I moved to Turkey and I love it… Why? I love Turkey, I moved here by choice, and I’ve lived here for over 2 years now. These are all my opinions and experience. For me, there is no better country to live in as for now and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Why did I move from Germany to Turkey?

I believe, that Turkey is a country that is just giving me an environment where I can be the happiest possible version of myself at this time of my life. BUT this might be different for anyone else.

There is no country in this world that is so interesting like Turkey!

Istanbul for example. It’s a place that really blows my mind. Not only, because it’s on 2 continents. No, it’s more than that. It’s about the history, it’s been here since empires for thousands of years. You can not imagine! It’s a city of culture, history, art, tourism, architecture, beaches, nature, surrounded by seas, forests, and hills. Different religions living side by side. It’s a city where you take a boat to get to work, a city that just has a magical vibe to it. 

The food.

Another reason why I am so happy here is because of the food. Yes, Turks have an amazing cuisine to offer. I’m not talking about the doner sandwich. It’s so much more than that. It starts with breakfast. Turks have great soups, they have good coffee, amazing deserts, fresh fish, and good quality meat. There are endless local bazaars and also modern and international restaurants ranging from sushi to vegan options. What you can find here is a mix of Central Asian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Eastern European, Armenian and Balkan cuisines. If that didn’t convince you yet, let me tell you the following. 

Turkey’s nature.

This is a whole different story. I feel people should appreciate it more, but the landscapes are incredible! Diverse and lots of greenery. Turks take care of their environment. Turkey has a desert and there are landscapes that you will only find here in Turkey. I am talking about incredible UNESCO World Heritage Sites, I’m talking about absolutely gorgeous mountains and islands, beaches, lakes, and cave cities.

Turk’s mentality.

I would say Turks are extremely Easy going. They are known for their simplicity in their life trying to avoid anything that makes life more complicated. The saying “Boş Ver” is frequently used and kinda shows the Turkish mentality of not worrying too much about small things. Turks love having this community feeling. Everyone knows their neighbors and most of life is happening outside. BBQ. Camping. Music. Starting and ending the day with Çay. It’s just this Turkish mentality regarding life that makes me happy.

Life Quality.

That being said the Life quality that Turkey offers is just so much higher in my opinion than anywhere else in the world. They have a really good health system. People are educated. Life in Turkey is quite affordable. It is I would say, not extremely difficult to make a living here as a foreigner. There are quite big differences living here as a Turk vs foreigner though, but generally spoken the life in Turkey is not bad. It’s not the place to earn a lot of money, but it’s about life quality.

Animal friendly.

Cats and dogs on the street. And I’ve never been to a country that takes such a good care of dogs and cats as Turkey does. Everyone makes them feel comfortable on the streets, gives them water and food, and treats them overall like kings and queens.

The Location.

Turkey is geographically a great location. Easy to get to Europe and Asia. The weather is great. And Istanbul has a big airport which makes it easy for me to visit my family or have friends visiting me.

Turkish language.

I have never been more fascinated by a language like the Turkish one. It’s just so different than European languages that it’s really fun to learn it. A whole sentence can basically be stuffed into a single word in the Turkish language. And that really impresses me.

Safety.

It is safe – I feel extremely safe living in Turkey. I can walk around freely, can do whatever I want. Turks generally do respect all kinds of people and I never felt unsafe. Traveling through the country is easy and the infrastructure is great. With common sense living in Turkey is as safe as living in any other country in the world.

Turk’s hospitality and kindness. 

in Turkey hospitality is everything and I encountered endless situations of kindness and hospitality. No matter if it’s our neighbor inviting us over for food, the extreme kindness that I experience in my daily life or at my workplace. Turkish hospitality is just very unique.  I have the feeling that Turks will always help in any way they can.

In Turkey, you will always have a neighborhood and be part of a community and just living here and feeling included is just one out of many reasons why I have chosen to make this country my home.