Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

I know this subject was raised earlier in the year but thought it was worth a fresh airing.

Some prices seem to be going up leaps an bounds in the supermarkets, milk and chickens to name but 2.

Wondered what others opinion was and where they think the best value is to be had. Realise it is swings and round abouts.....what is cheap in one something else is dearer............etc etc

Having just returned to UK after a fab 6th year holiday in TRNC,we were surprised how more expensive shopping has become in 2012,in fact in my opinion,for what its worth,we thought the UK was a cheaper place to live,however,one mans meat is another mans poison,so perhaps economy is in the eye of the beholder!!!!




TRNC is still a great place though

David

Depends very much on your lifestyle I think.
If you are a smoker and drinker,and eat local produce which I find very good-I think it is much cheaper here.
You need to add all the little things up - e.g. no TV licence here,low council tax .
I have lived here full time for about a year and find it cheaper-I drink (a lot) but don't smoke.
If you shop here like you do in the UK in terms of brand names it will cost you a packet.

No need to buy imported brands now...most local ones are fine!

I am finding it very much more expensive. Everytime I shop the bill seems to be a few lira more than last time. I know its partly because of the temptation of things that just werent available when I first came, but only partly and I still live very simply. It is becoming a big problem to cope on a pension and savings that do not keep up with inflation.

My main concern is the particularly rapidly expanding cost of the two things that give me most pleasure - sea swimming and my dogs. I used to be able to swim for nothing, nor just a few lira contribution to showers and changing rooms and beach cleaning, and eat a simply local meal at a reasonable price at a beach cafe. Now I am having to pay the equivalent of £3 or £4 for fancy facilities I dont want and can't afford the resteraunt prices. It is very sad because for me, and many other people swimming is very beneficial for my health, and I understood that charges for access to the beaches were restricted by the country's constition.

The cost of keeping dogs has gone up even more, particularly Vet's fees and , whereas when I first came, there was always someone willing to care for them if I went on holiday, now I cant even go out for a day because I cant leave them or afford to pay someone to check on them and let them out. Everyone seems to have jumped on the bandwagon of making money from people who care for animals. And the Government seems to keep imposing more and more costly requirements which hit responsible owners hard, and the true culprits ignore them. Encouraged I have to say , by the animal charities who, one would think, would want to help and encourage people who take animals off the street, and not make it too expensive for them. The last staw is the latest proposal to make microchipping compulsory , which is particularly galling since I understand there is no data base, so a dog's owner couldn't be traced even if it were chipped! The only benefit of microchpping without the base is to prove ownership in the case of a dispute over expensive pedigrees - why should someone who is caring for dogs because no one wanted them and they were thrown on the street be expected to pay for that!

you do not have to pay if you go on a public beach unless you use the facilities provided, I don't know where you live but there are beaches with nothing on them ie turtle beach

Just had a few days in England and had a wander around Sainsburys and find prices there are hideous!!!! Inflation is a universal issue and with "austerity measures" it must be a nightmare for some to make ends meet.

We find that we do not use one shop. Depending where we are travelling we will go to shops where we know spcific items are cheaper. eg cat food we use is cheaper at Ileli. Going anywhere towards Ercan or East Lefkosa than go to Erulku. The prices on some items are crazy compared to Lemar/Starling. eg cans of soft drinks are approx 1.50 around Girne, Erulku 1.12!!!!! I am sure if you live East of Girne then doing a weekly shop at Erulku would save you money.

Hi,
I find having a large deep freeze can save a lot of money & make the cost of living much cheaper.
We go to the Wednesday market & buy local produce which is in season. Not only is it in tip top condition you will find the price has tumbled often to 1 lira per kilo. We blanch often within the hour of purchase & put in freezer packed in meal sized portions. That way we do not have waste & it comes out in top quality.
We make great savings with our meat by going southside. Pork chops & kebabs is only 4.65 euro per kilo, beef & lamb also much cheaper & the quality is excellent. By cooking local Cypriot & Turkish recipies using local ingredients can be especially cost effective.
We find using local beans both fresh & dried can be very tasty using other ingredients to vary the taste.

