Job Discussion Forums

happyman · Joined: 20 Sep 2011 Posts: 20

The title basically sums it up. I'm currently teaching English in South Korea. I have a Turkish girlfriend who has a decent job that makes 2500 lira per month that lives in Istanbul.

I have a bachelor's degree (non-English related) 100 hr online TEFL and 2.5 years experience at public schools in Korea.

We are deciding our future and I have serious concerns if it's possible to settle down and have a family in Turkey (Financially). I am worried about later down the line struggling to make ends meat, especially if we have children. Is it possible for us to be financally sound with me on a English teachers wage to live a comfortable life. My instinct tells me it probably won't be a good idea but I really need some advice from people who have been in the same situation.

I love Istanbul, Turkish culture and life style the only concern is with money and if we can get by and save.

Are there any other teachers in Istanbul with Turkish girlfriends/wives/families?

lucia79 · Joined: 18 Jun 2011 Posts: 156

Happyman,
You can live in Istanbul as a married man and plan to have a family while making a good living. I know people in Istanbul (Turks and non-Turks) who do it. I have friends in other cities in Turkey who do the same. If your girlfriend is making 2500 TL and you are working too, then you guys should be fine. I know couples who live on what your girlfriend makes or even less and they live in Istanbul and have a nice life. They aren't rich but they aren't poverty-stricken either. You should always portion off part of your paycheck for savings and unforseen events that may take place. If both of you are working and aren't living extravagantly then you will do more than make ends meet.

billy orr · Joined: 15 Jul 2009 Posts: 229

I don't think it is about money, more about lifestyle. I don't think istanbul is at all conducive to family life. Enough money can be made, but the time that takes leaves little time for partners and children. Life is likely to be sleep- servis- work- servis- eat- sleep.

PC Parrot · Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 7:47 am Post subject:

lucia79 · Joined: 18 Jun 2011 Posts: 156

PC Parrot · Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:37 am Post subject:

happyman · Joined: 20 Sep 2011 Posts: 20

Thanks for the replys.

Deep down I have to agree with PC parrot. Even to get by on a simple life would be hard enough. I would have to make sure I could secure a good k-12 job for the rest of my life there. There seem to be too may "what if's" and "hopfullys". If Turkey had better jobs and better pay it would be different. We don't want to struggle pay check to pay check each month.
It does seem I would be working all day and not leaving enough time for my gf/famly. Saving would be a difficult aswell. If we didn't want to have children it would be doable.

I kind of new the answer to my question before I posted it. I was just hoping there were couples that had overcame the odds and are living a stable life in Istanbul. I am more than willing to take a risk but my instinct tells me it wouldn't work out in the long run. If the tables were turned and I was a foreign woman and had a Tukish boyfriend then that would be in out favor.

Looks like we will be looking at New Zealand, Australia and the UK for our future. Thanks again.

PC Parrot · Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 2:35 am Post subject:

There's no doubting that Istanbul would be a great experience and that you would come out of it a richer human being ... just not in the $$$$ sense ...

My wife was a banker in Istanbul working in the HQ of a top Turkish bank .. she was always just a couple of steps away from being a branch manager .. but they worked her to the bone for it

After 6 years in Istanbul, we moved to the UAE where we have spent the last 10 years ... in those 10 years we've gone from almost zero in the bank to being just a few years away from a very early retirement in Western Europe..

I have friends who remained in Turkey and they are doing fine ... but I, for one, wanted to be able to afford to live in Western Europe and, given the uselessness of the TEFL scene there for earning a decent wage, we understood we could only really do it through financial independance .. Istanbul was never going to be able to give us that, the UAE was ..

Like I said, it depends what you want ..

But I certainly wouldn't want to have to live the rest of my life the way I was happy to live it 10 years ago ... when I was 30

gloomyGumi · Joined: 29 Dec 2010 Posts: 353

OK Istanbul looks just abut as difficult as New York City or any other big international Megalopolis like London, Bombay, or Rio de Janeiro.

My question is: what about a small city like Izmir? Could a family be supported in a "cheap" place like that on a teacher's salary? I am assuming no more than 2500 lira per month.

lucia79 · Joined: 18 Jun 2011 Posts: 156

Unless you are independently wealthy, have a part-time job that pays big, or can work from home and your wife is a stay-at-home mom, then someone is going to have to work all day. A 9 to 5 job is standard. And if you are teaching at a private k-12 school then you'll get plenty of paid holiday time and summer vacation to spend with your family. If you are in New Zealand or some other place what are your working hours likely to be? What is the cost of living in those areas? The cost of living in Turkey is cheaper than a lot of other places. I wouldn't quickly write off Turkey. Why don't you try living in Istanbul for a year working and see what happens? View it as a field study and then after a year you will really know if you can make it there with a future family and the life you'd like to lead.

gloomyGumi · Joined: 29 Dec 2010 Posts: 353

lucia79 · Joined: 18 Jun 2011 Posts: 156

Ah, the secret of contentment!

I think people need to calculate how much they need to earn in order to have a 'comfortable' life (and that will vary considerably from one person to another) and how they will financially secure their future goals (buy property, buy/maintain a car, save for kids' college funds etc.) then take that number and don't accept anything less than that when applying/interviewing for jobs.

I think it would be a good experience if Happyman tried working in Istanbul for a year and see what it could be like before he starts a family. He might end up getting a great job in a year or two and then discover that maybe he could raise a family there.

PC Parrot · Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 5:43 am Post subject:

Otterman Ollie · Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 6:33 am Post subject:

To the op

The bottom line is yes you can do all the things you want as long as you plan!
Regardless of where you work you will face the same obstacles, how you deal with them is not about how much you earn but how much you plan ahead.
If your goal in life is to have a family that will be expensive, bear in mind that as ateacher your offspring will be entitled to free or heavily discounted education by virtue of the fact that you work at that school there, I know many couples with less experience and resources who manage what you intend.
Its tough but thats the price you pay for being a parent. I live like a lord and have property times two and money in the bank. My secret, easy, no brats!!!!!!!!

PC Parrot · Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 7:22 am Post subject: