. However they still like their 4x4s. and their hunting dogs  we learned the hard way so if you do take the plunge do a really good scan of the area in which you are about to live and look for wooden, concrete block corrugated sheet and mesh outbuildings a good indicator of hunting dogs being kenneled, often illegally

2. Cant say ive witnessed any loud shouting  = you are  more likely to get the Cypriot shrug lol

3. Yes, you can get by, we do and its really nothing to worry about, most speak english to varying degrees but it is all about where you live  - for example  - live in a remote village or further inland, the likelyhood is you will need to learn Greek..... however the main areas are fine....but even if you did want the quieter village life i think its a lovely way to integrate, I would love to do so and the older i get (am only 58) am feeling more like i want to be in a nice village - my missus is not so inclined - and believe me there are hundreds of absolutely beautiful villages here...

4. again it depends on where you choose to live, a car as far as we were concerned is essential for where we live and what we wanted to be able to do and see. . Despite being informed we didnt need one by some friends who had already made the move to Cyprus from Malta 4 months earlier, saying that the bus passed the door - it didnt it was a good 1.5km away and not too regular and ceased at 4pm.... But the upside is the traffic is extremely light and driving is a pleasurable experience in my opinion compared to Malta, OMG my wife even drives here = she refused point blank to do so in Malta.

Public transport is quite good between the major centres, however I suspect its kinda limited services to the villages.

I would suggest a visit to the areas that you fancy maybe a couple of months rental and live as a local - nothing you havent heard before am sure... same applies here.

Many of the beaurocratic issues associated with Malta dont exist here.....

Try it  - you wil love it... the island is truly gorgeous. Forests, rolling hills for miles, mountains, rivers, dams, reservoirs, snow, sun, waterfalls great walking rambling routes, sunsets to die for, the best potatoes I've ever tasted, the range and variety of shops cafes bars and and eateries is immense, clean beaches, quiet roads, much cleaner and more civilised, no petards, no shotguns going off, no hooting and tooting, climate is much better than Malta, less humidity, warmer winters for sure albeit in my view hotter summers although this year we were not as hot as Malta.  You ve got so much more to go at to discover, and explore, lots of history and culture to emerse yourself in.... the people are wonderful and friendly and the customer service we have experienced so far has been second to none...accommodation is cheaper to rent, better built, better quality and actually finished.

Further you have the awesome Troodos mountains to cool you off and some magnificent villages and views....plus - well for us it was a plus - as they've relaxed the border control for crossing over to the TRNC area we can enjoy a bit of one of our fave places too (Turkey) and the mainland of Turkey is within striking distance too.  Which for us makes it an ideal place for us to live... why on earth we didnt come here first i will never ever know, it is a regret that we didnt do so earlier... - although i suspect it was my caution having been here on holiday twice before and thought it was expensive but in reality its not so bad... its all down to quality of life and now is the time for us to have some of that quality

Thanks Toon, the potatoes may have swung it for me!

Ray

Lol seriously though they are, and i am so anti vegetables my missus goes mad at me.....

Really Cyprus looks like a improved and extended Malta from what I have read.

So, what would you think is the level of english is in Cyprus in %? For example, I would say that in Malta 90 % of the population can speak english enough to be understood in a basic level, what is it like in Cyprus?