DON’T Move to Cyprus, Unless You can Handle these 6 Things!

6 reasons why you should not move to Cyprus. And one of them frustrates me so much that sometimes I'm thinking about leaving Cyprus because of it!

Obviously I'm not leaving Cyprus, but I think it's important to mention the negative things as well.

Some of the 6 things are more serious than others, let me know in the comments if there is something that I forgot or that annoys you!

Thanks for watching! :)

Connect with me on Insta: @ricardogorski
Music: Sappheiros - Falling, Sappheiros - Embrace

[AndreasZinonos]

Cypriot here born and raised, been living in London for the last 8 years so I've seen how the country has changed and can compare it to a bigger country. Though I understand your video is an attempt to get some views (and I know you have lots of positive videos about Cyprus and like living here), a lot of the stuff you say are either untrue or randomly cherrypicked and they are definitely not the main issues in the country.

Some commentary:
1. Earthquakes really don't happen that often, it's once every few years. And they're never bad enough to cause any destruction, just a short inconvenience.
2. Gun regulations do exist, and a lot of people also have assault rifles stored in their homes from the mandatory military service. However, unlike Americans, we don't actually shoot other people with them. If you look like a rabbit and are walking on the mountains during hunting season maybe be afraid yeah.
3. There's some very nice beaches around Paphos and Ayia Napa/Protaras (on the free side of the country), the worst ones are in Limassol. I've been to Bali and I found most of the beaches there worse to swim in to be honest (though definitely looked more beautiful because of nature).
4. This is true for every national of a cold country, you are not used to the temperatures we have here. Still, you know you are moving to a hot country beforehand, I don't see why it's a surprise.
5. The salaries and living costs are definitely a huge issue and the gap between them has been increasing over the last decade mostly due to rich(er) foreigners moving here and setting camp for their businesses. Especially from a particular country (*cough* Russia *cough*).
6. It's true that very often people in Cyprus are not the most professional (especially in government positions), however they are very helpful and friendly so if you do an effort to reach out you'll be sorted relatively quickly. Most importantly, because we are not a huge country you can actually talk to an actual person and not wait for any long queues, unlike big countries like in the UK. We also have very good doctors that are inexpensive (50E per visit) and you can book an appointment quickly (though the new ΓΕΣΥ system has made this worse), unlike the NHS in the UK where you have to be either dying to get some decent service or wait 3 weeks to see a clueless doctor that will give you some sugar-pills and tell you to just get some rest. If you had something bad show up in your blood test they would definitely have called you. Also I've done many blood tests and the email with results always comes through the same day or the next day, haven't had any issues.

Some actual issues in the country include:
1. Massive Corruption
2. Salaries and cost of living (like you said). 10 years ago this wasn't really an issue.
3. Bad road infrastructure that has led to insane amounts of traffic and making it impossible to find parking spots (at least in Limassol)
4. Even though people are very friendly and open, we are generally very careless about other people (eg driving without signalling, parking in the middle of the road). Also a lot of people have a very old-fashioned or backwards mentality, which in combination with (1) and (2), makes it hard for the country to evolve (since a lot of the more forward-thinking people leave to work abroad).
5. The market for buying electronics or certain other items is a bit bad - often companies sell items that came to the market 2-3 years ago in the original price, and don't have something more recent. We are up to date with phones and video game consoles though. Also expect to pay a small premium for the merchant having to ship everything over. Ordering stuff online takes ages to arrive to your house.
6. Lack of anonymity. This can be good or bad depending on what you prefer, but generally if you've been living here long enough it's hard to go out without bumping into someone you know. London is on the other extreme, where it actually almost feels like you are alone in the city.

[cemener]

I stopped watching it when you started with Earthquakes... Out of thousands of reasons, this is what you could come up with?

[chrishadjipetris]

As a Cypriot, I expected to hear a complaint about noise. I once had a German neighbor, who was complaining to me every time I would use my chainsaw, wash my car, and generally everytime I would do anything with machines and power tools

[jeffmorrison]

Germany, fast and professional? You kidding? As an American, I go nuts whenever I visit Germany with immense bureaucracy, exceptionally negative people, almost complete lack of customer service, closed Sundays, low speed internet, archaic banking, houses with no air conditioners, trains running late, etc. Germany is a joke when it comes to speed and efficiency.

[andrewwiggin]

As a cypriot living in the US I laugh at your complaints about gun control.

[AStoicMonster]

Rico i disagree with the first 4 reasons, 1) the last 20 years Cyprus had 2 or 3 earthquakes, 2) To get a hunting license you need to go to the army for 1 year (army is mandatory for every male), you need clean criminal record, and you need to pass exams (you have to know all the animals etc). 4) Clean pretty beaches are not rare, only in Famagusta area you can find more than 10 amazing beaches. The last 2 reasons i agree

[jeanettedemosthenous]

Germany is Germany and I lived there for 6 months and found the people very stiff and unwelcoming. I am English. Cyprus is Cyprus and if you don't embrace it - warts and all - then just leave.

