Job Discussion Forums

[DukeJob]

Hi all,

I am due to arrive to Ist. in March this upcoming year. I have a job lined up with English Time. I am a new teacher...is there any advice about english time i should know about before i come over. I've heard some of the horror stories from earliar posts. I know not to get involved with the Taksim branch and Kadikoy 1. Also, any advice about areas of town to find a decent apartment, that would be fairly cheap? (In particular i was curious about the Ferikoy district) I heard it's hard to find an apt. that is furnished at all. Are appliances real expensive? Is it worth it to get an apt the is furnished or just to furnish it myself? Thanks for your help and advice.

P.S. I expect to hear from Mark Lloyd and Berry on this

[Mark Loyd]

Check your PMs for all you will need to know.

[dmb]

[Mark Loyd]

Is that near Aksaray?

[DukeJob]

What is the average rent there, dmb?

[BERRY]

Berry is not involved

[dmb]

Mark, it is a 5 minute walk from the 1st stop on the metro.
I don't know what the average rent is. We told estate agents that we were looking for a 2 bedroomed place at about 700YTL. We saw quite a few places that we liked. There is alot of refurbishment in the area.

[rycal1]

Well, I work at ET (Taksim branch), and have gone through the hassle of getting an apartment furnished, so feel free to pm me for advice.

It's also a reaaaal good idea to take some of these "BEWARE OF (insert name here) BRANCH" postings with a large, bulky grain of salt. There are a lot of very cool, type-A, world-traveling folks teaching at these schools; and there are also a lot of fussy, socially-retarded people as well. Why this is, I'm not sure. But the latter tend to post more than the former-- check the posting history of some of these folks (and be aware that the more pathetic among them will change their usernames in order to keep stickin' it the Man, so to speak. They have Issues.).

Furnishing an apartment is for the stout of heart and the patient-- it's not so easy to do in Turkey if you don't speak Turkish. If you have some roommates with whom you can share the workload, and are prepared to deal with a few wild goosechases and unexpected obstacles, then you are ready to furnish your apartment, my friend. If you plan on living alone, then I would just look for something furnished. (Only my opinion-- others no doubt will differ. Just don't be discouraged by the negative posters.)

Good luck!

rycal1

[Sheikh Inal Ovar]

[turkishlover25]

What about the "provided" accomodations? I'm definately not into "nest building" at this point in my life. I mean, I've lived in crappy college apartments for 3 years so I'm not that picky. Or is it easier to just try and find a roommate?

[molly farquharson]

The provided accommodations vary from school to school. ET's are single rooms with shared bathrooms and kitchens in an apartment buidling in Taksim, newly refurbished by the owner. I have heard horror stories about dirty substandard shared housing at Berlitz. I hear the Eng Centre housing is not bad.

Finding furnished apartments can be a challenge, as there aren't very many of them or else they are aimed at tourists ($600/wk!!). My emlakci advised me against furnishing my apt, as he said it is a hassle. However, I did furnish it somewhat, as the renters are students. I have some friends who rented a great furnished place in Cihangir with really nice furniture-- $1200/mo. I think it is often being in the right place at the right time. Summer is probably a good time to look as people move on.

[DukeJob]

I was really considering finding an already furnished apt.

I looked online and all I found were ones in Taksim and no private one bedroom apts.
I was looking to find an apartment in Kadikoy since I wanted to work at K2 branch. I was hoping it would be cheaper to find a furnished apt. over there.
Does anyone think its worth it to pay extra for the furnished apartments or just to do it myself?

[coffeespoonman]

if you can find a (nicely) furnished apt. for 100 or 200 YTL a month more, I say go for it. Especially if you have roomates. If not, however, cheap furniture is readily available, especially in Kadik�y, though it is a real pain to actually procure it. (haggling, transportation)

On the other hand, you'd be amazed what you can do with little other than cushions, pillows, and blankets.

[rycal1]

Hey sheikh-- congratulations on understanding the figurative language. You're doing a bang-up job of monitoring these posts, buddy.

rycal1

[rycal1]

(And thanks for unwittingly illustrating my observation about certain kinds of posters/teachers.)