I hope everyone had a happy holiday! Mine was quiet and stress free - imagine that! My wife did all the shopping and my mother in law did all the cooking at her house so I got to enjoy watching the kids open their presents and the good food! But, as always with children my two year old had a high fever that started Christmas Eve and now still has croup which isn't pleasant but he was still fairly "merry" despite being ill.
Christmas in Cyprus is always quiet I am told although the weather is actually better now than the sweltering heat of the summer. So, business is slow as most holdiay makers arrive between March - October. Easter is supposed to unofficially be the start of the holiday season and there are big festivities and celebrations for Easter. I hope I am too busy selling houses to take part though! But for now, Happy New Year everyone!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
My Blog Time
I have a shortage of time for my blog writing, but I thought I could share an article that is already posted on my property blog about the Limassol Zoo. I thought it's good to put it on that site as it could be informative for potential clients or at least for them to get to know me better and maybe know me as a person who tells it the way it is!
If you would like to read it just follow this link.
If you would like to read it just follow this link.
Monday, November 19, 2007
It has been a very productive week in the advancement of my property marketing business, not only were two properties added (villa in Peyia for 265,000CYP and two in Pissouri that I listed as one) but http://www.cyprus101.com had another new high for unique visitors – 469! It might not seem high but when you consider that unique means one person that has not been to the site before counts as only one no matter how many pages or properties they look at so when you consider that this site has only been active running since June 28, 2007 I am quite pleased. For the potential client who is reading this I must inform you here that I list all properties not only on my two sites but also a minimum of 5 others as well.
On the personal side, we have returned to our Sunday ritual of going down to the Paphos harbor with our friends and walking to the end by the castle to let our 2 year olds run around. Once the kids run their energy off we stop at Hobo Café for the usual Frappe’s for the guys while the wives usually get a Nutella waffle with ice cream while we all chit chat and people watch. The weather was great again, but it’s always good when it’s not super hot, I think I heard someone mention that rain is needed and sure enough we had a great thunder storm last night with much pouring rain. This morning it is clear and nice again and the beginning of hopefully another productive and sunny week!
On the personal side, we have returned to our Sunday ritual of going down to the Paphos harbor with our friends and walking to the end by the castle to let our 2 year olds run around. Once the kids run their energy off we stop at Hobo Café for the usual Frappe’s for the guys while the wives usually get a Nutella waffle with ice cream while we all chit chat and people watch. The weather was great again, but it’s always good when it’s not super hot, I think I heard someone mention that rain is needed and sure enough we had a great thunder storm last night with much pouring rain. This morning it is clear and nice again and the beginning of hopefully another productive and sunny week!
Saturday, November 10, 2007
The Other Side Of Gardening
Today, I wanted to do something different than the usual SEO tweaking on my website or anything to do with buying or selling property. I felt like doing something active and outdoor that can give instant results. I wanted to work on my long awaited and overdue garden maintenance.
Honestly, the last couple of times it was done by a crew that my mother- in-law has do her garden and my wife mentioned that she wanted to have them come out and do it again but I objected since I didn't want anyone else to do it in the first place. All they did was basically cut it all done to nothing. They did it fast and cleaned up well after themselves but I prefer to do it myself and I enjoy it so why pay for some one to take away my fun. My second baby is now just over 2 months old so we have gotten into a routine finally so I can make a part of Satudays as my garden maintenance day with my 2 year old since he enjoyed it so much today.
We were outside from 11am - 4 pm. I got a lot more done than expected and now I know what exactly is out there and what needs doing on a weekly basis. It had been about 4 months since anything was done on it so there was a lot to be done. Many of the plants has over taken others but we have so many it was really not such a great loss. My wife was happy to see a lot of it go so the kids will have more room to play rather then trees, plants and flowers (many of which have thrones on them).
The weather is still pretty good for November with t-shirts and shorts was the dress of the day and I just love it.
Honestly, the last couple of times it was done by a crew that my mother- in-law has do her garden and my wife mentioned that she wanted to have them come out and do it again but I objected since I didn't want anyone else to do it in the first place. All they did was basically cut it all done to nothing. They did it fast and cleaned up well after themselves but I prefer to do it myself and I enjoy it so why pay for some one to take away my fun. My second baby is now just over 2 months old so we have gotten into a routine finally so I can make a part of Satudays as my garden maintenance day with my 2 year old since he enjoyed it so much today.