Has anyone considered Bulgaria as an alternative country to live. I have properties there & find it very cheap to live there.
Houses 1/3 of the price. food less than 1/2 price. eating out 1/3 of the price. motoring very cheap, (can buy good car for £2000)
The weather is excellent with proper summers & peak temperatures not as hot as Cyprus. Cooler at night. O.k. its colder in winter but the winters are short. Abundance of wild fr uits, wonderful countryside with rivers & trout fishing. Most of the houses have wells & big land & one can become almost self sufficient. You just can not spend your money. Anyone interested I can provide a lot of inside information free of charge. Thanks Denis

Ridle wrote:
Has anyone considered Bulgaria as an alternative country to live. I have properties there & find it very cheap to live there.
Houses 1/3 of the price. food less than 1/2 price. eating out 1/3 of the price. motoring very cheap, (can buy good car for £2000)
The weather is excellent with proper summers & peak temperatures not as hot as Cyprus. Cooler at night. O.k. its colder in winter but the winters are short. Abundance of wild fr uits, wonderful countryside with rivers & trout fishing. Most of the houses have wells & big land & one can become almost self sufficient. You just can not spend your money. Anyone interested I can provide a lot of inside information free of charge. Thanks Denis

is this based on here or uk prices ?

Based on prices here in trnc

In the last 4 years prices have rocketed here. Electricity, gas and petrol especially. But also meat has become quite extortionate. Erulku is a bit cheaper but as to whether those of us living east of Girne would save by shopping there, I think you would have to buy an awful lot of cheaper items to negate the cost of the petrol to get there and back. If you happen to be over that way and shop on your way back then maybe. We don't smoke and don't drink that much either. We eat at home most of the time and rarely use convenience foods or imported, but it has certainly become harder to make ends meet, especially in the last 12 months. How the locals manage on their incomes is beyond me.

One hass to bear n mind tat living cheaply somewhere is nothe main criteria formany folk. Beingnear faily and riends, evenif it costs moe in financial terms, is what life is ll about t them. Being part of a community where one can understand and be understood. For instance Bulgaria (and I have visited a litte) the language is different, and what will one do with one's time. Being self sufficient is shades of The Good Life. I tried that in Waes and as soon as the slugs eat my cabbages, that was the end of the 'Good life'.

Yes things are more expensive here now than before. but where aren't they. I wan to go back to Australia and no doubt my people owuld likke me t! but the cot there has gone through the roof compared to whenI left.

It is really all question of you pays yor money and takes your choice'./ and you 'choice' is normally based on your personal priorities for life. I still reckcon here s cheaper than U.K with nonexhorbitant council tax or central heating bills to pay.

Choices!

Marion,

Have you considered earning extra money by doing 'stand up'?

If you simply stood and read your posts on here, it would rival Norman Collier and his 'Faulty Microphone' routine

Now that;'s a great idea. Could always do with extra money and then i can go back to oz. this b......... computer is getting red hot and that is why one gets the garbled, double consonant, missing vowels , rubbish that is churned out by my flying flingers! do you think I need a new fan? yES, I know, ' get down to the computer shop, or get some new fingers'. But when, when when. And that is why i don't have time to earn extra money doing Stand up. But maybe it is NOW time for me to change!
Suggestions on the back of a postage stamp, please!

Spellcheck?

Marions wrote:...Suggestions on the back of a postage stamp, please!

I would have thought that "Suggestions on the back of a five pound note" would be even better!

Marion,
Do you delete files in your Recycle bin? Is you computer hardrive space running low? I usually have this problem when there is too much on my computer and I need to delete old files or move file to an external hard drive, once this is done all is well.

Are we drifting from the subject

I don`t know.....and True Kibkomers too..............

LooseBoots wrote:Are we drifting from the subject...

It is a well known fact (by me, at any rate ) that any thread over a certain number of posts (and I'm not exactly sure of the number, but 18 looks sort of 'probable') has a tendency to wander off into La-La land.

This tendency becomes a near probability If Deputydawg or I have contributed.

Occasionally the thread will just meander around for a while, until someone posts something germane to the original topic, and then it will get back 'on track' - otherwise it will head off into unexplored regions (probably labelled 'here be dragons') and be forever lost to civilised discourse as we know it...

Looseboots, It's your call - Toss a coin! - It's your thread, after all...

Yes cost of living definitely gone and still going up.

Keith, I dont know about wandering into La-La Land, thought that was where Ive been living for the past 12 years !.

