I am sad with the Turkish forum

@cdw057

Hi, are you living in Turkey, or considering coming over? My husband and I have been here for three years. If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them.

I live here and love it for a few years, I do not have to many questions, but I like to follow discussions (not too many at this stage I am afraid). I indicated possible topics before and I really hope there will be some follow up (I am more then happy to give my views)

Yes, I know what you mean. We've been here for three years, and luckily have family members out here who were able to help with some things. But, there isn't a lot of help otherwise.

@cdw057 Hello, thanks for your input. i am in process of buying a holi home in kushadasi and will exchange contract in February. Really looking forward to visit too often after that a stay longer once i retire.

Can i ask if the swiming pool usally opens all summer in the blocks where we pay Aidat?

I am also curious to know if gas is cheaper than electricity or vice versa?

thank you

@mnaghbash Hi. I am Turkish but I moved to Kuşadası two months ago, so I am also a newbie here. I haven't had the chance to explore much yet, but I hope I will soon. About swimming pools, etc. Here, everything depends on the apartment complex/site management and residents, so there are no general rules for the whole city. But if it is a crowded site during the summer, swimming pools are usually active. As far as I see, they stop using them in September or October, depending on the wishes of the residents and the results of the meetings. For heating, if you plan on staying here in the winter, I recommend using gas if your house already has the system. It is cheaper. But there aren't a lot of very cold days here, just a lot of rain in winter, compared to other parts of Turkey.

@globalenglish، thank you for your reply. Do you mind if i ask why you moved to kushadasi? i hear from expats settled in kushadasi, the clean weather is their main reason.

The proprty i have bought, have gas pipes at the door and i need to set up the connection system in order to get the radiators and under floor heating to use gas. it may be a lenghthy work,  so, would continue using aircondit for heat and cooling till then.

xx

@mnaghbash Well, I might not have the same reasons as the expats (I see a lot of people from Ireland, the UK and I guess Russia around here). I lived in a village close to the city center in Muğla before Kuşadası, and although nature was beyond beautiful, it was like the only thing you had. Very few people, few jobs, no cultural activities or, you know, no life outside of nature.

And before Muğla, I used to live in Istanbul. So the peaceful environment was great for the first few years, but later it was a bit too quiet. And you have to have a car in most places in Muğla to get around because public transport is a big problem. And I didn't drive so it was very difficult for me to get around. Going to the beach was a problem although we lived very close. It is a very expensive city, winters were harsher than it looked because we only had AC so it was damp, cold, and still expensive.

So I wanted to move to a place with some more people, more social life, cultural events, more shopping and service options, but definitely not as busy as Istanbul. It was somewhere in between for me. I chose Kuşadası because I wanted to live in a warm coastal town where I could afford to live within walking distance of the beach and supermarkets that are also open during the winter, someplace with good public transport but still has natural beauty. I also consider it to be a less earthquake-prone area within the coastal region. What's more, it is an hour's drive away from İzmir, which is great if you need to enjoy the big city, go shopping, or visit a big hospital in case of health problems. A place with gas was also one of my priorities because I am almost allergic to cold. Most coastal regions don't have it yet.

Of course, the biggest concern for me was that I had a very limited budget. The property rates are lower here in Kuşadası compared to other Aegean coastal towns (as there are a lot of buildings, mostly old) and I could afford a house with a small garden for my two old dogs, walking distance to the beach and still central. I can walk to most places or just take the minibusses right in front of our complex, so I don't need to have a car. I chose a place with gas because I suffered from the lack of it in Muğla. So far I am mostly happy with my decision but I am still new.

For now, I work from home. I am a freelance translator and an English teacher so I translate books, give online English lessons, etc. I can also help expats and give lessons to those who want to learn Turkish, by the way. I've had a few students before, they were happy with the results.

@globalenglish, hi again, your given reasons are very much like mine, although i never lived in turkey before and only visited! very reassuring for me.

Before visiting kushadasi, a friend of mine who has settled there, said i may find the hilly ground difficult when walking round, but when i visited, it was not an issue at all.

Thanks for explaining all above, hope you enjoy all all moments in kushadasi and all the best with your career.

Mariam

@mnaghbash Yes, there are some steep hills around. I avoid them if I can

Well, maybe we can meet when you move here and have some coffee. Or you can message me if you need any help and if there's anything that I can do.

I couldn't change my profile name here for some reason, but my name is Canan. I live in the Ladies' Beach area.

Best of luck with everything, I hope you can find what you are looking for here!

@globalenglish, thanks Canan, that would be nice, i will let you know in my next trip.

i know ladies beach and i think it is quiet now as there are not many tourist.

i wanted to be near my friends and city centre,  so, got appartment in Ege mahallasi.

If you give me your mobile, will contact you when get there.

KR

@cdw057,

Hi, since you mention the public transport,I will give all my experience. I am in Antalya and I found public transport very easy and much much cheaper than taxi.

Taxi also easy where you find a small yellow box attached to the electric column every where, you just press the button and wait in your place within few minutes the taxi will come, there is taxi meter you can see on the front mirror and when you reach you just pay cash. For the public transport, you can find near some of the bus stop especially the busy one, a small machine . It is very easy to use where you can buy the Antalyakart by TL 35

And every time you top up from the same machine or via your bank account. Each travel will cost TL 15. You need to download the App Antalyakart so you can know the lines and which bus to use. I hope thus piece of information is helpful to all. If you want me to give you an example how to reach any place let me know , I will explained it in very easy way to you. Wish all good day.

@ema99 Even if I do not have a car (currently), I do have my driving livense, but taxi or public transport is easy (although Antalya is far too big for me (even Alanya is stretching it), I am happy in Mahmutlar (everything in crawling distance)

@cdw057

Everything nearby sounds great.

Having said that Mahmutlar is now closed for Ikamet, still I have to stress that convenience is important.

Easy life if you buy at the right time (in my view may come back shortly)

@ema99 By the way, A101 is just 50 m, closest BIM ( a few) 100 m, MMM 400 m (wide choice I have to say), SOK (I do not like, 200 m), Butcher (for my wife is 250 m.

Restaurants I already made a post, wool shop (for my wife) 30 minutes walk but bus is easier (prices and choice are incredible)

Weekly market (on Saturday) is very good (again for my wife) (20 min walk), another one on Tuesday but farther away and not as good.

For my cigarettes I go to a local store (they do not understand I want to buy 300 packages one off (I have to come back next week(after holidays)))

@cdw057

May I know how far Muhmutlar from Antalya?