Essentials to live in Turkey

Firstly where do you want to go? Which City? After than ı can tell you more. But ı am living İstabul and what you want to find in your city you can find here. İstanbul isn't like a city it is like a country. if you are coming here in summer don't forget your camera. Because you will encounter with unbelievebel view. Additionally if you are a coffee addict take along a few packs of caffee. Maybe you won't like Turkish Coffee. But first of all put something to one side  your prejudice if there is. Turkey and especially İstanbul a uniqe destination for traveller.

Dear friend,

Thank you for your useful post..... You are right I visited Turkey twice and it was great experience....But I like to tell you that Turkish coffee is delicious.

Have a nice time.
Faida

Are you just travelling or moving there Christine? If you are tavelling there, don't bother, you'll have everything you need. If you are moving there and plan to buy electronics for instance, buy it before. Electronics are very expensive. Cars, trucks, motorbikes are very expensive. Appliances very expensive. Food is cheap
It's true that you can pretty much find everything you want there but it is not as easy as some make it sound. I'm a Canadian airline pilot, I have lived in many Countries and I was quite surprised at how very few people spoke english there. I wish I had learned more Turkish words before I first moved to Turkey. For exemple, I would have loved knowing how to ask for certain ingredients like seker (sugar) or süt (milk) when I was going to the grocery store but ended up eating salt and ayran so perhaps, bring a dictonary or translator as your day will start pretty rough right at Ataturk airport!
If you are not muslim and you eat pork, you'll need to know where to find it and it will also be expensive as it is usually imported from
Italy or Germany.
Don't get me wrong, the food here is very good and also the vegetables are really fresh...The Turkish people are very pround of that....but if there is little things you really like, a special cheese, dry charcuteries, anything special in your country, bring it!!! For me it was Maple sirup or even peanut butter
I could write all day but if you have specific questions and maybe more details as to where you will be (Asian side, European side) I can direct you better...As an expat, not as a local 😉

Again, if it's just a short trip, don't worry about All I wrote and just go!

Bon voyage et amusez vous bien 👍

Kolay gelsin

Tommy

Dear Christine,

Turkey is a country so much varities in foods, people, neighbourhoods, culture. If you really want to be relax, comfortable, safe in Turkey, my recommendation will be like this. Stay only in Istanbul, Izmir or Antalya or seaside part of Aegean Seaside towns. In Istanbul, the best places to live are Istinye, Maslak, Etiler, Levent for expats WHO are working for international companies. I can recommend you to live in these residential areas Istinye Park Residence, Spine Tower, Sisli Plaza.
If you are not an employee for international company, you can go Aegean Sea Part of Turkey or Mediterrean. The towns are here for you Foca, Bodrum, Ayvalık, Datca are the best to live in Aegean Sea. Mediterrean Sea has Antalya, and its towns are Kemer, Belek, Kas, Fethiye, Hisarönü, Marmaris.
All these place in Istanbul, Antalya and Aegean Sea parts have liberal people. You will feel relax and live in more towns with more visionary people. These places are the best of Europe if you accept Turkey European country. You will have real friends. Other parts of Turkey has more conservative, and local traditions, it might be difficult for you to live.


Regards,
George

to me Turkish coffee was WAAAAY to strong  either make arrangements to have coffee sent to you or drink Turkish tea  there is a chai shop on every block  it is quite good!!

Hey,

First of all, I am a local. However, I can guess well enough how it feels to live an expat life here in İstanbul.

Here are a few suggestions;

* Drugs and medications are the most important ones if you ask me. If you suffer from a medical condition and require regular medication then you should always ensure that you will always be able to have it anytime needed. Please consider the language problems you may have here at a pharmacy. Also drug types and their contents may vary.   

* If you are a bookworm who sometimes and/or oftenly likes reading in your native language, bring a few books or magazines if your native language is other than well known ones like English, German, French, Spanish, Russian etc.

* You better be bringing a second cell phone(a very basic one untill you will have a new one if you lost it) and bank cards(you may have one of classic ATM issues and it can swallow the only card you have to access your money) with you.           

* For emergencies only, remember to carry a small paper in your bag where the place you live in will be written on. As other friends already mentioned above, it is sometimes really hard to find someone who can speak English which makes it even harder to find home when you lost your way. In this way, you may able to make them point the right direction or the vehicle to take at least:)   

I d add some more items here if i have any other later,

Hope this helps,
EK,