Cost of living in Turkey – 2015

My city in Turkey is Istanbul!
> accommodation prices
Around 1500-2000 tl for a normal apartment in a medium neighborhood.

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.)
With the istanbul card is 2.15tl

> food prices (your monthly budget)
Around 800tl with normal supermarket and not something fancy.(one person)

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)
Around 1800 tl per year.

> education prices (if you need to pay)
.....
> energy prices (oil, electricity)
Around 400 tl per month.(depends the month and the square meters of the house)

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)
Internet-television 85tl.Mobil around 95 tl

> price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant
For one person around 40 tl.

> price for a coffee or a drink
10tl for a capuccino, 20tl for a glass of wine.

> price for cinema tickets
Around 12 tl.

How much does it cost to live in Turkey?

> accommodation prices
2100 TL - very nice neighborhoodon the Asian side, full frontal view of the Bosphorus bridge
> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.)
because I get the academic discount, about TL1.35 for a bus or metro ride each way. Minibuses cost TL1.75 each way; dolmuses typical range (eg uskudar to kadikoy) about 2TL.
> food prices (your monthly budget)
Groceries and household supplies - about TL400 a month. But I only buy the very best items (e.g. organic chicken and eggs, etc).
> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)
Practically free - employer provided health insurance covers just about everything.
> education prices (if you need to pay)
----
> energy prices (oil, electricity)
Heating gets expensive in the winter - about TL500 a month for the four or five winter months. Rest of year is pretty reasonable - summers (July-September) I pay about TL150 avg for electricity; other months barely anything as its cool enough to need neither a heater nor an ac.
> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)
Fast internet wireless - TL75 a month. Prepaid phone package every month - TL90 top up. Landline service - about TL30 a month.
> price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant
TL20-30 per head, entrees and water only.
> price for a coffee or a drink
about TL6 for a coffee at a Starbucks; about TL10 for a beer at a bar.
> price for cinema tickets
TL18 per ticket after academic discount.

Thank you so much for the information.

Turkey is very expensive,house prices at Ankara Istanbul is very high,foods also are expensive specially meat fruits,restaurants also,i said this cause i lived in Boston usa and there the life was more cheaper,also gas prices is from the most expensive in the world,cars prices also specially over 1600 cc brief Turkei is an expensive country to live comfortable you nees a salary like 3000 dollars monthly

In which city of Turkey you are living in. – Bursa

> accommodation prices – 2,000 TL/month for high-end, 200 TL/month low-end

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.) – 3.50 TL for metro

> food prices (your monthly budget) – 125 TL/month for 1 person

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)  – N/A

> education prices (if you need to pay) – N/A

> energy prices (oil, electricity) – 200 TL to fill up my diesel car

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone) – 56 TL/month internet, 50 TL/month cell phone

> price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant – 40 TL

> price for a coffee or a drink – 5 TL coffee, 12 TL beer

> price for cinema tickets – 15 TL

Food is extremely cheap in Turkey relative to other countries, but alcoholic beverages carry hefty taxes.

I've lived here for 25 years now. Started off in Istanbul and lived in 5 different locations (because of the schools where I was teaching). I'm not a city person so it was hard at first. Last location in the city however was in Tarabya Ustu and it was a nice middle class neighborhood. I was so lucky to have found that place. It was also the only flat I ever lived in with natural gas hot water and heating. It was brand new when i moved in and I loved it. Survived the 'big quake' there with minor damage. But due to health reasons, I had to leave Istanbul (everyone around me was burning coal then and my lungs weren't happy).

Moved to Canakkale province and bought a stone house in a tiny village. Life is so good here.
Very inexpensive to live but the 'price you pay' for a good clean life is that you must have a car and not be a very social person. I restored this house, built a studio and workshop and retired!

I couldn't be happier. Orig. from abroad, I now have good medical coverage from the gov't here and a pension that is sufficient for me to live here...if I were still in the city, I doubt I could survive if I didn't own my flat!

I have been very lucky and I know it. I wish you all such good fortune...

Expat.com wrote:

Hi all,

We invite you to talk about the cost of living in Turkey in 2015, with an updated price listing.

Don't forget to mention in which city of Turkey you are living in.

How much does it cost to live in Turkey?

for a a single person living in 1+1 appartment in Istanbul the cost of living is as follows

> accommodation prices
1000 TL for the flate and 400TL for utilities (Gaz, Electricity, Water). little higher in winter and litttle cheaper in summer

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.)
200 TL per month

> food prices (your monthly budget)
1000 TL

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)
1000 TL per year

> education prices (if you need to pay)
depends on the type of school public, private or international. the average of private turkish schools are 12,000 TL per year. the average of International schools is about 35,000 TL

> energy prices (oil, electricity)
there is no oil since I assume no car will be used

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)
mobile phone monthly bill 60 TL on average
Intnernet+TV+Telephone is another 60 TL

> price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant
40 TL

> price for a coffee or a drink
(3-10 TL)

> price for cinema tickets
15 TL

Do not hesitate to add items to this list!