We were outside from 11am - 4 pm. I got a lot more done than expected and now I know what exactly is out there and what needs doing on a weekly basis. It had been about 4 months since anything was done on it so there was a lot to be done. Many of the plants has over taken others but we have so many it was really not such a great loss. My wife was happy to see a lot of it go so the kids will have more room to play rather then trees, plants and flowers (many of which have thrones on them).
The weather is still pretty good for November with t-shirts and shorts was the dress of the day and I just love it.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Winter is Coming
Now that we have had the first cold days - cold by Cyprus standards that is - and the high season is over I thought my business would come to a stand still. Everyone told me how Paphos is so quiet and becomes a ghost town in the winter. Well, so far so good as far as business goes for me. I seem to be getting the more serious prospects now, the ones that are specifically here to buy a home in Paphos. In the summer it seemed like the thinking was 'we are here anyway and like the place so why not check out a few holiday villas??' People who were basically just throwing around the idea of living somewhere else and not wanting to face the reality of going back home wherever that may be and returning to the daily grind of work, school, or other tedious routines. I even had a family like this go to a lawyer and begin the process of buying a home only to back out a month later when they got back home and probably looked over their finances more seriously. A lesson learned for me in that case since I didn't get a deposit. Now, the serious house hunters have arrived, people who already know the island and know that it is not so hot and hence, much more pleasurable to drive around and look at homes. They also know that agents are not running around like crazy like in the summer.
Another thing I noticed that is not season related is that my marketing, despite being geared towards UK and EU residents, seems to draw Americans in. Being American myself, I must be doing something very culturally relevant to US based marketing and/or using types of web marketing that American can relate to. The greater percentage of my clients are from the UK of course but the number of Americans that contact me has been a big surprise since there are hardly any in Cyprus or a very, very low percentage in relation to all other nationalities. There are many, many South African and South African Cypriots here that are continuously moving back from S.A. but I have not been contacted by one yet. Well, I just created a job for myself - how to tap into the S.A. market? Maybe I should get working on that.............
Another thing I noticed that is not season related is that my marketing, despite being geared towards UK and EU residents, seems to draw Americans in. Being American myself, I must be doing something very culturally relevant to US based marketing and/or using types of web marketing that American can relate to. The greater percentage of my clients are from the UK of course but the number of Americans that contact me has been a big surprise since there are hardly any in Cyprus or a very, very low percentage in relation to all other nationalities. There are many, many South African and South African Cypriots here that are continuously moving back from S.A. but I have not been contacted by one yet. Well, I just created a job for myself - how to tap into the S.A. market? Maybe I should get working on that.............
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
My Cyprus Today
Today started like every other day, I wake up and I head straight to the computer to check my email to make sure there is nothing I need to respond to immediately. There were a couple of items but my two year old needed some attention, so I gave it to him since my wife made me coffee and breakfast (egg burritos) and back to work (SEO).
I had an appointment with an owner of one of the large development companies in Paphos at 3pm. He was a nice man - we listed one of his properties, a villa in Chloraka for 325k, it was modern and spacious. We also discussed an apartment project he has in Pegeia that he wanted me to list; we will make contact later in the week about it. I am more excited about less expensive property right now. I feel like there are more people that can afford a one bedroom flat than a 300 pound villa right now. I seem to be getting more and more expensive properties on my site and I would like a better variety.
I went to Carrefour for a short shopping list and was home by 6pm in time to spend a little time with my two sons before bedtime and now it's time for real work.
I had an appointment with an owner of one of the large development companies in Paphos at 3pm. He was a nice man - we listed one of his properties, a villa in Chloraka for 325k, it was modern and spacious. We also discussed an apartment project he has in Pegeia that he wanted me to list; we will make contact later in the week about it. I am more excited about less expensive property right now. I feel like there are more people that can afford a one bedroom flat than a 300 pound villa right now. I seem to be getting more and more expensive properties on my site and I would like a better variety.
I went to Carrefour for a short shopping list and was home by 6pm in time to spend a little time with my two sons before bedtime and now it's time for real work.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Garden
One of the most pleasuable things about living in a climate such as Cyprus is the ability to grow so many different type of plants that seem to thrive here. So when I moved here the first thing I did was plant a variety from palm trees, lemon and orange trees to rose bushes and some that I don't know the names of off hand. Over all I have 50 different types of plants and shrubs.
I was so excited about my garden even though it cost me a little fortune. I anticipated the first rains and watching my garden mature was exciting. Now, however it has matured to the point of intolerance on my part. The amount of work it takes to maintain it is unbelievable. It seems like overnight it can turn into a jungle!
