How I bought a house in Northern Cyprus
My wife Katya and I spent quite a long time looking for different options for buying an apartment in our hometown of Lviv. It so happened that the search for suitable housing (fortunately) dragged on. Three-room apartments up to 100 sq. m. (according to available funds) were either “Khrushchev-era”, or “panel-type”, or “new buildings” with the automatic acquisition of the accompanying risk of losing all the money invested in the construction.
In relation to housing prices, I have always been amazed by the question – why is EVERYTHING so expensive here? The builder only performed the EASIEST and cheapest operation, built a box, and did not bother to make access roads and the adjacent territory. And now he sells all this “Lego” constructor, and takes money for the crooked walls erected, as for a full-fledged, top-class finished apartment, with furniture, with swimming pools and playgrounds in the yard. I know what I’m talking about, now I have something to compare with.
I have visited many countries of the world, and in almost every country I tried to get to realtors, just out of curiosity. To find out for what money, on what terms and what you can buy from them. Prices abroad are radically different from real estate prices in the Russian Federation, Ukraine. Given that real estate is sold abroad, as a rule, already completely finished, with a built-in kitchen, often with appliances in the kitchen, sometimes with some furniture in the rooms like built-in wardrobes, etc. And without fail with ready-made infrastructure, playgrounds, parking areas, etc. They call all this the principle of “Buy and live”. At the same time, the price for this “full stuffing” is cheaper than just a rough box with crooked walls in the Russian Federation or Ukraine built according to the “do it yourself” principle. It is not clear why such a box in the Russian Federation and Ukraine is not just more expensive, but much more expensive!
I will tell you that, strangely enough, my very first visit to a realtor abroad was accidental, and just in Northern Cyprus, in 2007. At that time, in Lviv, I had already begun to think about buying a 100 sq. m. apartment, so I was familiar with the prices in this market. When in Northern Cyprus they told me and showed me various offers, apartments, penthouses, villas, with a view of the sea and mountains, it is hard to call it a shock. It was a complete and unconditional knockout!
Therefore, Katya and I considered purchasing real estate not only in Lviv, but also abroad. The countries considered were Montenegro, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Thailand, Turkey, Egypt. But for some reason, I did not consider Northern Cyprus at that time. But still, the question of purchasing real estate in Lviv was in first place, and everything else (various countries) was a reserve, secondary option. My own is more familiar, although in the end it turned out to be several times more expensive.
One day, in December 2013, Katya asked me to read one of the letters she received from a mailing list about emigrating to Northern Cyprus. I scolded her very harshly then, saying, how many times do I have to repeat this, do not accept or read any mailing lists at all. Any mailing list is a scam, a bluff, a scam. I convinced her that “such mailings are sent exclusively by swindlers for their own enrichment at the expense of gullible readers.” At the same time, I did not read a single letter from this mailing list. I scolded her and forgot.
After the New Year, we had another trip abroad, to the Dominican Republic. We flew out of one country and returned to another. After the February events in Kyiv, I firmly decided – I do not want to live in Ukraine anymore. We decided to move to another country as soon as possible. The problem is that my wife is a citizen of Ukraine, and I am a citizen of Russia. I regularly (once a month) went through customs at the Ukraine-Russia border, since I work in the Far North on a rotational basis. At the same time, we lived in the city of Lviv, and everything was fine and calm… until the February events on the Maidan. Now, however, crossing this border has become impossible.
According to the new laws of Ukraine, entry into the territory of Ukraine is PROHIBITED for male citizens of the Russian Federation aged 16 to 60. And if I cross it, there is a high probability of my arrest, as a citizen of the Russian Federation, and also a former military man, with charges of espionage. Now in Lviv, there are huge posters on the streets with the inscription “A great extra income on top of your salary! Catch a Muscovite and get $ 10,000 as a gift!” It is impossible to prove that you are “not a camel”. In 10 years, they would release me from prison and say, sorry, we made a mistake. If they had said… They would have made it even easier – an amnesty, and that’s it. So, I decided, why do I need this? That’s where the solution comes from – emigration!
