comparisons, north side Turkish, south side Greek

[thornaby]

We go south not very often
Tend to compare the two sides.
North, probably more litter with drivers that on the whole are crazy.
South, not so much litter on the streets but litter on the walls in the form of graffity.
Its every where.
Drivers in the south probably better then those in the north.
But what sets the two apart are the people.
South side, why don't they smile or laugh?
I make a massive effort to have a laugh with people.
Our friends in the south, on the whole look at me as if I am a idiot.
Why are they so miserable?
The Turkish Cypriot people are so warm and friendly.
When asked by friends as to why I bought in northern Cyprus, my reply is always look at the people.

[ttoli]

And the south is the only place that I feel the need to lock my car !

[Deniz1]

[brian24001]

Why are they so miserable?

If you had been told by your politicians that after joining the EU you would all be millionaires only to be subjected to massive inflation with the adoption of the Euro, suffered massive property inflation only to end up with a lifetime of negative equity, never received your title deeds, been declared as a nation as bankrupt losers that lied about your countries economy and debt, had most of your lifetime savings taken from you if you banked with BoC or Laiki but none of your debt with either equally removed, and to top it off staring eternal permanent division of an island you were duped into believing you would own all of, wouldn't you feel a little miffed?

[waddo]

Brian, guess the people in the North are so happy because they are loved by the whole world and have always, always had such an easy life?

[sophie]

Went down south twice in two weeks recently (of necessity) - first time for 18 months or more.

1. Grafitti everywhere in the South (not sure which is worse - that or the filth on the roads here)
2. We received beaming smiles from shop and supermarket staff in the South - but then I realised they where mostly Foreigners, not Greek Cypriots.
3. Drivers down south just as impatient if not worse. At one of the major roundabouts we were cut up in a very dangerous manner (? Northern number plate)
4. At a major crossroads the drivers to our RHS were inching their way forward when the lights were still on No.10 and we were being hooted at continually by traffic to our rear because we were not prepared to do the same.

I realise we shouldn't generalise but I have to agree that when I looked around The Venue (Debenhams) at lunch time they did appear to be a miserable bunch,

[waddo]

Never mind the rubbish on the roads here and compare it with the South roads, just get off the roads and walk the back streets in the South and then compare rubbish tips and types of rubbish. Would rather have the clean rubbish of the North to the sharp needle rubbish of the south.

[frontalman]

They suffer from institutional victim complex in the South. Along with their Greek cousins they are the babies of Europe, take responsibilty for nothing and try to blame everybody else for their problems. The reason they look so miserable is that they are all about to have their homes and cars repossessed, and bloody good job!

[rosiesmidge]

Not feeling the love for the south here much !!!!

[sophie]

Four good things.

1. Debenhams
2. M and S
3. For skiers, the Troodos Mountains in Winter.
4. Specsavers

Can't think of anything else.

[rosiesmidge]

Don't Forget Larnaca Airport and Ikea

[PapaBravo]

Where is Specsavers, please?

[sophie]

Well, unless they have moved because I haven't been there for a year, they are near the top LHS of the road that runs up from the pedestrian crossing in the old town (my mind has suddenly gone blank and I can't remember the name of the street).

Don't use Larnaca and don't like Ikea, hence they weren't on my list.

[PapaBravo]

Thanks Sophie, but that is too vague and I haven't a clue where you mean! Anyone else got better directions to Specsavers?

[Bethany]

They have Lidl's too and more choice for food than this side. However, they do appear to be arrogant, rude and miserable.
Love going over for the day just to be back to shops we are familiar with and to be left alone to wander around looking at stuff. here, the shop assistants follow you about like monkeys on your back, awful.

[elizabeth]

I can only speak as I find but the shops on the South that I use have very pleasant staff, especially in Leroy Merlin, in some cases far more pleasant than some on this side.

[Lottidotti]

I often wonder why some people move to the North.

[woodspeckie]

I was wondering that too. I only holiday there but I love to go to the market to get fresh fruit and I could live on the lovely fresh veg alone.

[elizabeth]

I was wondering that too. I only holiday there but I love to go to the market to get fresh fruit and I could live on the lovely fresh veg alone.

I'm glad you enjoy your shopping trips when you're here on holiday, we live here full time and love the place, that's why we live on the North, but now and then it's nice to go somewhere different either for shopping or leisure trips. That doesn't mean we would want to live there though.

[dippersgirl]

We don't go to the South often, our friends there, want to come here more.
Its fun to shop somewhere completely different, but I can live without it. Loved travelling around and would like to spend some time in the Troodos.
When our friends gave us a whirlwind tour of the Troodos in their South reg car, we decided to stop at a little village shop to buy some bread. I smiled and used my very few Greek words, but I wish I had not bothered, totally unfriendly!!! The bread was crap too!!!
Makes us wonder if its wise to go and stay up there with a passport with a North temporary visitors visa in it. Had no problem in Paphos, but the it was a large, 'Hotel Ibis' Euro type place.

[thornaby]

If the staff of Leroy merlin are friendly then they should give some customer training to the d.I.y. nearby, super homes.
What a miserable lot.
I am a big believer in service with a smile. And if I show someone a smile its good manners to get one back!
Both me and my wife were taken aback when a young women at the check out in Alpha Mega did actually smile back and wished us a nice day.
My wife beat me to it by saying she can't be Greek.
Read somewhere that it takes less effort to smile then scowl.
If true it seems that our friends in the south are wasting a lot of energy

[elizabeth]

If the staff of Leroy merlin are friendly then they should give some customer training to the d.I.y. nearby, super homes.
What a miserable lot.
I am a big believer in service with a smile. And if I show someone a smile its good manners to get one back!
Both me and my wife were taken aback when a young women at the check out in Alpha Mega did actually smile back and wished us a nice day.
My wife beat me to it by saying she can't be Greek.
Read somewhere that it takes less effort to smile then scowl.
If true it seems that our friends in the south are wasting a lot of energy

The staff in Pop Life, just round the corner from Leroy, are always friendly, helpful and pleasant, even to the point of helping to load the car and directing you out of the parking slot, perhaps it's just the luck of the draw or which way the wind is blowing, same as most of us I guess.

Slightly off topic, can I ask why, when someone says anything positive about the South, do other people jump up and ask why we bother living on the North, I fail to see the logic in it.