I have been wanting to write this post since I started my blog last year, but I knew it would take a lot of research to get it right, and I also know a lot of people will disagree with me, but after discussing it with someone today, I was determined to post my view on this.
People think living in Turkey is cheap… It’s not. Unless you’re living off a British pension or have an income from other sources in the UK, it’s not cheap to live here at all. When I say to people it’s hard to live off a Turkish wage and that we always end up getting into debt, people tell me ‘you just need to budget better and not have a holiday lifestyle, it’s so cheap to live in Turkey’… I know for a fact that it’s not, and people just do not realise how local people really struggle.
Ok, now a little disclaimer, this is NOT about me. It’s not a pity party. I can get on the next flight home to England if it becomes too hard to live here. This is for the local people, the Turks, the thousands of people working in Turkey who do not have the luxury of choosing where to live or have many job opportunities.
I have always said that living in Turkey is actually more expensive than living in the UK. When you compare like for like, Turkey appears cheaper, but when you consider local wages, you realise it’s not. If you’re an expat in Turkey and have more than £250 a month in income from a pension or other means, you are financially better off than a lot of locals in Fethiye, and all over the country. The minimum wage here is 895tl a month after tax – that equals £255 a month or roughly £3068 a year. (For arguments sake throughout this article I’m using an exchange rate of 3.5tl/£1 as this is the rate being given in town as of today). This is minimum wage across the country. Compare this to minimum wage in the UK which is £6.31 an hour – for 40 hours a week this would be £11,380 a year AFTER tax, or £950 a month, roughly. This means that the minimum wage in Turkey is 3.7 x less than the UK, therefore, for Turkey to have a cheaper cost of living than the UK, the prices of everything would have to be 3.7 x lower than in the UK… let’s look into that and see if that is the case.
I have investigated the prices of many everyday items – I looked online at two main supermarkets – Migros for Turkey, and Tesco for the UK. These are pretty much the same thing, big supermarkets. Of course there are cheaper options for all of the foods listed, I could have looked at Aldi & Lidl compared to Turkey’s Bim & Sok for lesser known brands and cheaper choices, but for ease I’m looking at the two main supermarkets. The fruit and veg prices were compared using Tesco prices vs Fethiye market prices – the cheapest possible place to find them.
The photo below shows my findings.
As you can see, for most of the products, the price of these when converted into pounds is cheaper in Turkey, but not by very much, and certainly not 3.7 x cheaper. Things like bread, water and some fruits such as grapes and cherries are significantly cheaper here in Turkey, even with the difference in wages. For most things however, when considering the wage difference, are more expensive here in Turkey. For example, I did not find one single house product that was cheaper here, in comparison. Bleach, toothpaste, toilet paper, shampoo and deodorant are all more expensive, along with everyday food items such as pasta and milk.
Meat prices here in Turkey are ridiculous – as you can see from the table all red and white meat is significantly more expensive here when you factor in the wage differences.
Perhaps most shockingly, some of the everyday items are actually significantly more expensive in Turkey without even looking at the wage comparison – cheese, eggs, bananas, potatoes and pet food are all more expensive here in Turkey than it would be if we were shopping in Tesco. There’s also the fact that supermarkets in the UK often have “buy one get one free” deals which I rarely see in shops here.
I see where other expats are coming from – their pounds go further here than at home in England for the most part, but for people living here off a local wage life is very hard and a daily struggle. I have no idea how large families cope.
Groceries aren’t the only things that are more expensive in Turkey. I looked online and compared typical internet broadband prices, in the UK the average price worked out at £230 a year. Here in Turkey we pay around 90tl per month, or 1080tl (£308) per year. Again, that shows that the price of the internet luxury here is more expensive than the UK, without even considering wage differences.
I tried to compare electricity prices, but there are such vast differences in the amount that people pay each month it would be impossible to do a comparison, our electric bills every month are between 30-50tl, while I know others who pay 200tl a month, and I have no idea of the breakdown in prices either here or in the UK.
Petrol prices here in Turkey are far more expensive than the UK before even considering the wage difference. Car prices here are also ridiculous, a car that you would pay £1000 for in the UK is likely to sell for the equivalent of £5000 or more here in Turkey – no wonder I see so many ancient, non road-worthy cars around, nobody can afford models less than 20 years old.
White goods, fridges, washing machines etc and other general household goods here in Turkey are around the same price as in the UK – again when you consider wages are a lot less here, this makes them a lot more expensive in comparison.
Another significant thing here to remember is there is no free healthcare. For local people working their bosses should pay for their health insurance which enables cheaper treatment, and for those not working, the amount they pay for health insurance is means tested, but it’s not free. There are also very little income benefits. In order to be entitled they have to have worked and paid insurance for a certain amount of days in a period of time, Berkay was entitled to it last winter and got 300tl per month, who could ever live off that?
There are things that are cheaper here in Turkey, for example, council tax, road tax, insurance etc, but when everything else is considered, this is so small and insignificant.
Rent prices are a different story. Rent prices are undoubtedly a lot cheaper here in Turkey. From searching online, I found the price of a one bedroom flat in England varied considerably – from £400 in Northern areas, to over £700 in London. In comparison, prices for a one bedroom basic apartment here in Fethiye vary from 300 – 650tl (£85 – £170) – I can’t deny that they are much cheaper here.
You may be thinking to yourself, ‘why dont they work harder to earn more’ – it doesn’t work like that. I can only comment for people working in Tourism, as that is all I have knowledge of, but generally people working in this sector will be stuck in it for life. It doesn’t mean they’re lazy or unqualified (Berkay has a diploma in hotel management!) it just means they have no choice. It’s not like they can take on a second job to bump up their wages either – working days here are long with people working up to 12-15 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is no time for another job.