First, I looked for real estate in Kaliningrad. But the sky-high housing prices and the crazy interest rate on the loan did not give me the opportunity to buy real estate there. I showed my friends what real estate I ended up choosing in Kaliningrad. Their remark says a lot – “And they call this strictly square barn, without balconies for 4 families a cottage??? For 5.5 million rubles???”. It’s all sad.
Then Katya remembered about the newsletter, and once again asked me to read it. I kept insisting that it was all a hoax. The mailing list cannot be different. Only by deception. To prove it (since I am well acquainted with both computer technology and Internet technologies), I decided to show Katya and prove that this is a hoax. Without reading the entire newsletter, but skimming through a few letters, I sat down at my computer and spent two days searching for detailed information about the author of the newsletter about the Resettlement Assistance Program, Ilya Shestakov, about his work on the Internet, visited his website, and tried to find as much negative information about him on the Internet as possible. Katerina needs to prove that I’m always right! Especially in matters of the Internet. And the more negative I found, the more outraged I became. I can see and understand how the negativity that I found on various sites on the Internet is organized. It is striking that ALL the negativity is written as a carbon copy, from 3 people, but under different logins, and replicated all over the Internet. Stylistics, presentation, the same mistakes in the text, etc., all this suggests that the source of all this is one. My first thoughts are that competitors, realtors, are deliberately blackening it. Then I found out that the bulk of the negativity comes from the envious, the offended, etc. As a result, I found the original source on the Internet, the MOST offended woman from whom all this came. And then all this was replicated, reprinted, duplicated, etc. on various forums, websites, and electronic newspapers. I found out what caused the conflict with this woman. I won’t advertise for her. But I was outraged by why people pay for good things with such obscenity. They helped her with everything, even got her a job in Northern Cyprus, in a reputable office, and here’s a thank you. As it turned out, she became famous for this “gratitude” at her former place of residence. Does it make her feel better to pour out the rabble? We must not forget that both good and evil RETURN! Do good to people, and they will respond in kind. But she’s not, she just won’t calm down. God is her judge.
After I collected all the negative information about Shestakov, the Russian Quarter, and the Assistance Program, I finally sat down and read all the letters from his mailing list, after which I told Katya that I was wrong, everything written in the newsletter was TRUE, and all the negative was a complete lie. We need to leave right away.
The other day, I received another confirmation from a very respected person in Northern Cyprus that good deeds and positivity run ahead of a person. The words were not spoken to me, by that time, thanks to the efforts of Ilya, Julia, Lera, I had already bought a house in the Russian Quarter and settled in Northern Cyprus. These words were said to a friend of mine, a very respected scientist from Azerbaijan, who, after reading the newsletter, said: “It’s all too beautifully described to be true. I will send this newsletter to my friend in Northern Cyprus, also a scientist who lives there and works at the University, and see what he has to say to this.” Here are his words: “Everything that is written in the newsletter is the absolute truth. Go to Northern Cyprus without hesitation.”
So, the decision has been made, we must go. In order for everything to come true, I acted as written in the newsletter and on the Compatriots portal in the “My first steps” section. I read the entire newsletter again. I wrote down the interview questions. I asked Ilya for permission to conduct an interview. I passed it successfully. And here I am in Northern Cyprus.
I flew fast and well. Julia (Ilya’s assistant) met him. I immediately took him to a cafe and fed him (the man was from the road, he was hungry). I brought them to the hotel and arranged for a rental car. That’s for sure, “Mama Choli” is an endless storehouse of goodness! It’s all Julia. Cheerful, funny, always on the rise and positive – a kind-hearted person. She tries to help everyone as if someone from her family had arrived.
A meeting with Ilya was organized the next day. The first meeting made the most pleasant impression. Ilya exuded strength and confidence, which was immediately transmitted. My last doubts have disappeared. We talked once again about the principles that guide the formation of the Russian Quarter. They took my verbal consent voluntarily and to the best of my ability to help newcomers after we get used to it ourselves. We talked about various options, apartments, and penthouses in the Golden Fleece and Pine Paradise neighborhoods. Ilya personally took me to the neighborhoods, where I met with the same friendly and sincere people. On the very first day at Runo, I met my countryman Bogdan and the Simenenko family. Everyone began to share advice with me, everything was sincere and kind.
