Some of us can’t wait to leave Cyprus? Some of us just love it here

Dear B. Jones of Paphos,

So you can’t wait to leave Cyprus? Don’t blame the island for the fact that you didn’t do your homework about living here before moving! Where did you think you were coming to?

Most of we foreign residents love the place and no, we don’t spend all our time lying in the sun and wouldn’t be seen dead playing bingo or Scrabble, or even in the UKCA.

We’ve taken the trouble to try to integrate with our Cypriot friends and neighbours, take part in village matters, read books, lend a hand in charity shops, learn Greek and enjoy the pace of life here, without 24-hour shopping and endless, laid-on entertainment.

And we cook with good, fresh ingredients, we walk in safety around town or countryside, we talk to strangers, we leave our garden furniture outside without fear of it being stolen. Yes, there are disadvantages, like dreadful driving, rampant nepotism and a total disregard for the law by all parties when it suits, but that’s part of living in a foreign country. You have to accept it, whilst preferably working towards improving the situation.

I sympathise that you can’t afford your mortgage, but should you really have overstretched yourself to that degree when you came here, instead of living within your means?

Don’t blame Cyprus for your own improvidence and inability to keep yourself amused. Go back to the UK and moan there, when the huge Council Tax bills start arriving, when you pick up MRSA in a hospital 50 miles from your rented home and the local youths threaten you as you sit in a filthy bus surrounded by complete foreigners in your ‘own’ country.

We’re delighted that you’re leaving Cyprus to those of us that appreciate it.

Regards
DW,
Souni. 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.