Job Discussion Forums

[dfusa]

Hello, this is my first posting on here so here goes. I am coming to Turkey in September and have been offered jobs in a few different places. I have had job offers in Istanbul AND Ankara.... I'm gunning for a major city because i've done the middle of nowhere too many times. I've never been to either city.

My question is what are the major differences between the two and which do you prefer. I know everyone is different and has different experiences, opinions, etc. But I'd like to hear from people who have been to both cities. Thank you for any responses and for taking the time to read my post.

[dutchman]

I doubt if everyone has different experiences on this. Istanbul is by far the best. A famous Turkish poet used to commute between Istanbul and Ankara, and he wrote "What I like best about Ankara is returning from there to Istanbul".

[delal]

Ankara is a very large provincial town (in the middle of nowhere) where the government is and Istanbul is a bustling city

[OverseasTeacher]

Apples and oranges. Istanbul is like a city-state that is very European and cosmopolitan. It is where you will come to relax if you work in Ankara. Ankara is in the mts., it snows up there and in my opinion the people are a bit cold. Istanbul is more Mediterranean in that sense. Ankara has more culture with a capital C though. In terms of symphonies and such, but Istanbul is the place to catch the summer jazz festival or a U2 concert. I put my money on Istanbul every time.

It's like asking which is better Beijing or Shanghai (Shanghai), Bogota or Cali (Cali), Madrid or Barcelona (Barcelona) Sacramento or San Fransisco etc. In the end it is all a matter of choice, but Istanbul is a hip, cosmopolitan city with a great climate and a wonderful history and infrastructure. Ankara is...well Ataturk made it the capital back in the day. For hundreds of years prior to that it was all about Istanbul, and in my humble opinion, still is. Better money and more jobs here too.

[gloomyGumi]

great info there, i too will gun for Constantinopolis.

[kazpat]

I went to school at METU (ODTU) in Ankara for a semester and have lived in Istanbul as well. I would choose Ankara. But this is coming from a guy who prefers my current provincial city or Astana to Almaty and who chose rural Massachusetts as opposed to Boston for university. Unless you are like me I would choose Istanbul.

OverseasTeacher summed it up rather nicely.

[dfusa]

Thank you for the info