Job Discussion Forums

[tarte tatin]

I am moving to Istanbul. Could you give me information about rents in different parts of the city. For example what could we get for about 800YTL?

At the moment in Samsun we have a three bedroom brand new apartment with sea views from every window. It is a little far from the city centre but only costs 250 YTL per month! Of course I know life in Istanbul is much more costly and we don't need three bedrooms anyway. I just don't want to live in a cockroach infested bedsit

Any info would be gratefully received.

[tarte tatin]

The above should read c o c k roach infested bedsit, I forgot the filter would object to naming pesky insects.

[tararu]

Have a look on sahibinden.com if you already haven't as it will show you what is what all over İstanbul and Turkey.
On the Asian side, try Kadik�y, Moda, Bahariye, Uskudar, Cadde Bostan, G�ztepe, Kiziltoprak, �engelk�y, Barlarbaşa, Doğancilar, Sultantepe, Bostanci....and that will do for now.

[yaramaz]

I like Moda! I used to live in Erenk�y and would recommend it too.

On the European side, I just moved to Pangaltı (by Osmanbey metro) and love it. Still quite affordable, close to Taksim and transportation hubs, great neighbourhoods, and lots of high ceiling'd flats with balconies. Lovely!

[tarte tatin]

Thanks Yaramaz you have cheered me up. I just looked on Sahibinden.com and was appalled at all the pictures of mouldy bathrooms for high rents!

How much does a high ceilinged flat with balcony cost approx?

[yaramaz]

I just rented an 85 sq metre'd high ceiling'd flat (must buy ladder now to change light bulbs!!!!) with one bedroom (and one indeterminate room that can be dining or 2nd bedroom) about 3 minutes from the metro, with a 2-room wide back balcony overlooking trees and a living room mini balcony (for cat and plants) for 750ytl. It was just totally renovated so I had to tidy up after the construction workers (dirty boys!!!!).

After looking around for ages on sahibinden.com and hurriyetemlak.com etc and in emlak offices and being scared off by the scary bathrooms and crumbling walls and 50 sq metre subterranean hovels, this was a brilliant find. I can refer you to the estate agent if you want-- she managed to get the landlady down by about 100ytl and reduced her emlak fee by about 300ytl and has been doing almost everything for me ever since (getting water, electricity, new locks, etc). Fabulous!

[Listener]

Baglarbasi Soyak Sitesi has flats for less then 800, check out this website: http://www.imajemlak.com/index_tr.asp

The nice thing is that it's not an enclosed site but they have security. Very safe.

Oh, but you do have to factor in an aydat of about 50-60ytl....

[tarte tatin]

Thanks everyone. As usual people on this forum have been helpful. Yaramaz I will PM you later about your agent. Sounds good.

What sort of heating do you generally have in Istanbul? I have heard the petrol heating is phenomenally expensive! Do you have gas heating? In Samsun only a few places have gas so far. Where I live now we have coke fuelled radiators.

[kingtubby]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but most places these days have natural gas combis. Cheap and efficient.

By the way, there are lots of recently constructed flats and houses up in Umraniye and Bulgurlu for less than 550 per month. That's sort of near Kadikoy. Where in Istanbul did you want to be?

[justme]

[tarte tatin]

I will be visiting Istanbul next week possibly to look around. I have never had reason to explore the residential neighbourhoods so am not absolutely sure where I would like to live. Some people have recommended the Asian side, others recommend the European side.

My husband who has lived in Istanbul before would like the European side but I have no preference. I think he wants an office there or a home/office which seems to be a Turkish concept.

Why would you prefer the Asian side Justme? And why is your husband resisting?

I spent ages trying to persuade my husband to move to Izmir, but then I found a job in Istanbul which he is much happier about.

[justme]

Hmm. The Asia side strkes me as more European, if you see what I mean. Fewer gawking villagers, better shops, restaurants, and cafes, and it seems like there's more variety. It's a bit greener over there, and in general I think it would be a nicer place to go around with the little one. It's also easier to access the central places in Istanbul (compared to Beylikd�z�, where I live now), but a bit cheaper, with newer buildings, and you can be away from the bustle of the city when you go home.

Actually, where I live now is really pretty-- lots of grass and trees, clean and quiet, and great for kids because there are play parks and grassy areas, and it's closer to nice seaside and picnic places like B�y�k�ekmece. But for now, my baby is too small to enjoy this stuff, and I'm the one who'd like nice places to walk around and sit and relax. The 40th time pushing the stroller around the same fountain is rapidly losing its appeal, and most my friends live pretty far away. So Asia seems like an elegant solution.

My husband's resistance is sort of without a good reason-- he could get to work just as easily from the Asia side (and perhaps more comfortably without sitting in traffic for an hour, as he could take the seabus or ferry), but like many Istanbullus who were born and bred on the Europe side, they just can't imagine moving to the other side. He thinks I want to move over there to escape his mother and is pushing for Besiktas instead, but I think it would be simpler for his mom to get to Asia-- more bus transfers to Besiktas.

So the debate wears on. I tried for Izmir for awhile too! But it was like talking to a brick wall...

[tarte tatin]

Ha ha how many times have I accused my husband of being a brick wall! He just saw your post and laughed. Not listeners are they?

Thanks for outlining the advantages of the Asian side of Istanbul. All information is helpful.

I also get what you mean about the Asian side being more European, that struck me too when I visited Istanbul.

From what you have told us about your mother-in-law, you would be totally justified in trying to escape My mother-in-law isn't best pleased we are moving so far away, although my husband said she would never be happy until we agreed to live in the same house! Compared to yours she is quite easy-going but I haven't provided her with a grandchild yet. We have only been married a few months and she is already asking about our plans to have children.

[justme]

That's how it starts....

[kingtubby]

I sometimes wonder at the logic of this one: almost all of my in-laws advised us to look only at recently constructed places, as these will be better proofed against earthquakes than the older residences. Personally I would trust a building that has obviously stood the test of time.