New members of the Turkey forum, introduce yourself here — 4th quarter of 2016

greetings everyone,

Gunaydin.

Honestly, that was the first turkish word i learned. And it still excites me.

I am an electrical engineer, currently residing in Saudi Arabia. I work for National Oilwell Varco, in Rig Systems.

I visited turkey last month, and absolutely fell in love with the place.

So right now i am planning to move there, hopefully, after finding a suitable job.

I think, turkey has more of sales based opportunities, rather than core technical jobs. I may be wrong.

I have a level C2 in business english, and i am hoping to find a job that would appreciate my language skills.

I am an avid writer and i also write a lot of poetry. Mainly to battle depression :-)


Again, thats all about me.

I am happy to finally join a community here, and any one who reads this, if you can guide me or advise me on anything, regarding my plans, or even get to know each other as friends, dont hesitate to contact me.


Reagrds,

Mishal

Your reply...hie good people iam glad to a part of this community. my name is Nqobizitha Thusa Mpofu.
iam a registered general nurse and would love to work in Turkey so as to develop carrier wise.
I also like travelling and had Turkey has a lot of beautiful  places and I will to see them.
hope to get great advice from you all

Hi Mishal,

I hope you are doing fine, and everything is going well in your life. I have just read your message introducing yourself and, frankly, thought that we might work together as I am an education coordinator of a language school situated in Bursa, Turkiye. I would love to keep in touch with you regarding English Teaching as you seem like a skilled language user of English. Hope to talk to you sooner, take care

Best Regards

Ercan Çalışır

Hello everyone!
I am Andrei. I am from Romania, i am currently living in Ankara, Turkey. My wife is Turkish national.
I've graduated the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Bucharest, Romania, the English language department. I moved here in September last year,and I got accustomed quickly with the environment at all levels, I managed to learn and speak Turkish at a conversational level in quite a short time. For the moment, I am looking forward to finding a job here, if possible,in a related subject with my studies, but, of course, other opportunities might be appropriate,too.
Also, I have fulfilled a TESOL course and I am currently teaching English Speaking in private, to different people, aged between 6 and 45.

hi every one
i am sahra from tunisia. i have been living in turkey for 5 months now. it is a wonderful place to live but sometimes i feel lonely and homesick. i liked this forum since it gives u the opportunity to know new people and make international friends.

best regards

Hey sarah,, good to hear from someone who made the move.


Can u tell me how u got it done???

i would like to know. so that i can follow the same procedure if it suits my needs.

Your response is high;y appreciated

Thanks & Best regards,


Mishal


:-)

hi

Actualy I saw an advert about teaching vacant positions in many private schools and language centers so i applied. then i made an interview and got accepted. once i got accepted the school sent me all the needed documents via mail and i just bought a ticket and came. it was not really difficult. making the residence permit was a bit stressful since it requires time and effort. i had to provide them with many papers and make my health insurance..... Turkey is nice but the working conditions are pretty taugh and tiring.
all the best

Hello Everyone,

My name is Umut. l am Turkish and l have been living abroad over the past 9 years. l am moving to lstanbul next week and hoping to make new friends there. 

Cheers

Hi all,

Am new to Turkey and Mersin. Have no knowledge of the local language or the place.

  Am seeking help and connects to get going at this place. Have applied for a resident permit as I intend to stay long time in the country. Need to get connected to the right people to get going.

  Please do let me know if there are fellow expats nearby. Would be great to meet once a while.

Sagar

Hi all,

Am new to Turkey and Mersin. Have no knowledge of the local language or the place.

  Am seeking help and connects to get going at this place. Have applied for a resident permit as I intend to stay long time in the country. Need to get connected to the right people to get going.

  Please do let me know if there are fellow expats nearby. Would be great to meet once a while.

Sagar

Hi everyone,

My name is Judy from Kenya. I have been in Istanbul for a month now. So far so good Istanbul is a good place and people try to be helpful though not knowing Turkish is a big problem here...looking to enroll for basic lessons. I got a job in Istanbul and looking to meet new people, restaurants I can visit with African food if any, Africans who can braid African hair etc. I get homesick now and then and would love to make a few friends 

Hello,

There are lot of african restaurant here in Istanbul....It depends on the area you live or based....If you need any assistance, just reply me back and i would be of help..