All of the above isn’t even considering the fact that a lot of people in tourism don’t have work during winter, and those that do are more than likely working for less than minimum wage as their employer knows they are desperate and will work for any money they offer – some take total advantage and do not even pay them at the end of the month, they simply refuse, and because they have been working without insurance and for less than minimum wage they have no option but to accept it.
Im not suggesting the whole of Turkey is poor, there are of course people with very good jobs earning tens of thousands lira a year and people who would be rich even by English standards. But that doesn’t change the fact that for Turkish people, living here in Turkey IS more expensive than living in the UK. I know there will be people who disagree, but if you do the research you might be surprised at what you find.
Let me know if you agree, or disagree, I’m open to all comments. I’m really curious at people’s opinions of the cost of living here in Turkey. Before I moved here I had no idea, I didn’t care, I was ignorant, but it’s something that really fascinates me now and I can’t help but get into discussions about it when I see people saying the infamous words ‘it’s cheaper to live over there’.
Of course there are many positive things about living here, perhaps the quality of life here outweighs the increased cost of living? Let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading, If you got this far, well done, what an essay this turned out to be!
livingtheturkishdream.com 
I totally agree Danni, I have tried to explain that to people so many times. Often people can’t get away from converting to sterling and saying it’s cheap. Yet as I say yes for you maybe but the Turks are living of lira not pounds. Often people say as well why doesn’t my partner come to the uk more to see me. Yet for £83 for the start of fee then translation fees etc plus flights, its very expensive in their money. It’s far cheaper and easier for me to come to turkey. Quite often people in holiday resorts are living of the interest from the money they have put in the bank. I believe most expats either live one way or the opposite: having a easier life living off the pound or living like a turk and finding it a lot harder.
Yes, you’re right! I think it’s definitely one of the two extremes… oh yeah I didn’t even consider visa costs.. I get mad just thinking about visas nowdays! x
Can’t disagree with any of this Danni, but you knew I wouldn’t, having struggled here for so long. Of course it’s easy for expats with an income from the UK, because on the whole prices are lower than the UK, but not for Turks, particularly in tourism. When you consider that what is earned during the season has to support families during the winter…often 6 months…it’s pretty appalling. Oh and even though there is a national minimum wage…many bosses in tourism don’t pay it (many workers like my husband get commission only, no wage). Well researched Danni…well done x
Thanks Linda! I forgot to mention that people often work just for commission yes, true. People say ‘they double their wages with tips’ – I’d like to know where these people are working and who’s giving them good tips because Berkay sure doesn’t get many – an odd 5-10tl once a week maybe! 😦 x
You are so right on target about all of this, I completely agree with you. I honestly do not know how the Turks do it. Actually I do, they struggle constantly, are overworked, and they are always in debt and borrowing and loaning money to each other, a real vicious cycle. Thanks for a great article and for confirming what I have known all along. I have a Turkish boyfriend who worked in tourism and so I went back and forth there from Paris to Pamukkale and slowly my eyes were opened to all of this.
You’re right Mia. Berkay is constantly in his overdraft and owes money to his boss from last year when he borrowed some in winter. Every time he’s paid he has to give some of it back to his boss, 1/3 of it goes straight away in the overdraft and then the rest on rent and bills… It sucks. 😦 x
You have a Turkish boyfriend in Pamukkale? That’s where I live & always looking for new foreigners 😉
Hi Dani,
Completely agree with you. I was in Ankara for six years before moving to Fethiye and the diference was even more apparent as the majority of my friends were expats-from-embassies and not only living rent free but getting the same wage in Turkey as the did in the UK, the disparity was mind blowing. I’ve found it a lot easier to fit in in Fethiye. My (Turkish) husband always says the only way to really make money in Turkey is to have your own business which is of course fraught with its own problems.
I only recently discovered your blog and am really enjoying it
xmary
Thanks for commenting Mary, glad you enjoy my blog 🙂 Yes, I can imagine the difference between ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ is more noticable in big cities… It’s tough isn’t it? Fethiye is my favourite place, and yes I do feel like we fit in here as well, it’s definitely more of a working class town isn’t it? x
I quite agree , unless they live in staff accommodation , for the 6 months which they get their food provided for them as well , they are definitely not better off, having said that I have worked and lived in turkey for 8 years until 2 years ago, I didn’t have an income unless I worked and if I didn’t share an appartment with my friend I would not of been able to manage to survive the winter
Very true Louise. x
Well done on this blog danni. I agree wholeheartedly with your take on this. I wouldnt live anywhere else than here in Turkey. I love it. Lived here 6 years but what a steep learning curve it has been. The woman who moved here is not the woman that i am now! To live in Turkey, unless u have an independent imcome, forces u to change. No matter howmany times u explain finances to friends. They do not grasp the realities of actually living here, the hours and little wages tourism pays. And the disrespect to the Turks of many, many tourists. Sometimes i wonder how the guys face yet another season of long hours, small wages and many obnoxious tourists. I hope your blog makes people think a little more kindly to the staff they abuse and seldom tip. Well done on your blogs. I enjoy reading them
You are so right about the obnoxious tourists who treat Turks badly.. and Berkay rarely ever gets tips, even if he does it’s 5-10tl once or twice a week! 😦 I’ve had people say ‘yeah but tips double their wages’ – I wish! Living here has definitely changed me too, I’d like to think i’m more sensible with money now, don’t like to waste food etc either. x
Hi Danni, 90tl per month is a lot to pay for your internet. we have unlimited for 39.99 to from doping (all to do with digiturk)
Ours is with TTNET, they’re the main provider here, there’s not many options.. It used to be 65tl but went up and ours is even more as we’re not in a year’s contract. x
Hi Danni, I think you are right for some people and some cities in Turkey. But not all Turkey is like this.
