Positive experiences earning a living in Turkey?

[debbie]

Thankyou Leeglo - We will check it out x

[Scunner]

It's such a shame to read such a one sided topic - and of course I am aware that I was part of that - but the fact is that it is true. For each scareylady story or Janice1971 I probably know 30 more. It simply is a bad idea. Alper posted the other day that his new bank ING is offering 9% interest on savings over 50,000 TL (£21,000). I do not have a hotels for sale section or anything for business opportunities on the property listings on my sites because I simply do not believe they are good investments for non-nationals. I have been asked to find buyers for hotels at up to a million pounds - if I had a million quid, why would I want a bloody hotel to worry about, staff to watch like a hawk and Efes to sell at 20p a bottle profit (before wages, electricity, pool chemical costs etc etc) - no, if I had a million pounds I would hand it to Alper (other banks are available) and live a great worry free life on the "free" £90,000 a year that brings.

You really are up against it and if not knowing the language isn't enough hinderance, you will find that you are in an oversubscribed market place (be it hotel, bar, estate, restaurant etc) and even if you made a bit of profit you may not see it. If it isn't pilfered, conned by your partners, it might well be prised away by the powers that be. If there isn't a law to get it, they'll make one up. In the beginning (well, 2003-2004) you could have a big sign with your company name & details on it. Then, you could but the local authority decided that signs couldn't be in English, they had to be in Turkish only. Several businesses had to change their advertised name, even though this was not the case just up the road in the likes of Hisaronu where "Delboy's Shop" and "The Red Lion" pub were seen as being completely fine. Then, you could keep your sign but there was a new tax (plucked out of the air) of around £3000 a year to keep them or they would need to be removed. Then, they decided that all signs should be the same size and style and you had to get them made by one specific guy. These signs could once again be in English, Turkish, whatever you liked.

That's just the local politics of signage, the red tape of having a name - and trust me, your sign is one of the most minor concerns you will have when trying to make a living in Turkey

[debbie]

Ahhhhh Scunner....I dont know what to say!! We love Fethiye, but are not at a stage yet where we want to retire - I had this romantic notion of running a small boutique bed and breakfast while Billy bought small renovation projects :-) It doesnt sound like it is meant to be!! ( not in Fethiye anyway) Looks like we will have to earn our money elsewhere and come back to retire in 20yrs!! We So appreciate all of your honest and frank feedback - this forum really has been such a help. Thanks Debbie x

[hubblebubble]

one thing not mentioned is that refurbing and selling on would be effectively subject to income tax.... you have to own the property for a minimum five years to avoid this.
Running  a guest house is considered working and therefore illegal also if you start you will almost certainly find there is something illegal on the build which you will be required to knock down however fine it was under Turkish ownership sigh.

you could become an author i guess!!

Truthfully you are better keeping any business well outside Turkey sad but that is the current climate hereabouts.

[mercury]

I think that like heo Kismet Bar you can own a business but definitely can not work in it. You have to employ Turkish nationals and then as in the UK you have to be very vigillant that they dont rip you off. I hasten to add that the Kismet bar staff have worked their for years, are very trustworthy and great workers.

[Ovacikpeedoff]

I have been reading the comments made here with interest and I am not surprised by the conclusion that it is not a good idea to try and start a buisness in Turkey. In the present economic times I think that advice applies not just to Turkey but to starting a buisness in any country.

We have been living in France for 6 months and have enjoyed nearly every minute of it. The French have been great and very helpful. I am fairly confident that if we were to try and start a buisness then it may be totally different. At the moment we are not really interfering with anyone and we are spending money in the local economy.We have met many disillusioned Brits in France and these tend to be in the mid 40 age group. Most went to France in the hight of the boom and the pound was worth about 1.80 Euros.Now it has lost a third of its value.Most do not speak French or understand the laws.To really make it work in any country it is important to become part of the local community.

On top of that the Brits created a property boom buying up old barns and having paid over the odds they have not got the cash to renovate.A couple of friendly French neighbours told us that it was like the golden goose had arrived. The French were building new bungalows from the proceeds of barn sales to the Brits.Some of the Brits cannot give these barns away today. They are stuck with them. Many want to sell and move back to the UK but it is not possible.They do not qualify for welfare or free healthcare. The people moving to France now are the retired as they qualify for free healthcare.

When people move abroad to live they do not always do their homework. In the past we have all heard what a cheap place Turkey is and you can live on the interest of your savingss. What has happened double digit inflation and interest rates at a third of what they were. The main advice I would give anyone is to sit down and plan and include worst case scenarios. What can go wrong will go wrong.

[Scunner]

I was interested to read about the Turkish man making sausages in Kargi. Good luck to him, I hear his products are very good and I hope he makes a million pounds. I do wonder of course, does he have the premises, hygiene, licenses and certificate requirements that came with endless regularity to our English friends and eventually caused them to give up their sausage business. I doubt it very much, I envisage someone in an old shed mincing meat with one hand while scratching his nuts with the other. I doubt I'm far wrong.

[peecee]

I would basically agree with OPO regarding France.  Having just visited some friends who have bought there (and who have lived in the Middle East and visited Turkey) I came to the conclusion the french have the same mindset as a lot of Turks.
The French do/have considered the English to be stupid moneytrees.  Their neighbour paid a French man to rotavate their garden in preparation for grassing etc. He charged them 25000 euro!!!  My friend and also asked for a quote, got the same price, but another quote from an English guy was 6000.  When the French guy found out he said he'd do it for 6000.
There is also the same problem of dodgy builders promising the earth then going bankrupt and not finishing. (They found out their builder had gone bankrupt 3 times and set up in different areas with a different name each time)
Any foreign country is a minefield unless you learn the language and the laws.  But at least in France you can legally work (and some have been very successful doing house maintenance, managing holiday lets etc.)  And I, for one, would rather trust and English person than a Turk, French etc.

[Dizzy Jan]

Scunner I do have to pick you up on the Sausage man at Kargi. My husband has visited his work place and he says its spotless. His products are really good and made in a spotless kitchen. Hes very nice and speaks good English so easy to communicate with. He's never afraid to give you a tour so think that his place is aways keep clean not just for show when you are coming. he is also a very generous man donated 6kg of his sausages to the Children Charity 60's and 70's night and then throw in some other things for us to try on the day. So I for one will be going back to collect some more goodies.

[Scunner]

He was lucky he had the tens of thousands of pounds required to meet all the regulations then.