Calis Beach and Fethiye Turkey Discussion Forum
Turkey Related Subjects => Cost of Living in Turkey => Topic started by: raygans on April 22, 2011, 21:12:48 PM
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Hi everyone,just a quick question does anyone know if the cost of living has gone up in turkey as much as it has here in the uk??
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It cant have gone up as much as the Uk, be prepared if you are a tax payer in the uk for this month's pay to be a bit of a shock with the new tax and ni increases, hubby has had his pay slip early for this month and the new deductions are riduculous!
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As the Turkish inflation rate is twice the UK rate hen prices should have gone up quicker in Turkey.The trouble is that I think this figure that we get quoted of 4% is a load of old cobblers.Prices in the UK are rising at more than 4% a year. We all know that when we go to the checkout at the supermarket. At the rate fuel is going up I am surprised they dont allow you to take out a mortgage at the kiosk to pay for it.We had stupid Osbourne saying in the budget that from tonight fuel will be 1p lower and it was. The only problem is that within 2 days it went up by 2p and it is continuing to rise because oil companies are recovering the new north sea oil levy announced in the budget.
The problem in the UK is that we are supposed to have competition and we really do not have it. Most places charge the same for fuel. Our energy companies are owned by foreigners.For example EDF, a French company,charge 30% more for electric in the UK than they do in France and the french bill includes VAT at twice the UK rate.
Apologies for getting on my soapbox but the consumer just gets fleeced in the UK.
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quote:
Originally posted by Karennina
It cant have gone up as much as the Uk, be prepared if you are a tax payer in the uk for this month's pay to be a bit of a shock with the new tax and ni increases, hubby has had his pay slip early for this month and the new deductions are riduculous!
Funny - I got more this month. Im ust be one of the lucky ones :)
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:D
I also got more this month?? Shhhhhh not complaining :D:D:D
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Hmmm on a recent trip back to the UK I was shocked how much prices markedly went up in the supermarket their since my previous visit only 8 months before. But on the other hand when you look at prices here in Turkey they are just as shocking for some items. For instance a kilo of beef mince in Turkey costs around £10 in the UK a kilo of steak mince from Tesco is around the £5 mark, granted you can buy cheaper (fatty) mince in UK but this is a par product look. Cost of living wise I would say Turkeys overall cost of living has gone down this year especially with the resident visa costs now being drastically reduced. But on a product to product comparison there are clearly disadvantages on the Turkish side. Heres my list of what is more expensive in Turkey compared to UK.
FUEL (Petrol, Deisel, LPG)
MEAT
SPIRITS
WINE
ENGLISH PRODUCTS (PORK SHOP RANGE tin of baked beans 80p)
VEHICLES (PURCHASE)
VEHICLES ANNUAL TAX (EXTREME EXAMPLE BEING FOR A RANGE ROVER 4.6 NEW IT WILL COST OVER £6000 A YEAR!!!)
Taking above into account your other cost of living items compared are cheaper (fruit & veg, property etc,) so I guess they are roughly the same on pros and cons.Of course if you compared on sunshine, customer service, lifestyle, Turkey wins hands down! ;)
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Maybe they have made a booboo with my hubby's tax code, he never received a tax coding letter (the green and white letter) to say what his tax code would be,so am going to get him to query it after Easter.:D
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My tax code went up this April - hence the slight pay rise I guess :)
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Every time people start comparing Turkish prices to the UK it seems that people conclude Turkey is cheaper and throw in the sunshine that Turkey wins hands down.Probably does if you are fit and able bodied between the age of 50 and 65.
Once you start adding the costs of medical care then it is a totally different ball game. The NHS gets knocked but it is free and available. If you are ill and have a long term illness then the drugs that you require can be free. In my own case i am a diabetic and all my medication is free. While in Turkey it was costing me nearly 100 quid a month when including visits to the doctor for reviews and blood tests.If you are unemployed in the UK there is some help available in benefits and tax credits.
All I am trying to say that it is not that clear cut and Turkey is not the land of milk and honey. Both placeshave their advantages and disadvantages. I loved Turkey but I returned to the Uk because of the cost of medical care.
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quote:
Originally posted by stoop
My tax code went up this April - hence the slight pay rise I guess :)
Everyone's tax code should have gone up as the tax free allowance has gone up by £1,000 this month. It will go up another £500-£600 Next April. This Government have set a target of increasing the tax free allowance to £10,000 by the end of this term of office.
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I have been looking today for my tax coding letter and have not yet receieved one either, so should we be being better off each month :) or worse:(
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quote:
Originally posted by Karennina
I have been looking today for my tax coding letter and have not yet receieved one either, so should we be being better off each month :) or worse:(
If your tax code has been increased it means you can earn more before you start paying tax...so you should be better off (but I wouldn't get TOO excited).
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Thank you for your replies, they made intresting reading...will be checking my tax code to see if its changed.
