Job Discussion Forums

[dmb]

Have any of you left Turkey for a reasonable amount of time and then returned. You may have gathered from my previous posts that I am a complete Turkophile. I've been away for almost two years-after a decade in Turkey(in a place where I know I don't want to be). For a long time now I've been crossing off the days"Only 234 days until I return to Turkey" However now that lift off is only 10 days away I'm beginning to feel a bit nervous. Will Turkey still be the same? Has it changed much? Have I been remembering Turkey through rose tinted glasses? It's always going to be better than where I am(except the money) but.....

If you have gone through the same I'd be glad to hear your comments.

[FGT]

I've been here almost all that time (11 years), I've left for short holidays abroad, usually UK, but also Germany and Italy, though I've never left to live and work elsewhere.
Yes, Turkey has changed in many ways. There are more out of town supermarkets where you can buy a greater variety of products. Even local Bakkals now offer a choice of (for example) beer. No longer is it just Efes but 3 or 4 others too. Turkish wine is improving by leaps and bounds. Turkey is trying to catch up with Europe and largely succeeding.
Turkishness is therefore somewhat in retreat, at least in the big cities. Last time I looked it was still alive and well elsewhere. And even rears its head in the metropolises from time to time.
I think you'll still like it. You're sensible to question it. So long as you're not expecting something fossilised you'll be ok. You may even like the changes.

[vre]

I havent actually done that but I've been here for three years so I can tell you what I think has changed through my experience. Of course, it depends on where you are based, since Turkey is so varied. Some general things which have probably changed throughout are prices

vodka 6.5 mil - 18 mil REAL.
taxi 1.7 mil - 3.8 mil Ankara
dolmus 500bin - 1.1 mill Ankara
bread 150 bin - 450 bin (depends on the type)
etc.........

The prices have really shot up but wages in our EFLIE world have pretty much frozen. So, the luxury that we used to have has now become penny pinching or the end of the month is met with depression.

I dont see any other changes apart form construction work, more traffic and a Laila Club in Ankara.


So why do we stay? ..... We like it !

[dmb]

Yeah, I've heard that dollar linked salaries are coming down but the prices in shops still go up.