I have a pool that I surrounded by my beautiful trees - nice idea - not great for keeping my pool clean! Between the irrigation system going beserk and overwatering them which led to dirt and mud seeping from the pots around the pool area to the falling leaves and flowers and bees that now occupy one of them it is a full time job. I am slowly starting to resent my garden! I like it, but am overwhelemed by the amount of work I need to do to keep my space around my home clean and tidy.
Since Cyprus is especially dusty in the summer and especially muddy in the winter, cleaning becomes a daunting and never ending task. I love plants, trees and flowers espeically fruit trees but I now realize that I will have to spend one whole day of my weekend devoted to caring for it. That old saying "the grass isn't always greener on the other side" will literally come true in my case if I don't manage to devote that day to care for it all! Wish me luck!
I was so excited about my garden even though it cost me a little fortune. I anticipated the first rains and watching my garden mature was exciting. Now, however it has matured to the point of intolerance on my part. The amount of work it takes to maintain it is unbelievable. It seems like overnight it can turn into a jungle!
I have a pool that I surrounded by my beautiful trees - nice idea - not great for keeping my pool clean! Between the irrigation system going beserk and overwatering them which led to dirt and mud seeping from the pots around the pool area to the falling leaves and flowers and bees that now occupy one of them it is a full time job. I am slowly starting to resent my garden! I like it, but am overwhelemed by the amount of work I need to do to keep my space around my home clean and tidy.
Since Cyprus is especially dusty in the summer and especially muddy in the winter, cleaning becomes a daunting and never ending task. I love plants, trees and flowers espeically fruit trees but I now realize that I will have to spend one whole day of my weekend devoted to caring for it. That old saying "the grass isn't always greener on the other side" will literally come true in my case if I don't manage to devote that day to care for it all! Wish me luck!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Why did you move here?
Ever since I decided to move to Cyprus I have been asked the same questions hundreds of times – why??? Before we left the US it was an excited “why?” but now that we are in Cyprus it is more of a “why would you ‘why’?” as in why would you leave the US to come here? I will tell you “why?” now: potential financial gains, family and getting back to my roots.
At first it was exciting talking about our upcoming move, it was fresh and different, it created anticipation and dreaming. We understood the sacrifice we were making and understood the possible difficulties, but these were not the things you discuss with everyone. I highlighted all the positives that influenced my decision. I saw the opportunities that existed and the potential for the future. I felt that with my background of diverse business experience I could do well. When Cyprus joined the EU I felt a stronger urge to be a part of this new frontier.
I remember the first time I heard of Cyprus I was a 7 years old and living in Jordan. “Gubrus” as it is pronounced in Arabic then represented a holy place far away where Greek Orthodox priests came from to visit us. My mother’s family was Greek Orthodox and I associated them with her side of my family since my Dad was Catholic. Even today in Cyprus every time I see a priest I remember times at my grandparent’s home when we had Greek Orthodox Cypriot priests visiting.
My family moved to the U.S. in 1973 when I was 10. Moving to America was a big culture shock - I had to learn to speak English, adapt to a new culture and deal with kids that didn’t understand what I was going through. With all that I had to adapt to I forgot about my own country so Cyprus was really long forgotten. When my Mom moved back to Jordan after my Dad passed away I felt it was time to at least come visit this part of the world again. It had been 29 years.
Our trip let us scope out the area – we visited my wife’s Mom in Cyprus and my Mom in Jordan. I automatically fell in love with the simpler ways of life and I enjoyed watching everything moving at a slower pace. I felt the need to experience this way of life first hand.
After my wife (then girlfriend) and I got married and were expecting our first child plus her Dad had also just passed away (the day before our son was born) we decided to make the move to be closer to her Mom and mine. We figured if it didn’t work out the kids wouldn’t remember anyway and we could get them back into US school system easily and without much turmoil in their lives. I happily anticipated leaving the rat race, traffic jams and harsh winters behind for awhile anyway. We took a risk and now here we are.
Today I was at the park with my son when another Dad finally asked with a smirk why I came here as if implying I must have done something wrong. This is what prompted me to come home and write this article because he was not the first person to make me feel like people don’t just come here for the weather or slow pace of life. Maybe there is something that I just don’t understand, something rooted in the culture that I am not aware of yet, after all people are much more forward and tend to ask questions that in the US would be considered too personal. The few times I said I was from Jordan I did not get the same reaction and feel as though maybe I should drop the American identity and just say I am from Jordan. What do you think?
