Despite the modest size of the island and the short distances between the cities, life in each of the five cities of Cyprus, as well as the mentality of their population differs significantly.
For example, the residents of Nicosia are considered to be boring, dull working people, while the residents of Limassol are cheerful and vivacious, know a lot about good food, wine and fun. Limassol is home to two major island events: the wine festival in September and the carnival in late February and early March (the last week before Lent).
Some municipalities in Nicosia try to keep up. For example, every summer the municipality of Aglantzia hosts a jazz festival called Aglanjazz, the municipality of Nicosia hosts a beer festival in September, and the theater in the municipality of Latsia periodically puts on theatrical productions, plus concerts and plays at the Strovolos Theater, as well as open-air concerts and musical performances throughout the city. Still, they can't keep up with the fun-loving, never-sleeping Limassol.
Population
The population of the two cities (together with their constituent village municipalities) is about the same - approximately 250 thousand people. But, visually, Nicosia is always more deserted, and in the summer months looks like a city without people. On the contrary, Limassol always looks crowded and it feels like life is booming there from early morning until late at night. At dawn people go jogging on the seafront, in Dasoudi Park and on the beach there are yoga, tai-chi, qigong groups, in any season and weather there is a chance to swim.
Then begins the time of office workers and frustrating traffic jams. Almost every morning there are accidents on the embankment: nothing serious, someone was in a hurry to change lanes and scratched a neighbor's bumper or door. Nevertheless, one lane out of two turns out to be closed for a good 30-40 minutes, or even more. Therefore, everyone else drives on the only free lane, giving a bad word to the careless hurry.
In Nicosia in the morning you can see only joggers and rare sleepy passers with dogs. Traffic in both cities is generally equally serious. By evening, the Limassol bonanza comes to life. At the time when tired residents of the capital go home from work, to supermarkets or take the children to tutors, along the Limassol seafront lined up in a row of expensive cars, in convertibles with loud music rejoice in life dressed up hotties, passing powerful motorcycles. The bonanza goes to dinner and have fun.
After 9-10 pm Nicosia comes to a standstill. Weary of sad thoughts and worries of the capital's workers watch movies on Netflix and go to bed. Only a few wine bars and restaurants in the center remain glowing islands of life. In Limassol the fun is just beginning, and until the very morning the same beauties in convertibles and tough bikers on their powerful iron horses rush through the central streets with music. Of course, you can have fun in Nicosia and work hard for long hours in Limassol.
Renting and buying real estate
In Limassol there is the sea. And that says it all! The specifics of renting is that in Nicosia most of the residential real estate is rented for a long term, and in Limassol it is easier to find an apartment, house or villa for a short term (from one night to a couple of weeks). Of course, the prices differ many times. It is necessary to consider each case separately, because a modern new house with a garden and swimming pool on the outskirts of Nicosia will cost more than an old apartment in a dilapidated building on the first line of Limassol. And the cost of approximately the same area and quality of studios or one-bedroom apartments, located near educational institutions, in Nicosia and Limassol can sometimes differ by a factor of two.
Living costs
Like all resort towns with a constant influx of new people, Limassol is more expensive than Nicosia. Moreover, if food in supermarkets, fuel, household appliances, everyday items in the same networks are the same in all cities of Cyprus, the prices for goods and services, as well as real estate are formed by the laws of the free market, that is, demand, so the prices for tire repair, clothing repair, services of beautician, hairdresser, masseur can differ in the two cities by 30-40%.
Economical girls from Limassol go to "their" beauty salons in Nicosia, ordering a set of services at once: haircut and hair coloring, manicure, pedicure, waxing and so on. It is believed that the time and gasoline spent on the road is more than recouped by much lower prices for these services.
However, this does not mean that in Nicosia the specialists are good and cheap, and in Limassol they are all overly-priced. You can find good specialists through recommendations in various groups on Facebook or Telegram. In addition, it is not superfluous to ask your acquaintances, so you can get a proven hairdresser, car mechanic or beautician.
Quality of life
Let's say at once that all the best restaurants and taverns of Cyprus are concentrated in the south-west of the island: in Limassol, Paphos, in Polis, as well as in the villages between them. This is primarily due to the presence of expensive hotels, whose guests know a lot about good food and visit restaurants, as well as a higher concentration of wealthy people living on the island permanently than in other areas of Cyprus.
Limassol has a lot to offer, from houses to cocktails, but you have to pay more for it. In Nicosia, you can get the same quality of life for much less money. The same can be said for branded clothing stores, as well as the luxury housing segment.
For a family with children, where both parents work, Nicosia is preferable. In the capital you can buy or rent good housing near schools with convenient infrastructure. In Limassol because of the high demand it is more difficult and expensive.
If you do not need to be in the city every morning, the choice expands. You can find housing in the mountains or in coastal villages. Live in the lap of nature, working remotely (or not working at all).
Safety
When it comes to safety, the palm of superiority belongs to Nicosia. The capital of Cyprus (which, however, has its own specific crimes and "bad" areas), in general, is much calmer and safer than Limassol, where due to the constant influx of tourists and visitors are not uncommon incidents such as robberies, fights, fires, traffic accidents.
In addition, Limassol is notorious for aggressive soccer fans, who after matches smash everything in their path, including store windows, bus stops and cars. Apartment and car thieves have long favored upscale neighborhoods like Agios Tychonas or Aphrodite Hills. At night they rob residents who often keep large sums of cash, jewelry, expensive watches in safes. Thieves have been known to carry away valuables worth more than 100,000 euros. Such an environment implies additional expenditures on safes, alarm systems, lighting of the territory, video surveillance (however, these measures do not prevent completely).
Education
As far as education is concerned, Nicosia and Limassol are practically on the same level in terms of the number of private pre-schools and schools. As far as higher education is concerned, Nicosia is undoubtedly in the lead.
In the capital is located University of Cyprus (by the way, not badly quoted in the rating of European universities), as well as the University of Nicosia, and European University of Cyprus, several smaller private universities, colleges and technical schools. In Limassol all this diversity is represented only by several university departments, as well as technical school TEPAK.
If the family has small children, it makes sense to settle in Limassol and send them to kindergarten/school there (public Greek, as well as private English-speaking, Russian-speaking and French-speaking schools are available in Nicosia and Limassol). If children decide to continue their education in Cyprus, it is possible to rent a student studio not far from the desired educational institution.
Entertainment and culture
Both Nicosia and Limassol are equally rich in cultural events. In most cases, touring theater companies, artists and singers perform alternately in both Nicosia and Limassol. Only some concerts are not duplicated and take place in one of the cities only.
As a rule, foreign artists perform in Limassol. But Nicosia has one undeniable advantage - due to the fact that all embassies and consulates are located in the capital, they hold weeks of national cinema, cuisine, culture, as well as exhibitions, conferences and a lot of other events. Residents of the city are very lucky to be able to attend all these events, most of which are free.
We have told you what to expect in each of the two largest cities in Cyprus, preparing a comparative overview based on the main criteria. The choice is yours!
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