Cyprus Finest (issue 2, Spring 2018) #8 Cyprus Finest (issue 2, Spring 2018) | Page 41

LONDON
is my secret love, they are "sweeties" with
a brutish appearance complemented with
friendly and smiley attitude, always politely
answering questions with a hint of that
famous English humour.
London, however, has its bad
neighbourhoods which are dirt, filthy and
even dangerous. All sorts people live there,
including migrants. London is a small global
village with Spanish, Italians, Romanians,
Polish, Greeks, and Lithuanians, etc.
Every nation of Europe is most probably
represented. Being from less developed
countries or just by their status as migrants,
social benefits are paid to most of these
foreigners per British law, and they live in
plain luxury, sometimes even more than the
Brits.
Even the wealthy areas have 'social
flats' — ​cheap apartments, which Council
provides to people on low-income. They
pay only 20%-25% of the rent, the rest is
subsidised by the government. Their salaries
are lower, but as a rule of law, they work for
the civil service.
PROPERTY
–  In comparison to Cyprus, how big is
the difference in property prices?
–  The difference is "cosmic"! Prices
in London do not fall, on the contrary,
they rise and do vary across England. For
instance, in Kent, closer to the English
Channel, which connects Great Britain with
France, everything is much cheaper, both
living accommodations and properties. A
one-bedroom flat for a family of three can
be rented for £500–600 a month, but in
London, this is an insufficient sum for a
dwelling of any kind.
We live in a two-bedroom flat, 75 square
meters, without a veranda but in a good
area and pay £450 weekly. Rent payment
in London is calculated on weekly basis and
not the usual monthly cut. We have also
faced moments were money in your account
didn't guarantee a house to rent, especially
if you're unemployed, you must provide a
regular payslip or an advance deposit worth
6 months of rent.
Local authority charges are paid
separately for each area (for instance, we
pay £110 a month), there is also a TV license
which is paid annually, electricity and gas are
cheaper here than in Cyprus (£80 for two
months on gas and £50 for electricity).
Everything is processed by an agency.
You can still write an advert in the local
newspaper or internet sites where people
self-promote themselves (for example
zoopla.co.uk)
but there are a lot of 'cat in the bag'
proposals, where lovely photos and
captivating headlines and ads are published
but then upon inquiry, you discover that the
flat is either unavailable or you are offered
something different and less than what
was advertised. That is the game of estate
agents, but it is a market, and advertising is
the driver of the trade.
Out of experience and monopoly, they
never get over-excited about clients, for
example, when we were searching for a flat,
no one paid any attention to us because
we had an elementary budget according to
London standards (£2000 pounds a month).
The City is huge and loud. Unlike Cyprus,
where you need 15 minutes to see the whole
of Limassol, you'll need quite a bit of time
to cover the great distance of London, with
numerous beds areas in the old city without
lifts. You will manage to check on only 2–3
flats a day. The parking is a killer, a very
expensive affair, averaging £6–9 p/h in the
centre, and that is if you are lucky to find one.
So, get in shape, because walking may well
become inevitable at some point.
A monthly parking fee (£60–80 p/m),
grants you the right to park for free in your
area. Car parks are chargeable from 8:30
am till 6:30 pm but in the evenings and on
weekends, parking is free. In Central London,
where all monuments, museums, and
landmarks are, you have to pay an entry fee
of £11 from 9 am to 8 pm on weekdays.
It is much faster to move by underground.
For travelling purposes, you will be issued
an Oyster Card, which you top up every time
and scan at the various entrances and exits
of underground or a bus; the cost of the
journey depends on the distance travelled
and the number of journeys you make. It was
introduced as a measure to curb traffic in the
city and to free the main roads. Oyster cards
are a must when using the underground.
Insurance is very expensive, especially for
'newcomers' just entering the country. For
instance, we pay £1500 for car insurance
annually. Though initially expensive, avoiding
an accident in your first year means the initial
price drops by two-thirds and all you'll have
to pay subsequently is £500.
I have met with people, who are
independent estate agents like I am, and we
communicate, exchange information, share
the news, etc. There are a few places where
all estate-agents meet and socialise — ​
estate-agents bar or pub, so to speak.
From an administration point of view,
English system operates just fine. If you
want to work, and you are capable you
just have to operate according to the
law and everything will be fine, the sky
will be your limit. Everything is explicitly
explained and detailed, making for a
well-oiled machine that runs smoothly.
You are issued with a number, you have
allocated time and don't wait in queues.
They value the time, both theirs and yours
but everything must be "by the book" and
taxes most definitely must be paid.
London, by itself,
is a unique city,
almost a State
of its own, with
70% population
represented by
foreigners. Any
ethnic group or
nationality you can
imagine will most
likely be in London.
THE WORK
–  Were you able to find employment in
London?
–  I operate in the property market here,
same as in Cyprus, but it most certainly isn't
easy. I lived 10 years in Cyprus and everybody
got to know me within that period of time but
I am an outsider here and nobody seems to
trust me, yet. I also have to be very cautious
when dealing with people because the
London Property Market is male-dominated,
with the top positions occupied by men who
are young, active and very ambitious: they will
"break your spine and won't ask your name"
in a very gentle way.
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