Hey Muleslicker, hope you don't mind these questions.
I've been interested in Turkey after a buddy of mine moved out that way too. I think he moved to Izmir. I lost touch with him, but he always told me how nice it is.
Is it a pretty liberal country? I've heard that the weather is fairly good along the southern and western coasts.
How is the cost of living? (housing, food, transportation) What about safety, like property crimes and muggings?
Any specific city you recommend to live in? Do companies hire Americans?
THANKS!
Posted by muleslicker (Member # 3049) on :
Hi Dinosaurjr, I married my Turkish girlfriend of two and a half years just over two months ago we both had alot of time apart as I was living in the U.K. and working there in my local hospital I now will be living in Turkey for around two years and I am hoping to teach English here.
To answer your questions I am living in Istanbul on the European side and it is much more liberal here than the Asian side although there are still only 1% Christian with Muslim religion making up some 99% percent. My wife is very culturley aware although she is not a devout Muslim she smokes and drinks and has very many views about her religion. The weather is very good along the south and western coasts, here in Istanbul we expect this year to have temperatures of around 100F 30+ Celsius, and it normally lasts about four to five months starting late May through to September. The cost of living has suddenly risen and housing is still fairly reasonable although the standard of living is more different from my country the U.K. The transport is excellent there are very good bus and underground services and you can almost set your watch by the buses and they are very frequent. The crime is like any big city there are alot of muggings especially, they target travellers and tourists and there is not one area outstanding for this just about everywhere in Istanbul is prone to thefts and muggings. I feel more safer although here than in my country, common sense and awareness is the key and of course there are political tensions here.
I would reccomend of course Istanbul always, the people are friendly and the culture is very interesting especially, great family orientated. Yes companies hire us Brits and Americans our language is very sought after as are English is one of the best attributes we could have. I am actually going to teach English and I am not a teacher, there are many avenues open to you if you command good written and spoken English. I hope this helps a little
Posted by dinosaurjr (Member # 20300) on :
Thank you Muleslicker, that's a really good run down. I don't want to live in an overly conservative environment, though I certainly have respect for peoples' beliefs. I just want to enjoy the liberal aspect of life. :-) Yes that includes such things as smoking and drinking and of course ogling sexy female feet!
I've heard that the Bosporus (spelling?) strait is very beautiful and very historic as well.
Thanks again!
Posted by Hal (Member # 3484) on :
Well, politically Turkey is very conservative and not at all liberal.
-Hal-
Posted by Maxmillion (Member # 15651) on :
quote:Originally posted by muleslicker: Hi Dinosaurjr, I married my Turkish girlfriend of two and a half years just over two months ago we both had alot of time apart as I was living in the U.K. and working there in my local hospital I now will be living in Turkey for around two years and I am hoping to teach English here.
To answer your questions I am living in Istanbul on the European side and it is much more liberal here than the Asian side although there are still only 1% Christian with Muslim religion making up some 99% percent. My wife is very culturley aware although she is not a devout Muslim she smokes and drinks and has very many views about her religion. The weather is very good along the south and western coasts, here in Istanbul we expect this year to have temperatures of around 100F 30+ Celsius, and it normally lasts about four to five months starting late May through to September. The cost of living has suddenly risen and housing is still fairly reasonable although the standard of living is more different from my country the U.K. The transport is excellent there are very good bus and underground services and you can almost set your watch by the buses and they are very frequent. The crime is like any big city there are alot of muggings especially, they target travellers and tourists and there is not one area outstanding for this just about everywhere in Istanbul is prone to thefts and muggings. I feel more safer although here than in my country, common sense and awareness is the key and of course there are political tensions here.
I would reccomend of course Istanbul always, the people are friendly and the culture is very interesting especially, great family orientated. Yes companies hire us Brits and Americans our language is very sought after as are English is one of the best attributes we could have. I am actually going to teach English and I am not a teacher, there are many avenues open to you if you command good written and spoken English. I hope this helps a little
I have an unrelated question
Do you participate in foot fetish with youyr wifes feet? and do you have any pics of her feet? if not, can you post pics of another womans feet that closely resemble them? thanks