Moving to Turkey with a monthly salary of $1,500?

[msaleh]

Moving to Turkey with avg monthly salary 1500$ [family with 2 kids less than 5 years],
Is it a good Idea? which city do you recommend to stay in Turkey based on mentioned salary, does it works with Istanbul?

[Alev_Y]

Where you coming from ? 1500 USD is around 6000 TL right now.
Istanbul is expensive, and with 2 kids it can be difficult with this salary.
Public education and public hospitals in Turkey are not that great.
However Izmir or any city in the Aegean area would be more ideal, cheaper rents, better public schools, not so crowded.

[Burcu_Nimet_Dumlu]

1500$ means almost 6000 Turkish Liras. It is kind of middle-class salary but if you will live in İstanbul, the rents are very high at the city center. But if you will earn this salary at another city such as İzmir, Ankara, Antalya it is enough to live. Actually I dont know about living with kids, because of that I cannot calculate very well. Also earning with dollar is wisely move because the dollar always gets higher and you will not lose money by that way.

[Gurkan_Yilmaz]

Hi Mohamed,

1500 Dollars is around 6000 Turkish liras.

If we talk about Istanbul, you will need to pay at least 2000-2500 TL for rent if you want to live in decent apartment in good neighborhood. Of course you can find apartments around the city starting from 1000-1500 TL.

And you have 2 children that means you will likely to spend 1000-1500 TL to basic expenses like food or clothing.

And for the bills on total 500 TL in winter - 250 TL in summer.

Public transportation for 1 person for 1 month should be around 200 TL.

Having a dinner in a decent restaurant for 2 people can differ around 60 to 200 TL.

Kindergarten ? School ? That might cost you around 2000 TL for 1 child if you use private schools.

So yes you can survive but you will not have a comfortable life with that amount. Not in Istanbul.

Most expensive cities in Turkey goes like Istanbul > Izmir = Ankara > Other cities, I would choose the other cities option if I had the chance.

[Kerem_Sevencan]

Hi Mohamed,

It looks good, preference of the city would be hard but any city other than Istanbul is okay.

Izmir is really cool to live with family but rents are increasing so fast. I suggest Kusadasi, Mugla, Canakkale, Balikesir, they're calm, family-friendly cities/provinces.

If you'd like to live in Istanbul, it works but Istanbul isn't family-friendly city, you should live outside of the center. Istanbul is crowded and really expensive.

[Orcun_Ozyurt]

1500$ is currently around 6000TL. So, it is not a bad salary even for Istanbul. You can find a place to rent (2 bedrooms ) for around 1500-2000 TL. I would suggest you to find a place as close as possible to your work. And, get paid in $ rather than TL as TL is losing value very fast. Izmir and Ankara has more advantages bcs of lower costs for rent.

[Murat_Birben]

It really depends on your expectations. Istanbul is the most expensive city in Turkey and it is really big. Therefore, your expenses vary a lot based on where you are living in Istanbul. When your kids start to going school your expenses will grow and again the district you live in Istanbul really matters in this issue. I don't know what is your expertise and life expectations are but I'd recommend you to consider cities like Izmir, Canakkale, Edirne, and Eskisehir. These are cheaper than Istanbul and more livable than Istanbul. However, in those cities, you can not find as much entertainment options as Istanbul. I'm sorry but I have to repeat myself again, it actually depends on your expectations.

[K_Emre_KISA]

Hey, 1500$ equals to 6000TL. Your rent will likely cost around 1500-2000 TL. 300-400 TL for utilities (heating, cell phone, electricity, water etc). Food for 4 people would cost around 2000. I think you can save 1000-1500 TL per month. But transportation is a huge problem in İstanbul. Make sure your home is close to your work. Depending on where your work place is, you rent may cost more. Anatolian side is relatively cheaper while european side, especially Beşiktaş, Şişli etc cost more.

[msaleh]

Thanks for your great advice,
I have almost a remote job so I can select whatever City in Turkey (I prefer to be near Istanbul so I may need to attend a meeting every 2 months),
I am very interested in a calm city with a good quality of health and education for my kids,
it will be good if city has sea (actually my wife wish
Tons of Thank for your help

[msaleh]

not have a comfortable life with that amount. Not in Istanbul.

Thanks for your great advice,
I have almost a remote job so I can select whatever City in Turkey (I prefer to be near Istanbul so I may need to attend a meeting every 2 months),
I am very interested in a calm city with a good quality of health and education for my kids,
it will be good if city has sea (actually my wife wish
Tons of Thank for your help

[ahmet]

So, if you're able to select any city, go for smaller ones. But it would be bad for an expat lifestyle, maybe arabic will help but i don't know. For example, it would be hard to find any store owner who understands English in small city, but in big three every way leads to a global franchise nowadays.

Travelling to Istanbul is not a big deal, transport is cheap. Most likely your company pays for that, so do not consider it as a hassle, farthest point across Turkey is 1,5 hours max by flight.

Choose by climate, if you like Cairo's then go for Antalya. Life is cheaper than big three, sea is beautiful and it's kinda big when people flock in season. İzmir is a safe bet for expats but life is being more expensive there. Ankara is a no-no in your terms. Other contestant may be Bursa. And there are even some (mostly) arabic spoken cities like Hatay.

[Imran_Atherr]

Why isn't anyone bringing up the fact that the guy will have to pay 27 percent tax on his salary?