In istanbul I worked for tourism company, my starting after tax salary was 2800tl. My Turkish coworkers make 2000tl starting. My husband is Turkish, his starting salary 3 years ago was 2000tl, now is over 3000tl.
Also I believe the most important indicate for cost of living is rent and food. Here in Istanbul we rent a brand new close to metro 2 bedroom apartment for 1000tl. It’s so cheap. The thing is, once you have a roof on your head, everything else is easier.
Yes of course, that’s why I compared minimum wages. Wages vary drastically in the UK too, someone in Northern cities earn a lot less than someone in London. xx
Great article Danni and very well written. I completely agree that for Turkish citizens it must be a constant struggle, especially for those with children. You are of course right about retired expats being financially better off than most, which is of course why we choose to live here.
I do however think that if you are going to do a thorough comparison you would need to analyse all expenditure. I dont think it is a fair assessment to say that Brits are 3.7 x better off. For example, my fuel bills here for an entire year (the only way to compare) averages around £600 compared to £1500 in UK. Council tax was £1450. If I was to go back and rent that would be an average 0f £700 a month compared to £200 here.
Turkey is very like the UK was when I was raising my children in the 70s and 80s. Lots of things were mega expensive and wages were very low, we didn’t have holidays or run a car but, and I joke you not. I had to pay weekly for the 3 girls uniforms. This was only improved as the economy got stronger and of course women took full time jobs to keep the family afloat.
Please take it that step further and do a full comparison I am sure it will show that families in Turkey are worse off than in the UK, but comparing all outgoings would give a much clearer picture of why.
Thanks for reading Pauline, yes people in my family have said that Turkey today is like stepping back in time to what it was like in the UK many years ago too.
I didn’t mean that Brits were 3.7x better off, just that wages were, and since Turkey isn’t 3.7x cheaper in any area (apart from rent, maybe!) that it’s not a cheaper way of life here, maybe it’s on par with the UK though, just definitely not cheaper. x
Totally agree Danni. Turkey used to be very cheap but in the last ten years things have gone mad. Probably the same as many other places in the world. Obviously if people have an income from abroad they will, particularly now with the exchange rate, have a greater spending power. But at least they are choosing to spend it here and possibly keeping a few people in work through the winter who otherwise may not be employed. But for the average Turk life is very hard and until Turkey moves into producing goods to export it will remain this way. I don’t think change for the better is going to come in the near future.
That’s very true, good point! And yes, I don’t see it getting better anytime soon either. x
And getting more expensive by the day!
Unfortunately, very true. 😦 x
Hi Danni,
You have hit the nail on the head. Two more things to consider, petrol …..much more expensive in Turkey. Also the prices in tesco are always cheaper then you have stated as there are always half price deals, buy one get one free etc so you definitely get more for your money every shop.
The average Turkish family survive by shopping at local produce markets and rarely eat meat. You won’t see local villagers in micros. If they purchase 1kg of meat this will be used for 5-6 meals ….making a Turkish stew using the meat for flavour only. I used to be amazed how people cooked and the ingredients that were used. Everything was amazingly tasty !!!
You’re right about the deals that TESCO etc has, I did actually want to mention that but forgot! Very true. True about the cooking too, I’ve not mastered the art of Turkish cooking yet.. haha. x
Thank you so much for doing this very interesting,the problem with people is the same here,they only look at the thing at that moment not the overall thing,I find in life people are so narrow minded,I would love to live in Turkey but sadly I dont have enough funds to keep me going in a Turkish life style.Please carry on doing these blogs very interesting x
Thanks Lesley, I’m glad you like reading my blogs 🙂
Absolutely agree!
I think the only thing that is much cheaper in Turkey is the cost of housing – as you say, rent is a lot cheaper and other associated costs are minimal (no council tax bills!)
Everything else is more expensive relative to Turkish wages.
Thanks for a well written and well researched article!
Glad you agree Kate, thanks for commenting 🙂
Hey 🙂 , I agree that supermarket prices are expensive here but if I lived and worked back in London I would have a wage of around £1000 a month but .. I have no idea where I would live .. I could see a small grotty apartment costing around 700 a month … Cheeper if I went further out but then the commute would deffinatly make up for that and you end up not having much of a life . I have a beautiful duplex apartment here views to die for 3 bedrooms 2 bathrooms for about £160 a month . I’m a short walk to town also and the beach . It beats London any day . It can be a struggle sometimes but I would rather struggle here then in London .. I have always said it works out about the same. Exept in England I had an overdraft lol . You know say baked beans are cheep in uk here they can be up to 5 tl But the normal turkish woman wouldn’t buy baked beans she would get some fresh beans cheeper and make beans and rice .. If you look at the traditional turkish cooking they probably don’t spend half as much as I do in the supermarket here . Sorry for the essay lol x
Haha yes you’re right. Cheap properties is a big bonus of living here, and the sea of course 😉
Well im an Expat and i have a basic pension of £440 a month and i still find it expensive ..By the time ive paid my SGK which is 272 lira a month plus 20% of any medical care you need on top of that,.Medecines arent cheap either Then we have our Residency Permits to get every year….and Depram …and you have to be careful if the hear Yabanci the price rises …Meat here i know is very expensive and quite tasteless …Ive been heer 15 years ..when i first came it was very cheap to live here but prices all the time are creeping up ..I havnt been home for 6 years as i cant afford the fllghts ..I havnt got a flash car like the Turks either i have a old Turkish car a Serca 1993….I feel my monthly income with the extra expenses Yabancis have to pay is on par with the Turks … Very good article very interesting ..x
Oh you’re so right about yabanci prices, Berkay always tells me not to speak if we’re in a shop like that! cheeky gits 🙂
I could not agree more. I have worked and lived in Turkey and spent a very hard winter just surviving on bean stew and adding to it daily. Throwing shoes on a fire to keep warm! You definitely need an income from the UK !