Ilya advised not to rush into a choice, you must first look at everything in place, see with your own eyes the various options in the Russian Quarter, listen carefully to your feelings and evaluate the needs and wishes.
By the way, I was already aiming for a penthouse in the Pine Paradise complex, or as we call it “Sosnovka”.
Why “Sosnovka”? For several reasons. New housing, with a set of appliances, kitchen accessories, built-in wardrobes, plumbing, etc. It’s already saving money, you don’t need to buy. Good layout. And the views are generally amazing. Pools, sea and pine forest nearby, the air is clean.
The peculiarity of the Kyrenian coast is that right by the sea there are towering mountains, pine forests, and a mixture of sea air with alpine and pine makes this air therapeutic for the body. Many immediately compare these places with Crimea. That’s it, that’s sooo similar. There is no such thing anywhere else in Cyprus!
In the rest of Cyprus, beyond the Kyrenia range, including Southern Cyprus, it is a scorched desert with small oases on the territory of hotels. Where it is 5 degrees hotter in summer and 5 degrees colder in winter. And here it’s like in the Crimea! And this Kyrenian coast stretches for as much as 60 km. It’s like Sochi is stretched. Those who were in Loo say I was in Sochi, and for some reason no one says that I was on vacation in Loo. Kyrenia is similar in structure to Sochi, and in all other respects it is the southern coast of Crimea. Therefore, the Kyrenian coast is the MOST promising in terms of development.
I knew all this even before arriving in Northern Cyprus from the mailing list and the official website of “Compatriots”, where everything is described in the most detailed way. I am amazed at the people who read the newsletter and the information published on the website, and ask Ilya banal questions in their letters, to which the newsletter has long given a detailed answer. Such questioners on the Internet on websites are generally banned for flooding. Ilya patiently, for the hundredth time, answers the same questions that the “writers” ask. Is it really hard to read what they sent you? And they have sent you an INVALUABLE experience that you will not find anywhere else, you can only go through it all yourself, from the very beginning, repeatedly stepping on the same rake that Ilya warns about in his newsletter. Oh, I think I got distracted.
Minus Sosnovka – nowhere without a car! The car should be in any case, even in Fleece, even in Sosnovka. But, in Sosnovka, a car is absolutely necessary. Minibuses run, but much less frequently than near the Golden Fleece complex. There are no shops nearby. You can’t take minibuses to the store. Children need to be taken to school. Otherwise, Sosnovka has some advantages. I was particularly pleased with the quality of the finishing works in Sosnovka. Everything is literally done like a ruler. Tile to tile, with a millimeter gap, smooth, beautiful. The walls are perfectly aligned. Of course, you can get to the bottom of the pillar, but I’m speaking generally for the complex. I liked it very much.
Together with Ilya, we walked through the Pine Paradise complex and looked at various options. But while sitting in Sosnovka’s showroom, Julia informed me about the Golden Fleece option. A townhouse that can be vacated because its residents want to move to the “Pine Paradise” from the “Golden Fleece”. All the others have been sold for a long time. The difference in finishing work in these complexes is visible to the naked eye. The quality is acceptable, but in Sosnovka it is an order of magnitude higher. But who has a head on their shoulders, and their hands grow from the right place – all these are mere trifles! And if you have to choose between a penthouse in Sosnovka and a townhouse in the Golden Fleece, then my choice definitely fell on the Golden Fleece.
What is the attraction of the Golden Fleece neighborhood of the Russian Quarter? The answer may take several pages, but in short, you will find yourself in the center of the events of the village of Alsancak (one of the suburbs of Kyrenia, according to the principle of a Loop in Sochi). Everything is nearby. Shops, cafes, supermarkets, municipal institutions, etc., etc. If you are moving with a large family, especially with young children, then you need to seriously weigh the pros and cons between these two complexes.
About small children. You don’t have to worry about them at all. Everything is here for them. Well, it’s like a children’s resort. I am convinced, I am sure, it has been checked, I know, and I can say for SURE that in a couple of months you will be going to the market with your children. For what? And who will translate everything from Turkish to Russian for you? Although almost all children come with knowledge of a foreign language like mine – a complete “0”, very quickly children begin to speak Turkish fluently, and those who study at an English school also speak English.
