Job Discussion Forums

[misscamille]

Merhaba!

I am moving to Istanbul in January and I'd LOVE to hear what anyone has to say about any/all of the topics below:

- How did you find your apartment? (if not through your school)
- If I'm working in Taksim, what areas would be good to live in?
- Are there any useful websites that have apartment listings? Or is that a long-shot?
- What are some things you wished you brought with you from the US??
- Can anyone recommend good, reasonably-priced Turkish lessons?

Thanks everyone. Hope I can grab an Efes with you after I get settled!!

-Camille

[vre]

I'll start off with the apartments stuff. Options are

walk around and see the houses with 'kiralik' on them. Then ask people in the builing or the kapici (the maintenance man).

Try the local papers e.g. hurriet.

Go to www.sahibinden.com. You will need a bit of Turkish to navigate (no English) but there are thousands of houses for rent and sale, updated every day. If you dont want to pay a hell of a lot for the service (up to a thousand dollars) of an EMLAK (estate agent) finding your house then try to go direct through the landlord/lady (sahibin or something). At least this site will give you an idea of what is around, prices, standards etc.

I wish I had had more help with finding a house. I did have a friend who helped me but I would be more than willing to help people who are really lost, like I was. Try to find someone to help you, preferably with decent Turkish.

Also, i looked at SO MANY houses, in two days.
And that still wasnt enough.

Good luck

[NMB]

Definitely tell your students you are looking for a flat. They usually have ideas and may even take you around to look. I found it extremely hard to find anything suitable, the right timing, etc.. without going through an emlak, but I wasn't aware of the site vre just posted.

Personally, I found Taksim too suffocating to live in, but Harbiye, Osmanbey, Besiktas, and Ortakoy are all close and very nice. As a female, I'd advise you to pay attention to housing location. Even paying a bit more in rent is worth it to feel more secure.

The best, least expensive way to learn Turkish?? A Turkish boyfriend! He will be more than happy to teach you his language!

[misscamille]

Thanks for the tips! I've been thinking about Besiktas, but I'm really just going to have to look around once I'm there. I'll definitely be taking a look at that website though! Thanks!