Author Topic: Turkey v Spain... Spain v Turkey...  (Read 6750 times)

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Offline Scunner

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Re: Turkey v Spain... Spain v Turkey...
« Reply #10 on: January 16, 2018, 23:36:30 PM »
I think I've driven on the Gonzalez bypass



Offline JohnF

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Re: Turkey v Spain... Spain v Turkey...
« Reply #11 on: January 17, 2018, 01:30:05 AM »
 :)

JF

Offline JohnF

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Re: Turkey v Spain... Spain v Turkey...
« Reply #12 on: March 21, 2018, 11:30:17 AM »
If I'm being honest, my initial thoughts were that in most cases Turkey would be considerably cheaper than Spain when it came to food and drink (and general shopping) with Spain coming out on top solely for alcohol.

Surprisingly that is not the case.

What I found was that for market style shopping, frut, veg, yoghurt, loose grains and pulses etc, Turkey is cheaper.  Not by a huge margin though as the markets here can be pretty cheap when you stick with local grown seasonal produce, as opposed force grown crap from The Netherlands or stuff with more air miles than a salesman for IBM. 

Once you start looking at supermarket shopping, things become even closer.  I used Carrefour as a comparitor as it's got a presence in both countries - ok, maybe not the biggest chain in Turkey, but hey I wasn't going to do an in depth study.  Things like milk and olive oil are cheaper in Spain as is fresh meat, especially beef.  Pork is Spain's lamb and can be bought everywhere for well under €5/Kg for most cuts.  Lamb in Spain is expensive, as is the very young milk fed lamb (cordero lechal), although in case of the latter, it's well worth paying that bit extra! 

Fish is more expensive in Spain, but again, when you use the municipal markets the price difference narrows - I'm basing this on memory and a chat to friend in Turkey the other day so not exactly a robust methodology!

International branded goods are similarly priced, dishwasher tabs, detergents etc, and with store cupboard staples such as tinned and dried goods its very much swings and roundabouts.  The supermarket own brands, or those from lesser known manufacturers I'd say are cheaper in Turkey.

Consumer electronic goods such as televisions, tablets, phones are definitely cheaper in Spain, as are branded white goods from companies such as AEG and Bosch.  Beko is everywhere here and as cheap as chips.

Bottom line is that when it comes to food shopping, Turkey is cheaper but not by the amount you'd think.  What makes food shopping in Spain worth (to me) the difference is the diversity and quality of the produce, especially when it comes to meat, charcuterie and cheese.

Eating out

I think its possible to eat out in Spain almost as cheaply as in Turkey, lots of small bars have their menu del dia where you get two or three courses plus a drink (wine, beer or soft) for between €5 and €10.  In our neck of the woods, tapas sizes are often a lot larger than those served up on the Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca etc and unless you're in super greedy mode, three tapa are often enough for two folks.  Add on a couple of drinks each and you'd struggle to reach €20, more often it'd be closer to €15.

One major difference is in how restaurants operate - you rarely see the typical Turkish resort menu listing more dishes than you could chuck a frying pan at.  Restaurants tend to stick to one style of cuisine, and do it well rather than trying to do food from all corners of the globe. When it comes to "ethnic" food, Indian restaurants to have Indian chefs, Chinese restaurants Chinese chefs and so on.  Only problem in Spain is that folks generally don't like spicy food so when ordering anything with spice heat you need to specify "muy picante", very spicy. 

There is also the variety of restaurants in Spain, away from tourist areas you don't find a dozen places all serving up basically the food - Fethiye is a bit different to many places in that it does have a good selection of restaurants (some very good indeed) but I've always found the food in Turkey a touch...  not sure of the best word here but I suppose similar might be it.  Look how successful Mozaiz Bahce is, I think its because they offer something different.

Where Spain really wins over Turkey is with alcohol prices.  Many of us like a glass of wine with (and without      :) ) food and in my opinion the majority of the affordable Turkish wines are pretty poor quality.  I've tasted some superb Turkish wines over the years but the production levels are low and the prices sky high.  In Andalucia locals tend not to buy a bottle of wine with a meal, folks tend to drink it by the glass - you can often spot a tourist because they have a bottle at the table.  Even higher end places always have a good selection of wines by the glass, to go alongside their extensive wine lists which feature mainly domestic wines.  You'll get the odd bottle of NZ or OZ, but they tend to be expensive in comparison.

Beer  :) I've never known anywhere to have so many names for different sizes of beer! Caña, doble, copa, maceta, jarra, tubo, botella, all mean the same thing, just different sizes.  The smallest measure, a caña, can be had for less than a euro and the actual amount you'll get varies from bar to bar!  Roughly €2 for 50cl and not a drop of Efes in sight, Estrella and Cruzcampo are the most common down here.  Works out about 8tl for a 50cl, but what price can you put on quality.

The gap in pricing here is only likely to get wider, another increase in Special Consumption Tax is due in June I think and you can guarantee alcohol, especially imported alcohol, will take another hit.

