Living in Turkey faqs

Foreigners in Turkey fall into two distinct categories, professionals and retirees. Professional foreigners tend to live in cities, while retirees prefer to live along the country's southern coast

People in Turkey don't speak English very often, especially the general population. Around 17% of Turks speak English as a second language, but according to the English Proficiency Index, Turkey's rank was 69th out of 100 countries

The cities that offer the best value for money in Turkey are Sanliurfa, Kayseri, Mersin, Konya, Iskenderun, and Hatay. They are charming, and have a cheap standard of living but are far from Istanbul.

If you wish to move to Turkey and start a business or purchase property, you can apply for a residence permit. The amount of your investment is not important, as long as you can prove that you own property in Turkey or you run a business there and that you have enough money to live in the country.

The Turkish language can be difficult for English speakers to learn. It is an agglutinative language, meaning that a single word in Turkish can become very long by attaching suffixes — rather than using separate words — to show the relationships between different parts of speech.

Yes, you don't need to be a Turk or resident to buy property in Turkey however you need a residence permit to live in Turkey.