Its hard isn’t it? 😦 x
A very interesting read,I knew a bit about the cost of living in turkey as I’ve been reading your blog from day one and remember the piece about Berkays wage,etc etc. it’s a crying shame that the minimum wage is so low when everyone works so hard,is there nothing that can be done about this.
Love to you both
Morgan x x
Berkay is very lucky at the moment he has a wage a lot higher than he’s had in the past, unfortunately he’s still paying back money from previous winters, so we’re not really noticing the extra income. 😦 Wages are a big issue here for sure, especially when in tourism it’s difficult to find winter work x
Hey Kim, can I ask where you live? The rent you quote is SO much cheaper than Istanbul and if Danni is quoting 650TL for a one bedroom in Fethiye, where can you get what you have for less than that? TIA x
Just a short comment,I agree with all you have said,but when I tried to put this across to some people they cannot grasp the fact that I am talking about the Turkish population,not ex.pats.
Same here Joe, even other expats here try to tell me it’s cheaper here than the UK. My reply to them is live off a Turkish wage and see how they get on…
Thanks for the detailed analysis, Danni! I remember when I was a kid, coming to Turkey in the summers in the 80s, that’s when there was still a huge difference in the cost of living. My sister and I could live for three months with our grandmother and buy whatever we wanted – magazines, cassettes, junk food, gifts for friends, etc. – all at much lower prices than in Canada, with what little we had saved from our allowances.
Then in the 90s, prices started to rise. Tapes for instance – instead of being, say, 4 lira for one album, the price rose to the equivalent price in dollars, so there was no point in going to the music shops anymore.
The year that my husband and I lived in Istanbul, it helped to stay with my grandmother for the first month or so, because we could find work and have time to look for a suitable apartment. Groceries and furniture on installment plans and rent were probably our biggest expenses. I was lucky to walk to work, and that my work paid for my lunches (pide and salad and sutlac every day, yes!).
I think you’re right – unless you’re lucky to be getting your income from a country with a strong currency, while living in a place with a weak currency, then everything pretty much evens out. If you have to earn in the local currency and spend in the local currency, we all end up having to budget.
One thing I find frustrating is the difficulty of having to rent all the time, rather than having more condo/house buying options with favourable mortgages for young people. Even in England it’s difficult, I imagine, since a down payment is really hard to scrape together.
Hey, yes you are right about everything there! It’s interesting how expensive Turkey has got in the past 10-20 years, I know everywhere has, but inflation is really high here. When was the last time you visited? I expect you’ll notice a big difference if it’s been a while!
Agree about local currency and house prices etc too.After reading your comment about pide, I now really fancy some haha! x
Well said Danni, I lived in Turkey for 11 years supplementing my turkish partners income with money of my own, when that ran out I had to come back to the UK and find work until I can claim my private pension in 15 months time. I still have to send him money for the rent and bills on our apartment otherwise he would have to go back and live with his parents. He works in tourism and really only earns 6 months of the year. His parents are also very poor and Mum supplements their income by growing a lot of fruit and veg and they have a cow so she makes yogurt, butter and village cheese. Good work on the research I am actually surprised by your findings in the fruit and veg prices as when people ask me about the cost of living in Turkey I generally reply that apart from rent and fruit and veg it is about the same as here, that’s without having looked into it in any detail, so some of those prices make me a liar. Your point regarding the disparity in wages is of course what most people overlook, including me. I do agree though,in part, with Kim’s comments I would sooner be poor here than in England.
THanks for commenting Lyndsey 🙂 It’s hard in tourism isn’t it? And like I said its difficult to find jobs in other sectors once you’ve been in tourism, it’s usually tourism for life. His parents sound like Berkays, they have a farm with around 30 sheep, 30 cows, goats chickens etc and she makes all the homemade yogurt and butter too! Totally different way of life. I didn’t realise about fruit and veg prices either, I do think that it depends on what’s in season though, different things are cheaper in the market at different times of the year 🙂 x
Less heating, retiring age lower. Two price system foreigners/turkish in shops and having work done. Food by the kilo against lbs or even each(ie oranges). Families live together not like in England where Grandma cares for the children whereas childcare is so expensive. Every month there ‘seems’ to be a festival/holiday. You can live outside for several months of the year because of the weather. Fresh produce at local market stalls at least twice a week whereas supermarkets are not fresh and farmers markets are about once or twice a month. Just a few items without any research.
Thanks for commenting! 🙂 Less heating in summer, but it does get very cold in winter, -2 on my balcony last year in fact! and there are costs of cooling down the place instead with fans etc. Retiring age is a lot lower isn’t it? But they work a hard life so it’s no wonder, imagine working everyday of your life for 50 years without a day off… that’s the case for a lot of people, lots of people don’t get weekends or even one day off. I compared the prices of fruit/veg kg/kg not lbs too, they were listed clearly on the tesco website in kg’s thats why I done it this way! Families don’t always live together either, perhaps more traditional families do, and definitely the poorer ones, but a lot don’t.. a lot travel hundreds of miles away from home to find work and live alone or have to support their whole family still.. Berkay used to send home all his wages to his family, while struggling to live by himself hundreds of miles away. There are only two main holidays here too, quite similiar to Easter and Christmas in England, I think!
Agree about the two prices for foreigners v locals though, that’s not fair at all.