[MrStranger]

I am Cypriot and I have also lived in Germany for six years. Cyprus has many things that you don't mention which are not nice, some are even bad. What you mention in your presentation is shallow research. Earthquakes? Really? Yes, it is perhaps easy to get a hunting gun, but it is not like everybody carries a gun to solve personal issues. Of course you will see the nicest pictures of the beaches. If I plan to visit Germany and google it, wouldn't I see nice pictures? Yes, we are very un-organised people. Yes, we procrastinate, and this is very annoying. No excuse about it. When I was living in Germany I loved how organized and disciplined Germans are. You take Germany, one of the most organized countries (used to be) as a measure to compare Cyprus. I travel a lot in Europe. Neither Germany, nor Europe is what they used to be in terms of discipline or organization. Just saying

[LISA_]

OK, I thought he was going to say something about the graffiti THAT IS EVERYWHERE or the rubbish driving , or the stray cats that all look sick or the fact that a lot of the buildings looks unfinished or just scruffy, and how many people smoke . BUT no this guy is warning that a Mediterranean island is sunny, and the beaches are crowded .

[duncananderson]

I lived in Cyprus for 4 years in Paphos. The thing I couldn’t handle was the corruption and the Cypriots and the way they treat their animals, the so called hunters would just abandon their dogs, no food or water, we rescued 3 as we were the first house they could get to.

[jacquibradley]

Gosh, I am English and a Resident here since 2006 and love Cyprus and there are always things that go wrong, but you take it to the extreme, I just laugh it off, like when my washing machine broke and the company said they would send someone on Friday, I took the day off work and no-one came, when I called I was told that they did NOT say which Friday!! I thought it was really funny. Go with the flow man, or go back to Germany!!

[andreaspavlou]

You forgot to mention that 90 - 95% of conversations between middle aged and older Cypriots always involve food. I'm half Cypriot myself and this literally DRIVES ME CRAZY. Its as if they have no other things to think about other than food. As a Cypriot this is something I'm embarrassed and ashamed about.

[codet]

"Being born in Germany I am used to getting things done fast and efficiently" piss off bro, Deutsche Bahn is almost always late, bureaucracy in most of Germany is a nightmare and some services still expect you to use fax or mail. What are you even on about ? I am not saying Cyprus is like way better but come on, Deutschland ain't much better.

[georgechristou]

lol number 6 is so true! its one of the reasons why I left Cyprus, government deparments and services so unorganized and slow drove me insane. i can imagine the frustration of a German

[tugce]

Well, i think you forgot how the life is in Germany 😂

A wifi company here will show up for their appointment but it will have to be set for 1-2 months in advance. Same goes for doctor appointment and they will NEVER call you back if your test result is fine.

[panagiotis]

This is not a serious video, this is a hilarious video. Cyprus is not paradise but is definitely a better place to live and work than Germany.

Thank you

[konstantinoskouris]

Go back to Germany maybe? I have been to Germany and people were so rude towards me! Not speaking English on purpose and much more. I believe you need to go back to Germany 👏

[AlexaOrchid]

There is zero public transport in Cyprus. That's the biggest issue for me.

[ValentinaSpirin]

earthquakes?))) are you kidding??? I have been living there for 1-3 months almost every year since 2010 and I can say its nothing in comparison to:
1) terrible rental prices in comparison to the salaries on the island
2) lack of rental properties because of its occupied by resellers, rich refugees and relocants
3) low salaries. Local business just loves to employ migrants that agree to work for 500-600 euro in terrible conditions.
4) Cosmic level of bureaucracy and its slowness. You may wait for weeks to get a super simple thing done just because of state executives are drinking frape all the day along and they dont give a huck somebody goes bankrupt because of the delay.
5) You definitely need to have native relatives or have a tons of euros to establish and develop a business there. If you are just a single xenos (allien) then nobody will talk to you. Your limit is a tourist status. Nothing more.
6) Language. You have to learn it very quickly otherwise you will be always treated as 3 grade allien who can be cheated, who will always pay triple price for the things locals are paying just a normal price.
So these are the real 6 things that could make your life hard there. But I will add that in comparison to Paris, Cyprus is a very friendly and safe place. French almost all the time play they dont speak English, even the airport staf. Cypriots will speak English because in the orient the guest should not be humiliated if its a regular tourist for example.
PS.
Also the 7th argument could be the medical care system which is terrible but its a normality in EU nowadays. As an allien you should always have a private medical assurance and 300-500 euro for an urgent visit to private clinics like Meditteranean hospital in Limassol. I've been through it couple times so I know more or less the system.

[gerassimos.fourlanos]

Once I worked for the German State on a project in Africa and I was flabbergasted that Germany could be so beaurocratic, it was like dealing with Greek beauraucats.. Often such things like efficiency and professionalism are matters of image and profiling rather than reality. In Northern Europe, and I am talking from experience again, people pay tremendous attention to petty rules and petty matters, like how you park your car, while they can miss very big things. In Sweden, if you are facing a parking from your window and see that someone is stealing a car, and you call the Police, they will decline to come, saying that this is not a priority for them and that the car owner can discuss the matter with his insurance. But if you see somebody who has parked illegally and you call the Police, they will rush.