Just signed up to this forum after posting a few things on MM but have got a little tired of the 1 upmanship that tends to dominate mm.

Been in Istanbul on and off since 1995 (is it really 10 years), moved here permanently in 98 (lived in sin with a Turkish girl..... just avoided the stoning) and then got married in 2002 to the same girl.

We now have a beautiful daughter (ok I am biased) born in March 2004 and am living in Besiktas but may move to Sariyer or further afield in the future.

Geoff

Hi Geoff,
Hello and welcome.
Great to have another old timer with us. I have been here on and on since '92 but first started in Izmir which is the place for 'living in sin' and always found Istanbul a bit more conservative then Izmir.
Where abouts in Sariyer are you thinking? A few of us live up that way so its always good to have another in our neighbourhood.
Look forward to your posts.

Thanks starman, the living in sin aspect did raise some eyebrows at the previous apartment with the neighbours telling parents, landlord etc. about us. Thankfully it all fell on deaf ears and the mutterings ceased after we got married.

Not sure exactly where in Sariyer but it must meet the criteria of having a garden (duplex or villa) close to Tansas / Migros et al and close to public transport.

Not easy to find all of these, which is part of the problem, the other aspect is trying to get a bank loan to assist with the purchase. From searching during the past few years it appears that unless you have the cash your'e pretty much in your own, as none of the UK / offshore banks want to touch putting money into Turkey.

The migros in sariyer is squatting in a dodgy area. Zek is out of the question I suppose considering the prices arent too bad and most have gardens etc.

I thought there was some sort of major grocery store in Zek-köy? Anyway, there is a Gima in the main square in Sariyer, near the main bus and dolmus stops and the IDO ferry stop. Oh, and welcome to the site, GBSahne. Also, if you have internet access at home, you can submit online delivery orders from Migros and from Gima, (minimum order 25 YTL).

Can't remember where the migros is, although I should, as I spent a good deal of time commuting from Besiktas to Sariyer and beyond, when I was involved with the construction of Koc university. My excuse is that this was 4 years ago and a lot has happened since then.

We also have to complete the demolition, rebuilding and selling of a listed house we've recently bought in Candilli. My wife is slightly regretting this venture after having spent hours attached to the computer preparing drawings to the exacting detail required by the bogas municipality.

Have you looked at the top of Sariyer on the way to Koc university.
I looked at some properties there 18 months ago and you could get a real nice 4 bed 280sqm appartment with sea views for 140,000 USD.

Are these what were the Easter Island equivelant of housing? i.e. concrete structures rising out of the hillside that have been abandoned, as permission to build them had been uhmm overlooked?

Even at $140k we still need to wait until the development at Candilli is sold and then we'll look at the options. We may even head East to my wifes family town (using the term loosely) of Tokat, as they have 12 hectacres of land sitting idle. Although I'm not sure that being so far away from an airport is such a good thing!

Hello and welcome to the forum Geoff hope you have fun