| Assimilating into the local culture has its challenges and its rewards, as British expat Claudia has learned since moving to Fethiye, Turkey. Here she shares some of her insights on everyday life in Fethiye and gives some tips on what to expect if you are planning to relocate to her part of Turkey. |
 Claudia |
-Where were you born?
-In which country and city are you living now?
-Are you living alone or with your family?
-How long have you been living in Turkey?
Nearly 3 years-What is your age?
35
-When did you come up with the idea of living in Turkey?
-Was it hard to get a visa or a work permit?
-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?
-How do you make your living in Turkey? Do you have any type of income generated?
I am a registered nurse in the UK and hope to use my skills here at some point but at the moment my children are only 3 and 15 months so I care for them full time.-Do you speak the local language and do you think it's important to speak the local language? Please add your thoughts on local customs and whether it's important for expats to respect/observe local customs.
I speak enough of the language to get by and to make conversation with the locals. I think it is really important to make an effort to speak the language both out of respect for the country you live in and also it makes life so much easier and allows you to integrate with the local community. Many Turkish people in this area speak some English due to the large number of ex pats and tourists in summer, but we live in a village in a very Turkish area and none of our neighbours speak English. There are a lot of expats who have been here for years and don't speak a word of Turkish but I think they miss out on a lot. Turkish people really appreciate it if you try and learn at least a bit. This part of Turkey is fairly liberal and used to westerners but of course there are still cultural differences and it is important to be aware of them and respect them.-Do you miss home and family sometimes?
Of course I miss my family but it is easy to keep in touch especially with the internet and I try and go back to the UK once a year and they come here at least once a year. I miss silly things about the UK like choice of food and shopping. To be honest however hard it has been to settle here I have never wanted to go back to the UK.-Do you have other plans for the future?
I hope to stay here and eventually return to work. It always takes time to settle into a new country and build a life there but I can't imagine uprooting again and moving anywhere else.-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?
We bought our house early this year after renting for 2 years. It is a large 3 bedroom 2 bathroom detached villa with a 3rd floor attic that we willl eventually convert into a 4th bedroom. The garden is huge and we have lots of fruit trees ( lemon, fig, banana, plum, mandarin, olive, grapes) and free range chickens for eggs. It cost us 53000gbp which is incredibly cheap compared to the UK. Property prices are still cheap compared to the rest of Europe and you can rent a really nice apartment here from around 400 turkish lira per month (about 160 gbp).-What is the cost of living in Turkey?
It varies, certain things are expensive like meat is more expensive than the UK and petrol is about the same. Imports tend to be expensive as are toiletries so I always stock up when I go home. Fresh fruit and vegetables are cheaper, labour is cheaper and hairdressers and beauty salons are much cheaper and really good. Overall it is more expensive to live here than I thought it would be. Wages are much lower and a lot of people struggle to make ends meet. Work is also often seasonal so winters are really hard. Things we consider normal are luxuries here and you get used to being less materialistic, but that is not such a bad thing!-What do you think about the locals?
The locals are generally very friendly, welcoming and hospitable. They are used to foreigners here more so than other parts of Turkey. I would say the major differences are they are much more inclined to interfere than in the UK and will quite happily tell you what to do or what you are doing wrong (in theır opinion!). They can also be quite pushy and think they are always right. Sometimes you have to be quite firm and stand your ground. The educational level is quite low here and you have to remember that many are not well travelled, well read or well educated. The small town mentality was difficult for me at first but you get used to it. They also believe in some really bizzare superstitions and old wives' tales! My friends and I have had many a laugh at some of the things we have been told!!
On a more serious note foreign women here are often easy prey for young Turkish men looking for a visa to the UK and/or financial gain. Some Turkish men view western women as rich, stupid and of easy virtue (although looking at the way many of them behave on holiday here who can blame them?). Most people however are genuinely warm and welcoming of foreigners and if you make an effort with them will make double the effort back.
-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Turkey?
Positive: beautiful weather -- long hot summers and short mild winters
gorgeous scenery, beaches, mountains, stunning sunsets
way of life much healthier, healthy diet, outside lifestyle
low crime rate. great place to bring up kids
much more family oriented
Negative: Bureaucracy is painfully slow and badly organised
Some things are still quite backward and have a long way to catch up with the rest of Europe
Health and safety doesn't exist
Traffic
General lack of common sense. Things seem to be made as complicated as possible on purpose and even the simplest task becomes a big event!!