Looseboots. Will try and stun Keith by staying on thread and not make flippant comment. We have had for 8 years we have lived here a legal/financial interest in a UK house occupied by our daughter so can make comparisons. Wilde and I are of an age where we can no longer insure for medical cover and can make no savings when it comes to keeping ourselves warm and dry during the winter months here. We have a double brick, cavity filled, on membrane, double glazed villa but our annual bills for water, electric, gas bottles, domestic heating oil, logs, and local taxes for the last two years has exceeded like utility bills plus council tax for the 3 bedroom, detached UK property. Heating here is for approx 6 hours each evening for 4 months of the year but in UK of course 24/7 for 6 months plus per year. We have a pitiful and irregular water supply from the local Belly and pay for tankers. The price of domestic oil is ridiculous and logs for this winter appear to be 20% dearer. Household insurance and car insurance here is more expensive than UK if you compare like with like. Food prices here have been rising at an ever increasing rate. (daily ?). A swimming pool is an expensive luxury. Filled our pool for £5 eight years ago and last year, having emptied it for maintenance, paid £250 to refill it. The charming, inexpensive eateries for Cypriot food and wine are now few and far between and now many of what are termed restaurants serve junk, cafe, food, at restaurant prices, and plonk wine with massive mark ups. Thankfully TRNC still has much to enjoy but unfortunately, as in the rest of the world, quality of life is hard to maintain, not just in material things.

Good Post deputydawg !!!

Absolutely right Deputydawg. On top of all the things you have mentioned there is also the added cost of maintaining the houses here, which is far more expensive than the UK. Nothing here lasts very long, water pumps, water tanks, leaks, cracks and sun damage. Bad enough when you have to pay to correct them once on a frequent basis, but here inevitably you end up paying two or three times before someone get it right. Also you have to add on the cost of medical stuff, which is free in the UK. It is more expensive here, the only thing less expensive here is buying and renting property, although by the time you add on years of chasing and paying for title deeds, etc it's not that cheap either. Beautiful country but it's being ruined and the scenery and weather can only make up for so much. Not sure it outweighs the rest anymore. I came to live in Turkish Cyprus but feel increasingly that I'm living in an expensive down market Britain.

Funny isnt it after 10 years I have had none of the things wrong that Zarafet mentions I must have been lucky.

Well said DD and zarafet - you have expressed my feelings and most of my experiences really well - except that buying an old house, I didnt have title deeds problems - and I have never had a swimming pool and glad I am I didnt because it would be the more bitter because now I couldnt afford to maintain it!

If you stay in the same house for a number of years you are bound to get problems, maybe the answer is move on leave it for someone else.

Zarafet. Thanks for so accurately finishing what I started as I did not want to be seen as moaning about everything, and I can bang on a bit. You forgot the ever increasing cost and worry of trying to keep pets healthy and safe here ! You are so right regarding maintenance. In March, April, and May, each year our garden is beautiful but rather than enjoy it I spend those months working full tilt, painting ironwork, woodwork, replacing naff Chinese plumbing taps and fixtures etc knowing that it will be too hot in the Summer to do much then.

Deniz 1. So pleased that you have been lucky in respect of maintenance as after what you have had to bear you thoroughly deserve it.

Woodspeckie. You are not after our Villa are you ?

Don't get me started on Chinese (anything to do with water) fittings. Bearing in mind that we spend only 7-8 weeks a year at our holiday apartment, we are now on our third water pump in 7 years. We have gone for Italian this time around; not because we think it looks more stylish, you understand, merely in the hope that it may last a bit longer.

We have booked a holiday in Thailand for next March and I can't tell you what a treat it will be to (hopefully) walk into an hotel, not have to worry about whether or not we have water without Paul having to climb onto the roof and wack the pump with a hammer (that is not a euphemism, by the way) and not to have to spend the next two days clearing away dust from every surface and mopping floors, etc. Brian - agree with you about maintenance.

I also agree with the comments regarding the rising cost of living in NC and I still maintain that, like for like, it is overall cheaper to live in the UK. Having said that, we have this morning had a letter from our electricity supplier stating that they are putting up our monthly direct debit from £40.00 to £56.00 Time to shop around again, I feel.

That is almost 40% increase on the electricity ! Scary if it is accurate or does it just mean you will be in credit based on estimated council figures.

It is not really a matter of comparison (although for Brits like myself who havent been back for years it is useful and interesting and I am grateful for theinformation. ) It is whether one canaffford a decent standard of living. Who was is said income £1 outgoings l9/6result happiness. outgoings 20/6d. result misery. (If anyone can remember shilling and pence!)

We tend to forget that if our income is UK based global finance has a bearing. I keep being told Iam lucky to have an index based pension (as if I hadnt contributed and accepted a lower salary to get it) but it is Index to UK and doesnt keep up here. Also l5 years ago, the (old) TL was falling against the pound and offset the rising cost of living.

