I was wondering if anyone could give me an rough idea of what the cost of living difference would be in Ankara versus living in Izmir. For example, if you are making 2000YTL/month in Izmir and living comfortably, would you have the same quailty of life or slightly better in Ankara making the same money?

I posted this on the MM site as well, figured I might get a different perspective on this site.

Really one for the Ankarites, but from what I've seen of Ankara it seems more expensive than Istanbul.

No its not.

Well to be honest it really depends on the standard of living you want and which district you'd want to live in. If you want to live in Tunali or G.O.P area a 3 bedroom apartment in good condition which cost you about 750 YTL when you add the utilities to that it ends up being about 900 YTL. But if you choose Ayranci or Dikmen prices are lower about 500 YTL for rent however then you'd have to take a cab or bus (God forbid) .

Food and social stuff also really depends on where you hang out. A drink in Kizilay normally costs about 3-5 ytl whereas in Tunali it costs about 6-8 YTL.

So really it all comes down to where or how you want to live. Live in Ankara can be cheap or expensive

No comparison, in my opinion. 2000 ytl would afford you a slightly higher standard of living in Ankara than the same money would get you in izmir. if you compare aples to apples..its about 15% cheaper than izmir, an about 30-40% cheaper than istanbul. i have been researching moving to Ankara for a while now. Also there is the added benefit of an excellent public transportation system in Ankara...resembles the better cities in the US. The only draw back is that the nightlife and scenery are not what they are in izmir or ist.

Taxis are considerably more expensive than Istanbul though.

Not sure if the move is imminent, but it may be a good opportunity. I wouldn't be thrilled about moving away from Izmir but I'd actually have a job in my industry of choice. Nightlife isn't so important for me, I just had a kid so we are more in the family mode now anyway. I was pretty excited to read somewhere I could get a Guiness draft in Ankara though.

??? really??? Where??

I remember seeing a post either here or MM that you can somewhere, if I find the post i'll let you know.

According to Expert Expat Matt "take a walk down suluk cadessi and hit up the 'dublin pub' for a pint of guinness. only place in turkey to serve the black stuff." http://forum.expatinturkey.com/viewtopic.php?t=3261

I'm going to Ankara next week, and if my wife and kid aren't in tow maybe I'll try and find it.

Mmmmm.... Guinness.....

- Braymond couldnt view the link it says the post doesnt exist.

- Matt where on earth is suluk caddesi ??please tell me its not in Kizilay

Just clicked it, worked fine for me. Post is listed in: Agony Aunt Charly > cold

started by Chris