In short
Limassol is the port and business centre of Cyprus, not its capital. Its tax and corporate regime drew foreign head offices, and with them an international population settled year-round.
The island is crossed in two hours: the Troodos mountains, the ancient sites of Kourion and Paphos and the east-coast beaches are all within a hundred kilometres.
What it really costs
Housing has risen sharply with the arrival of foreign companies and the seafront towers. Limassol is now the most expensive city on the island.
Cyprus is in the eurozone. English is spoken everywhere, a British legacy, and administration works in both languages, which makes settling straightforward.
What nobody tells you
There is no railway and the bus network is modest: the car is the normal mode, and you drive on the left, another British legacy.
Summer is long and dry, with peaks beyond forty degrees in July and August. The pleasant season runs from October to May, the reverse of northern Europe.
The island has been divided since 1974 and a demarcation line crosses it. Passage to the north is through open checkpoints, but hire-car insurance does not always cover the other side.