What’s the rush? Cyprus is great

Oh no – not another letter from a whingeing Brit!.  I thought it was time to redress the balance a little.  My husband and I have lived in Cyprus for six years, since retiring.  Had we stayed in Britain, we would not have been able to afford to retire.  We consider it the best decision we have ever made, but then, we did our homework before we came and were not expecting Britain with palm trees and sunshine.

We love the people, the scenery, the relaxed way of life, the climate and the low cost of living and, before anyone says that food is expensive, that only applies if you insist on buying British imports.

We much prefer Cypriot produce and the meat and vegetables are very cheap here.  Just for the record, we hardly ever visit bars and have never been to the UKCA.  Neither do we live on our sun beds, though it is nice not to need the heating on full blast during the winter.

Yes, of course some of the restaurants close in winter – they have to make a living, after all – but there are plenty which stay open all year.  Agreed, a bus service would be nice, but if the Cypriots don’t consider it necessary, well, it is their country.

I don’t understand the comment about antiquated shop opening hours, had we wanted 24-hour shopping, we wouldn’t have come here in the first place.  Certainly things take a little longer here but, hey, what’s the rush?

Everything gets done eventually.  So the Jones family are welcome to return to the politically correct, nanny state that is now the UK, where they can enjoy freezing winters and wet summers, swingeing taxes and the doubtful pleasure of sitting in traffic jams on overcrowded motorways.  Bon voyage, Mr and Mrs Jones.  We will not be joining you any time soon.

A. Elgar (Mrs)
Pissouri, 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.