But I totally agree with Zarafet's comments about the country - it is just not the place I came to all those years ago. Its turning into a sort of Costa Brava, a haven for the rich, and with signs that the criminality associated with that are starting.

As for maintenance I dont think I am paying much more here for a l00 year old cottage than I did in UK for a brand new bungalow - just different problems!

What really upsets me though is, as I said in my earlier post, and partly confirmed by DD and Z the simple pleasures are becomingbeyond my reach - swimming, dogs (strays at that) and eating at local places.

From May to October I go swimming most mornings at Shayna beach in fact lots of us do I know we go early but we never get charged for using the sunbeds or showers as long as we leave around 9 am.

RR - that was Mr Micawber in David Copperfield!

Deniz : Unfortunately not everyone enjoys - or for various reasons can - swim before 9am, anyway isnt it too cold now? In the real heat I go to Shayna in the evenings - lovely swimming in the sunset - and they dont seem to charge then. For the last couple of weeks though it has been to chilly in the evening and the nights drawing in. But daytime it is l0 TL which I consider excessive since I dont use sunbeds and woudnt use showers except, having had to pay anyway I might as well. Btw beware - they tried to charge a friend 40TL! She refused and we reported to an English speaking waiter who said it must have been a mistake and promised to report it to the management. Diana beach also charge l0 TL but their facilities are very poor and the cafe is not only expensive but poor quality.

But the point is that , if I understand it correctly, by law they are not alllowed to charge for ACCESS to the beach, and the amount they can charge for facilities is also restricted by law, but the Belediye who licence them ignore this. Nor do they print the charges on their tickets which means one cant even check that they are charging what the B has permitted and may well enable individuals to overcharge tourists etc. and pocket the difference. Also (since the subject is cost of living) the cafes and resteraunts are now beyond the means of many ordinary people.

I am surprised that DD reckons it's more expensive to live here than UK, I draw a pension of approx £800 a month and I can live here with my wife(no earnings) in our apartment, travel to the UK at least once a year (normally twice), eat out at least once a week and still have money in my pocket. When I compare food prices with the UK meat is on a par overall, and now Tempo has it's own pork shop (where prices again compare favourably). I don't generally shop "British" opting for the cheaper local alternatives, and have adopted the local ways where meat is generally in smaller portions than UK and more veg.
When I was in UK in July I was shocked at how expensive it was to shop in my old favourite Asda store.
With UK Council tax at over £120 a month Electric £60+ a month Water £50+ a month (thats when I left over three years ago)
Here Council tax £44 a year Electric £60 a month (averaged out) water and utilities £10 month Gas £3 a month.
We wont even compare petrol, cigarettes or alcohol (I don't smoke but my wife does and we don't drink much)
I know I could not support my way of life in UK, I swim every day usually twice from April until October I enjoy walking to the shops chatting to the neighbours all of whom I know and talk to (didn't even know who my neighbours was in the UK) seeing the sun almost every day, unlike UK where it's once in a blue moon, not having to worry that it might rain or freeze. We see more of our family when they visit or we go to see them than we did when we lived in the UK.
I could not survive in the UK on my pension I would have to try and find work, because as I have a pension I am not entitled to any help, and I don't own a property there!

My situation is more or less the same as halffull except I dont go to the UK. I left 10 years ago and was struggling then to pay bills and I was working. I have a wonderful life here. Thank God or Allah.

Halffull

Many thanks for your post about cost of living in N Cyprus. We hope at some stage in the future to be able to spend more time in N Cyprus and were trying to understand how much we may need to live on per month. Whilst we do come out regularly for periods of up to 3 weeks and we can get a reasonable idea of the costs of things, it is good to have feedback from someone who is resident permanently.

The figures given for expenses seem to be close to what we expected and like you we would nearly always shop local to keep costs down. With luck it looks like my current army pension should be able to cover us....however need to keep working for a while to close down the UK mortgage!

The lifestyle is familiar to us having lived and worked on the island for 12+ years - and we believe it is great.

Thanks again for an informative posting.

Apart from food, I find that just about everything else for house and home here is, sometimes excessively so, more expensive than the UK and on the whole of much worse quality. I go to the UK regularly, and the range, quality and price of household items in the supermarkets is astounding compared with here. I get a wee bit fed up of paying through the nose here for rubbish.

What seems to be lacking here is competition between shops. I have no idea whether prices are fixed by some higher authority or by agreement between retailers, but I find that if one supermarket has a special offer on something, the others have the same. Apart from that, their prices all seem to be similar, and there is no price wars between them like there is in UK, which obviously benefit the consumer.

