Cheaper North Cyrpus or the South...?

mixie


Joined: 16/05/2009
Posts: 302

Message Posted:
20/06/2010 22:09

Hello all,

A friend of mine who has a property in the South says that the cost of living is much cheaper in the South than the North...and the only thing that is cheap in the North is property.......

Would you agree?

mx

Smity



Joined: 14/09/2009
Posts: 826

Message Posted:
20/06/2010 22:16

Not from what I have heard, cost in the south has risen due to the poor state of the Euro

newlad



Joined: 02/03/2008
Posts: 7819

Message Posted:
20/06/2010 22:17

Re-Mess 1 i think your friend could be mistaken,

Paul.

mixie


Joined: 16/05/2009
Posts: 302

Message Posted:
20/06/2010 22:24

Hi

He says food shopping is a lot dearer and bottles of alcohol.

I have nothing to compare it to as we only visit the North.

I admit some things are very dear here like good shampoo and cosmetics but I just bring over from the UK and I am happy with the cost of everything else.

mx

rowlo



Joined: 12/10/2008
Posts: 4796

Message Posted:
20/06/2010 22:30

msg1, your friend has property in the south , have they been north? how would they know ?c ome and see for yourself

mixie


Joined: 16/05/2009
Posts: 302

Message Posted:
20/06/2010 22:37

Rowlo,

They have and I wouldn't post on here what their opinion was..... They stayed at a 5 star hotel and they did nothing but complain about things.

I think liking North Cyprus is a mark of a true individual. I like it because it is not too over commercialised and the people are generally very nice...... natives and brits.

The sun shines the same in the North as in the South but we have the benefit of really spectacular scenery and great food.

i can't think of anything better

Mx

stilluvithere



Joined: 03/12/2008
Posts: 765

Message Posted:
20/06/2010 22:45

without a doubt meat is by far cheaper in the south, beef mince 5 euros, obviously pork but apart from that it ai very much swings and roundabouts

mixie


Joined: 16/05/2009
Posts: 302

Message Posted:
20/06/2010 22:49

Yeah, sometimes i think that it is actually the currency that can through people off. it does sound a lot when you are asked for anything in TL but when you have converted it ...it's usually not that bad but I do agree with the meat thing. It is very expensive.

North Cyprus must be a paradise for vegetarians

Mx

rowlo



Joined: 12/10/2008
Posts: 4796

Message Posted:
20/06/2010 23:14

and property hunters , bet youre friends wish they had bought north side ?

mixie


Joined: 16/05/2009
Posts: 302

Message Posted:
20/06/2010 23:24

They never would admit to that.... they have been trying to sell their place for years with no luck because the market in the South is over saturated. I actually feel quite sorry for them because when you make a decision to leave a place you want to go and go quick , don't you.

I know its difficult to sell here but things do sell

Mx

mikki09


Joined: 17/10/2009
Posts: 129

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 00:01

We lived in the North and we found eveything from food and bills very expensive. We are now living in the South can't believe how much cheaper it is. Food, water, electric etc.

rowlo



Joined: 12/10/2008
Posts: 4796

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 00:08

is this why the greeks are demonstrating msg 11 , because its so cheap in the south ? i think not ,

mikki09


Joined: 17/10/2009
Posts: 129

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 00:10

Well we have lived in North and South and there is certainly a difference and having experienced this recently I am sure I can tell the difference.

Bradus


Joined: 25/02/2007
Posts: 2641

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 00:52

Swings and roundabouts,



Furniture is certainly cheaper in South. Food stuff and clothes also cheaper. Eating out in South more expensive and booze comparative in the supermarkets but much more expensive in the bars of the south.



Transport cheaper in South as better infrastructure and more widely available.



Houses much cheaper in the North for very obvious reasons.

mikki09


Joined: 17/10/2009
Posts: 129

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 01:00

We would not buy anyway. But to rent is very cheap and you get alot for your money. And we go out to the bars and restaurants quite alot and we certainly pay alot less in the South. But I suppose everybody has there own ideas of what is cheap and what is expensive. All I am saying in answer to the post was everything that we buy and do in the South is alot cheaper.

fiendishpaul


Joined: 18/05/2008
Posts: 1720

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 07:54

Mikki



"But to rent is very cheap and you get alot for your money".



You are obviously not renting in Nicosia !! We rent in the North and to rent the same property in the South would cost us at least three times what we are paying here. I would agree that food shopping is ia case of 'swings and roundabouts', some things are cheaper in the South and others are cheaper in the North. We have friends in the South who we go out with on a regular basis and we find that the prices in the South tend to be much higher than in the North - unless of course you are just going to the kebab shop on the c orner.



I am no apologist for either the North or South, having spent a couple of years living either side of the Green Line but I think that your statement that "everything that we buy and do in the South is alot cheaper" needs qualification - what exactly do you buy ????



Regards



Paul

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 07:59

Apart from meat (which you are not allowed to bring over the border anyway) and cereals we find the south very expensive on the whole.



It used to be cheaper on some items border-line on others but now it's much more expensive in the south for the majority of items. Ever since the Euro came in the prices have shot up.



