Freelance in Cyprus
In addition to the dudeonthehorse article “Freelance in Turkey” by Habrayuser, I will describe the peculiarities of this type of work for Cyprus, or rather its southern part. I will not talk about local sights, but I will try to provide information useful for people who have taken the hard road of free mercenaries.
Immediately, I note that for a number of personal reasons, I am leaving my native places for the time of autumn-winter, because I can not stand the cold weather: work capacity significantly decreases from warm clothes, short daylight hours and runny nose. After a hot summer, you just want good weather, but it seems like it is not a season to go to countries like Sri Lanka or Thailand. I don’t like Turkey, because the choice falls on Cyprus.
The first thing that bribes the island is the opportunity to issue a tourist visa for citizens of the Russian Federation and Ukraine, which is called, without getting up from the couch, for free and without registration. It may sound like, but just go to the embassy website ( Ukraine , Russia ) and download the form from there. Fill it out and send it back by email. This requires only a passport, even a photo is not required. Within a couple of days, the answer will come, which must be printed and shown at the airport. In return, you will open a visa for 3 months. In the description of her it means that this can be done every six months, but friends reopened immediately upon returning to their homeland and there were no problems. But I did not test it myself, because what difficulties are behind this method I don’t know.
')
The second thing that attracts is the ability to quickly and cheaply get there. Depending on the urgency of departure, Kiev-Larnaca tickets can now be bought for 50-150 euros for a low-cost airline like WizzAir , again, without waiting in line. The flight itself for this route lasts only 2.5 hours. I always involuntarily smile in the sky, remembering cases when I was getting longer from work. If someone will fly in this way, order a pre-landing, so as not to stand in line. Upon arrival, you will expect a large new airport with free Wi-Fi, lounge areas and a good restaurant.
At the exit of the building you can find buses of various routes, taxis or rent a car. The roads here are good, with markings, reflectors, but the movement is left-hand, at first there is confusion at difficult intersections. And since the local drivers are very famously, it is better to take a taxi. If the driver includes the correct fare, it will be about 10 euros.
One of the most important freelancer tools. In large cities on the coast, it is almost everywhere, and quite tolerable. In the mountains, with this worse, they mainly put satellite there. Just walking through the streets you can catch a lot of Wi-Fi, sometimes open. Frequent network - Cyta Mobile - belongs to the local mobile operator. Passwords are defaulted there and our people have long adapted themselves and select them using special phone programs. So you can navigate or write a letter.
Now about the normal Internet. In hotels it is free, usually up to 5-7 Mb / s. If you rent an apartment, ask first if it is there and how much it costs. Because it will be expensive to spend. In general, such indicators will cost in rental housing at 15-20 euros.
You can work, as they say "there was not a single gap", but often high ping and low upload.
Mobile Internet will cost 15 euros for 1 GB. You can buy a local 3g modem from the operator Vodafone. Then 20 GB will cost 69 euros. So the situation is the same as everywhere else: in Russia and Ukraine, the Internet is most often cheaper, and the speed is higher. Although there are exceptions.
Most IT people (and not only) know English well. And Cyprus, which has long been in the possession of Britain (here and now there are their military bases), is very conducive to this. Almost any passerby can easily explain to you in the language of Shakespeare. The older generation taught Russian and very cleverly distinguishes our brother, saying at once, “Why English? I still remember Russian well. ” Many of us have settled here and our compatriots, so there is no barrier for communication. I think this is an important factor, because you can always ask what dish you have eaten, explain what is required and so on.
I do not like hotels, so I act according to the following plan: I flew in, took a room for a week, bought a local phone card and further on through newspapers, ads, and just looking for advertisements on houses, looking for suitable accommodation. To and to the sea was close and not very noisy.
So, the prices. The cheapest studio apartments are when you come in and all in the same room. The price in off-season for them starts from 150 euros, without utilities. Next come one bedroom apartment. There will already be a separate bedroom, a living room and an adjoining kitchen. In Larnaca, such pleasure costs from 250 euros, in Paphos and Limassol I found for 300-400. Inside the furniture, the bed, most likely the Internet, you can agree on the dishes. But more often than not there is a normal table for working at a computer. I know that many can work from the chair, but drawing is not so comfortable anymore. The way out of the situation is usually on the balcony, where there is definitely another dining table.