I agree Danni. I was shocked when I first found out how much The Turk’s family members would earn a month. Having said that I think you living in a tourist area means you pay a little more than others in Turkey. Looking at your prices they do seem quite high to me but then I live in a village outside of Mersin. 6 eggs would cost me 1.80TL for example. Bread 0.50TL although I paid 2.50TL for milk yesterday.
Dog food (and cat food) are extremely expensive (probably because no one wants them around).
Hi Jane, yes prices are cheaper in the villages I guess, especially for eggs etc from neighbours with farms.. the perks of village life haha! 🙂 Right about the dogs and cats too probably .x
I agree..the food prices are ridiculous. I don’t know how the butchers survive with the cost of meat.
My illusion coming here was l thought it would be cheap for meat and normal day to day items.
The amount of deodorant l go through and the cost of it here is ridiculous. In the UK meat and two veg was the norm for me. Now l hardly buy it. I have lost so much weight as l can’t really find anything I’m passionate about to eat. When shopping on the market for fruit one day, l mistakenly asked for a a kilo of plums, my hands were for full so l couldn’t pick my own..l ended with all damaged fruit. I now use the shops where l can select with ease.
My choice now would be to return to UK. I love the weather and swimming daily but l don’t think it’s enough for a permanent plan. I’ve been here a year now alone and learnt so much that l think UK is the best.
Love reading your blog
I’d never really thought about it but I don’t know how the butchers survive either! We do buy a lot of meat, but always the cheap stuff, rarely chicken breast as they are more expensive and red meat is definitely just for a special occasion and again always the cheapest one, which is usually fatty and tasteless, don’t know why we bother! Deodorant is really expensive isn’t it? I thought I was the only one who noticed that.. and shampoo, I wonder why? Do they not think their own citizens want to be clean? lol Weird. Fruit at the market is very hit and miss isn’t it? We always make sure to pick our own as there’s a lot of bad hidden amongst the good!
There’s more to life than weather and swimming eh? I suppose it’s different for everyone and where they’d rather be. I love Turkey, but I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Berkay.
Thank you for commenting and reading! x
I think that prices have gone up. But I don’t know many Turkish families who shop in Migros and you can get a whole chicken at 5.50tl a kilo, 15 eggs for 4.5 lira and 2 cans of Tuna for less than 5tl in BIM. Some of the markets have fish too, A Turkish diet is totally different to a UK diet and they tend to avoid expensive processed and canned foods.
Turks don’t really keep dogs and if they do they are usually fed from table scraps. Fethiye is expensive compared to other areas as it is a popular second home destination with City Turks.
You have to learn to shop in a different way here. Bulk buying fruit and veg when it’s 1 lira a kilo and pickling, drying and making jams or freezing. A car is not a necessity here the way it is in the UK. Where I lived in the UK there was 1 bus and hour and they stopped at 5pm it was £3.95 to go I to town here the buses are every 5 minutes stop anywhere and are 2tl.
Prices have gone up in the 5 years I have lived here. But even in tourism I don’t know any Turks in Fethiye who are on minimum wage in the summer – plus they get tips. I’ve never met an employer who didn’t feed the staff during their shift even shop workers and office staff get lunch free. They work long hours, eat at work during the summer and save for the winter. If they are lucky enough to pick up work during the winter it is a bonus that helps the family budget.
The difference here is that people live within their means. They don’t buy things they can’t afford and are happy to buy second hand. If they can’t afford holidays they don’t have one, if they can’t afford meat they don’t eat it every day, if they can’t afford to keep a dog they don’t have one. They make their clothes last and look after their belongings.
Hi Sandy, yes I know that not everyone shops at Migros, but my thinking was that BIM/sok etc are more like Aldi and Lidl in the UK with lesser known brands and cheaper items, which is why I didn’t use those as examples. Right about the processed and canned foods, there’s not many to chose from here anyway is there? Everything is made from scratch! I do wish I could buy a £1 jar of sauce sometimes rather than using lots of ingredients and making it all from scratch though, sometimes I think that works out dearer, believe it or not!
I agree that most places here can be easily accessed by bus so there’s little need for a car, but it’s the same where I’m from in England,can get a train to pretty much anywhere 24/7, although of course it is a lot more expensive!
Berkay always used to get minimum wage in summer, it’s only the last 2 years he’s got more, luckily.. he also gets no tips, perhaps 5 or 10tl a week if he’s lucky… I guess nobody tips the hotel receptionist lol, he has to pay for anything he drinks too but does get the leftovers from the buffet if he wants them.
From my experience, even if people live within their means, unexpected costs put them back and get them into debt which they can be paying off years later. We borrowed money from Berkay’s summer boss in winter because he didn’t get paid from his winter job ( he borrowed around 1000tl) and he’s still paying it back now, so everymonth his wages come in and -500tl goes on the overdraft, then another 250tl to his boss, 550 on rent, 90 on internet, 30 on electric and that’s it… nothing left over. It’s a vicious circle 😦 All our friends have credit cards and overdrafts, I don’t think they’d survive if they didn’t, honestly.
You’re right, hardly anyone we know has holidays, and we all buy 2nd hand. I don’t think I’ve ever bought an item of clothing here, clothes seem to be really expensive, I just wear them til they get holes in and sew them up – I even took my 5tl bag to the repairer so he could fix it for 50krs rather than buy a new one.. that was a real eye opener to me, I’d never think twice about buying a £2 handbag replacement in the UK, yet here it was the only option and felt like 2nd nature anyway, crazy! I’ve definitely changed a lot living here! True about pets too, poor Boncuk gets leftovers too but she’s developed an allergy to the things we used to give her and now needs actual dog food… 😦 x
I agree with Danni your prices do seem high in certain areas particularly vegetables , we are paying 1TL/kg for example for potatoes. Cars are in my experience cheaper for one simple reason – no depreciation indeed my 8 year old car which I bought 4 years ago is worth more than when I bought it looking at the cars for sale, in the UK it would be worth a nominal sum . There is no conclusion to this discussion as everybodies circumstances are different . I just know that we have a better and cheaper life style in Turkey than when in UK
Good point about the car Alan, but that’s only good if you already have one to sell and aren’t looking to buy instead haha! Thanks for your comment 🙂 I agree, better lifestyle here for expats.
