Limassol

Many people get the wrong idea about this city because they don't know where to go or stay at a touristy place. It's one of the best cities for me personally to live in (decided to move here full-time). If you still want to live in a city with it's amenities, but want to have the ability to run to nature within 10-20 minutes, this might be it for you. Yes, it's not cheap, and I would put Limassol into the exact cost of living brackets as Lisbon or Berlin. For long-term living, the costs are much lower because of lower local taxes (12.5% for freelancers and companies), while Germany has a 45% tax an example. Another main con is public transportation, hence you need to rent a car to experience the real Cyprus.

Pros:
- Perfect for work/life balance (for me)
- Beaches are in and around the city, you live in the middle of the island, so Troodos mountains, white sandy beaches of Ayia Napa, other cities (Paphos, Larnaca) are just a 1h drive away.
- Rapidly growing and improving. A completely different experience from 5/10 years ago. Lots of great coffee shops to work from and improving internet connection (most coffee shops have good enough internet).
- Some of the friendliest locals I've seen. On and they all speak English
- The weather is great 95% of the time. August is too hot for most people and January/February can be too cold or rainy (15-20 C) compared to alternatives such as Asia
- Nightlife improved drastically in the last few years with cool bars, nightclubs, tech/house or techno music, day parties, restaurants that have djs playing chill music and so on.
- Very safe
- Cyprus has this charming "villagy" vibe that Greece and other southern countries have, so don't expect to find Bangkok here:)

Cons:
- Getting more expensive here (Berlin level). Other cities in Cyprus are much cheaper. If you live here as a resident tax savings cover for it.
- Lack of public transportation. You need to rent a car to get around the places (Limassol is a very "long" city, so going from one point to another might take awhile).
- Limassol still has some abandoned or not clean buildings that you could find in other Middle Eastern countries, but don't let that fool you.
- This is not a con to me (even though I don't speak Russian/Ukranian/Belarussian): There is quite a community of Belarussians, Russians and Ukrainians fleeing the war, but most of the ones I met are super friendly and very nice. If you really don't like hearing Slavic languages, most of the nice bars and restaurants have mainly locals, Greeks or Europeans. Almost all of them are very friendly and come from amazing cities like Kiev.

It's not an attractive city, and prices are not really that great. You can get to great beaches, and if you have a car the mountains have some beautiful hikes, but I would not list it as the best of cities. Most remote workers seem to be Russians fleeing the war.

Ehh, wasn't really impressed. The beach is ok. There's a surprisingly good Israeli restaurant. I guess if I wanted to launder Russian money in an ugly condo this would be a decent option, but Turkey or even Albanian coast are far more interesting...