MarsdenCuckoodid you keep your posting

[steveinnortherncyprus]

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From: SteveinNorthernCyprus1 (Original Message) Sent: 15/08/2006 12:57

Chris, By any chance did you keep your excellent posting on your move
South, if so would you please re post or email them to me and I will
put them on the side panel.
Steve.

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From: MarkVPiazza Sent: 15/08/2006 14:40
Hi Steve,

I've been looking round the web and managed to find this cached copy -
tried several search engines but only http://search.msn.com found it
(from 10/8). Should be good for any other stuff required.

All the best to all

Mark

Moving North to South

By Christine.

MarsdenCuckoo

Background Info:
We have a house in the North on the market for sale - not selling so we
decided to rent it out and have rented out a smaller house in the North
and a small flat in Larnaca. 'Best of both worlds' - least that's what
we think.

Initially, our reason for moving South was to take advantage of the
Double Taxation Treaty - we tried and tried to get the taxman in the UK
to class TRNC as 'Cyprus' but to no avail. In the end, we decided, our
only route to click into the lower taxation system was to have an
official base in the South. To be frank, we did not expect to like it
so we were pleasantly surprised to find that we do!

Property:
To buy is more expensive in the S; but to rent - lots of availability
and cheaper than N. 1-bed flats start from CY£170 per month; 2-beds
£200/250; 3-beds £300 + of course monthly maintenance of £10/20

Our little flat is brand new, double-glazed (tinted glass - obvious
advantage in the Cyprus sunshine), fitted wards, air-con (altho not
really needed - bit cooler down here... strange but true), under-cover
parking, ground floor storage, lift, lounge/diner with a little kitchen
off - nice wooden units (wards/kitchen/doors/curtain pelmets all match)
- elec oven/halogen hob (power cuts not partic a prob down here - 1 in
4 months) and the supply (if the yorks puds are anything to go by) is
obviously nearer to the 220/240v rather than the 180v (typically) we
were getting in Lapta. It's the little things that are different:
pop-up plugs; normal showers with decent pressure so they're more like
'power showers' - the one in the little house we're renting in the N
doesn't even have enough pressure to rise up to the showerhead!
There's even a water tap on the outside balcony and drain holes (2)
strategically positioned so the water drains away - ok not all of it,
but it tends to go in that general direction!

Estate Agents:
Tried a few - some worse than useless but 'Capital Growth' were
brilliant. Gave them a list of our requirements and within a few hours
they had 12+ properties for us to view. 2nd viewing the following day;
done deal. They did the contracts, obviously, and then even took us to
the elec bd and water authorities to change the a/cs over - no charge
to us - they even paid any o/s balances to ensure we started off with a
totally clean sheet. Certainly made it very easy to rent here -
totally different to my experience when trying to find a rental in the
N (same budget). In fact, I gave up the ghost and organised my own -
remembered some friends with a house that had been empty for some time!

Bank/Exchanges:
Exchanges here, generally, offer a better rate than the banks and with
no commission so def the place to go. As luck would have it, we
wandered into one just off the beach... very friendly lady (if anyone
knows the Town Hall in Larnaca then she's next door but one going away
from the sea).... as soon as she found out we 'lived here' she told us
the rate posted outside on the board was the tourist rate. She gave us
a slightly better rate and has continued to do so. On the other hand,
the exchange on the sea front (posts up the same rate) will reduce the
rate if you change less than £100 - be warned... horses for courses.
What we hadn't realised... until I asked for some guidance to learn a
few words in Greek.... was that our favourite 'exchange lady' is
actually a Turkish Cypriot - lives v close to Pyle and travels into
Larnaca every day. (Needless to say, we have a bit of a conversation
in Turkish whenever we go to see her now.)