Food for thought      :)

JF

Offline Ray1951

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Re: Turkey v Spain... Spain v Turkey...
« Reply #13 on: March 21, 2018, 14:19:36 PM »
A fantastic post with lots of great information.  I don’t want to dampen anyone’s spirits but things could change drastically after March 2019.  I recently looked at an off plan apartment in Costa Del Sol.  The price was £120K for a two bed, to bathroom. The facilities were outstanding, there was a rooftop swimming pool, lift.  The building was only three stories high.  The kitchen units were not included in accordance with most new build properties but all the electrics, plumbing and AC were installed.  Flights are so cheap outwith the peak summer months.  It costs more for a return train ticket from Glasgow to Manchester.

Offline Taddy

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Re: Turkey v Spain... Spain v Turkey...
« Reply #14 on: March 21, 2018, 15:11:27 PM »
some very good points regarding beer/wine,  and food variety in the Spanish regions.  I am not the only one who possibly thinks Efes is not the greatest beer in the world, and wishes for more choice. But as a predominantly Muslim country this is how it is.
  I enjoy Spain, and would not hesitate to go for the right deal, as had some cracking hols there. One point I would make about the Fethiye area is IMO the higher end restaurants are better value for money than in the parts of Spain I have been to. Overall I find the service and cleanliness better too in Turkish restaurants, and certainly in the hotels I have visited.

Offline JohnF

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Re: Turkey v Spain... Spain v Turkey...
« Reply #15 on: March 21, 2018, 15:18:50 PM »
I don’t want to dampen anyone’s spirits but things could change drastically after March 2019. 

Only for U.K. citizens, being an Irish citizen March 2019 is unlikely to have any effect on my status.  That said, there are plenty of folks living in Spain who are not E.U. citizens and there is (fairly) robust process in place for obtaining residencia. 

No one can predict the future, especially where politics is concerned, but the local Andulucian (and national) government has made many reassuring noises over the past few months in respect of U.K. citizens who live and work in this region, and Spain as a whole.  There are a lot.  Many working as language teachers, many with small/medium sized businesses and a good proportion are retired.  They generate a lot of revenue in the way of taxation, both on a regional and local level and they do not want to lose that income stream, the economy here is in a pretty bad way.

The only sticking point may turn out to be Gibraltar.  Time will tell.

JF

Offline saoirse

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Re: Turkey v Spain... Spain v Turkey...
« Reply #16 on: March 22, 2018, 12:08:04 PM »
some very good points regarding beer/wine,  and food variety in the Spanish regions.  I am not the only one who possibly thinks Efes is not the greatest beer in the world, and wishes for more choice. But as a predominantly Muslim country this is how it is.
  I enjoy Spain, and would not hesitate to go for the right deal, as had some cracking hols there. One point I would make about the Fethiye area is IMO the higher end restaurants are better value for money than in the parts of Spain I have been to. Overall I find the service and cleanliness better too in Turkish restaurants, and certainly in the hotels I have visited.

Obviously it's very much a personal opinion/ experience on these matters but I would have the entire opposite opinion 're higher end restaurants Fethiye v Spain as I would have to put Espana a long long way ahead both for quality and service

For me as a general experience alcohol/ restaurants are considerably better particularly for both choice and value in Spain.

I feel Turkeys aggressive " no foreigners running restsurants " mentality limits it's scope considerably and for many establishments  it's only this protection from competition that keeps them afloat

Certainly if Irish, British German etc were given free hand to open competing bars /restaurants I reckon many of  the Turkish rice n chips style set ups would struggle

Offline JohnF

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Re: Turkey v Spain... Spain v Turkey...
« Reply #17 on: March 22, 2018, 14:33:49 PM »
One point I would make about the Fethiye area is IMO the higher end restaurants are better value for money than in the parts of Spain I have been to. Overall I find the service and cleanliness better too in Turkish restaurants, and certainly in the hotels I have visited.

Hmmm... not sure that's the case.  I've no idea where you've been or eaten in Spain but I can say, in my opinion, as far as quality is concerned the higher end restaurants in Spain are miles ahead of anything in Turkey, never mind the Fethiye area.  I know some folks think it's a bit snobby, but check out how many Michelin starred restaurants there are in Turkey.

Personally I find the level of service in my neck of the woods great - there are a few places where you know the service is crap and you either avoid them or go there and simply deal with it.  The fawning and obsequious (and at times over friendly) service I've experienced in Fethiye is a complete turn off for me - you never get that from the old school waiters in Istanbul and I've never had it in Spain.

Anyway, often quality and service are pretty subjective so its lucky we're all different.

JF



Offline saoirse

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Re: Turkey v Spain... Spain v Turkey...
« Reply #18 on: March 22, 2018, 15:51:21 PM »



I specifically  highlighted "superior to Fethiye" because that's the yardstick the poster I quoted had used- but it is indeed entirely subjective almost pointless

Whilst I spent around 13 years in the Fethiye region I obviously cannot speak of experience of all of  Turkey

My point is compared to the area I knew- and that referenced by the poster- I find ( generally) my current area ( Valencia region) superior for food and drink. However not for everything....

Offline JohnF

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Re: Turkey v Spain... Spain v Turkey...
« Reply #19 on: March 22, 2018, 17:21:35 PM »
I just reread my previous post and thought I'd clarify my comments re service - I know not everywhere is like that, but many are.  Probably why my favourite places locally are Yengec and Pasa  :) both places very professionally run.

JF




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