Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

...is gathering pace, fast!

I have lived here just over five years and became a pensioner at the end of last year. I am now finding the increase in the price of living here in TRNC is now approaching UK levels. If the TRNC government is not concerned at the level of expats deserting the sinking ship, they should be. I could go on and detail the increases over the last five years but would end up writing a novel! Regrettably, within twelve months I too will have to consider my future

It appears to me that another cause of British expats leaving is getting old and in need of care and support from family and the big pull of grandchildren back in the UK or elsewhere. I've also noticed that also appears it is getting easier to sell your house which enables the move.

It appears to me that another cause of British expats leaving is getting old and in need of care and support from family and the big pull of grandchildren back in the UK or elsewhere.

That is a fair point but is a small proportion of expats leaving compared to financial considerations.

I've also noticed that also appears it is getting easier to sell your house which enables the move.

The above is a very broad statement and we should agree to disagree. Local estate agents would also strongly disagree! The agent who I rent my property through is constantly moaning at the lack of sales and says it is general across the board.

selling your house there is easy if you only want 3 quid for it ! We came back to the UK 3 years ago and bills are a lot less here than there. We have a fair few mates left there that simply cannot get decent money for there properties.

I must admit we were shocked at how expensive it is to live here in TRNC after spending four years in Turkey. We have been here now for just over two years, and our average yearly costs , gas, electric, water, council tax amount to around £500, we don't have the expense of a pool, there is no way we could live in the UK for £500 per year. We certainly wouldn't have the lifestyle we have here in the UK. I know where I prefer to be.

suecheshireuk wrote:I must admit we were shocked at how expensive it is to live here in TRNC after spending four years in Turkey. We have been here now for just over two years, and our average yearly costs , gas, electric, water, council tax amount to around £500, we don't have the expense of a pool, there is no way we could live in the UK for £500 per year. We certainly wouldn't have the lifestyle we have here in the UK. I know where I prefer to be.

Well said and no chance of rickets eh,who would want 9 months of winter as apposed to 2/3 not me.

I have no where else to go not that I want too. I agree with Michelle I was spending far more in England until I left 13 years ago my council tax there was huge here it is 47tl! Moving back is not an option. where ever you live its got more expensive thats life!

I don't think for one moment that it's getting more expensive to live hear than the UK.

All of the main cost factors-fuel-electricity-gas-council tax- eating out-car servicing are cheaper than the UK but I have to agree that prices have increased over the last two years.

Earlier this year, just for my own interest I compared what we were paying to Utility companies in the UK in 2010 to what we paid in the TRNC in 2015.
In the UK we had a largish detached house on a "standard" estate-type plot of about 300 square metres.
In Karsiyaka we have a medium to large house on a 1200 square metre plot with a 12m swimming pool.

We are very pleased with a total annual cost saving of £2700 here in Northern Cyprus.
And, of course, that we made the decision to move and live here full time.

I have attached a copy of the calculation.

We have until recently continued to run a house in the UK, which is now rented.

Bills here are without a doubt much cheaper, even compared to our usually empty UK house.

We were also taken aback a little a the cost of a trolley full of shopping when we were in the UK for almost 3 weeks in the summer. Also, going out (eating, entertainment, alcohol etc) anywhere in the UK is very expensive, and we have had friends out regularly over the last couple of years who cannot believe how cheap it is here compared to the UK.

I have maintained for a very long time that many of those that return to the UK do so for a mixture of medical (not health) reasons, family, maybe just happy to have had a few years overseas and want the organisation skills of the UK, which will never exist here, but also I believe a lot of people used to live here on 20% or so interest, and now that no longer exists, the income from savings is hugely diminished.

Sometimes it is not about health or finances. There are people here who have bought and paid for their houses 10 years and more ago who now find themselves being asked for many thousands of pounds by different banks to get their Kocan or face the possibility of their house being put up for auction. In spite of very lengthy court cases which seem to go nowhere it would appear that the Government has no interest in these goings on and maybe people have just lost faith with the Systems in place here.
I plan to leave not because I don't love the place, I do, not because of health, I'm fit and well but because I find I cannot trust anybody who wears a sharp suit and shiny shoes. I can't live like that any longer.

Interesting comment.

We were subjected to the same property issues by a British developer.Our Turkish Cypriot solicitor (all suited and booted) won our case with adequate compensation and we also received our Title Deeds.

Brits ripping off Brits!

Interesting thread that pops up every now and then but always ends up with no real information available. Titled "Expat Exodus" which is eye catching but in reality non specific. There never appears to be any hard and proven facts about this now annual "Expat Exodus" and further there is never, ever any hard and proven facts or even mention of the "Expat Revival" onto the Island. We each tend to live in a 10Km circular area with the odd trip out beyond our "Home" boundary's, thus we all tend to know what we can describe as "Local Knowledge" but none of us have the "Big Picture" available to us.

I feel that we may all be very surprised if the "Big Picture" information was ever to be available, many ex pats come here and stay forever, many ex pats come for between 2 and 7 years - the 7 year point seeming to be a natural cut off for those who have had enough of the holiday life or those who never thought anything here would change. But the term "Ex Pat" on this forum appears to only apply to those who came here from the UK, why is that?

Recently the BRS asked all its members to provide information that would then be collated and used in discussions with the Ministry of Tourism, no further mention of the results has ever been notified nor any further information regarding any meetings - strangely, the week after the request was made CT published some of the Ministry's own figures themselves!

So just out of interest, a couple of questions: How many "Ex Pats" (of any Nationality) have come here to settle, purchase or rent, in the past 12 months? How many "Ex Pats" (of any Nationality) have left? The reasons for coming or/and leaving are rarely about price rises as these happen worldwide anyway, so what are the main reasons to come/leave? Lets have some figures and then we can decide if there is indeed and "Ex Pat" exodus or is it the a self perpetrated myth!!