Concerning vet costs, some time back the Government Vet. Dept. set minimum prices on various procedures, which hiked the prices considerably and disallowed the vets to be competitive on charges. Shame, as has already been said, considering the number of homeless animals.

Until such time as there is the presence of the likes of Walmart/Tesco/Asda/Argos/B&Q etc. etc. you just won't have the competition most people crave. Notwithstanding the trade embargoes and I may be wrong but I doubt whether the sales volumes would justify their entrance in to the TRNC market. One chain that is very competitive and extremely successful all over Europe is the German group Aldi which also controls Lidl and are currently very much on an expansionary growth objective throughout the EU. Again, probably unable to trade in the TRNC.

Your right there isn't the volume of trade here to interest any of the big players, with the total population at less than a million people, so you have to accept what you have, if I need any item that is grossly overpriced here then I put it on my wish list for friends and family to bring out or bring it back myself when I go to the UK.

Hippo-Msg 37-
I have got to disagree with you on every level.
petrol is 30% cheaper
diesel is 40% cheaper
MOT test- only every 3 years and cheaper
Council tax-mine was £2000 a year in UK, now it's £300-and I get my bins emptied twice a week.
Cigarettes(I don't smoke)-70% cheaper.
beer- 100% cheaper
TV licence- No Tv Licence
Phone-I spend about £5 per month
Internet-Top quality with Multimax,paying around £20 per month, was paying £25 in the UK, but then there is the sneaky Line rental-extra £15 per month.
I could go on and on-what are you buying ?
There are a few things that you cant put a price on:-
Hoodies hanging around-the young people here smile at you and don't have hate tattooed on their heads..
I go out and leave my house open all day-I feel much safer here.
People are friendly.
The weather is great.
Like I said I could go on and on.
But If you don't like it here.....

Philoz, I couldn't have put it better myself, why should the supermarkets go into competition, how many more do you want to see close down?
As for pet food, don't have five children if you can't afford to keep them to a quality life. Yes, there are many strays, but they are animals. When God created the world, we were all strays, so to speak.

Thank you flowerfairy and philoz was trying to think of a polite response but you did it for me, can't understand these people who purport to live here then take every opportunity to knock it, kitchens and fire came to mind
The whole world has got more expensive and TRNC isn't going to be the exception, it still beats the UK.

You're welcome, I didn't move here with my family to become another little Britain, I love this Island, worts and all,
yes we have problems, but I can sleep peacefully at night,xx

oohhps, apart from the barking dogs, that aren't strays, I might add,hahahah

Have to agree with Philoz MSG 40. Add to the list car servicing, charges for workmen(plumbers, electrician etc), public transport costs, entertainment and the UK is very expensive.

Quality and choice is probably better in the UK but we all know why this is.

I have to agree that I like the TRNC as is, not perfect but that's life. Do not want Little Britain and find people who moan just a little tedious.

LooseBoots wrote:I know this subject was raised earlier in the year but thought it was worth a fresh airing.

Some prices seem to be going up leaps an bounds in the supermarkets, milk and chickens to name but 2.

Wondered what others opinion was and where they think the best value is to be had. Realise it is swings and round abouts.....what is cheap in one something else is dearer............etc etc

Just thought I would bring post one to the fore.

I was not actually comparing prices to the UK as I live here full time..........merely commenting on some price increases for food shopping.

Ref Msg 40. Concerning Mot's i would much rather they did a proper Mot like Europe it would make veh's a lot safer.

Just got back from my walk to the corner shop, lovely lady, apologised that she would be shut Thursday because of Bayram and all her family were coming round, but would be open again Friday and would have fresh bread, informed me the banks would be open tomorrow morning until 1200 then closed until Tuesday.
1 x (300gm) loaf of bread 30p .85TL
40 x cigarettes £4.50 14.00TL
1 x 1lt milk 85p 2.50TL
By the time I had got in a car and burnt all that fuel going the half mile to Tempo and back I must have made a saving

Is that the lady who has to co-sign the muhtars letter? I like that shop.

Yes, I live just up the road from there
She keeps trying to improve my Turkish by trying to teach me words
She is catering more for expat needs too, I saw heinz baked beans in there today, and if I ask her for something she hasn't got she will try to get it,
She also does tick, made me laugh, went in one day and I didn't have any small change so she told me I could put it on the book and pay another day.
Lots of locals shop on tick and square up at the end of the month