One way ticket booked!

[christine91]

How wonderful! Best of luck to you. We were in the same position exactly two years ago,settled in Koycegiz and haven't looked back.It's a wonderful life and we hope to be here for a long time yet.

[PKHUGHES100]

Ian, give us a some fundamental pointers to how you make sure you live like the locals and not the tourists, I am sure we will all benefit from such local knowledge. I know I would as someone who spends 10 weeks a year in Turkey.

Thanks

Kevin

[grizabella]

Came out here to live 3 and a half years ago with 3 suitcases and my cat.Best descision I ever made in my life.Now holiday in Scotland twice a year instead of the other way around.If you live like a local and not a tourist,like Ian says you will find life stress free and cheap to live but if you expect things done pronto and with no problems along the way you could find your temper fraying.Also if you dont eat 'seasonaly' and want to consume a lot of red meat,pork products and anything that has to be imported you will find that your Turkish Lira doesnt go far.I love it and have no wish to return permanently to the UK especially with the weather you've been having recently.Best of luck.

[Ian]

Kevin - grizabella has summed it up very well but I will tell you what we concentrated on:

1) We don't smoke - so no cost - nobody should  
2) We drunk water when eating out (3 times a week in the evenings) - I am tea total and Gill accepted that not only is it so much cheaper but it puts it back in your system which is a necessity particularly as I have problems with kidney stones so it worked well for us for Gill to have a tipple when we ate in.
3) We purposely had a small social circle - no ex-pat cliques and pressures to join in.
4) We at out at locally lunchtime - circa 3 times a week locally - as we live near the Otogar we could eat very cheaply if we picked our places. (example very nice "eat in" kebab place - 2 kebabs + 2 lemon teas (on the house) - 4 lira!
5) Buy local fresh produce - but don;t get into the "buying for a month" syndrome - buy what you need specifically to make a chicken casserole - a chicken curry - a chicken stir fry (you may have guessed we didn't eat red meat unless it was when we dined out!)
6) Gill - loved spending time making fabulous soups - with all the fresh ingredients - great for a meal with fresh bread (bought daily for 40 kurus near us!)
7) We bought a little moped / scooter - 97cc - no tax - does 100km for one and a half litres of fuel - probably 70km with the 2 of us on and as I don't drink we went out a lot on it and even in the evenings when Gill worked out how to get on and off it with a dress on - and as cheap as the dolmus is we still saved lots particularly on the very frequent little trips to town and Calis - no parking fees either  
Budget - draw out a set amount every week and try to live off it or have some left as you would at home.
9) Check out the prices before you shop - I have most of the supermarkets (BIM / A101 / Kipa / Tansas / DIA / Sok / Carrefour etc) on my pc and if we were buying any non food items I would "look around" on the "specials" (stock up on 1 lira promotions at Kipa) or try different shops - example a plastic hose connector - first shop 5 lira - next door 1 lira! Ironing board - quoted 49 lira bought same one at 29 lira  - you have the time and I treat it like a game - you try to win more than you lose but when you lose just smile as grizabella says - no point in getting overheated!
10) Ask - as you would in the UK - we were booking about 20 Carole and Tayfun trips over the 6-months - so I did what the Turks would do zand got them a further 15% cheaper - this also applied to a light fitting and some other items - they respect you more!!!!

That is off the top of my head - that was washed, cut and massaged for 5 lira once a month - with some nice aftershave applied from the top cupboard so I did smell sweet once a month as Gill said as I was just finishing off the fake CK1 that I bought 5 years ago which smelt of nothing after 5 minutes but I said to Gill I will just use it when we are "nipping out" :D

Hope that helps?

Ian  

[Scunner]

Good stuff Ian, I'd like to add my "survival guide" to your "live like a local" guide. Linda knows many of these already but from our experiences from days gone by:

1. Do not get involved in business. Do not buy a bar, go in to a restaurant partnership, or become a partner in a new building project - retire. There is one business to invest your savings in and one only, it's called the bank.

2. Do not lend anyone money. Ever.

3. Assume everyone who seems like a friend will stab you in the back when you are out of earshot - you won't always be right of course but you'll be right more times than you are wrong.

4. Do not take people's opinions of anyone and make them your own opinion. If someone is a to55er in your opinion, at least base it on things you saw and not things someone told you. I made this mistake a few times and found out that I had listened to a third party opinion which was pure lies.

5. Never pay anything up front for any job or service. Do not pay the agreed money or even a deposit "for materials". If they can't afford materials then a shambles is probably in the pipeline anyway - if they finish (or even start) the job at all.

6. Never assume anything from an invitation. A little tongue in cheek but also serious - it's just a little difference we found - just because someone invites you out for a meal, it doesn't necessarily follow that they are paying!!!

7. Get out and about - there's so much to see and so many adventures to have - even if you don't have a car you can get from anywhere to anywhere on the dolmus/buses - the expat Efes groundhog day life is a rut people seem to easily fall into.

8. Enjoy your hobby - if you don't have one, get one. Save dogs, go fishing, join the carnival committee, but find a reason to get dressed in the morning  

9. Accept and embrace the differences. I dine out on stories of our time in Turkey - even now. Most of them centre around total incompetence experienced or ridiculous frustration - but you do need to find the funny side or you would go loopy. Sometimes we believe we are the ones that know the way things should be done and maybe that is true - but sometimes the British way isn't, so be open to rethinking some things for the better too.

10. Make an effort with your neighbours - look out for them because they will look out for you and your property. We had fabulous neighbours both Turkish and British and even now we bring goodies over for them - and take receipt of wonderful plates of freshly picked cherry tomatoes etc in return. It disappoints me to read of disputes with neighbours on CBF because when it works, it works brilliantly.

Please don't think this is the bible according to Scunner, or "How to Live Successfully the Scunner Way" - I only wish I could put a tick next to all 10. I can't.

Good luck to anyone considering and planning to move to Turkey. I really truly and honestly do believe that if you follow all 10, you'll stand a million times more chance of having a stress free life abroad. As usual, the advice is GO FOR IT!

[posleeds]

I did it in July but had a property to move into - albeit empty!
Like Ian says try & live like a local - buy seasonal, shop around & ALWAYS try & get the price down.
One thing I do regret though is not bringing a case of proper winter clothing-i.e. Down filled jacket, leather boots, chunky jumpers & proper slippers. It's certainly nippy on a night & tiled floors don't help.  It also takes a bit of getting used to having no central heating & little or no hot water on wet & cloudy days.
Saying that have loved every minute so far....roll on spring....

[Ian]

Keith - that really sounds like an excellent list for us for our next visit - as it fits the "just when you think you are getting comfortable and know everything" category!

I will be printing that off and reading it on the plane - sad I know but forearmed etc etc

Ian  

[sunlover]

Don,t blame you...good luck...

wish we were in the position to move out there, but not yet, still pursuading the hubby it,s the right thing for us both..

Hopefully one day we will be doing the same....one way ticket GREAT

[scouser2]

Good for you Linda.Life can be great here and don't just accept the changes in your life-style...embrace them.

[janmack]

Good luck!  We are now in our 7th year and happier than ever.  Didn't do an awful lot of research about Turkey, just knew we wanted to move on and here we are  And it's worked for us so far.