Any DNs out there or have lived there for more than a year that also lived in SEA?
Tell me about the cost of living compared to Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines…etc. What about visas? And the food? Healthcare? People?..
Turkey has a runaway inflation problem, and is also experiencing massive currency devaluation (the two are linked, I guess)
So in the end for a foreigner the prices could be relatively stable… and Istanbul was never cheap, for instance.
Food - it really depends on what you do. Do you eat a lot outside? Cheap street food gets boring fast - how many tajines can you eat in morocco before u crave something else? How many tacos in mexico? Unsurprisingly, the same will be true if you live eating kebabs.
If you do cook for yourself… a quick online search reveals that chicken breast is around 4 euros per kg, common veggies are less than .5 euros per kg, fruit not much expensive than that.
Healthcare: turkey is a medical tourism destination (esp dental, hair transplant, cosmetic surgery). There will be 1st world level services, at 1st world level prices.
More in general: I would not live in the central highlands, but large cities on the coast (with some expat presence) should be fine. Istanbul is one of my favorite cities, I googled it recently and remember you could book on airbnb cute aparments for 1 month for 600 eur or so (that would be near Kadıköy, on the Anatolian side, one of my favourite parts of the city)
Food is kinda bad. I thought I liked Turkish food until I went there. The Turkish food I’ve had outside of Turkey has been way better than what I could find in the actual country.
Anything that isn’t Turkish food, forget about it because it will likely be garbage.
People are rude and scammy in general.
You get what you pay for over there, compared to European prices. Personally I’d rather live in Europe even if it is slightly more expensive.
Man I have had such a different experience. Food in Turkey is amazing IMO, and outside of the extremely touristy areas I feel like it isn’t scammy at all.
I felt like it was even more scammy outside of tourist areas. I went on an adventure to the outskirts of Istanbul just to be welcomed by rude people and a hotel manager which stole $400 from me
That’s strange, I have spent long periods of time staying on the Asian side of Istanbul and have never had a bad encounter with a local. Also travelled through south eastern Turkey and only had positive experiences.
I strictly oppose. Being from Central Europe, I have been to 20-30+ countries and Turkey cuisine is definitely one of the best in the whole region - mix of otoman, arabic, balkan, greek and many other influences. Only Chinese cuisine (or Italian) compare IMO. The best think is that Turkish foods are simple - we are not speaking here about hote cuisine, but simple perfect foods - street food is wonderful (e.g. simple pilaf). The only reason why you have so different experience IMO can be that you were somewhere in touristic places, where there are no actual locals.
People are absolutely friendly and helpful, even in metropole like Istanbul. In less people-heavy places even more. In villages - they will just take care of you. I do not understand your experience.
How long have you been/were there? It seems to me one week trip to Anatolia hotel chain or something like this, sorry.
great food, lovely people, excellent infrastructure, inflation& currency manipulation, a country that lives its own way and where its a pleasure to be in and spend your money.
Currently in Istanbul after 4 months in SEA (Bangkok, Hanoi, Da Nang). Absolutely floored by the kindness of the locals, quality of the food, and incredible affordability. We came in with low expectations, but it’s easily been our favorite DN spot so far.
No idea why it’s not higher on people’s radar tbh
Prefer? Probably not if we’re talking about restaurants and things like that. But imo the grocery stores are much better here, or at least more familiar to my palate.
Also, after spending a long time in a certain location, it’s just nice to get a change. So maybe it’s not a question of which is better overall, but rather which is better and more exciting right now, if that makes sense.
I’m not a full time nomad, but I’m on the end of a month long stay in Turkey and I find it incredible! I have been working the whole time, and it worked fine. The internet is worst the more east you go. Gaziantep was probably the worst, but it was manageable. The food is excellent and very cheap. Istanbul is world cuisine and more expensive, but still cheaper than São Paulo (my city of reference). You get a plate of good soup with unlimited bread for 2 dollars, no kidding. With 10 dollars you eat like a king in most places.
Can’t say much about visa and heathcare.