I am happy to produce an Excel based spreadsheet - an offer I made to the BRS but received no reply - of any figures people wish to send to me at my email address. A long and boring task but happy to do it - just out of interest.

I, like the first person to post, used to think that this or subsequent Governments would care if Expats leave the country. However, now I firmly believe they don't and won't care a monkeys. The whole demographic pf the country is changing rapidly and doesn't rely on the likes of us for their living. I know we buy cars, houses, food, TV etc, etc, etc, BUT that is chicken feed to the money the Government is bringing from developers, hoteliers and the like. We have just to understand we are very small fry to them now, unlike 10-13 years ago. They don't care whether we stay or go and if we go, then a local will be able to pick up our houses and apartments, usually for far less than we paid for them, particularly if we bought as I said 10 years ago or thereabouts, when property prices were at their highest. Stay or go, they don't care and all you'll get is the TC shrug, we're not important enough to bother about.

Mountain Edge wrote: I plan to leave not because I don't love the place, I do, not because of health, I'm fit and well but because I find I cannot trust anybody who wears a sharp suit and shiny shoes. I can't live like that any longer.

Read up on land-banking before you pop back to the whiter than white UK. Scum in sharp shiny suits ripping off pensioners with lies and empty promises.

There's good and bad all over the world and the same premise applies everywhere - caveat emptor

sophie wrote:I, like the first person to post, used to think that this or subsequent Governments would care if Expats leave the country. However, now I firmly believe they don't and won't care a monkeys. The whole demographic pf the country is changing rapidly and doesn't rely on the likes of us for their living. I know we buy cars, houses, food, TV etc, etc, etc, BUT that is chicken feed to the money the Government is bringing from developers, hoteliers and the like. We have just to understand we are very small fry to them now, unlike 10-13 years ago. They don't care whether we stay or go and if we go, then a local will be able to pick up our houses and apartments, usually for far less than we paid for them, particularly if we bought as I said 10 years ago or thereabouts, when property prices were at their highest. Stay or go, they don't care and all you'll get is the TC shrug, we're not important enough to bother about.

A government won't spend much time on listening to a group that have no sway at election time..............as for caring - there's no link. The only people that care for you are your friends and family.

Hedge-fund wrote:
Read up on land-banking before you pop back to the whiter than white UK. Scum in sharp shiny suits ripping off pensioners with lies and empty promises.

There's good and bad all over the world and the same premise applies everywhere - caveat emptor

I appreciate there are bad people all over the world, sadly, but what I own in the UK I do actually own whereas here someone has turned up 10 years after purchase to try to take it off me and they are allowed to get away with it.

Ps don't worry I will do my best not to get ripped off. I have taken some wonderful phone calls telling me my computer is in danger if I don't pay someone to protect it or I am going to be taken to court for fraud, etc etc. Bring it on.

charlie wrote:selling your house there is easy if you only want 3 quid for it ! We came back to the UK 3 years ago and bills are a lot less here than there. We have a fair few mates left there that simply cannot get decent money for there properties.

What a ridiculous thing to say.

I hope there is an expat exodus going on because everywhere I go there is British people, especially in some places, its like little Britain. It's not as bad as spain but if it ever got that bad I would be moving to Turkey...

charlie wrote:selling your house there is easy if you only want 3 quid for it ! We came back to the UK 3 years ago and bills are a lot less here than there. We have a fair few mates left there that simply cannot get decent money for there properties.

Have to disagree with some of the words above. As we have no intention of selling will not comment on the house selling part, however cannot agree that bills are a lot less in the UK.

We have a reasonably sized 2 bedded place, shared pool out here. In the UK with have a 3 bedroomed semi
All utilities are cheaper here, gas, electric, water etc. The equivalent of the council tax here is peanuts compared to the UK. Car tax and insurance cheaper here, servicing and repairs a little cheaper. Internet services etc cheaper. Food shopping is cheaper ......we buy local produce, veg, salads etc. Wines, beers etc cheaper. Socialising, drinks and meals out are cheaper. Local transport cheaper. Car parking charges cheaper. Days out cheaper. We do try and frequent places the locals use and try to keep our visits to ex pat bars etc to a minimum.....maybe the odd quiz night or perphaps to see a good band.

Things that may cost a bit........Car purchase expensive for what you get, age, condition etc, but thats the local demand so bite the bullet. Yes there are the temporary extended visa costs which averags at a bottle of beer a day, so we do it. The obvious expense could be health care but pharmacy items are overall cheaper compared to UK....we dont qualify for free UK prescriptions! Doctors appts and onward consultation if required is quicker here.

We love it out here and enjoy our time in the UK but its definately still a lower cost of living here in N Cyprus.

However, we do find things more expensive across in the ROC.

wondering1 wrote:

charlie wrote:selling your house there is easy if you only want 3 quid for it ! We came back to the UK 3 years ago and bills are a lot less here than there. We have a fair few mates left there that simply cannot get decent money for there properties.

What a ridiculous thing to say.

I hope there is an expat exodus going on because everywhere I go there is British people, especially in some places, its like little Britain. It's not as bad as spain but if it ever got that bad I would be moving to Turkey...

Yes, we noticed it is like little Britain, but soon realised that most people spoke English, which helps. Don't get me wrong, my Turkish is ok ish, but when you are trying to ask a question in the tax office or bank in Turkey,, and no one speaks English, that can be quite a challenge, though by law you have to pay for a translator when going to the notary when you purchase a car or house, and as much as we loved our time living in Turkey, life is less stressful here purely because there isn't that language barrier, though I am improving on my Turkish every day in order to chat to my neighbours The problems here regarding property and rip offs are the same in Turkey, plus there is a massive problem with break ins too.