I lived in the Paphos area for several years and had a holiday apartment before that, when Cyprus was not in the EU it was a much better place all round, prices were reasonable, I found the people overall friendly, but like all peoples you always get some who aren't. Whilst I was there the property industry was booming and villas and apartments were selling like hotcakes, there was a strong expat community and we made many friends and life was good, then they joined the EU, prices rocketed upwards and the property slump happened big time. Because we expats are not buying properties like we used to and many expats have gone back home for one reason or another, there is no longer unlimited money falling into Cypriot pockets, so we are not viewed in such a good light anymore, and if you own a property there, unless you have the deeds, you have no chance of making a sale and even if do sell, you will have to sell at a huge loss. Personally I always used to say beware of Greeks bearing gifts, they are always nice to you when taking your cash. We left for serious family reason back home and lost about £70K sterling. ouch. After saying all this we enjoyed our stay there, but as they say all good things come to an end. Will Cyprus ever recover, not in my lifetime I don't believe.