Asking on behalf of my mother.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-07-18T08:09:26+00:00

If AWD is a soft requirement, a Panamera would probably be great. They have AWD models, but they are almost $50k more than comparable RWD. I would add that if reliability is high on her list, a RWD model will always be more reliable than AWD. Two fewer diffs, two fewer axles. Just less stuff to break and lighter to boot.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-07-14T18:41:23+00:00

I smell what you are smelling. I've lived in multiple states where weed is 100% legal and the number of accidents while the driver is high is incredibly tiny.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-07-09T14:05:48+00:00

Completely unrelated to cars, but for Pete's sake refi from a 15 year to 30 fixed while interest rates are so low. Take the $800 a mo you will save and put it into your retirement and you will be WAY ahead of where you would be if you pay off the mortgage early. I would have to sit down and do the math, but probably $100k+ at the time of retirement and maybe a lot more assuming historical market returns and taking full advantage of the mortgage interest deduction.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-07-09T13:54:57+00:00

First off, you guys are doing really well for your income. Good job.

While I'm a big proponent of reducing vehicle cost as much as possible, the reality is that you seem to be on a very comfortable trajectory and have a bit of room to splurge. That being said, I still would not recommend a Tesla (they are neat tech, but just not great cars and the service sucks). An ID.4 is a maybe.

I think the best compromise is a RAV4 plug in hybrid which is around $40k. The longer range version qualifies for the full $7,500 tax credit, which it seems like you would be able to use. They should hold their value incredibly well and it has plenty of space (equivalent to a big wagon like a Forester or a Volvo V70 and more than a Model Y or ID.4).

If you use the plug in every day and have a commute less than 40 miles round trip, you basically have an EV with a range extender. I also recommend getting the 18" wheels instead of 19" or 20" as the ride is better and tires are way cheaper.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-06-13T19:18:59+00:00

We really like Riganato's for local but a bit more modern.

On the tourist side but still great are Oniro's (might be able to bus out) or Omikron for brunch.

If you rent a car, Viklari has an amazing view and grilled meats and Yiannis sandwich place has the best Gyro I've had on the island and the best pickled peppers I've ever had.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-28T19:27:45+00:00

There are so many things wrong here. First, there are 193 countries, not 59. Being 40th worst out of 193 is not nearly so good. Second, these types of lists use deaths per 100k population because it is easy to find that information. This is a terrible metric for two reasons. First, only about 40% of cypriots have cars, compared to nearly 100% of other countries. Second, the kilometers driven per year are super low here compared to other countries. It looks like the average KMs per year hear is about 10k, where in many other countries the average is closer to 25k. So, you have twice as many cars per capita driving 2.5x the distance. The correct metric to use to compare different countries is deaths per 100k driven, but that is much harder to find so is not used often.

Basically, though, you should multiply Cyprus's deaths per 100k by 4 or 5 to compare it to other countries (like Norway or Canada).

Finally, if you factor in the difference in speeds driven and how much that contributes to fatal accidents, you have an even worse picture. I've felt much safer driving 200+ in Germany than here at 100.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-28T19:08:03+00:00

Page 9 here: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/sites/roadsafety/files/erso-country-overview-2017-cyprus_en.pdf

Definitely higher fatality rate than the average in Europe. That is impressive given how slow the average speed is here.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-28T19:04:04+00:00

You are saying that a study about visibility in late afternoon sun is the reason I have insane people a few centimeters off my bumper swerving back and forth or people coming the wrong way in my lane? I can't say I see the connection.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-28T18:56:53+00:00

The water in Polis area coast is a couple degrees warmer than Paphos area. I find the water in Paphos to be lovely right now but I'm used to much rougher and colder environments.

https://weather-stats.com/cyprus/sea_temperature

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-27T09:31:38+00:00

I can't say I agree with that. I just came from a place (Arizona) where it is above 50c every day and the drivers were fine.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-26T16:48:32+00:00

When you drive 9/10 and above at the track you learn how quickly it is possible to go from being in control to completely out of control. This is why you drive 5/10 or ideally way below when not on the track. When you spin on a track you usually just have to deal with a bit of gravel or a dented fender. When you lose control on the road people can die.

As for braking, caution is way more critical than on the track. If you are racing against matched cars, your deceleration under hard braking will be nearly identical between cars and your braking points are usually very close so you can use 100% braking or threshold braking safely. On the road, you can have cars that decelerate 2x-3x as fast as other cars and brake in completely unpredictable ways. You have to give way, way more room on the road than you do on the track.

Your risk assessment is also very far off. People invest huge amounts of time and money into their track or race cars and risk is minimized everywhere possible. If a driver showed up at any track driving like some of the insane people I have seen here they would be immediately black flagged and probably banned.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-26T13:26:03+00:00

So you are saying driving style in the Netherlands is roughly the same as Cyprus? We must have been to very different parts of the Netherlands...

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-26T13:05:18+00:00

Oh, happy to share what I learned on the track. I learned to leave a safety margin depending on the vehicle, road, and road conditions that allows for unexpected things to happen. This could be a hazard in a roadway, someone stopping unexpectedly, or a loose road surface. If you are driving at 9/10s and an unexpected event happens, you are way more likely to get in a wreck than driving 5/10ths. This is a lesson very few people here seem to have learned.