Thank you in advance for your participation.

I am living in Antalya

> accommodation prices: 450TL per month for a 1+1. It's a new building and a 20min bus ride to the city centre.

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.) Bus is 2TL

> food prices (your monthly budget) I actually have no idea! :S I'd like to say around 300TL per month maybe a bit less!

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance) Covered by my work

> education prices (if you need to pay) N/A

> energy prices (oil, electricity) Electricity and Water come to about 80TL per month (combined)

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone) Mobile phone: 30 TL Internet: 55TL per month

> price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant: Between 10-25TL

> price for a coffee or a drink: I don't drink coffee so soft drinks are quite cheap and no more than 3TL

> price for cinema tickets: 12 TL

Hi  I live in Antalya we pay 750 tl for a furnished 1+ 1.
2 tl for the bus.
our electric so far has ranged between 90tl to 160 tl per month.
My husband and I spend around 400-800tl on basic groceries.
The cost of coffee around 5 tl.
decent food around 18 tl for an entree.
my first internet was around 50 tl a month but now we share a wifi connection in the new flat and its 30 tl a month.
my husband and i both are on a prepaid sim.
I have a package for 28 tl a month that gives me 2gb internet and 500 minutes plus a huge amount sms.
my husband has turkcell with a package 19 tl a month for 1 gb internet  plus 500 minutes and sms.
we dont go to movies we watch everything online
we both bought bicycles and its great exercise and free and my husband does rock climbing as well so thats kind of things we do in our spare time
we both bought a years worth of insurance for residency purposes
the average is between 750 to 1100 tl for one year per person

TURKEY 2015


invite you to talk about the cost of living in Turkey in 2015, with an updated price listing.

Don't forget to mention in which city of Turkey you are living in.

How much does it cost to live in Turkey?

> accommodation prices
FATIH DISTRICT area; the center of gravity for tourism; nice old section of Istanbul

800 TL 1+1; live like the locals do. space enough for 1 to 3 people; close family

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.)
160TL per adult, per month metro, bus, tramvy; walk a lot as locals do.

> food prices (your monthly budget)
300TL, healthy grocery items, home cooked - BIM store, Friday fruit/vegetable bazaar

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance) - you need one for residency
1000TL per year; for Fatih District; many health insur. comps. offer coverage to18-64.

> education prices (if you need to pay)
8000TL/yr for non-engineering, law or medicine. Very competitive. You can find any budget.

> energy prices (oil, electricity)
200TL per month, cooking gas, electricity and water (su in Turkish)

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)
100TL for all of your local talk, odd long distance calls, WiFi, tv dish one time set 300TL

> price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant
200TL; one nice meal per week 50TL X4, Steep prices. Tourist town.

> price for a coffee or a drink
7TL nice cup of coffee;

> price for cinema tickets
20TL with popcorn and a drink

Do not hesitate to add items to this list!

>taxi ride - to airport, emergency situations etc
50TL average 25 minute ride. They will even tell you at end of ride, it is 50 Euro; insist on, no it's Turkish we agreed.  Hayir! hayir! hayir! No! no! no!; Tele sadace!; Tukrish Lira only!

accommodation prices
You can actually find a decent flat 1+1 in Beylikduzu area very near to the metrobus for around 700TL . Buildings are relatively new and isolation is OK so you won't need to spend too much on heating .

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.)
In my personal experiece I use the metrobus which is a vital avenue in Istanbul . Cost for one ticket using istanbul card is 3.25 TL or so and it takes from the outskirts of western istanbul all the way to the asian side covering all area in between while passing by other public transporation like Tram and metro and ferry .

> food prices (your monthly budget)
In case of 1 person who cooks at home I think good quality food should be around 400 TL / month

> energy prices (oil, electricity)
Energy price are not subsidised by the governmen so you will always find them at the international rates in TL . Recently the oil prices drop was translated into significant drops in petrol and gas in the local market too .

> common bills (Internet, telephone, mobile phone)
Internet : 60 TL
Land phone : 11 TL
Mobile phone : 25 TL


> price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant
Depends on the resturant though a good meal in a classy resturant for 1 person should be around 50-70 TL .  Reasonable meal in an average resturant starts from 10 TL .

