I arrived in Limassol at the beginning of March. It has been almost two months, long enough that I no longer get lost in town, but too short to pretend I know everything. I have already written about why I moved. Now I want to write about something else: what Limassol looks like through the eyes of an entrepreneur who is still finding his feet here. I wrote separately about why I moved to Cyprus.
If you are thinking about moving here or setting up a company in Cyprus, my impressions might be useful. They are impressions, not legal advice. I gathered them from meetings, walks around town, offices, cafes and a lot of questions put to people who have been here for years.
English gets you out of almost any jam
The first thing that put me at ease was the language. Officially, the languages of Cyprus are Greek and Turkish, but in business and administration English is used almost everywhere. Contracts, emails, conversations with the bank, the lawyer, the accountant, forms at the counter: in most cases you can manage without a word of Greek. My impression is that English works, in practice, as the country’s second language.
For an entrepreneur this matters enormously. You do not waste time on translations, you never feel you are signing something you do not understand, and you can work directly with people from all over the world. That does not mean it would not be polite to learn a few words of Greek. I have noticed that a simple thank you in their language opens doors and brings out smiles.
An international business community in a small city
Limassol is not a big city, but it has a concentration of international companies you rarely find in a place its size. Shipping has been here for decades and you can tell: many shipping and ship management companies have offices in town. Then there are financial firms, brokers, funds, consultancies, and a growing number of tech companies that have moved part of their teams here.
The result is an interesting mix. At the same table you might have a Greek Cypriot, a Brit, a Russian, an Israeli and a Romanian. Everyone speaks English, everyone came for a reason and many have an entrepreneurial story. For someone like me, who built Retargeting as a product meant for customers outside Romania, this feels like a natural environment. I once wrote about building a SaaS for global customers, and here thinking globally is the rule, not the exception.
Networking happens over coffee, not at conferences
In Bucharest, networking often means events, presentations and business cards handed out in a hurry. Here I have seen something different: things come together over coffee, a long lunch or a walk along the seafront. People introduce you to each other easily. You meet someone, that someone says you really should talk to a friend of theirs, and within a few days you have three new meetings.
The community is small enough for reputation to travel fast. That is both a good thing and a responsibility. If you are serious, people find out. If you are not, they find out even faster. I think it is a healthy system, because it rewards long-term relationships rather than quick deals.
The pace is slower and, surprisingly, that helps
At first it annoyed me a little. Things do not always get done by tonight. An answer may come tomorrow or the day after, and a meeting starts with ten minutes of talk about the weather and the family. Coming from a rhythm where everything was urgent, I had to recalibrate.
Then I noticed that my stress levels dropped, but my productivity did not. People are friendly, polite and generally true to their word. When someone tells you they are handling it, they usually are, just at their own pace. After the years in which I learned the hard way how to stop before burning out, an environment that makes you breathe does not strike me as a flaw.
The sea and outdoor life as a productivity boost
I am not exaggerating when I say the sea has changed my schedule. In the morning you can exercise on the seafront, at lunch you can eat a few steps from the water, and in the evening you can go for a walk without thinking about traffic. For someone who loves diving, having the sea a few minutes away is a luxury I no longer see as a holiday, but as part of everyday life.
I have noticed that when I move part of my day outdoors, I think more clearly. Some of my best ideas of the past weeks did not come to me at the office but on a walk by the sea. It is not a scientific method, but it works for me. The clean air and the almost daily sunshine also help more than I expected.
What takes some getting used to
Not everything is perfect, and it would not be honest to pretend otherwise. A few things require adjustment:
- The summer heat. Locals and long-time residents tell me July and August are very hot. Even in May you can feel it coming. You adjust your schedule: important meetings in the morning, less running around at midday.
- The rhythm of the day. Many shops and smaller offices close for a long break in the middle of the day, a sort of siesta. If you do not know that, you may find the door locked exactly when you need it.
- Driving on the left. A British legacy. The first days are an exercise in concentration, especially on roundabouts. You get used to it, but at first it is wise to drive slowly and without hurry.
- Bureaucracy has its own tempo. Procedures are clear and, from what I have seen so far, fair. Some of them just take longer than you would expect, so plan ahead.
Tips for anyone thinking of coming
If you are considering Limassol for yourself or your company, here is what I would do again and what I would do better:
- Talk to locals and other expats before you decide. They will tell you what you will not find on websites: which neighbourhood to live in, how the schools are, where business gets done, what to avoid.
- Work with professional advisers on company and tax matters. Setting up a company, tax residency, accounting and your obligations back home are not things to sort out from internet articles. A good lawyer and a good accountant will save you from expensive mistakes.
- Do not rush everything at once. Rent first, get to know the city, then make the big decisions. Two months are not enough to know a place, but they are enough to know whether you want to stay.
- Join the community. Go to meetups, accept invitations for coffee, introduce yourself. Here, relationships are half of the business.
One last thought: from what I have seen so far, the state is predictable and transparent with entrepreneurs, and that changes how you plan your business. I once wrote about what a fair society means to an entrepreneur. I do not believe a perfect place exists, but there are places where the rules are clear and do not change overnight.
The first two months, in short
Limassol is not for everyone. If you need the buzz of a big capital, you may find it too quiet. But if you want a place where you can work internationally, in English, with open-minded people, by the sea and at a pace that does not wear you down, it deserves at least a serious visit. I am only at the beginning, and I am curious what I will be writing a year from now.
Have you ever worked or moved to another country as an entrepreneur? What surprised you most in the first few months?