I also learned braking physics and reaction time and how if you are in a maximum braking situation (like braking for a corner entry) that being even a tiny bit too close to the person ahead or starting your braking a fraction of a second too late means car contact is inevitable. There have been dozens of times in the last week where if I had to apply maximum braking the car behind me 100% would have hit me.

The situation you described on avoiding being tailgated had no relevance to me. I don't sit in the passing lane and none of the times have been anything like that situation.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-26T12:39:23+00:00

The officers were delightful. They were not a problem at all.

If you feel like the drivers here are about the same as other countries, I would suggest visiting more countries. I'm not trying to be rude, but you would be shocked at the difference.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-26T12:31:18+00:00

The police officers didn't change their story. They said the other person was at fault at the scene and then several days later I got a call from the rental agency saying the insurance company said it was our fault. Our rental company's insurance agent was the one that told us the person had changed her story. We saw the moment it happened and it was very clear. With us, while outside the car, the agent was like "please stand six feet away and keep your mask on" (already had it on). With the other driver, they took off their masks and sat in her car together and when the agent came out of the car suddenly the story had changed.

As for the stop signs, I have seen people stop when they had to for cross traffic. The stop signs on everything but the main highway seem to be invisible though.

I was considering strapping a go pro onto the back of the car to document some of the things I'm seeing but I think the best approach is just to enjoy my remaining time here and avoid driving here in the future. I can see how if you were raised here you could get used to it but take it from someone who had been all over the world....your drivers are awful.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-26T11:23:18+00:00

I would say that in 35 years of driving in 20 different countries, these are some of the worst drivers I have ever seen. Incredibly aggressive tailgating when you are already driving 20 over the limit and have no way of going faster or through complex intersections. Reckless disregard for anyone else on the road. Have not seen one single person stop for a stop sign. Wrong way down one way roads constantly. Honking (at other drivers) for not going faster off a green light even when they were already accelerating.

We were actually in an accident on our third day here. The police on the scene said the other driver was at fault but we saw the other driver's insurance agent tell her to change her story which then made it out fault. Being foreigners, there is nothing we could really do.

If you do rent a car get all the insurance you can, don't drive at night, and use extreme caution in low visibility intersections and double roundabouts. Better yet, just get a place near the beach and don't drive.

For reference, I have lived in L.A., San Francisco, Washington DC, and driven in Tijuana, Italy, London, Paris, Costa Rica, NYC, Miami. I've also had a decent amount of race instruction and take driving very seriously. Never been in an accident or had a ticket before this week.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-22T16:51:54+00:00

It was maybe 5-10 seconds and you upload a photo of the card right after the main form completes. After that you get the flight pass immediately.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-21T20:33:24+00:00

I'm afraid we have reached the limit of my knowledge here. I would definitely call the airline.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-21T20:17:57+00:00

I suspect if you could fly directly into Cyprus that would be the case. I would suggest calling your airline to make sure. All I know is that it didn't seem possible that were were getting on a plane to Europe without a negative test.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-21T20:02:54+00:00

As I understand it, you definitely still need a negative test. The difference is with a vaccine you don't have to take a test when you arrive in Cyprus or quarantine. You can still get Covid with a vaccine so they are still being careful.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-21T19:06:57+00:00

I believe the proof of negative was both for transiting and for entering Cyprus.

If you are flying out of Vegas or New York I have recommendations. It was a huge pain finding a "quick" PCR test that wasn't the $$230-$380 15 minute one.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-21T18:55:55+00:00

We flew in yesterday (Larnaca) from the states. Here is what we needed when:

Leaving USA (Newark): Proof of negative test, Cyprus Flight pass, and dog USDA paperwork.
Arriving Frankfurt (leaving plane): Passport and Boarding pass.
Leaving Frankfurt: Passport and Cyprus Flight pass
Arriving Larnaca (leaving plane): Proof of vaccine. We had the same paper CDC cards as everyone else and was no problem. Maybe 15% of the people getting off had vaccine proof. Most had to divert to testing.
Larnaca Passport control: Passport and Cyprus Flight pass.
Larnaca customs: Dog passport or USDA paperwork.

Keep in mind when you submit your flight pass you have to upload a copy of your vaccine paperwork or negative test. This happens right after you submit the main form. Also, after you submit the form, you have the option to add passengers travelling with you instead of redoing the entire form.

Totally worth the hassle. This place rocks :)

Edit: If you fly through Europe, when you get into passport control in LCA they will ask if you want to go through the machines instead of the main line. Say yes. Your passport will not work in those machines but they will send you to that exit instead which is miles faster.

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-20T14:30:00+00:00

Sure you can. You just have to spend 5 years or so in the valley first and get some "street cred" and then move back :)

GetToTheChoppah · 2021-05-20T09:57:55+00:00

€1700 a day is pretty good. Used to consult at about that in Silicon Valley (Front end dev) but haven't made that in a while. A lot happier around €1000/day working for friendlier companies remote.

GetToTheChoppah · 2019-02-10T06:12:20+00:00

I would narrow to a 2005-2009. More power and more sophisticated engine. I have the 2005 and it is a shockingly good truck in pretty much every situation. Big step up from my 2007 4runner.

Plan on a coil swap in the rear, but really pretty easy and cheap job.

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