In general, there is a very unusual layout of houses: large display windows, no fences, corridors. You walk down the street in the evening and see how people are watching TVs decorously or eating. Almost like De Wallen in Amsterdam, only everything is decent, and no one calls you.
Once I mentioned the local connection, it is represented here by the Cyta operator. Since such things are public in Cyprus, the government made a deal with Vodafone, simply calling the network differently. Buy starter pack with 5 euros in the account will cost 7 euros. You can find in any periptero (Greek περίπτερο) - local kiosks selling all small things. From my own experience I will say that the initial money is enough for dialing 40-50 ads, and it will remain.
An important role in remote work is played by the possibility of a normal withdrawal of money, to pay with a card and so on. After the default and the situation with deposits, Cypriot banks are no longer so loved, but for a while they will be fine. There are also places from the CIS (Privat, Alpha), so you can choose. Hellenic Bank generally allows you to withdraw money from ATMs without any commission on your part.
If there are problems with the card, you can open the local one. Laws allow you to do this during your stay in the country. In the shops, the fruteries are free to pay with our cards. Conversion is fast, no ID is required. The main thing to remember before leaving is to inform the bank that you are going to use their card abroad, otherwise blocking is possible at the most inappropriate moment.
Another of my motivations is that after the summer the quality of fruits gradually decreases. In Cyprus, this is not observed. There are always fruits and vegetables either in supermarkets such as Carrefour, or in special fruits. Prices are usually higher than ours, but if you take in bulk, it turns out cheaper. For example, 4 kilograms of ripe mandarins cost 1 euro. Perfectly suited for the morning fresh. Of course, this is not Thailand, but the choice is large, everything is delicious and fragrant. Oranges, pomegranates, kerob can be tasted from a tree; they grow everywhere, although they are quite dirty.
In supermarkets, I personally lack normal milk. It is often long storage, a small selection of kefir and cottage cheese. It's a paradox, but the milk in tetra packs sour perfectly, which I haven't seen for a long time with us. As a substitute, there is a large selection of soy and coconut milk. A lot of cheeses, like tofu. Lovers of ravioli grieve, they are few.
For vegans and fans of a gluten-free diet, they often write on products whether this is suitable for them.
The main problem is that the description of the product in English is often taped with Greek. Some things I could not understand, even asking the seller. And photographing for the translator in supermarkets does not like, politely asked to remove the picture.
Public transport is scarce, and it is expensive. 1.5 euros worth the city, long-distance - 5 euros. True, it is possible to take a daily / weekly / monthly ticket, depending on your needs.
Local people all drive cars, less frequently on motorcycles and scooters. If you go out of the store with packages of food, then they look straight at you. This is due to affordable prices for cars and their rent.
I know that many people love bicycles, so I will make you happy - there are good bike paths along the island along the embankments and skate parks in Limassol. Two-wheeled pedal transport can be rented: either in offices or directly from parking lots, paying with a credit card. As soon as you put a large back, return the withdrawn pledge. Very comfortably.
If you do not want to languish from the heat, then the best time is October. Still very warm, you can freely sunbathe, swim, sleep with the windows open. But there is no such influx of tourists, the local biting midges and mosquitoes do not bother. Then the temperature gradually drops. But even now, at the end of November, the air temperature is +20 in the afternoon, a couple of times a week you can buy up (as the water is + 22 + 24), wander through empty beaches and streets.
Then it starts to rain. The sky is increasingly becoming like this:
But local salty lakes fill up and you can gaze at them on pink flamingos (which are white here, only under pink wings).
As a result, the island of Cyprus is quite suitable as a temporary refuge for a freelancer. You can walk quite safely even in the dark, Cypriots are polite and hospitable. One night I did not know how to get to the place I needed, so a passer-by went behind the car and gave me a lift. In the shops, people apologize if they pass between you and the counter with food.
Lots of cats everywhere and the absence of stray dogs.
Good internet, good products. But if you stay for a long time - it is rather boring and there is nothing to gape. In general, an amateur, it is better to come and appreciate it yourself, since this is not a complicated procedure.
