Don’t only consider food prices

Sir,
I refer to a recent news item in which Cyprus was portrayed as having among the highest cost of living locations in Europe.

While it is true that food costs fluctuate wildly and have increased since 2003, when we retired here from England, it is quite misleading to omit non-food costs which in some cases are dramatically lower than elsewhere in the EU.

I refer to petrol/diesel, property, both building and rental, income tax, utilities and property tax, which is a fraction of the Council Tax in Britain.

David Clapham, Limassol

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.