At first it was exciting talking about our upcoming move, it was fresh and different, it created anticipation and dreaming. We understood the sacrifice we were making and understood the possible difficulties, but these were not the things you discuss with everyone. I highlighted all the positives that influenced my decision. I saw the opportunities that existed and the potential for the future. I felt that with my background of diverse business experience I could do well. When Cyprus joined the EU I felt a stronger urge to be a part of this new frontier.
I remember the first time I heard of Cyprus I was a 7 years old and living in Jordan. “Gubrus” as it is pronounced in Arabic then represented a holy place far away where Greek Orthodox priests came from to visit us. My mother’s family was Greek Orthodox and I associated them with her side of my family since my Dad was Catholic. Even today in Cyprus every time I see a priest I remember times at my grandparent’s home when we had Greek Orthodox Cypriot priests visiting.
My family moved to the U.S. in 1973 when I was 10. Moving to America was a big culture shock - I had to learn to speak English, adapt to a new culture and deal with kids that didn’t understand what I was going through. With all that I had to adapt to I forgot about my own country so Cyprus was really long forgotten. When my Mom moved back to Jordan after my Dad passed away I felt it was time to at least come visit this part of the world again. It had been 29 years.
Our trip let us scope out the area – we visited my wife’s Mom in Cyprus and my Mom in Jordan. I automatically fell in love with the simpler ways of life and I enjoyed watching everything moving at a slower pace. I felt the need to experience this way of life first hand.
After my wife (then girlfriend) and I got married and were expecting our first child plus her Dad had also just passed away (the day before our son was born) we decided to make the move to be closer to her Mom and mine. We figured if it didn’t work out the kids wouldn’t remember anyway and we could get them back into US school system easily and without much turmoil in their lives. I happily anticipated leaving the rat race, traffic jams and harsh winters behind for awhile anyway. We took a risk and now here we are.
Today I was at the park with my son when another Dad finally asked with a smirk why I came here as if implying I must have done something wrong. This is what prompted me to come home and write this article because he was not the first person to make me feel like people don’t just come here for the weather or slow pace of life. Maybe there is something that I just don’t understand, something rooted in the culture that I am not aware of yet, after all people are much more forward and tend to ask questions that in the US would be considered too personal. The few times I said I was from Jordan I did not get the same reaction and feel as though maybe I should drop the American identity and just say I am from Jordan. What do you think?
Thursday, October 18, 2007
The Beginning
I am going to using this blog in the truest form, just like a diary. I will think out loud and hope that my thoughts are appreciated and I can get some advice or feedback.
Since this is my first post on this blog I feel as though I must include some background about myself and how I got here. I was born in Jordan, moved to the USA in 1973 at the age of 10 with my family and never left the US except for a month on an operation with the US marines in 1982. After my dad passed away in 1999 my mom moved back to Jordan and in 2002 my wife (girlfriend then) and I went to Jordan to visit her and it was my first time in 29 years. We also spent time in Cyprus where my wife’s mom has lived since 1989. My wife who was born in Kansas City, Missouri also lived in Cyprus for 9 years. I was very attracted to the easy way of life (opposite of the New York minute) but never dreamed of actually moving out of the US. I must admit though that I felt that I was missing out on a part of life that we don’t experience much in the US especially for me at the time. I owned and operated a restaurant and as many will tell you that it’s a full time job plus some.
My father-in-law and I became friends and when they came to visit us on two occasions over the next two years we talked about the opportunities that were available in Cyprus. Cyprus had just joined the EU in ‘04 and he is a successful lawyer, it didn’t take much convincing to finally decide to make the move. Our friends did not believe it at first but when I sold the restaurant everyone knew it was happening.
Since being here I have experienced the easy going lifestyle. However, I must admit that sometimes I do miss the fast pace and the crowds. I do miss a good taco, burrito, corn tortillas and salsas ( I did own a Mexican restaurant). I also miss the shopping malls and the NFL, NBA, and baseball, I can’t find a plastic baseball bat for my son so we are having one shipped from the US. We order things often actually since there are items we just can’t get here that have become necessities (Tums, Cream of Wheat, Desitin, Seasoning, etc.).
Career wise things are not what I expected, the language barrier and flaws in the the system makes it harder for a new business man to be able to find the resources needed to research a particular field and to accomplish the simplest of tasks. One example is when I submitted the paperwork to form a marketing company in October 2006, my lawyer and father-in-law said the process takes two weeks, 4 months later after numerous attempts to find out what the hold up was I received a call. The government offices in Nicosia said that they apologized for the delay and they had lost the paper work which they eventually found and will now respond to me quickly, Two days later I was informed that they rejected the seven names I submitted and I must submit a new name to be considered. We took a previously selected name, not one of our top choices and finally the company was formed on April 25, 2007, a six month delay.