The Golden Fleece quarter is already settling in. In the evening, you go out for a walk, and there’s only Russian speech on the street, neighbors share their impressions of who did what at home, who bought what furniture and where, how the children are doing well at school, which camp is better to send the children to. Life is bustling. The entire quarter consists only of Russian-speaking citizens of the former Soviet Union.
Many residents of the Golden Fleece quarter have already made “repairs” in their apartments. Some people don’t like the tiles on the floor, they bought their own, rearranged them, and some people weren’t satisfied with the built-in furniture. As a rule, there is a built-in furniture “budget option”, like for the first time and so it will do. I think by the fall, the quarter will already be fully populated. All the neighbors are friendly, sociable, and share tips and their experiences on how best to act like best friends. All this pleases. There are no sprawled out and boorish new Russians here, the ordinary middle class lives in their apartments here, having left the inhabited places for various reasons.
Yulia, a volunteer of the Program, who was assigned to us, helped us with everything, obtaining various certificates, led by the pen to the State Lawyer Lera, who accompanies all legal issues in the Assistance Program, and together we completed all the necessary documents. There was a moment when I thought with horror, if I were alone, how would I do all this? Especially with such “knowledge” of English as I “know”. Of all the English spoken, I understand only one phrase – “sprechen zee deutsch”.
I was also impressed by our mukhtar, who needs to get some information. Mukhtar is not the nickname of a dog from a well–known movie, but in translation “manager, senior” is an elected public position in every village in Northern Cyprus. By our standards, he is the chairman of the village council. So, our Mukhtar is a tall (in height) man with a very dense build, at least a hundredweight. All in beautiful tattoos, and with a feathered Indian cap on his head. We found him at home, working on his property. And he put on this beautiful hat from the sun. The first impressions of what I saw – WOW! Well, that’s right, by our standards, a “looker”. But in fact, he is a cheerful and kind-hearted person, friendly, friendly.
Mukhtar asked Julia about us, and without hesitation, immediately at a table in the garden, wrote out all the necessary information. I took the seal out of my pocket, and whoo-a-la, everything is ready!
With Julia’s activity, a couple of days later I already had a purchase and sale agreement for my own house in Northern Cyprus.
The assistance of the Emigration Assistance Program, the choice and registration of housing is enormous! Tested by personal experience! Russian Russian Quarter For those who doubt that this is not a fairy tale, I can say that read the newsletter carefully again, ask Ilya to connect you on Skype to the Russian Quarter group, ask us on Skype, those who already live in Northern Cyprus, dispel all your doubts, and go ahead – welcome to the Russian Quarter!
I am very glad that I have become a CYPRIOT! Very much in tune with the patriot! Now I am a patriot of Northern Cyprus!
I’m not talking to those who are wondering if I really need it, but to those who have come to an understanding or circumstances are developing in such a way that there is nowhere else to go. And there are many of them. I know this from talking to friends who have found themselves in a difficult situation due to the events in Ukraine. There are quite a few people like me who have mixed marriages. For some, this is just the straw that needs to be grasped urgently. Many express a desire to follow the path they have already traveled. I am sending all of them to our Assistance website. Everything is there, information, recommendations, etc. And it is necessary to think about whether or not to go to a permanent place of residence in Northern Cyprus very quickly, otherwise your thoughts and indecision will lead to a broken trough. Why? Yes, because those who did not have time are too late! I am personally afraid of the unification of Cyprus, which is just around the corner. After all, I don’t have TRNC citizenship yet. Only a residence permit. And if laws are passed that are as complex as in Europe, then woe betide those who did not make it. Or rather, after the merger, they won’t have time. “It’s too late to drink borjomi when the kidney has failed.”
Thanks to the efforts and organizational skills of Ilya Shestakov, his wife Olya, and the help of Yulia and Olga-Valeria (Lera), the most amazing thing that could happen was the birth of the first Russian Quarter in Northern Cyprus! Many still do not understand what an invaluable service Ilya has done to all of us. He united us all. We’re all together now!
It remains to discuss and designate the date of the Russian Quarter’s birthday and mark this date annually as “City Day”.
Yours sincerely, Sergey