I look forward to the development of mankind, when any country will be so easy to see.
Immediately, I note that for a number of personal reasons, I am leaving my native places for the time of autumn-winter, because I can not stand the cold weather: work capacity significantly decreases from warm clothes, short daylight hours and runny nose. After a hot summer, you just want good weather, but it seems like it is not a season to go to countries like Sri Lanka or Thailand. I don’t like Turkey, because the choice falls on Cyprus.
Ease of opening a visa
The first thing that bribes the island is the opportunity to issue a tourist visa for citizens of the Russian Federation and Ukraine, which is called, without getting up from the couch, for free and without registration. It may sound like, but just go to the embassy website ( Ukraine , Russia ) and download the form from there. Fill it out and send it back by email. This requires only a passport, even a photo is not required. Within a couple of days, the answer will come, which must be printed and shown at the airport. In return, you will open a visa for 3 months. In the description of her it means that this can be done every six months, but friends reopened immediately upon returning to their homeland and there were no problems. But I did not test it myself, because what difficulties are behind this method I don’t know.
')
Cheap tickets
The second thing that attracts is the ability to quickly and cheaply get there. Depending on the urgency of departure, Kiev-Larnaca tickets can now be bought for 50-150 euros for a low-cost airline like WizzAir , again, without waiting in line. The flight itself for this route lasts only 2.5 hours. I always involuntarily smile in the sky, remembering cases when I was getting longer from work. If someone will fly in this way, order a pre-landing, so as not to stand in line. Upon arrival, you will expect a large new airport with free Wi-Fi, lounge areas and a good restaurant.
At the exit of the building you can find buses of various routes, taxis or rent a car. The roads here are good, with markings, reflectors, but the movement is left-hand, at first there is confusion at difficult intersections. And since the local drivers are very famously, it is better to take a taxi. If the driver includes the correct fare, it will be about 10 euros.
the Internet
One of the most important freelancer tools. In large cities on the coast, it is almost everywhere, and quite tolerable. In the mountains, with this worse, they mainly put satellite there. Just walking through the streets you can catch a lot of Wi-Fi, sometimes open. Frequent network - Cyta Mobile - belongs to the local mobile operator. Passwords are defaulted there and our people have long adapted themselves and select them using special phone programs. So you can navigate or write a letter.
Now about the normal Internet. In hotels it is free, usually up to 5-7 Mb / s. If you rent an apartment, ask first if it is there and how much it costs. Because it will be expensive to spend. In general, such indicators will cost in rental housing at 15-20 euros.
You can work, as they say "there was not a single gap", but often high ping and low upload.
Mobile Internet will cost 15 euros for 1 GB. You can buy a local 3g modem from the operator Vodafone. Then 20 GB will cost 69 euros. So the situation is the same as everywhere else: in Russia and Ukraine, the Internet is most often cheaper, and the speed is higher. Although there are exceptions.
Tongue
Most IT people (and not only) know English well. And Cyprus, which has long been in the possession of Britain (here and now there are their military bases), is very conducive to this. Almost any passerby can easily explain to you in the language of Shakespeare. The older generation taught Russian and very cleverly distinguishes our brother, saying at once, “Why English? I still remember Russian well. ” Many of us have settled here and our compatriots, so there is no barrier for communication. I think this is an important factor, because you can always ask what dish you have eaten, explain what is required and so on.
Housing
I do not like hotels, so I act according to the following plan: I flew in, took a room for a week, bought a local phone card and further on through newspapers, ads, and just looking for advertisements on houses, looking for suitable accommodation. To and to the sea was close and not very noisy.
So, the prices. The cheapest studio apartments are when you come in and all in the same room. The price in off-season for them starts from 150 euros, without utilities. Next come one bedroom apartment. There will already be a separate bedroom, a living room and an adjoining kitchen. In Larnaca, such pleasure costs from 250 euros, in Paphos and Limassol I found for 300-400. Inside the furniture, the bed, most likely the Internet, you can agree on the dishes. But more often than not there is a normal table for working at a computer. I know that many can work from the chair, but drawing is not so comfortable anymore. The way out of the situation is usually on the balcony, where there is definitely another dining table.
