About THIS. Or ‘a new venture’

The courtyard. Hanging out on the street. Port in the stairwell… How many memories these phrases bring back for so many of us. Yes, it was a slice of life – our LIFE. Whether it was good or bad – those words don’t do it justice. The point is this: we’ve made something of ourselves, misfortune has passed us by, but do we want our children to play this game of Russian roulette? ‘Without this, a well-rounded person cannot develop,’ my opponent claims. I won’t argue with him. I have a different opinion, and I want to protect my children from this ‘Russian roulette’. And for that reason, I’m choosing Cyprus…

I’m not idealising Cyprus. There are different neighbourhoods and different social classes here too, but on the whole, the lifestyle of the ‘average well-off person’ adheres to a certain standard. I’m not talking about billionaires, no. I’m talking about members of the middle class who spend their hard-earned money sensibly.

So. As a rule, a family lives in their own house. This house is situated in a quiet neighbourhood, surrounded by similarly respectable homes belonging to well-off neighbours. The concepts of a ‘courtyard’, ‘entrance hall’ or ‘street crowd’ simply do not exist. From the house, you can step out onto a quiet path along which your few neighbours drive to their homes. It’ll probably take you about 15–20 minutes to walk to the centre of the village, where you’ll find a café, a tavern, a church and a shop. Public transport is a long way off – it’s over in the tourist area, which isn’t to everyone’s taste.

What? This scenario doesn’t suit you? No problem. Buy a property in Cyprus in a tourist area, close to well-developed infrastructure. Such properties do exist, and we write about them. But today’s story isn’t about them.

So, you live in a quiet, civilised village, and your child attends a decent private English school. Your daughter or son is turning 12, 13 or 14 and… Oh yes! It’s that first wonderful encounter! As a rule, this happens at school – that very same one – the prestigious, private, English school. There are no children of plumbers or migrant workers there; tuition costs between €4,000 and €7,000 a year – you’ll agree, that’s not half bad (and I’m not talking about the price!). The children socialise at school under the supervision of teachers, but they want to spend time together after school too – at weekends, during the holidays, in the evenings… What to do?

And this is when understanding parents realise what happiness really is! Dad drives his son to his girlfriend’s house. Naturally, the parents get to know each other: coffee, smiles, jokes, swapping phone numbers. The teenagers spend time together… Together with each other and with the girl’s or boy’s parents. They go to the beach, watch films at home, cook dinner. Of course, sometimes they’re put in a taxi and sent off together to a club or a school party, but all this happens… How? I have one word for it: LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE! The mums and dads of the lads and girls know each other, know each other’s phone numbers, and know where their children are. The children won’t slam the door and head off from Arbat to Bibirevo on the metro for 25 roubles, nor will they get into the first car that happens to pull up at the kerb.

It’s probably partly for these reasons that I see the clear, bright faces of the sixth-formers – both girls and boys. Not those eyes, weary of life and varied experiences, veiled by the haze of beer, which I sometimes observed with horror in Russia. Here, it is easier to protect children from the temptations of this world. Here, life is easier and more peaceful…