I agree with you – its not easy at all. We lived over in adiyaman, and true, our bills were cheap. Water + electric bills over a month for 7 people came to 12 lira. But with everyone working who could work, our income a month was under 100 lira, because as you said, they were summer workers and their employers knew they could give them incredibly low wages. Our daily money that we had each day was about 2-3 lira. In adiyaman its a lot cheaper for food – we could get 18 eggs and bread and other foods with 2 lira quite easily – but one of the family members was also a student, and needed school supplies. The slightest extra cost, such as school supplies or needing to go into the city could easily suck up a weeks worth of money. Everything there was so cheap – provided you were on an english wage. 12 lira for electric and water? Yes please! But not when you factor in the turkish wage.
Wow, think we need to move there, that’s a lot cheaper than here hehe! It’s tough though isn’t it, I understand about the unexpected costs being a struggle, even just us getting a bus into Fethiye here uses up more money than we have available, several times we’ve had to borrow money for the bus or even bread… 😦 I really don’t know how people like you mentioned live and survive. Kudos to them. x
Very interesting read, and I do agree – if you could live in Turkey on English wages then yes you’d be laughing. I will never cease to be impressed by their work ethic, the hours they do are just incredible.
I find the car prices interesting though – any idea why they are so high?!
Yes , totally agree! No idea why car prices are so high, they’re ridiculous, most aren’t even road worthy and would be scrapped in the UK and sell here for thousands!
If you compare Tesco with Migros its not a fair comparative , There are Supermarkets Called “Bim” all over the country and thats almost half Cheaper than Migros , which many people prefer to shop
Yes I mentioned those but they are like English aldi or lidl
Yes you are absolutely correct, in that life must be a struggle for many turkish people. However, for ex pats the BIG saving is on property. I rent a very nice 2 bed apartment for 600tl, £160 a month, the equivalent in england would be circa £500 a month. The £340 difference is enough for me to live out here. So food and electricity costs are almost irrelevant, compared to the massive saving of housing costs.
The one thing you have not factored in is the turkish culture. In england family life has all but disappeared with fathers, mothers working away from home and families living all over the country, with no other support. Where as in turkey family support is crucial to their survival and they do support each other through lean periods. The other factor not mentioned is the ability for turkish people to have mortgages and car loans. This is both a good thing and a bad thing, at the end of the day its having the ability to pay. As turkey becomes more westernised the people want more and like england people start to get in a mess if they cannot pay their loans. This can obviously result in less money for the essentials.
Yes, loans are a vicious circle, Berkay borrowed from someone last year and is still paying it back, meaning on pay day nearly all of his money is immediately gone on bills, rent, overdraft and loan… 😦
Agree about Turkish families, but for some that’s still not the case, sometimes the opposite. Berkay was expected to send his wages back home to his family, who had no concern as to how he (a 17 year old boy at the time) was surviving in a town far away from home, alone and with no money. He didnt send his wages home one time and his father came to town and beat him. He doesn’t really speak to them anymore and has no support from them whatsoever.. Obviously that’s an extreme example though! x
A very interesting read, thank you for this comparison, really well done! But I must agree that comparing Tesco and Migros is not very fair. Why did you not compare Tesco and Kipa, they are actually the same company? I do agree with you, living in Turkey is not easy for the Turks, and there are little benefits, but there is quite an evolution. More and more people can afford to buy a good car and stay in nice homes. Especially in the large cities, this has become very clear. I think the majority of Turkish citizens are in positions where they earn more than the minimum wage, the middle class is an ever growing group. And although I m not AKP-minded, we must give credit to the government for putting in place a lot of social services. Children up to 18 years old have free health care everywhere in Turkey. In the poorest parts of Turkey (mostly the east) health care is free for everyone. Anyone in Turkey who can show the government that they do not own any real estate or a car, and that their earnings are not enough to support themselves and their families, gets a ‘green card’ which entitles them to cooked meals twice a day brought to their doors as well as free health care. Families with 3 or more children of which at least one parent is working officially, are entitled to child money, always given to the mother. Women who stay at home are entitled to pay the minimum social security fare and in return get free health care and eventually even a pension. So yes, many people are still struggling to get by, but things are changing for the better. Let’s hope it will continue that way 🙂
Hi Ece, I’m glad you enjoyed my post! I know, I should have compared Kipa, but we were in Migros so I was able to look at prices, I didn;t even think! To be honest though, I find Kipa a bit more expensive than Migros anyway?.
Yes, city life is a lot different I can imagine. I had no idea about the ‘green card’ thing – that’s brilliant! Im assuming it’s only for families and not individuals though? Lets hope things continue to improve x
Yes , I am so glad you are not the only one to realise this. Totally agree
I was a little afraid of writing this blog post as I thought I was the only one who saw this, so im glad you think the same 🙂
Danni, I was amazed at the cost of meat. I remember paying £12 for lambs liver, heart attached. It did us one meal. Family in Aydin seldom eat meat, it’s just too expensive. No wonder a lot of locals have their own chickens. I used to buy fresh eggs from a neighbour. Guess that eeked their money out a little selling the eggs. The one bonus was fresh food from the market, tastier and cheaper than here and in season. As for the baked bean comment, no Turkish women wouldn’t buy tinned beans or tinned anything that I knew of. They would make beans from scratch as they do most things. I loved the family bread, a huge fire oven in the garden and about 90/100 loaves baked at a time and put in the freezer. They never used to cook in side during summer always cooked on a open fire in the garden, saving on the cost of gas bottles. So much we take for granted.