> price for a coffee or a drink
4-6 TL

Izmir
3 bedroom apartment runs around 900+ Tl
utilities winter heating with electric 350 + the highest summer around 200 Tl cooling
water around 50 Tl
internet 70 Tl
apartment fee varies ours is 40 TL

food
2 people 700 + TL

transportation per swipe 2.25 TL good for 90 minutes regardless of number of changes or transfers.

movie tickets 15 TL

cell phone around 50 TL for a good plan with plenty of minutes texts and internet

eating out around 15 TL for a good but simple meal

coffee 8+TL

lots of places to hang out in the summer which are free

museum card
50 TL

In Bodrum. I don't pay rent but a house on our site  (3 bedroom) is 1500 a month
Electricity 200 to 350 a month
Site fees 50 TL a month which includes water
Food and grocery shopping for 2 1200 a month
Sport fees - 100 per month per person
Dog - regular vet and food 200TL per month
Car - tax, insurance and minimum fuel 350 per month
Internet 70 per month
Health - 68 TL to see a doctor in private hospital with SKG agreement - 130 for one without.  State hospital free but daunting.
Don't drink coffee out - Drink Nespresso at home 20 TL for 10

Eating out 25 to 70 TL a head per meal.

I've been living in Istanbul for a week. At the moment I'm in a flat in Nisantasi paid by my company but I am looking for an apartment of 2 or 3 bedrooms - between 120-140 sq m, near any metro station, in a new building (not more than 10 years old) and in good conditions. All that I have been seeing so far have prices starting from 3500TL/month. And that's for a regular place. If you go for a renovated one, it can easily go to 4000-4500TL/month.

So, I could use with some hints, because I do not see housing in this city as cheap as people are mentioning in the topic. FYG, I am looking for places on the internet at Sahibinden and Hurriyet Emlak.

It depends on the city where u will live and the neigbourhood in that city...The rent , as u may guess , is a major part of the expenses. Istanbul is the most expensive city..After that , Ankara , Bursa, İzmir,Antalya ...Wish you best...

This is a very informative response my names Carla 😀 I just wondered where you got the amount for health care from as I'm rocating this year and all the quotes I've had are for £2000 plus any help on this would be gratefully received
Thanks in advance 😉

edragone wrote:

I've been living in Istanbul for a week. At the moment I'm in a flat in Nisantasi paid by my company but I am looking for an apartment of 2 or 3 bedrooms - between 120-140 sq m, near any metro station, in a new building (not more than 10 years old) and in good conditions. All that I have been seeing so far have prices starting from 3500TL/month. And that's for a regular place. If you go for a renovated one, it can easily go to 4000-4500TL/month.

So, I could use with some hints, because I do not see housing in this city as cheap as people are mentioning in the topic. FYG, I am looking for places on the internet at Sahibinden and Hurriyet Emlak.

Hello edragone. I saw your post and I wanted to add something. I am living in Istanbul and Istanbul is not expensive place I don't understand how you guys says it is so expensive.  I don't know where are you from originally maybe can be expensive than your country. . You can find apartment houses for rent around 300 dolar to 2000 dolar. Depend which location you want. And everywhere has a metro tramway and bus all over the Istanbul . If you have a travel card ( akbil ) you can travel very cheap in Istanbul almost 100 dolar you need to fill up for 1 month.. life is for everybody here poor or Rich .dosent matter.

Hello everybody. I am living in Istanbul and I saw many people's are comment on WHAT COST OF LIVING IN ISTANBUL

I just want to talk about Istanbul and share my knowledge too..
1 . Rent apartment houses depend on which location starting around 200 to 2000 dolar.  Ofcourse you can find house between 200 to 300 dolar around fatih , Eyüp , kadikoy , maltepe , umraniye , Beylikdüzü , Zeytinburnu , Avcılar , Bağcılar etc. More more more wherr you look....

2. Food .. if you go shopping mall or public bazaar. you can find very cheap food staff if you love to cook at home or you must learn how to cook. Ofcourse you can go to restaurant I'd you love spend money start around between 7 to 10 dolar. I know fews restaurant near by the France embassy building. ( you can choice 3 type of food )

3. If you have Turkish phone card ( turkcell,  avea , vodafone ) you can choice which one offer you good price start around 7 to 15 dolar all inclusive with Internet ( 1 or 2 gb internet)  if you want to talk with your family Pls use Internet to intenet call and will be no cost or use Skype call. Also you can find free wifi everywhere in Istanbul. .

4. Electric,  water and heating gas cost will be around 25 to 50 dolar depends how you spend it.

5. Transportation bus or metro cost will be around 50 dolar monthly if you get monthly transportation card. Other wise you can pay 1.20 dolar each time..

If you have more question Pls don't hesitate to contact me anytime..

Istanbul is cheap regarding food and clothing especially if you shop from outlets in viaport, also renting is for 1100 lira empty apartment near viaport on the asian side in new compounds with swimming pools.there r buses every where that moves by the clock so you dont wait.

any info about Alanya ?