Armed with that knowledge, we changed our Sterling into CY£ before
going to the Bank of Cyprus to open a new a/c. Because we turned up
with cash, we were actually made to feel a little like drug runners (or
something equally as nasty). She asked where we'd changed our money,
etc. etc. Anyway, we ignored and continued re. opening 2 a/cs - CY£
and Stlg. (Seemed a good idea at the time.) After handing over a
certain amount of cash and going through all sorts of rigmorole, we
were 'despatched' with a business-type card with 2 a/c nos written on
in biro. No receipt, nothing. Knowing that Immigration required proof
of a bank a/c, I asked for a statement or at least a receipt. Had to
go to across to another counter and after queueing again... was finally
issued with a receipt - and told there'd be a charge of £2 for each
statement but they'd "charge me next time"...... The receipt, was for
approx. £3 less than the monies I'd deposited.... Queried....
'handling charge'...

Had a few more probs with this bank so, after talking to some local
Brits, decided to change banks. Closed Stlg a/c - and lost a further
£5 or so - they changed the Stlg to CY£ then back again with all the
respective charges!!

Now bank with Hellenic Bank - very similar to UK banking 20 years ago;
small charges for almost everything: £1 per month for a/c maintenance;
£5 for a cheque book (50 cheques); £3.10 per external standing order;
direct debits to utilities are, however, free after the initial set-up
charge (can't remember how much but only a small charge - well worth
paying, knowing that any bill that arrives on your doorstep is
automatically paid and precludes any queueing).

Incidentally, water bills in the S are quarterly, electric bills every
2 months, telephone bills every month.

Immigration:

Once we'd found our flat (took all of 24 hrs) then I popped along to
Immigration to find out how they viewed our coming down from the North.

Called in on spec to see what they preferred us to do.... told them
straight away that we had moved from UK to TRNC but were now moving
down to Larnaca. I even asked if we needed to fly out and fly back
into the South. Their reaction was "Why? You're here now... don't you
like it?.... why bother flying out and back in?" So, enough said....
they gave me a list of what is required for your temp residency in the
S. (Should apply within 3 months of arriving in Cypus - fully expected
a few probs when it came to the crunch... but... wrong!)

Can track back for exact details if anyone wants to know but seem to
recall, generally, the obvious: copy of passports, purchase/rental
agreement, letter from bank confirming you have an a/c, confirmation of
medical insurance (£130 pp - arranged via the bank - strange,eh?
Think maybe the EHIC card now suffices but not sure. The ins. seems a
good idea in any event), photos, fee (£25 per person). One form per
couple/family to complete (which they complete whatever yr not sure of)
and your temp residency visa passbook is issued there and then (says
it's valid - quote: "for ever") but they tell you to expect a letter
from Nicosia, once processed, advising how long yr visa is valid for
(3/4/5 years are the options quoted).
We'd actually forgotten to get the letter from the bank when we went to
apply (bit of a wait - take a book - hey this is Cypruuuus) but they
gave us our 'number' (sound familiar), which ensured we'd be processed
that day. We dashed back to the bank, went back and whole thing took
approx. an hour.

Got to admit, Lemtich, we did not actually get into details of whether
we rented or 'owned' in the N - didn't see much point in disturbing
sleeping dogs.

Will say, however, that the immigration process in the S (I do actually
wonder why we need it if they're in Europe and we're EU citizens?) is -
sorry guys - much easier than in the North. Only one place to go to,
no medical required and cheaper!!!

The only point when we felt a little nervous was when it came to
completing the form 'when did you arrive in Cyprus?'. As before, (diff
Immigration Officer) we explained we had first arrived into the North a
few years before. She queried, did we fly into Larnaca... we answered
'no, via Ercan'.... she picked up the phone.... lots of gabbling... my
husband and I took a deep breath wondering what we were in for.... she
wrote something on our application. I queried (I'm nosey like that)
and she explained she had to check the Greek equivalent for 'Ercan' -
no probs at all - YES!! Actually she did try and teach me a little
Greek; tried to remember it but... memory like a sieve me.... must be
my age!.

Customs:

Having found our flat, we wanted to bring some of our furniture down
from the N to S (also in the interests of keeping costs to a min).