Hi Kath, meat prices are terrible aren’t they? 😦 The fresh market food is a big bonus yes, my favourite day is Tuesday purely because of the market here, love it. Im not sure where their bakes bean comment came from lol, random as I never mentioned that! While we’re on the subject though..Heinz beans are even worse, saw some for 9tl the other day! The only English thing I buy regularly here is HP sauce, have to pay around 6.5tl for it as opposed to 4.5 tl last year (thats a lot of inflation!) but it’s worth it, I eat it with everything lol.
That sounds lovely about the bread, I bet it smelt amazing! x
Danni, your article is well written, accurate and gives the reader no choice but to agree. The only things I could possibly comment on might be [1] tax bands here in Turkey (i.e. what % of income is lost to tax Vs that of the UK) though I’m acutely aware that this may not make much of a difference. Second, when people tell you that they believe Turkey to be a cheap place to live, are they referring to the local people? Or are they referring to English people living in Turkey? I’ve never actually heard anyone say the former – the logic used falls down in many places, as you have articulated.
Other than those two points, I cannot see anything else that I am willing to question. You’re just right. Though I think the answer you arrive at should be obvious.
Nicely done.
Thanks Norman, Im glad you agree and it would be interesting to compare tax/VAT, i’ll have to look into that!
I’ve heard people comment on it both ways, in fact if you look at the other comments on here a few people still insist that it is a a cheaper way of life for locals too! x
Couldn’t agree more. Been coming to Fethiye since the early 80’s ….done many Summer and Winter long term stays ,renting various apart’s …..much cheaper and yes my pension’s enable me to live a comfortable life style…..eat well ,pay my bills etc…..
Yes Bim is cheaper without all the top brands ….no problem….choose not to drive so fuel isn’t an added expense. I choose to follow the Turkish style very much …enjoy and far less hassle than UK…..look forward to many years of happy times here..
Good for you, I hope you have many happy years here! 🙂 I love it when expats adopt a more Turkish way of life too! x
there is always a big difference between being on holiday and living in a country and people dont always do their homework. i always give credit to those working in the tourism industry as i work 13hr shifts as a nurse but i couldnt work 6 days straight.
Yep, totally different to a holiday! Oh kudos to you for those long shifts, at least you get days off 🙂 x
We live near Side, Antalya and prices here are more than Izmir for example, or so I’ve been told. I do think that Migros is not comparable to Tesco, I know it’s not in the same league as Waitrose but it is the top end of the supermarkets in Turkey. We rarely go there and use A101, Bim or Sok plus the farmers markets usually. Don’t deny that living on basic Turkish wages is hard.
Hey, yes we use BIM, sok and the markets too, but I figured they were more like Aldi and Lidl x
Having lived in Istanbul for 7 years I always found that I could live very comfortably with the wages I earned, my first job there I was paid in sterling and although the exchange rate was only 2.2 at the time, I was earning alot of sterling to enable me to live so comfortably. My second job was also paid in dollars, I worked in a preschool and came out with 3200tl a month which was more than enough for my rent and bills. Unfortunately though it was a different story for my Turkish partner, much like you have described, very long hours, low wages etc. I ended up looking after us all. There is a lot of opportunities teaching and tutoring in Istanbul which does provide you with the security of a good income but it’s sad that Turkish people are having to struggle. That’s the main reason the families are so large and live together with parents for a long time as they cannot afford to move on their own. Xx
Hi Jane, wages being paid in sterling is always a bonus. I know someone who earned over £2000 a month as a nanny for a rich celebrity couple in Istanbul! As you say, there are a lot of opportunities for English speaking teachers etc in big cities like Istanbul, I’m dying to visit there soon, who knows, might end up living there some day! True about the families. x
Totally agree having lived there myself. If you aren’t getting pension or other income from UK, its become very expensive and when you consider health care costs etc it doesn’t come cheap living there. Its ok for those that manage to still claim benefits out there tho gid knows how they get away with it and those that fly back to UK for health care and treatments rather than pay for it in Turkey!!. I recommend anyone wanting to live the dream rents and trys it temporarily before making a permanent move. That said I loved my life even tho I worked 18 hour days we worked hard played hard and I’d move back tomorrow if I didn’t have a young child. Great blog – well written 😉
Hi thank you for reading and commenting, I totally agree with everything you said too 🙂
Although I agree with a lot of things I do have a remark. The prices of fruit and veggies isn’t really correct. All depends on the season and when and where you buy it. If you buy them in the supermarket you will pay to much. If you buy in a small supermarked on pazar gunu you will get a good price or you can just go to the pazar of course. Of course you need to buy f&v that are in season.
I agree with you. You did not even mention the wages for schools / crèches etc in Turkey. How do people pay those wages? I have no idea. The amount that they monthly need to pay is ridiculous. Here in Side people pay 250 EURO for a month to bring 1 child to the crèche. Almost the whole salary is consumed by that. I am pregnant and already worrying about it. And am determined to start saving money already so that I can bring my child to school in a few years without worrying how to get the money.
I like your post. It’s a good eye opener for people who didn’t know.
I agree with you. You did not even mention the wages for schools / crèches etc in Turkey. How do people pay those wages? I have no idea. The amount that they monthly need to pay is ridiculous. Here in Side people pay 250 EURO for a month to bring 1 child to the crèche. Almost the whole salary is consumed by that. I am pregnant and already worrying about it. And am determined to start saving money already so that I can bring my child to school in a few years without worrying how to get the money.
