Your first days in your home in Turkey

Just replies on your questions

Do you remember the first time you set foot in Turkey? One of your main concerns must have been the settling down process in your new home.

-I have set in Turkey perhaps 20 years ago, but only in Istanbul for a very short time (3 days only), as far as concerns is on taxes, not on people (the people are great), I currently have no income (and no capital gains) so I am good for now, but for the future it is a concern (I am 60+ and retirement age is approaching (as a side note I like to play with the rules (ie paying taxes if required))

Share your experience and tell us what it was like to find your new home in Turkey and how the moving-in process worked for you.

-I worked with the real estate agent (of course they get their (massive) commission, but they helped quite a bit also with smaller things, only respect on what they did. Ikamet, bankaccount, automated debit for electricty, water, changing of driving license, helping with smaller items (new TV, repairs, ...) they have connections I do not

How did you find it (with an estate agency, your company, social networks, friends) and how long did it take?

-Easy internet research, but I am happy with the result

At that time, what were the most common housing options available in your area ? How did you narrow down your search?

-We bought September 2022 and it was fine, what was important to me was proximity of restaurants, Russian Church (for my wife), shops, ... Mahmutlar (Alanya was great), for me enough space and penthouse was important at the time (worked out quite well)

Did you opt for a temporary housing solution during your first days in Turkey?

What are the main differences you noticed with your home country when it comes to the type of housing and formalities to settle in, etc.?

-Home country is difficult, I am Dutch (clearly I lived in The Netherlands), I lived in The Netherlands, UK, Luxembourg, Hungary and now Turkey. All countries have their own challenges (not to want to disclose). As for Turkey it was fine and relatively easy, having said that the other countries were also quite easy to settle in.

What struck you the most when you first moved in? Were there any challenges that you faced? If yes, how did you overcome them?

-Good but of course appartments are better presented they are (but I understand), no real challenges though, just be happy to pay tips.

Is there any piece of advice that you would like to give to future expatriates to make their new place feel like home?

-Bring your wife/husband, please do not expect close connections (just friendly) with neighbours, actually fine for me.

@Cheryl  the food that was the first attraction. :0)   the cleaness of the streets, the people, the weather and best of all it everything was pretty cheap .  we rented first, then started to look for buying a home.      back then it was pretty cheap.  $40,000 you get a nice brand new dublex.  Now , it may cost between 250 to 400 thousands Euros.      Langauage was a challenge, Turkish is the only language option when talking with anyone  learning a second language for the Turks is not pursued or they have an interest to learn at all.     some may speak other languages but they are very few.   we purchased stright from the builder.  it is thebest option.  buying through a realestate agent , they will sell you the house 15 to 25 thousand Euro over the selling price.  so be careful.     All other services  and utilities are available and you can pay for them via your phone bank app in a flash.    it is safe, very few crimes and lots of transportaion is available.     Good Luck

@Cheryl

@Cheryl

Hello All!

When I first moved to Turkey, it was during Covid November 2019 and I didn’t have any real plans - just renting for a few months so I can just relax and plan my next move.

I visitied Istanbul 20 odd years ago, but I always wanted to visit Cappadocia.

There were many modern apartments for rent, but I wanted to rent a cave house. Locals told me it wasn’t possible, only in the hotels. The first few days, I couchsurfed and stayed at their house.

I walked around Goreme and asked locals about any cave homes for rent. Within the first hour, an English speaking Local told me he had a friend. It turns out he had a huge pigeon cave house, 2 story in Pigeon Valley. For a very good price too so I agreed to rent it right away.

Luckily, it was semi furnished with 3 single beds and some beds upstairs so it was easy to move in.

It was tricky with the language barrier, but thankfully I made a Turkish friend who spoke fluent English to help me with the transactions.

I was amazed at the rental prices back than. $130 was my rent for a 2 story CAVE house in Goreme, 3 rooms, 2 baths, a huge kitchen and entryway.

I guess I wasn’t expecting anything, just to rent for a few months.

Some challenges were getting in a soba- a coal wood stove since winter would be coming, installing it (my landlord and friend did it), getting a hot water heater. I always had to have an interpreter when speaking to my Landlord which spoke none. So without a translater, it would’nt have been so easy.

Buying a house was a different story, but that is my rental experience.

In the US, it can be tricky settling in as there are so many rules in renting. Usually, an apartment, you need a credit check, but in Turkey, I just had to pay the first month in cash.

My advice would be to find a local friend who can help you translate. Someone that you TRUST to help you navigate through. Prices can change if you aren’t a local, so having a trusted friend is very helpful in getting the deal done and keeping prices down.

Thank You

Christine

@gypsychristine is it difficult finding a place in Cappadocia at this moment do you think? how about local work as teaching or farming, are these viable options there atm would you say?

It is still possible to find a place, but rent has increased as everywhere in Turkey. Rent now is around 2000TL and up.

I have many friends working at pottery/ceramic shops and travel agencies - they speak a third langiage like Spanish or Bahasa Indonesian.

I do not know about farming jobs. Teaching jobs are everywhere, but not sure who is hiring and how hard.

I hope this helps.