I queried with both (TC/GC) Customs officials on the border/green line.

First reaction from the GC side was that I needed to get a form from
the TC side, on which I needed to itemise the goods and then get the
list 'approved by the Government'. They showed me the relevant form,
which I seem to recall required details of where I bought the goods in
the North. I pointed out that the goods I wanted to bring across had
actually emanated in the UK (actually a few antiques from other places
as well, which were cherished family items) but basically pointed out
we'd imported them a few years before from the UK. Bit of confusion -
best suggestion was to itemise everything and write (a nice letter) to
the Director of Customs so, accordingly, I wrote to the DoC on both
sides - being v careful not to confuse the two letters. The GC side
did advise me not to mention the TRNC and encouraged me that 'illegally
occupied territories of the North' would be 'good'. With 2 letters in
hand, suitably constructed, I went to Metehan.... TC Customs official's
only reaction was "Do these goods belong to you?" 'Yes' was my
reply... "then no problem" was their verbal comment - no
stamp/confirmation/nothing....

I queried with the GC Customs at Kermia, who had no knowledge. They
did, however, give me a telephone no to ring. Followed up, to be
advised by a gentleman (maybe the Director - not sure) that he'd been
trying to ring me.... bit of a problem as - quote: "no legislation" to
cover bringing EU goods in from an 'illegal port'. He said there'd be
a meeting next week... maybe he'd know more after that. Rang again per
his suggestion... no news... followed up again.... still no news. I
suggested maybe a meeting would be a good idea? The lady agreed and
asked when I'd like to come? Tomorrow? Yes? 9am? (I suggested 11 am
- don't really 'do' mornings!) Following day, hardest bit was finding
their offices. They were very hospitable and we never actually got
down to discussing anything... had a bit of a chat and a second lady
just asked for confirmation of what we wanted to bring across, when and
where. We agreed a one hour time slot and no probs at all. If fact
for a few visits after then, whenever I went across I took a few more
bits (personal possessions) - usually laden to the gills - got used to
being asked to turn into the car park area. O one occasion when I
mentioned that I was moving down, they called for another officer - he
said my name.... I confirmed... he said, no probs - no search.

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From: MarsdenCuckoo Sent: 15/08/2006 15:13
Sorry no... don't think I'm doing too well this year - have lost all
my tel nos (SIM card blocked); everything off my laptop (hardrive had
to be reformatted and I'd not backed up) and this one as well. They
say things come in threes.... hopefully that's me now done with losing
things for a while...

Christine

PS: Will work on jigging something up if you like. Or maybe I could
get MSN to retrieve? What do you think - any chance?

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From: susie-woo Sent: 15/08/2006 15:25
Hi
I thought Christinesposting was really informative so I copied, pasted
and printed a hard copy. That's not much use however unless you feel
like re-tying it ( and its very long !)
I could probably scan it for you though if noone else can help?

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From: SteveinNorthernCyprus1 Sent: 15/08/2006 15:35
Chris,
Its a NO NO with MSN have they ever helped anyone, your Luck will
change !!!.
Thanks Mark for the copy that's the one that was saved on the left hand
side panel I will put it back there where it will stay.
Thanks
Steve.

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From: MarsdenCuckoo Sent: 15/08/2006 22:47
Thank you Mark (and Susiewoo) - technology at its best, eh? (Actually,
thought I might as well save it now - ok I know a bit like closing the
gate when the horse has bolted but.... better late than never.... only
to find that when I went to save it as a text file it was already
there!!! I amaze myself at times - don't remember doing it at all -
maybe an 'age thing'!!)

Steve, thanks for the good karma - you were quite right - I did try and
email MSN for their help but they wouldn't even accept the email (or
maybe I was doing something wrong... don't envy you the manager's job -
keep up the good work!)

Christine

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From: elko123456 Sent: 18/08/2006 12:45
Christine,
Now you got me confused my brunette friend :))
Are you in the north or in the south or somewhere else in a cuckcoo
land as your name suggests??
ismet