I like your post. It’s a good eye opener for people who didn’t know.
Turkey is not cheap for the people who earn, live, and spend their money in Turkey. A kilo of beef is 40 TL. You can imagine how a worker who earns 800 TL a month can survive. If you work in the UK and come to Turkey for a holiday, yes it is cheap for you.
Yes that’s what I said, agree totally :)?
The majority of turks arent poor ..Look at the cars they are driving wish i had one like theirs ….They seem to manage to have a goat or cow to kill for Kurban Bayram …Turkish airline flights are mostly full of Turks .. I know lads working in the Duty free in the airport earning over 3000 lira a month .. more than double what i have to live on plus they get food vouchers of 800 lira a year to spend in Migros or Sevioglu……Look at their mobiles all the latest models and restaurants are always full of Turkish people ….and thats in Dalaman ..the city people must be even better off ..English people work very long hours in the uk for their money and a lot of people are poorer than here ..The Turks see English people spend money but they have scrimped and saved to come for a holiday they arent rich ….You wouldnt see English people with a dead sheep hanging in their gardens ,,they wouldnt be able to afford to buy a whole sheep from the supermarkets meat is expensive in the uk …Ive been to Turkish houses during Ramadan and they have so much food there its unbeliavable … Maybe in remote areas with the original Turkish farmers etc it is poor.. like the Gypsies in the uk etc ….Turkish people can always seem to smoke ..i couldnt afford to …..
Hi OIive, what area are you referring to? I guess mine was specific to Fethiye/tourists resorts, I rarely see nice cars here, the majority are old and certainly not even road-safe. Yes people buy a whole sheep/cow (around 500tl+ I believe!) once a year, but that’s a once a year thing, I guess you could say that’s like Christmas or something, how many times a year do English people buy a massive Turkey and all the Christmas snacks and food? Youre friends in duty free are very lucky, Berkay earns less than half of that and only 750tl in winter (less than minimum wage!)… I’d love the free Migros vouchers too… perhaps Berkay needs to reconsider a career in duty free lol that would be a life saver! Berkay has a second hand iPhone 4 bought off my dad for £100 and that’s our means of communication when I’m in the UK (Facetime) so thats well worth it for us! 🙂 and we certainly don’t live on a farm, we live in Calis in Fethiye, a tourist resort, but yes I believe big cities would have better off people, like London etc.
I do agree about the smoking, our friend is constantly borrowing money from people and claiming to have no money yet he smokes a pack or more a day – imagine how much he’d save a month! Thats really irritates me. I agree about them thinking all English people are rich too, that’s certainly not true! x
That comes back to what some of the other commenters said regarding families living all together; obviously they pool their resources (especially at Bayram). I’m not much of an authority on the UK but you see the same sort of thing on… well, on EastEnders actually 🙂 I always wonder how some of the characters manage to afford to live off the proceeds of a single stall in the market square – well, they share a house with a spouse, a few working kids, a working parents, that sort of thing.
I think the Turks work even longer hours sometimes and what ends up happening in the bigger cities is that they live in the poorer neighbourhoods on the outskirts and spend a lot of their time commuting.
And the same could be said for everyone everywhere – it depends what people are willing to spend their money on. Some need the latest phones (or know how to get knockoffs for cheap), some splurge on food, others travel.
One system that I always liked in Turkey is that installment payment plans (e.g. for furniture) have no interest attached to them! We bought a bed for 300TL (this is 12 years ago) and they divided the payments up over 10 months, without charging interest. Awesome!
Whereas I remember trying to buy a 700$ computer in Canada and wanted to divide the payments, and the full price came to over 2000$ with the interest they were going to charge. Ridiculous! Much better to save the money on my own and wait to make the purchase.
Lol Eastenders! 🙂 yea you’re right about the families all living together, for a lot that isn’t an option though, Berkay doesn’t even speak to his 😦 Also a very good point about the cities and people living on the poorer outskirts – I think the difference between working and middle class people is much clearer in cities.
Also very true about the installment plans without interest, I always wonder how that works! x
I totally agree! I’m so glad that you’ve did the analysis. When I first moved here, I was buying stuff without calculating, presuming that everything was cheaper. But one year on, I started checking prices and realised things are quite expensive, certain things.
If you live like locals, living on bulgur and beans, it might be cheap but if you buy things you’re used to and like, the living cost starts overwhelming you, making you feel very poor. Especially, when I buy meat, fish and cheese.
Also, the bread I prefer like sourdough, well, I’ve seen it being sold for 12TL. The good news is Halk Ekmek sells whole wheat sourdough for 2.25TL, which I eat daily.
I won’t get into the drinks issue. I’m a girl who likes sipping a glass of wine every night and all my income goes to wines. 😦 I’m slowly adapting to drinking local wines but yikkes…..not yet, a few more years to go for that.
Again, I REALLY loved your honest post! I often think my blog is too honest, sometimes harsh on Turkish food, but I truly believe that criticism comes from deep love. I love my boyfriend, Turkish people, Turkish food, but loving unconditionally is like spoiling a child, therefore I try to differ.
Agreed. I wish I had the opportunity to live on a pension. That would be great.
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This was a great thread you posted and true…..I’m Canadian and have lived for years in the US also, so when I went to Turkey when I first got married to a Turk and saw how some people struggle with things that I took for granted. I now appreciate how extremely lucky I am and grateful for anything…… It sure opened up my eyes.
People here are worried about when they can update their Iphone as soon as the new one comes out or buy dozens of shoes every season, just a few examples…but in Turkey where my husband’s family rent out their properties to families I saw them just struggling to put one meal on the table daily for their family….which was their main concern and not what people here have as their main concern.
Hope all goes well for you…….I really enjoy your Blog.