Hi there,
Oh, I feel your pain! I live in a very urban area and the first year we lived here did I not want to go into the backyard due to five houses facing our yard. I know our climates are very different, but I've had a lot of success creating privacy over the last three years with foliage. Pittosporum silver sheen was a big winner- fast growing and blocked off one neighbor quickly. I also planted an acacia cognata on the other side which has grown about 10 ft in two years. The foliage is lacy, but thick, much like the pittosporum. That gave me a nice place to sit under and I don't feel like everyone around can see me. Finally on the other side I put black bamboo in stock tanks. Not quite as privacy providing as my previous two examples, but not bad either.
Perhaps you could find some plants that have similar foliage that would do well in your climate to fill in before the cypress does?
Another idea could be a pergola with vines to at least give you a place of privacy like Missingrosie suggested.
Good luck!