Mikki, We find eating out in the south is often nearing twice as expensive for a similar meal... are you sure you are doing your arithmetic correctly? Give us an example... say for souvlaki with full meze... in a lovely country restaurant with views etc. i.e. not some back street cafe with only traffic to view.... We would expect to pay 25TL for this at the Buffavento Restaurant.

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 08:08

We buy our filtre coffee, clothes & shoes in the South - also pork products - they're definitely much cheaper. Booze used to be - but not any more, unless it's real gut-rot plonk.

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 08:18

The outrageous mark-up on clothing in Debenhams etc. in the south almost makes a trip back to the UK to buy clothes worthwhile...



There are some bargains to be had in the south in places like Carrefour but it's not enough to declare the whole place cheaper than the north...

mikki09


Joined: 17/10/2009
Posts: 129

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 09:08

We shop at the main supermarket here and we get bags and bags for our money. In the North we used to spend 100L with just 3 bags. We buy furniture from here clothes are cheap here and of course the shops that are here that are in England will be a litle more expensive because they have to import them. But there are plently of other shops here. We live in Larnaca and the rent for a large 3 bed house with garden and pool is alot cheaper than what we paid for in the North for the same thing.



We go to lovely restaurants and bars all over in the South they are lovely not just back street places. It does not matter what I say anyway you will only beleive if you live here as so many people in the North have such a downer on the South anyway. Which is so sad I think. I have answered this post as to what I think I am not getting into a row as many people like to do on here.

fiendishpaul


Joined: 18/05/2008
Posts: 1720

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 10:05

Mikki



I don't know when you last shopped in the North, but prices are much, much cheaper than they were 2 years ago.



As for property rentals, see attached link



http://www.findaproperty.com/searchresults.aspx?edid=09&salerent=1&areaid=3439&prt=1&bedrooms=03



If these rental properties are cheaper than the North, then I am a chinaman !!



Not looking for an argument, but we shop both North and South every week and therefore I think I am in a good position to comment accurately. Maybe you should come over and just visit a couple of the supermarkets, you may be pleasantly suprised.



Regards



Paul

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 10:30

Go on Mikki, give us an example (the name of the place would be good so we can try it out) a full meze and kebab for 25TL... see if you can give us one for 12 or 13 Euros...



I've shown you mine...(Buffavento) now you show me... etc. etc.

nostradamus


Joined: 15/04/2008
Posts: 557

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 16:32

We used to do quite a lot of shopping in the south up until about a couple of years ago. Apart from pork and a very few items that we can't get here, we no longer shop there as the prices are ridiculous in the main supermarkets. Greek Cypriot friends complain incessantly about the high costs and a lot of them come over to the north now - even for petrol. The most astonishing thing is that I have bought GC dairy products here in the north for half the price of the identical items in Carrefour. A considerable amount of profiteering by the GC supermarkets these days me thinks! As a regular visitor to Limassol, neither hotels nor restaurants are cheap there, in fact, in the main they're a complete rip off.

swannee7


Joined: 21/08/2009
Posts: 394

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 18:37

The sad fact seems to be that life in general is now too expensive in the south for everyone. A tourist friend has just returned from Paphos (was also there last September) and told us - "Paphos is now very quiet, much worse than when we were there last year. Many more businesses closed/up for sale and restaurants very empty. A huge change in the past couple of years." With so many local businesses going to the wall as tourist numbers sink ever lower, the pressure on everyone to try and earn a living must be enormous. Price mark-ups are inevitable unfortunately. If more trade agreements can be sanctioned for TRNC, prices should drop again. Meantime, they're holding up pretty well against the south of the island while not being over- costly.

mikki09


Joined: 17/10/2009
Posts: 129

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 20:42

OMG



I don't need to come over and shop in the North a couple of times to see how cheap (expensive) it is . I left there 3 months ago after living there for a year so I know.



But like I said I suppose some people have differences of what is cheap and what is expensive. You know people that say the South is expensive, and I know a lot of people that live here that think it is very cheap.



Just posting a reply to someone can't believe how everyone is still going on about it to prove that they know better and are the only people that have lived in North, South but oh yes I forgot this is Cyprus44.

rowlo



Joined: 12/10/2008
Posts: 4796

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 21:20

msg25 , yes this is cyprus44 , are you on the wrong board mate ?

proger1



Joined: 18/04/2009
Posts: 2919

Message Posted:
22/06/2010 06:58

mikki09, I think it is the fact that everyone else has said that it is fairly balanced, some things are cheaper and some things are more expensive on either side, bear in mind the exchange rate over the last year compared to the pound the TL has been worth more and the Euro has not. You however are pretty much claiming the south is cheaper for everything. In a nutshell it makes you come across as very much south Cyprus biased and that really isn't a popular thing on this board.

In my experience, the majority of people I know still compare the prices in the north to UK prices or for major items, the prices on the internet and if they seem expensive then a trip to the south might be worth while but not always.

I personally think that anything that it is not a basic requirement can wait until I am abroad and buy it there, not that it helps in this posts question but I suppose I think it is expensive both north and south.



Paul

girne


Joined: 14/01/2009
Posts: 438

Message Posted:
22/06/2010 09:07

North defo cheaper. ,

We have been here now for 5 years and it has got cheaper.!!!

The south was once cheaper when it was Cyprus Pound but now in the Euro no is my answer.