PANIC!!! moving to cyprus in 6weeks

mummyfleming

So hubby just called and said we will be in cyprus for 1st june. As you can imagine im flipping out! I cannot believe it. I knew were going but not this quick. I have passport forms, applied for a quater. But i need advice on packing.... how did u all organise between storage and taking? what would u take? what would u leave? any advice will be good

also my little girl is due to start her free mornings or afternoon in nursery next jan. do they do the free sessions out there???

thank you from a very stressed out mum

esmf73

Mummy Flemming - Don't worry - just open a bottle of wine and relax. Firstly find out which base you're going to and PM me. I will then PM you back tomorrow morning and tell you as much as I can - feel free to mail me as often as you like. We moved back from Cyprus in the summer so my information is reasonably recent.

You'll have a great time. Look forward to hearing from you.

Alias_Omega

mummyfleming wrote: »

So hubby just called and said we will be in cyprus for 1st june. As you can imagine im flipping out! I cannot believe it. I knew were going but not this quick. I have passport forms, applied for a quater. But i need advice on packing.... how did u all organise between storage and taking? what would u take? what would u leave? any advice will be good

also my little girl is due to start her free mornings or afternoon in nursery next jan. do they do the free sessions out there???

thank you from a very stressed out mum

Hello,

We moved here (akrotiri) 3 months ago.

I would ensure that the disturbance allowance claim is submited asap, as its not paid seperate. It will go in with that months pay, so unlike us we arrived with disturbance allowance not paid, so we struggled for a little bit.

A man came around and made a survey of Removal Overseas stuff, he told us our limit and added things up. We made a room of stuff that was coming to Cyprus, this helped as we could arrange the house. We arranged for collection of Removal Overseas on a monday, with the Storage people coming on the thursday. Basically they took whatever was left, and it went into sealed containers in the back of the truck. We were allowed 65cu mtrs which was alot.

The removal men packed all the things for us, we had a few small boxes to do ourselves (our clothes etc) but the rest was left to them. Everything from plates our of the cupboard, so the garden slides etc into storage.

It takes 6 weeks for your stuff to arrive, so you really need to work out when you want to send the stuff. Do you want to send it 3 weeks before leaving, and then have 3 weeks here with no stuff, or do you want to send it the week you leave and just deal with it here.

At akrotiri, they have a Toy Store which you could borrow toys (for a small fee) until your items arrived. My son loved the Little Tykes Cosy Coupe, so we hired one of them. We bought one from eBay in the end as it was £40 instead of 100 euro here. People are friendly here, and know that you are new and will borrow you all sorts. We share next doors internet (for a small fee each month) and we have Skype for ringing back to the uk for £4 a month. So if you find a connection, ask about. Our section borrowed us a tv when we arrived, so the kids had some tv.

As your now posted, you will have to have many a medical, including the family. A bit of a nightmare. You will have to sell the car, as not really worth bring one with you unless its brand new.

When you arrive here, your house will have some furniture in it, such as Sofas, Table & Chairs, Beds, a fridge, side units etc. Just what you put on to the list. Also you can have a "get you in pack" which is cutlery, iron, bedding (quilts and sheets), plates, cups etc. Someone from your section might buy you some stuff for your house, so when you move in its there. Mainly tea, coffee, juice, bread etc.

When you arrive, you should get a free car to drive around in. Basically the dealers give you a car to use for free, which when you are on your feet, you take the car back and buy a car from them. There are alot of cars forsale on the noticeboards, on the computer & also on facebook (Message me for the link to the group). What they dont tell you is how uis car costs if you dont buy it from them. We picked up a car for 1300 euros, and it was 400 euro to insure fully comp.

Things to bring with you ideally are..

Washing Machine
Dryer
Your own bedding / towels etc
Tv & DVD players, tv stand etc
All Kitchen stuff (plates, cutlery, irons, kettle etc)
Toys
Bikes
Car Seats
Sofa's (if you want some comfort & already have them)

The rest, is pretty much here in the house, and you can buy used or even new from the local shops / online / noticeboards.

LOA for yourselves with 1 child will be about £900 a month tax free into your wages, which with the poor £-Euro exchange rate, it makes it worth shopping online for clothes etc. Alot of the UK retailers post to BFPO addresses so you will send lots and lots in the uk, and mainly food shopping etc on camp / local shops.

I really cant think of anything else to put, but i know you will get 110kg of baggage when you travel, so we had 6 bags, 3 suitcases and a rocking horse, plus 2 car seats to check-in, plus pram.

Its 24 degrees here today, so remember to put lots of toiletries into the packup, take a trip to the local bodycare, asda etc and stock up on mouthwash, shampoo, razor blades, suntan lotion, hats, sunglasses, kids summer wear (primark as they fade alot in the sun) etc. They all can be bought out here, but slightly more expensive. I bought 8 months worth of razor blades as i would save £65 compared to over here. So if you can afford it, do it.

Living here is good, we work hard, we are busy but i did not come here for me, i came for the family experience. The kids love going to the beach, and playing in the sea (even in March), the wife likes eating out in limasoll and just getting out and about.

Our son (2 yrs old) is starting school here in Jan, so free lessons for him i believe. The school is really good, and if you want more help you can ring them. Just get into the miltary phone system and dial them (if you need help, message me).