My wife Charina, son Phoenix and I have had a lot of quality time together, we have made some very good friends and see a lot of both of our families and since arriving here have added another member to our family, Julian. I currently own and operate Cyprus Marketing Solutions in Paphos, Cyprus. Our primary source of work comes from marketing properties for sale in Cyprus using http://www.cyprus101.com/ and http://www.propertyofcyprus.com/ among many other forms of advertising, although we are doing well registering homes to sell and have managed to sell a few properties I am afraid that it will only get harder to sell as the market is very flat. With so many vacant homes and new builds available there does not look to be any relief in sight for those in need to sell.
I will continue to post updates on this blog about the course life will take us, I will report on all fronts from personal experiences such as the difficulty of having two babies under 2 “2 under 2” a term I use a lot now, and please share your experience because I know a lot of you parents or grandparents have been through the same experience. I will also share work related topics such as the slow trend the housing market is in now. Please share your thoughts on this subject and share ideas which I will also do in future posts.
Post on my friends.
Since this is my first post on this blog I feel as though I must include some background about myself and how I got here. I was born in Jordan, moved to the USA in 1973 at the age of 10 with my family and never left the US except for a month on an operation with the US marines in 1982. After my dad passed away in 1999 my mom moved back to Jordan and in 2002 my wife (girlfriend then) and I went to Jordan to visit her and it was my first time in 29 years. We also spent time in Cyprus where my wife’s mom has lived since 1989. My wife who was born in Kansas City, Missouri also lived in Cyprus for 9 years. I was very attracted to the easy way of life (opposite of the New York minute) but never dreamed of actually moving out of the US. I must admit though that I felt that I was missing out on a part of life that we don’t experience much in the US especially for me at the time. I owned and operated a restaurant and as many will tell you that it’s a full time job plus some.
My father-in-law and I became friends and when they came to visit us on two occasions over the next two years we talked about the opportunities that were available in Cyprus. Cyprus had just joined the EU in ‘04 and he is a successful lawyer, it didn’t take much convincing to finally decide to make the move. Our friends did not believe it at first but when I sold the restaurant everyone knew it was happening.
Since being here I have experienced the easy going lifestyle. However, I must admit that sometimes I do miss the fast pace and the crowds. I do miss a good taco, burrito, corn tortillas and salsas ( I did own a Mexican restaurant). I also miss the shopping malls and the NFL, NBA, and baseball, I can’t find a plastic baseball bat for my son so we are having one shipped from the US. We order things often actually since there are items we just can’t get here that have become necessities (Tums, Cream of Wheat, Desitin, Seasoning, etc.).
Career wise things are not what I expected, the language barrier and flaws in the the system makes it harder for a new business man to be able to find the resources needed to research a particular field and to accomplish the simplest of tasks. One example is when I submitted the paperwork to form a marketing company in October 2006, my lawyer and father-in-law said the process takes two weeks, 4 months later after numerous attempts to find out what the hold up was I received a call. The government offices in Nicosia said that they apologized for the delay and they had lost the paper work which they eventually found and will now respond to me quickly, Two days later I was informed that they rejected the seven names I submitted and I must submit a new name to be considered. We took a previously selected name, not one of our top choices and finally the company was formed on April 25, 2007, a six month delay.
My wife Charina, son Phoenix and I have had a lot of quality time together, we have made some very good friends and see a lot of both of our families and since arriving here have added another member to our family, Julian. I currently own and operate Cyprus Marketing Solutions in Paphos, Cyprus. Our primary source of work comes from marketing properties for sale in Cyprus using http://www.cyprus101.com/ and http://www.propertyofcyprus.com/ among many other forms of advertising, although we are doing well registering homes to sell and have managed to sell a few properties I am afraid that it will only get harder to sell as the market is very flat. With so many vacant homes and new builds available there does not look to be any relief in sight for those in need to sell.
I will continue to post updates on this blog about the course life will take us, I will report on all fronts from personal experiences such as the difficulty of having two babies under 2 “2 under 2” a term I use a lot now, and please share your experience because I know a lot of you parents or grandparents have been through the same experience. I will also share work related topics such as the slow trend the housing market is in now. Please share your thoughts on this subject and share ideas which I will also do in future posts.
Post on my friends.
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