Hi Everybody

This is Serdar. Im originally Turkish and living in Istanbul at the moment. I used to be expat in Texas so i know what is home sickness. Im here for networking and seeking new international friends. Also for new comers i can share general info abt city.

Hi kingpatto1,

I live on the Asian side since I work on this side but please do send me the African restaurants I will definitely look for them even if they are on the European side. Thanks

Hi Judy,


There is an ongoing thread regarding braiding hair, where you can find ample information.

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=66348

also, one particular place that stands out where I noticed a predominantly African crowd was Shiva Club in Taksim. I think you will be able to interact with a lot of people there.

Also, if you have any further question please feel free to post on open forum and certain members will be willing to help you out.

Good luck
Z

jaymwaz wrote:

Hi everyone,

My name is Judy from Kenya. I have been in Istanbul for a month now. So far so good Istanbul is a good place and people try to be helpful though not knowing Turkish is a big problem here...looking to enroll for basic lessons. I got a job in Istanbul and looking to meet new people, restaurants I can visit with African food if any, Africans who can braid African hair etc. I get homesick now and then and would love to make a few friends 

Hi Xeeschan,

Thanks a lot for this info...will definitely check it out and for the link on hair too :-)

No problem Judy,

Glad I could be of help.

jaymwaz wrote:

Hi Xeeschan,

Thanks a lot for this info...will definitely check it out and for the link on hair too :-)

Hi all,

  I have already introduced myself. However I missed out on adding some interests which I am unable to follow here.

  Love to play badminton. However I have been unable to find a court. Let alone players. I have seen some tennis courts around. However need partners to get going. If someone is interested for any other sports, I would be more than willing to join. As a matter of fact, I have a tennis court and a basketball court accessible to me. However we never have enough people around to play decently. If anyone is interested, please ping me.

  I am interested in travelling and having new experiences. I have visited about 30 countries till now. At the same time, I love to explore more of a country before going to other locales. If there are similar enthusiasts, please PM me. I am also interested for activities such as trekking or cycling.

  My other interests include reading and dining. As the language barrier is too much now for me, I am taking Turkish classes and trying out as much local cuisines as possible. You can either join me or invite me around.

  Think this should be enough to get started somehow. Looking forward to better times ahead.


regards,

Sagar

Yes Sahara you are right lm Turkish and l like to play tennis and woleyball games l would be pleased to meet you and other friends too

Merhabalar,

I am a Turkish living partly in Canada and Vietnam. Back in Turkey after 19 years. Very happy to be back. I can easily say Turkey is still one of the best countries I have been.

I believe Turkey is under bad publicity attack and I should tell Turkey has never been so well economically.

It connects the developed world of the west with the hospitality of the east. Very west and very east at the same time.

At the end the best place description differs from person to person. And I respect people finding Turkey not as nice as I think it is.

i'm martin rodriguez. been living in turkey for about 4 years. starting my 5th year. just transfered universities. was living in istanbul for 4 years and now im in ankara.


everyone says ankara is boring but i think its always about finding the right people and then those people will show u the real ankara. learning turkish has been a struggle. after 4 years im finally in a place where i can have basic conversation. wooooo me !!!

i hope to meet some of you expats from all over the world that have decided to stay in ankara for a while

Hi there, I'm in Fethiye & will be for a while. It's too soon fr me to speculate regards living here, but would love to have a weekend meet up (I'm guessing that you all do this).

I imagine a Friday or Saturday evenening with some nice chilled out music & a crowd of us socialising & getting to know each other.

Though it's a lovely place & the hospitality is wonderful, I would like some social interaction on a night time. Of course I'm happy to meet for a tea/coffee in the day also.

Perhaps their are some favourite haunts someone could mention?

Cheers

Wiltel

Hi all!
I'm an American expat living in France, but I'll be moving to Denizli Turkey in a few months. Any  of you have any tips about the city and jobs?

Thanks in advance! 😊

Hi Sue, I placed a message in in this forum to hopefully have a social meet up with some expats. I'm not really sure if this is the best place organise as I'm new to this. I've been traveling south towards the warmermer weather, through Bulgaria & eventually to Fethiye. I like it here & so staying a little while.

Perhaps yo can give me some advice on a place where expats tend to hang out or meet up.

