Hey everyone! I'm going to be living in Etiler but I don't know a tremendous amount of detail about the area, just that it is a very nice. I was wondering if anyone could fill me in on the massive blanks in information I have about the area. What is there to do there? Any really good cafes? Places to listen to live music? Places to play futball? What are the general demographics of the area? Information along those lines would be much appreciated! Thanks guys!

i used to work there; so can tell you that there are a few nice restaurnats around the area - but as it's more of an "upmarket" area; things such as cafes (Pauls / starbucks / Gloria Jeans) or restaurants are at the upper price levels and tend to be full of the moneyed types...

one thing for certain living in Etiler; you're never going to stand on the high street and ponder as to the location of the nearest bank......

Jonny will point you in in the directino of good restaurants and food-shops presently. in fact, i can't believe i've got in here first; he must be slowly winding his way back home now!

Haha, okay so finding a bank won't be a problem. Is the area mainly families or buisness professonals, etc?

Both of those demographics are fairly represented. But watch out for tikkis!

I might be really showing my ignorance here, but what is a tikki?

Children Of Daddy's Plastic (Credit Card.)

Hi JessicaHU10

I concur with Jono. It is upmarket area and elite community can only survive. For some reasons lot of indian families are there.

Well it sounds like a good thing my meals and housing is taken care of, my job is a live in housekeeper type of gig, and helping teach business english. So is anything not exspensive in that area?

even the street simit is more expensive 1.25 to 1.50YTL......! but you dont' have to travel far to cheaper areas if you need to; and it's only about a 10-15 min walk to the Levent Metro.

As for cheap; well FatboyTim and Jonny both live locally, so it cant' be that hard to go downmarket ......!

Don't worry, there are cheap places to eat too, you just have to know where to find them on the backstreets.

Failing that, the other end of the main drag in Etiler (Nispetiye Caddesi) is a little university village/town of Rumeli Hisari, with lots of lovely little cafes and restaurants catering to students, so therefore cheaper and way less pretentious.

Down the hill by bus to the seaside, you have Beşiktaş (my favourite), average prices and a broad range of eateries and shops. Stay on the bus for another 5-10 minutes and you have Taksim (city centre) and its many different delights, basically anything you are looking for foodwise, musicwise, sexwise!!

Etiler is a good base and if you are looking after kids as well as housekeeping, I'm guessing mummy and daddy will foot the costs to eat locally.

Basically, you've picked a good location, so relax.

Luckily no kids to take care of! It is actually a pretty sweet deal for a student like me. I clean in the morning, have all day free, then at night I cook dinner and teach business english. It is good to hear that I'll be in a great location! Thanks for all your help!

Hi Jessica - you've received some good advice already and the best bet as Maymunn says is have a look around the back streets. Lots of cheap places to eat. You might even bump into a bespectacled Welshman blindly begging for day old Simit!

1.25 or 1.50YTL for a street simit sounds a bit of a rip-off, i have never paid more than 50 kuruş for a simit.

Hi Jessica. I also live in Etiler, and I think it's an excellent place to be based. You'll find that you're just a bus/taxi/metro stop from most of the places you'll want to be-- and Etiler has a bit of everything (shopping, restaurants, cafes, supermarkets, etc). It can be expensive, but you'll find decent prices if you venture off the main road (Nispetiye). Arnavutkoy is close, and there are plenty of decent priced cafes and shops there. Explore the side streets, and there are deals to be had (I've never paid more than 50 kurus for Simit- but I don't buy it at Paul's Bakery either).

Let me know if you have any specific questions. Always happy to share.

Kiki

I hope its for a couple...