A Matter of Choice

This week sees our 13th anniversary of our move to Cyprus. On 26th November 2009 we ran through Gatwick airport desperately trying not to miss our flight to Larnaca with 3 suitcases, 3 cabin cases, a pushchair and car seat, and of course a slightly confused 6 month old Leo!  Strangely on the 26th November this year I will be flying back to Gatwick for a week's visit for the first time in almost 10 years. (With less baggage, no baby and hopefully not running late this time!) 2019 was an obvious milestone for us, and I wrote about it in my "10 years in Cyprus" post so I will try not to repeat myself by reminiscing on our time here. The last couple of years have been lacking in visitors or major events apart from the obvious so I've not got too much more to add so far.  You can also read the story of our move here "Let's move to Cyprus"  written as we approached our 5th Cyprus anniversary, in which Aaron first brought up the idea of moving whilst we were w...

This month we will have lived in Cyprus 5 years, it's not that long in the scheme of things but it feels like a lifetime ago now that I was living in England and would have once dismissed the whole idea of moving here as just a ridiculous dream. I've been blogging only slightly longer than the time I've lived here, having started the blog with the idea of recording the move. Back in the early days I posted short posts and I've often regretted not elaborating on how it all came about.  I'd only written 2 posts before we actually left the UK and then was left without internet for 3 months while CYTA attempted to locate our apartment on the map. I'd never been to Cyprus before we thought about moving here, and I suppose that makes it a slightly strange thing to do. I touched on how it all came about in my very first blog post but I didn't consider myself a 'blogger' then and I don't feel like I really captured the story, so I thought I'd pl...

Recently I was asked to contribute to the HiFX Expat page , which offers advice to those looking to move abroad. After contributing to their campaign, I realised that I have lots of useful information which I could offer future expats and my favourite... Let your new country become your home. People always say that 'Home is where the heart is', this has never been truer than when moving abroad, because if you still consider England to be your home, then that is where your heart will be. The day we arrived in Cyprus back in 2009 was the day it became our home, from the moment we stepped off the plane we made the conscious decision not to refer to England as 'home'. I figured that every time I thought of it as home I would feel like I didn't belong here and for me at least I didn't think I would be able to settle well if that was the case. I've met many expats who still refer to England as home even after many years here, they go back 'home...

You may have realised, especially if you know me in real life and have been on the receiving end of my often endless emails, texts and phone calls that I like to get people together. Parties, picnics, play dates you name it I've tried to arrange it! Why?  Because it's all about friendship, and when I was asked my best piece of advice for an expat, making friends was my reply. When you decide to live in another country for no apparent reason other than ‘because you can’ there are obviously lots of things to consider but there is one very important thing you need to do, it’s not deciding where to live, getting a job or learning the language although these are very good things to have on your ‘to do list’. The most important thing and my biggest piece of advice is to make friends. When you arrive in an unfamiliar place, in country where you don’t speak the main language, when you don’t know how to make a doctors appointment or how to get your car taxed, when you do...

You may have noticed that Cyprus has been making the world news recently which is very unusual for our little island. You may have also noticed that I've not commented on the situation at all, something which is unusual for a blogger! The reason for this is simple,  I basically have no idea what is going on, and certainly don't know enough about the situation to explain it or even comment on it publicly. There are many many sites out there with stories on the crisis - so if you want the actual facts then google is your friend, just don't expect to hear simple and correct information. I've never heard so many rumours and scaremongering in my life, I appreciate the island is in huge difficulties and it's a serious situation affecting thousands of people and as yet no one really knows how it all will pan out but from reading some of the news reports you'd think the world was actually ending right now! Since the announcement last week that there would be a lev...

It was our three year anniversary of moving to Cyprus on 24th November. Many people have said they can't believe its been that long and although in some ways it seems hard to believe I feel like we've been here forever.  It feels like a lifetime ago that we lived in the UK.  My parents have UK tv channels and it seems 'foreign' to me to see adverts in English or watch the local Kent or London news. I'm vaguely interested at times but it just doesn't feel relevant to me any more. It may seem a long time ago but I remember our first couple of days so clearly.  Our shipping was due to arrive about a week after we did so we had huge problems in packing our final suitcases.  Although our apartment came furnished we had nothing except the basics and we also needed a cot, steriliser and various other baby paraphernalia. We had brought Leo a seat on the plane even though at 6 months he could have gone on our laps, but at £35 a ticket it was wor...

Three years ago  Aaron, Leo and I left the county we used to call home with 3 suitcases, 3 bags, a buggy and  a car seat. We arrived in Cyprus on a sunny November afternoon after almost missing our flight   (Thanks to too much packing and repacking of suitcases and negotiating the M25 in the rain!) Most of our belongings had left the UK about 6 weeks before and we didn't know how long it would be before they arrived. It turned out to be the following day which was handy as Leo was still on bottles and the Steriliser was in the shipping, along with his cot, all his toys and most of his clothes. It also meant he only had to spend one night like this... (I've used this photo before but it's a great one!) and it meant that our apartment only looked like this for less than 24 hours... The early days were very strange, Leo was brilliant and for probably the only time in his life so far was very chilled out. The day the shipping arrived he slept, ate and laid happi...

We timed our move to Cyprus well, in that Leo was only 6 months old so he didn't have any concept of the fact we were going to live in a new country but I've often thought how hard it must be for children who are old enough to understand.  This guest post covers some of the things to bear in mind for those moving with older children.  Moving Abroad With Kids - Planning and Preparation Moving abroad can be a challenging experience in itself, but it becomes even more difficult when kids are involved. Careful planning and preparing your kids for moving abroad are two essential steps that will ensure a positive and rewarding experience for the entire family. Kids feel safe at home, as this is the place where all their friends and family are. When breaking the news that the family will be moving abroad, you’re likely to get a range of responses. These generally depend on the age of your kids and they can vary from reluctance to excitement – and these might change ove...

Today you can find me over at VegemiteVix - a brilliant blog written by an expat Kiwi living in the UK. She is running a new series of guest posts called 'Moving Stories' I'll let her explain in her own words... I've  decided to start a new series here on the blog, called Moving Stories. In it I’m going to feature interviews with some of my favourite expats, and I’m going to share a series of posts on how to Move Worlds Without Losing Your Mind. Keep an eye out for it if expat life could be in your future, or if you just want to dream about the possibilities. To see my story, and others in the series pop ove r to VegemiteVix.com

My least favourite thing about living in Cyprus is the fact that I generally have no idea what I am doing most of the time when it comes to the 'official' stuff.  I realise this is partly my fault and if I could speak some useful Greek (rather than the random things I have learnt so far) then life would be much easier, but as yet my Greek is so limited I cannot hold any kind of helpful conversation and I'm constantly trying to figure out what the hell is going on! I have spent many many hours on line trying to find concise information on everything from becoming residents, getting medical cards, tax rebate and most recently how, when and where to enrol Leo into school.  Although over the last couple of years I've used many websites I have yet to find one with all the answers, this is probably due to the fact no-one knows all the answers as I have a sneaky suspicion they frequently change! Using a combination of websites and experiences of fri...

Today is our 'Cyprus Anniversary', we have now been in Cyprus 2 years!   Last year I looked at the difference a year makes  and how much it felt like home.  It wasn't the easiest of years and I had always been looking forward to this second year, actually in some ways this year has been even harder due to Aaron losing his job and money being somewhat tight but in terms of feeling like home this year has been an improvement. My parents moved out in March and now it seems like they've always been here, it seems like I've known my friends here forever and now I've even got a job!   Aaron is now on the committee for the Famagusta Eightball Pool Championships as Vice Chairman and is Captain of his team 'All the Kings Men' who play for the King's Sword Pub in Agia Napa.  Aaron has been playing pool for years but this is the first time he's been Captain! I'm now writing for Daxi, a local magazine and also enjoy getting involved with the...

One of the advantages of being an expat Mum in Cyprus is when you meet other British Mums with similar age children you immediately have at least two things in common. This can be very helpful when making new friends in a new country. Some people you just click with and it seems like you've known each other for years. Of course, there is an equal disadvantage to making friends abroad, the fact that circumstances can arise which makes it necessary for them to leave. My friend Michelle leaves for England this week with her gorgeous little boy, Oliver who is one of Leo's best mates. I met Michelle initially via Facebook and we met in real life early 2010, meeting up generally at least once a week at 'Jingle Jangle's' toddler music group. The boys are 'usually' best of friends but go through stages of seeming to hate each other!  Both as bad as one another in different ways they often have their moments where all they do is wind each other up.... Oliver l...

Today, I've got Christine, a fellow expat whose blog 'Expat Mum in Portugal' I've been reading for a while.  She has very kindly written today's guest post on a subject I can certainly relate to.  I'll hand you over... An Expat friend. When you are an expat, friendships are a little different.  People are drawn together, especially at first for support and familiarity, often meeting through other expats or expat groups and events.  Less often through work or other social places like playcentres or bars etc.  Expat friends can be quite transient, more so than friends in your home country, as they are more likely to move on, particularly if they are ‘serial expats’ or their job demands it.  Many expats I know spend a lot of time with their families, sometimes just because of the way they are, sometimes because they don’t have the social network that they had at home.  One day you can be a strong friend but once that friend moves ...