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What the gov't give with one hand they'll take back with the other :)
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Twice!!!!:-\
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quote:
Originally posted by Ovacikpeedoff
Every time people start comparing Turkish prices to the UK it seems that people conclude Turkey is cheaper and throw in the sunshine that Turkey wins hands down.Probably does if you are fit and able bodied between the age of 50 and 65.
Once you start adding the costs of medical care then it is a totally different ball game. The NHS gets knocked but it is free and available. If you are ill and have a long term illness then the drugs that you require can be free. In my own case i am a diabetic and all my medication is free. While in Turkey it was costing me nearly 100 quid a month when including visits to the doctor for reviews and blood tests.If you are unemployed in the UK there is some help available in benefits and tax credits.
All I am trying to say that it is not that clear cut and Turkey is not the land of milk and honey. Both placeshave their advantages and disadvantages. I loved Turkey but I returned to the Uk because of the cost of medical care.
Well Gerry all I can say is I am in my 40's and live in Turkey full time with my young family and I know damn well I could not do this in the UK at this age without full time employment back up. Granted things like health can be a big disadvantage in Turkey compared to UK but then I think you are narrowing a view on specifics when the question is what is the cost of living comparison. So I have to respond in my opinion Turkey does win hands down, although as I stated there are pro's and cons on both sides! Also if Turkey had the same amount of sunshine as the UK how many expats would even consider to move out here in the first place! 8)
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Andrew you are one of the lucky ones who can afford to retire in your 40s. Alas, not everyone in the UK has that opportunity. You are also lucky that you have no serious health issues. All I am saying is that Turkey may not be the place for everyone. I loved it but the continuing rising price of my diabetic medicine was taking more and more of my income.My diabetic care in the UK is so much better. Again, I am not saying Turkish doctors are rubbish but once in the system in the UK you get very well looked after. Regular appointments are set up for me. It is not just my blood sugar level it is the tests on everything that diabetes can impact on. It is usually the same people I see so there is continuity. I did not have this in Turkey.
It is a fact that many expats return to the UK as they get older.
I was in fact trying to widen the view as most people seem to want to talk about how cheap Turkey is when it comes to meat and veg and of course Efes.You cannot just pick out certain things and say these make Turkey a much better place.
One of the ultimate tests must be the life expectancy rate and that is much higher in the UK than Turkey.
It was not your post but I do get annoyed when people have a pop at the UK. She has been good to me and I will defend her any time.
Anyone with a private pension will see less tax been taken off you as tax allowances have increased. It is the poor buggers working whoo are going to feel the pinch because of increased NI and the narrowing of the higher rate tax band.
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We have friends that who live in Spain and they love it. They do however come back every few months to keep themselves registered with their GP - so I guess they have the same problems as other abroad who have health problems - even though they live in an EU state.
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Many people do that but it is illegal. There are people living abroad who get benefits from the UK government. I know 2 people in Turkey who are claiming disability and have sublet their council houses.These people are actually getting the council houses rent and community charge free.
When they reach state pension age then medical care is free in Spain.
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I'd like to add something to the issue of health care costs in Turkey.
I have a private health insurance here in Turkey something I wouldn't dream of having in the UK as I hate with a vengance any type of insurance and bacause of course the NHS is and hopefully will remain outstanding.
Anyway, initially pre existing conditions were excluded but now after 5 years of paying approx £250-300pa (a lot less than it would cost in the UK) I am now guaranteed that
- my premium will not increase significantly.
- pre existing conditions are now covered.
- each year if I wish - and this applied after the first year I could have a free mamogram and now if I want I can go to one of the specialist University hospitals and have a full annual health check which costs in the region of 400TL (£160)at Esnaf hospital.
Additionally after the first year if I had become pregnant than all medical treatment would also have been covered.
For the first three years I was here I didn't have health insurance but was concerned about what might happen if I needed emergency treatment (traffic accident etc) and bit the bullet and sorted out some insurance.
It seems now that it was and is worth it for peace of mind and hopefully in the event that I need it I won't get penalised with massively increased premiums afterwards.
I do not know how my policy compares to others but my insurance is with AK Sigorta - near Sultan Patisserie. Others I know use and recommend the insurance company near the Fethiye cinema - upstairs. They speak English there which is a bonus.
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I thought it was illegal to claim benefits and not live in the country (UK). Don't they have to be re-checked regularly in case thier 'illness' recedes. Perhaps I'm wrong and not dishonest. It just makes me MAD that some people get away with it. And how can they sublet thier house? Surely the council know who lives in thier houses. There's not enough council houses to go around so why should they be allowed to do that. They need to be 'dobbed on'!
I'll get off my soap box now. Sorry!
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sometimes it is best to put the premium of health insurance in a savings account, then if you don't need any medical stuff, you haven't wasted £300 premium and of course when you do need medical help you dip into your own fund with decent interest rates too.!!You will probably remain ahead financially unless you get unlucky with a serious illness.