In general, there is a very unusual layout of houses: large display windows, no fences, corridors. You walk down the street in the evening and see how people are watching TVs decorously or eating. Almost like De Wallen in Amsterdam, only everything is decent, and no one calls you.
Once I mentioned the local connection, it is represented here by the Cyta operator. Since such things are public in Cyprus, the government made a deal with Vodafone, simply calling the network differently. Buy starter pack with 5 euros in the account will cost 7 euros. You can find in any periptero (Greek περίπτερο) - local kiosks selling all small things. From my own experience I will say that the initial money is enough for dialing 40-50 ads, and it will remain.
Banks, ATMs
An important role in remote work is played by the possibility of a normal withdrawal of money, to pay with a card and so on. After the default and the situation with deposits, Cypriot banks are no longer so loved, but for a while they will be fine. There are also places from the CIS (Privat, Alpha), so you can choose. Hellenic Bank generally allows you to withdraw money from ATMs without any commission on your part.
If there are problems with the card, you can open the local one. Laws allow you to do this during your stay in the country. In the shops, the fruteries are free to pay with our cards. Conversion is fast, no ID is required. The main thing to remember before leaving is to inform the bank that you are going to use their card abroad, otherwise blocking is possible at the most inappropriate moment.
Products
Another of my motivations is that after the summer the quality of fruits gradually decreases. In Cyprus, this is not observed. There are always fruits and vegetables either in supermarkets such as Carrefour, or in special fruits. Prices are usually higher than ours, but if you take in bulk, it turns out cheaper. For example, 4 kilograms of ripe mandarins cost 1 euro. Perfectly suited for the morning fresh. Of course, this is not Thailand, but the choice is large, everything is delicious and fragrant. Oranges, pomegranates, kerob can be tasted from a tree; they grow everywhere, although they are quite dirty.
In supermarkets, I personally lack normal milk. It is often long storage, a small selection of kefir and cottage cheese. It's a paradox, but the milk in tetra packs sour perfectly, which I haven't seen for a long time with us. As a substitute, there is a large selection of soy and coconut milk. A lot of cheeses, like tofu. Lovers of ravioli grieve, they are few.
For vegans and fans of a gluten-free diet, they often write on products whether this is suitable for them.
The main problem is that the description of the product in English is often taped with Greek. Some things I could not understand, even asking the seller. And photographing for the translator in supermarkets does not like, politely asked to remove the picture.
Transport
Public transport is scarce, and it is expensive. 1.5 euros worth the city, long-distance - 5 euros. True, it is possible to take a daily / weekly / monthly ticket, depending on your needs.
Local people all drive cars, less frequently on motorcycles and scooters. If you go out of the store with packages of food, then they look straight at you. This is due to affordable prices for cars and their rent.
I know that many people love bicycles, so I will make you happy - there are good bike paths along the island along the embankments and skate parks in Limassol. Two-wheeled pedal transport can be rented: either in offices or directly from parking lots, paying with a credit card. As soon as you put a large back, return the withdrawn pledge. Very comfortably.
The weather is now and the sea
If you do not want to languish from the heat, then the best time is October. Still very warm, you can freely sunbathe, swim, sleep with the windows open. But there is no such influx of tourists, the local biting midges and mosquitoes do not bother. Then the temperature gradually drops. But even now, at the end of November, the air temperature is +20 in the afternoon, a couple of times a week you can buy up (as the water is + 22 + 24), wander through empty beaches and streets.
Then it starts to rain. The sky is increasingly becoming like this:
Short time-lapse
But local salty lakes fill up and you can gaze at them on pink flamingos (which are white here, only under pink wings).
findings
As a result, the island of Cyprus is quite suitable as a temporary refuge for a freelancer. You can walk quite safely even in the dark, Cypriots are polite and hospitable. One night I did not know how to get to the place I needed, so a passer-by went behind the car and gave me a lift. In the shops, people apologize if they pass between you and the counter with food.
Lots of cats everywhere and the absence of stray dogs.
Good internet, good products. But if you stay for a long time - it is rather boring and there is nothing to gape. In general, an amateur, it is better to come and appreciate it yourself, since this is not a complicated procedure.
I look forward to the development of mankind, when any country will be so easy to see.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/244289/
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