Source
r/IWantOut•
sam480

Malta or Cyprus. What should I know?

In all honesty, I haven't put a tonne of time into this. I would like to finish my undergraduate degree, at the very least, before I leave (two and a half more years). But for some reason I can't get either of these countries out of my head.

These two countries fill out pretty much all of my criteria for a country I want to live in. They are close to other countries I am interested in, making travel very convenient. They both have amazing histories and architecture that reflects it. The both have that lovely Mediterranean climate. And somewhat embarrassingly, they both speak a lot of English. I am cursed with the inability to learn other languages. I would feel like too much of an asshole just sticking too it and would do my best to learn the official languages.

I know they are both EU states, which makes it tricky. But that's about all I know. Does anyone know anything that I should know about the processes involved in immigration to either of these countries?

Thank you,

Sam

Posted Dec 7, 2010, 2:58 AM UTC

718
BoGD•

Cyprus is crazy hot and they speak mostly Greek. It's not that fascinating as Greece would be.

Would recommend Malta. Higher chance of finding a job since English is an official language.

4
smacksaw•

Higher chance of finding a Maltese Falcon as well.

/i got nuthin'

4
gethom•

English is an official language in Cyprus.

1
kwyjib0•

English is the "unofficial" language. Everyone speaks it but it's not considered to be an official language. Only Greek and Turkish are.

1
BoGD•

Actually, Greek and Turkish are official languages. English is spoken only in the area belonging to the British

1
gethom•

As a native language it's only spoken in the British bases but as a second language it's spoken almost entirely by all Cypriots(at least Greek-Cypriots). English are not in the Official languages but they are used by the state as a de facto third language on public papers, passports....

1
BoGD•

So it's not an official language.

1
kwyjib0•

I live in Cyprus. I've never actually met anyone who doesn't speak or understand English here. Due to it being a former British colony almost everyone knows English. You can pretty much get any job with only English. If you're qualified enough, not knowing Greek won't really be a barrier.

1
BoGD•

Could you tell me what city you live in? How are the Cypriots to immigrants? How's the general atmosphere around there?

I love Greece, not sure if I'd love Cyprus

1
kwyjib0•

I live in Nicosia. About immigrants, I would say they are generally very friendly.. But shamefully I have to say that in a lot of cases that also depends on your ethnicity. As for general atmosphere, it's quite laid back. No one seems to worry about ANYTHING! Which gets a bit annoying at work or when you're trying to get things done But that's only a problem if you're a workaholic :p If you're not it's quite a nice quiet place to live. Can't complain. Pretty easy life style, but the thing i love the most is that there isn't much of a divide between the rich and the poor. Everyone pretty much hands out at the same places, there isn't the segregation's visible in a lot of countries :]

1
crackanapeLived in: AU•SA•GR•UK•US•MA•GT•TH•MY•NL•

I know they are both EU states, which makes it tricky.

Why does that make anything tricky?

Incidentally I agree with BoGD that Cyprus is a pretty boring place to live. You will see all of that architecture in the first few weeks.

1
sam480OP•

I'm really not sure. I just thought it was harder for non-EU residents to get working visas and citizenship in EU countries.

I was leaning more to Malta off of the bat. I figure that if it does get a bit boring, I will live on a sea that borders three continents; I'll be able to find something.

1
jittwoii•

I'm from Cyprus. Where are you from and what kind of job are you looking for?

1
sam480OP•

I'm from Canada. I would like to be a professor of English Literature on day, which is why I'm kind of leaning towards Malta, as their education is in English.

1
jittwoii•

sweet well my brother has been to malta and walked all around it in a day. he liked it but hed get bored living there. but yeah I can only speak for cyprus and is cool and has awesome food and great beaches n stuff but gets pretty boring for me after a while but thats because its pretty crap with film n stuff which is what i do and why i moved to london. also i grew up there and that has a lot to do with it. the people are pretty friendly and the crime rate is very low. it gets pretty hot during the summer but also pretty cold during winter in some parts (we built an igloo up on the mountains a couple of years ago!) Its got a pretty good natural terrain (beaches, sea caves, cliffs, mountains, forests etc.) but it has been getting pretty expensive these days. but i can't stress how good the food is! my advice is go check out both countries and see what you think! If you're doing a long term thing you probably should check both places out. i've met a lot of canadians in cyprus actually and made good friends with most of them - from my experience you guys are 4/5 great people!

1
sam480OP•

Expensive eh? That's a shame. From what I've seen, Malta looks pretty reasonable.

The food is honestly one of the big draws.

1
jittwoii•

Yeah well good luck whatever you end up doing!

1
asshatclowns•

A little late to the game here...but I'd pick Malta

I'm a little biased...I'm actually half-maltese and have been there a several times, but I love it. I could totally see myself living there. The bus system is excellent transportation and very reasonably priced and the food...O.M.G. You have to try the pastizzi! Another real draw for Malta is that you would only be 60 miles from sicily...its less than a half hour flight or take a hydrofoil. And from Sicily you can catch a train to pretty much all of Europe if i remember correctly. And if you travel in the other direction, you can experience the joys of Africa!

1