Why we fled to the Med

What makes a middle-aged English couple sell up in Britain and settle permanently in Cyprus? Nigel and Lynne Payne, from Redditch in Worcestershire, tell Tricia Willis why they did it – and why they’re unlikely to be coming back

Nigel Payne was eager to relocate to Cyprus as soon as retirement from the police force allowed, while his wife Lynne would have been happy to carry on for a while longer in her role as receptionist for a medical centre.

He’d spent the last six years of his police career as a licensing officer. Responsible for 400 clubs, pubs and off-licences, his work included dealing with magistrates’ courts and liaising with licensees, local councils and door staff.

“The variety made every day interesting,” he says. “But the work pressures had been building over the years, and with the new licensing laws starting to take effect, I could see they were going to continue. Sometimes I was doing stressful 12-hour days, and if I didn’t get the work done, there was no one to do it for me since I was the only qualified person in my division.”

At 55, Lynne found her job stressful, but also enjoyable. She wasn’t so keen to leave. “Nigel proposed moving to Cyprus as soon as he could retire,” she says, “but I would have been quite happy to stay put for a while longer. I felt too young to retire.”

Her husband, though, had his heart set on moving to the Med. He fell in love with Cyprus while training there with the Territorial Army in the 1970s. The couple celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary there 15 years ago, and ever since it’s been their favourite holiday destination.

Nigel studied the economics of retiring at 55 and moving to Cyprus – and of staying. There was, he found, no contest. “Having looked at my pension figures and the cost of living in Cyprus, relocation seemed like the best possible option compared with another stint of work. We had a comfortable lifestyle in Britain, but if I’d stayed I would have had to continue working to fund it. By moving overseas, my pension would support complete retirement.”

There were other factors. The Paynes were becoming increasingly disillusioned with the way they saw Britain heading. They were worried about crime and what they saw as a growing yob culture. And there was the weather and cramped housing.

“We both intensely disliked the gloomy, blanket-grey skies that always gave such an oppressive atmosphere to life in England,” Lynne says. “And after living in a terraced house on a new estate for so many years in the UK, we also wanted to find somewhere that offered a greater amount of space and freedom.”

Before leaving for a holiday in Polis on the north-west tip of the island in 2003, Nigel contacted property agents on the island – just to see what was available.

“We wanted to view a property in Thala, a small village high up in the hills near Paphos,” says Nigel. “The price and the specifications were just right, but when we were told that this was a very British set up, we walked away.”

They were shown a new development in Polis. “The bumpy drive down a gravel track leading out of town did make us wonder where on earth we were going,” Lynne recalls. “But when we reached the land where the properties would be built, we were delighted. It was stunning, with orchards and farmland leading up to a clear panoramic view of the Akamas mountains.