Cheers

Wiltel

Hi, I'm Aymen from Algeria, I just moved to Istanbul and i'll be staying there long term because I love it here even though that I don't speak Turkish which is a big problem haha.
Currently I'm looking to make new friends here and for a job too if any one can help let me know, I have a Bachelor in Software engineering  and I speak Arabic, French and English fluently.
Thank you

Hi i am Ainur from Kazakhstan
since a long time I didnt travel and decided to visit first Istanbul, i really enjoyed there many things. So that even decided maybe to search for a job in turkey if its possible of course to find. I myself currently translator - kazakh, russian and english languages in the oil and gas industry , just want to change my life style maybe my surrounding. If any suggestions please let me know
Rakhmet!

Merhaba,
Names Adam originally from England just moved to Istanbul with my wife who is (Turkish).Love the city so far but haven't come across any other expats strange I know.Would love to meet up with expats from all over the globe over a cup of coffee or tea.

Hadi gurusuruz.
Adam.

Hello mate
My names Adam in a British national moved here 2 weeks ago would love to meet up as my Turkish is worse then yours.

Good afternoon all

I have been offered a teaching position in Istanbul. I would like to know if anyone can give.me any info on the security and safety situation at this time?

Good afternoon all

I have been offered a teaching position in Istanbul. I would like to know if anyone can give.me any info on the security and safety situation at this time?

Hi Lynne,

The situation on the surface is pretty stable though it is somewhat less relaxed as it used to be a year ago. Nevertheless, its still pretty good and as a new comer, you probably would not even feel it.

Your main concern should be the work permit and the agency that is offering you the job. There are many English teachers here who often complain about the inefficiency/broken promises of their agency once they visit Istanbul. A good idea would be to talk to other expat teachers here and check reviews of your agency.

Hope this helps,
Good luck
Z

Lynne55 wrote:

Good afternoon all

I have been offered a teaching position in Istanbul. I would like to know if anyone can give.me any info on the security and safety situation at this time?

Hi Z

Thank you very much for your reply. I have been offered a position by Bahcesehir  College. Not sure if you have any experience of them or know anyone who teaches there.

I really appreciate your input.

Many thanks
Lynne

No problem Lynne,

I am not a teacher myself, though in my expat circle most individuals are English teachers. I can ask some of them around about the said university.

From what I do know is that the jobs are offered through certain hiring agencies and it is really important to check their credibility.

If I get any feedback from someone who teaches/knows someone in Bahcesehir, I will update.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask and also you can search the forum.

Good luck
Z

Lynne55 wrote:

Hi Z

Thank you very much for your reply. I have been offered a position by Bahcesehir  College. Not sure if you have any experience of them or know anyone who teaches there.

I really appreciate your input.

Many thanks
Lynne

Hello Sahra!!!

I am Aziza. I live in Antalya, Turkey. I came from Kazakstan . I would like to support you when you feel homesick...
you can write me when you want

Hi Lynne,

My spouse is English teacher as well, she's pretty experienced in Turkey, has worked at different schools and colleges.Based on my spouse's experiences, i would say Bahcesehir is well known college by parents, but not the same for teachers. They pay usually less then average rates, they have unserious management , not enough teaching materials, long working hours and so on..Briefly, it's not the best option to work, there are much more better colleges for teachers. But it's a general comment for Bahcesehir, there are hundred of branches and conditions could be different.

Hi, Fran's!!!! I am sorry because you wrote the letter to Lynn about Bahceshehir. But I want to thank you , you gave very useful information to those who is going to apply to BK as me. Have a nice day and good luck to your spouse!!!!

I am Gerald and an African American living and working in Turkey. I am an electrical electronics engineer. I just concluded my masters and currently doing my staj in one of the electronics company in Ankara and teaching English as part-time.
I am really bored here and I have less people to talk with and lean to when I a feel home-sick.
Looking for nice friends that are open minded and interesting to be with.
Regards.

Hi I am Canadian from Toronto, Bought an apartment in Alanya Turkey. Was here in Summer and loved it. Just came back (December)  here. It will be nice to share your experience as I am new here and don't know Turkish language. I am PhD graduated in Engineering from Ryerson University in Toronto 2004. I am 55 years old.

Cheers,
Alex ***