Hiya...

Welcome Emmzy, I'm moving your thread to the Istanbul forum :-)

Hey there, saw your post. Asking informed people about life in Turkey and Istanbul in particular is a very good first step. I can tell you that for some people, they come to Turkey and they immediately fall in love with the people and the place and the culture. Others never seem to adapt. So are you adaptable? Have you lived in various other places where the culture was different than you were used to?
As far as the au pair thing. Anytime you work with children, it is of course a serious matter and should be treated that way. Do you have any experience working with children? Are you working through some kind of agency? That point is important in case you have some kind of problem you cannot sort out with the family you will be staying with. Have you asked about your living arrangements?

Hi!

I ask myselfe the same questions. I will go to Istanbul and study there for a semester. Now I'm trying to find a place to stay. I'w been there two times before and love it, but to live there seems to be quite hard. But I would say you should go! It is a great place in may ways and if you are an au pair you will get a family there directly!
Hope it works out for you and good luck!

Hi emmzy

Life is short and I think you should give it a try. I find it quite easy to live in Istanbul. In some ways it's very different to England but in other ways it's quite westernised. You can find many of the same shops, there's lots of cafes and restaurants and nice shopping centres.

There are a lot of foreigners here who you could make friends with but just be careful about your contract. Make sure you have enough time off and they don't use you 24/7. What area do the family live in? Feel free to send me a private message. I'm from Englan and I've been here for a year.