Really cant think of anything else, and i should really make a sticky about this. Me & Mrs Alias managed to move out here with 2 kids, and 1 on the way. Also we had to move out of our house, paint it & bring it up to scratch to rent it out. And im sure if your moving to Akrotiri, Mrs Alias will lend you some toys to use instead of them throwing oranges about.

You can do it

Regards,

Alias

13Kent

Hi

All I can say is you lucky things you will love it here! Where are you posted to?

Look at BFCbay and BFC by sell and swap shop on facebook - lots of things for sale and will give you an idea of prices of things.

Bring stuff like BBQ (expensive here ) Cooler boxes/bags - handy for picnics and keeping shopping cool in summer! Plenty of summer clothes and swimsuits which soon get worn out in the pool - clothes expensive here. Some people bring their own garden furniture - again it is very expensive here compared with UK.

We brought American style fridge, washing machine, dishwasher, sofa bed, kids storage cupboards with stacker boxes, bedding (packed in lakeland vacuum bags that zip up) some winter clothes (not many!!) light raincoat/cagoule type for next winter and wellies for next winter. Children's toys - stuff like trampolines very expensive, but outdoor toys do suffer from being out in the sun and get very brittle, and fade and crack - so if it's something precious to you leave it at home and buy second hand here. If you have a pram if it is not one with solid tyres get them lined and slimed as there are little seeds known as 'death stars' or 'ouchies' that stick in and puncture them - we got caught out with this with 3 flat tyres in our first week! - Same if you bring bikes.

Pack lots of nappies and wipes in your removal boxes if you still use them - a small pack of Pampers can be €12-€14 out here.

We were told by the assessors that we were on our limit, but when we arrived were about 3-4 cubic metres under eventually even bringing all that furniture.

Get an unlocked phone for a Cyprus sim card - although my vodafone phone works with Cyta voda sim card.

Pack stuff like tea towels, towels and clothes pegs in your suitcase - you will get a get you in pack but these won't be included.

Bring with you aerosol type toiletries as Boots won't deliver aerosols out here - anything else you can order online. Toiletries are very expensive as is suncream.

We shipped our car out as we couldn't afford to sell it then buy one out here with what we'd have got for it.

We were short of money when we arrived - due to registering car, that first supermarket shop is a killer as you are starting from scratch, and the prices of things seem horrific when you first arrive!! We didn't realise until it was too late we could get an advance of pay to tide us over.

Good luck - any more questions feel free to PM me - we have been here nearly a year now and love it!

jpwhittle

do you know were you are going? we are posted out in may husband starts work on may 31st so we only have 5 weeks left before we fly (hoping that bloody volcano stops erupting)

We were going to bring our own sofas but it put us right on our limit and i wanted to take my own beds and bikes but getting rid of the sofa ment i could by my cool box and a dishwasher as its one thing the pack says to bring, otherwise you have to wash up straight away so ive treated myself to a dishwasher, then i can get some freedom out there to.
Dont worry about packing stuff up, it doesnt seem alot when they tell you what you can take, but im nearly packed up ready for everything to leave next monday and im still well under my allowance, they didnt give me all the boxes i was allowed nd i still have some empty, its great to declutter your house and get rid of loads of stuff. Im not putting alot into storage whatever clothes and toys dont come with us im going to get rid of as i figure i wont miss them in 3 years time.
We are moving to ayios Nik so taking lots of fans as its ment to be a bit hotter there. Dont stress though just enjoy it im loving sorting the house out, its great to have a good sort out. and think of all the lovely weather, plus they work different out there and have abit more playtime so its going to be great for family life, im looking forward to not being in the house in front of the tv all day but out with the kids.
Also looking forward to hopefully meeting some of the people of here, we could have a big MSE meetup.

mummyfleming

we are off to episkopi. hubby starts work 1st june. hopefully be flying out around 28th but we havent got a quater yet (only got the new on friday) so we may be going out at different time. dont even know where to start with house. would love to get a dishwasher or bikes but the purse strings wont stretch that far. even worried about buying summer clothing. anyone know of anywhere thats doing nice but cheap summer dresses etc for a two year old girl

Alias_Omega

mummyfleming,

Your best option is primark for clothes, during the summer they really fade due to the sun, and apparently fall apart. Most days now we are wearing shorts & t-shirts, and last night it rained for the first time in a few weeks. You could not tell as the roads are dry now.

If you cant buy bikes before you leave the uk, you can order them through amazon etc, just takes 4-6 weeks to arrive. I mentioned bikes, as you could pick up a decent 2nd hand bike in the uk for about the same price you can buy a cheap one from carrefour etc.

You can pick dishwashers up from the sales & wants here, ive seen a few advertised for 100 euro. Aircon units are about, but its moving into the warmer season, people are always leaving, so there is always stuff to buy.

mummyfleming

Got offered a house this morning. We will move into 3 Cumberland Road in Episkopi. Anyone fancy having a nosey for me. No idea what estate it is on.

13Kent

Have had a quick look - have sent you a PM.

mummyfleming

Thank you all

mr_knight

Hello

Not had chance to read the thread in detail but in anyone hasn't mentiooned it make sure you pack every available space in you UB with stuff. Fridges, feezers, washing machines, bed draws can all be filled with beddding, clothes, coats shoes etc.