Job Discussion Forums

[cinnamongirl]

Hello everybody..
My hubbie and 2 year old tot are moving to Byzantium and have been offered a choice of either Istanbul or Bursa?
Can I have some suggestions ??
Gratefully appreciated..

[studymylesson]

In answer to your query, there is no contest. Having been here for over 10 years now, my advice would be to stay well clear of Istanbul - too big, too crowded, too polluted, too noisy, too expensive, too awful generally! Bursa, on the other hand, is well situated, of moderate size, with a lower cost of living, and is a prettier place - it's not known as the 'Green City' for no reason. Bursa has a good university and umpteen language schools to choose from.
My other half and our two year old tot live in a nearby city. Good luck!

[tarte tatin]

I like living in Istanbul but I am not trying to push a pushchair round the place. I think Bursa is an attractive place and Istanbul is reachable for weekend and day trips (I do it the other way round easily).

It really depends on your preference and where you come from. Do you like big sprawling cities or are you happier somewhere more compact and quieter?

[Otterman Ollie]

I don't live in either of those two places, given the choice I would go for Istanbul.
After over a decade and a bit here I want some action. I live in a city now which is bigger than Bursa and I think a lot prettier with better food, weather, people, beaches,prices and anything else you care to mention, except nightlife.
Its provincial backwater here and there is a definite lack of cultural activities and the foreign population is too fragmented and indifferent to want to do anything different except sit in a stinking poxy excuse for a bar and watch the most boring game in the world.
I want to travel north and go wild boar hunting every weekend kill it and eat it till I puke!
But if you want a quiet and peaceful ( boring) life , go to Bursa.

[alexcase]

It's a long time since I lived in Bursa, but I would agree with Otterman Ollie. In fact, even smaller towns often have better nightlife than Bursa as the "scene" is quite compact and easy to get to. Istanbul also has various shopping and nightlife centres and you are never that far from one of them, whereas Bursa just has one and it might take you or the person you are trying to meet forever to get there or back. If you work in a larger school there will of course be the other teachers and a local bar, but that could well be a scummy beerhane.

Having said all that, I went with my then girlfriend and really enjoyed the architecture, being able to walk to work and into the city centre, the scenery, the skiing etc.

TEFLtastic blog- www.tefl.net/alexcase