-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Turkey?
Keep an open mind, make an effort to learn the language and customs, make friends with both Turkish and other expats. (You will need like minded people you can speak to in your own language.) Be patient, try not to get stressed as it won't change anything, have a good sense of humour!!
Living in a different
Living in a different culture is a very difficult thing to do. If you grew up in a place that is very different from the place you are currently in, you will have a big adjustments on things, food like for instance, their practices and other matter. But your need to respect the things that they do and try to adopt on the new culture you are in. Anyway, speaking of food,I remember, some of the more egregious ridiculous holidays are the food holidays. For instance, March 3rd is National Cupcake Day. I am not, for the record, going to buy any cupcakes to celebrate. I would prefer attending this kind of cooking in order to learn a lot special cuisines.
Moving to Fethiye
Thanks so much for the insight.
My husband and I just bought an apartment in Fethiye and hope to move there permanantly within a few months. I will probably move on my own first as his current job keeps him in Romania.
We were there recently (It was our third trip to Turkey in 15 months) to be married in Gundogan and spent a couple of weeks travelling around in which time we settled on Fethiye as our preffered new home.
I'm looking forward to imersing myself into the local culture. It's not the first move I've made as I'm Australian and have lived in a variety of other countries and my husband is Danish and has done likewise. I've already started to learn the language and will now be seaching for work (of which I discovered quite a bit on the last trip) and looking forward to meeting new friends both local and expat alike.
So once again, thanks so much for your story and I hope to add my own in the near future. :)
moving to Fethiye
Thanks for your comments. Let me know when you move here I would be happy to meet up. Contact me on kelebek23@hotmail.co.uk
Thanks kelebek, We'll be
Thanks kelebek,
We'll be back in June for a couple of weeks before I move in hopefully in August. I'll definitely contact you :)
So moved
I've sent an email to your private address. :)
RETIRING TO TURKEY
I was very interested to read Terry White's experience of retirement in Side. We have been visiting Turkey now for 8 years and I would really appreciate some advice please, as I've had no response from the Turkish Embassy.
My daughter who is an ESL Teacher is going to live in Turkey permanently and work. I am retiring very soon and want to go and live with her as we have no other family. I've read about a "settlement" visa but dont know how to go about applying for one, and was wondering whether I could settle there with her, but would I have to leave Turkey every 3 months to renew my visa?
Any advice on this would be appreciated.
Hi there, Just read your
Hi there, Just read your post - I see it was written quite awhile ago so I guess you've already done the necessaries?
However for anyone new, wanting to know about living/retiring in Turkey. You need to get a residency permit. This takes around 3 weeks and you need to be in the country to do it on a valid tourist visa. First of all you have to have enough money in the bank to prove you can support yourself during your stay - however long that may be. It's approx 250 Euros for each month you want to stay. There are a few hurdles to jump so make sure you have that long left on your tourist visa. Those being paperwork filled out correctly, Notorised, police checked etc... It's best to have a Turkish speaker with you as many government officials in Turkey don't speak English - Funny that! :P
There are many businesses that offer this service and quite frankly I would use them to save a lot of time and angst. We had good friends well versed in this that held our hands and led us through the procedure. Be prepared for long waits in the tax office regardless!
The Turkish government have recently dropped the residency charges to make it 1. affordable 2. Stop people making the Visa runs to Greece which quite frankly all things considered cost more over time. I think they figured the money was best in their own pockets than the Greeks. ;)
If your going through a company try and get the total figure up front. It is possible for a few dollars to change hands here and there to speed up the process - I needed mine in 3 days. But usually it takes approx 3 weeks.
I've included this link as it's pretty accurate: http://www.propertyturkeyforsale.com/turkish-residence-permit-g-14.html
Good luck!
Hey Claudia! It is very nice
Hey Claudia!
It is very nice to hear all this as a Turkish. Because I know that many people is still prejiduce towards Turkey. Turkish people is not different from other world people. We smile we cry we talk we sleep ...as many of you do. There are of course different personalities existing in Turkey but also in your nationality too. What matters? Enjoy your life in Fethiye!