Relocating Abroad - Turkey

[WonderFull]

Hi, This is my first post here and I'm not sure where to post this question. I've got so many questions to ask I don't know where to begin.

DH, myself and DD (2.1 yrs) are seriously considering moving to Turkey. DH is from there. If we go, we need to make the decision to go within 6 months so DH can find work when the tourist season starts again in March.

We'd have to rent a property there and let our home here. We'll be doing this on a shoestring budget, so don't know how much stuff of ours we could send to Turkey.

Some of my many questions are:

Have you made a move overseas with your child/ren? Anyone to Turkey? If so, what did you wish you'd taken with you/what do you wish you hadn't bothered with?

I'm sure I'll have more questions, just hope someone on this massive site can help! Thanks!

Hi, I lived in Turkey for a few years as my husband is from there too. I didn't take much with me because I was still living with my parents and so I left evrything there.

We started by renting a furnished apartment then later we rented a small house and bought everything we needed there. Renting property out there can be quite cheap and as your husband is Turkish he should be able to find something easily for you.

Are you thinking of going permanently or just for a short time?

To be honest although I loved my time there I did find it quite difficult because my husband was working in tourism meaning for 6 months he was working 7 days a week, very long hours so I hardly saw him and for the 6 months of winter he was hardly working at all so we didn't have much money.

My daughter was just a baby when we lived there and one fo the reasons we moved back was so she could go to school in the UK as the schools are much better here.

Which part of Turkey are you looking at?

Hi Nefret,

DH is from the med coast about 1 hour from Antalya. He would also prob work in tourism, altho if we could afford it we (DD and I) might come back to UK for summers for at least a month to get away from heat. I'd hope to teach English when DD was a little bit older.

DH really doesn't like living here and his employment opps here aren't great. Also, his parents aren't getting any younger (but then, neither are mine)...

It's interesting you say that about schools. one reason I'm for Turkey is because i feel children are able to be children longer there than come under the infludences of all the nasties over here...hmmm, don't know if we could afford private schooling there...

cheers!

I do agree that in some ways childhood is better in Turkey, children can play outside and somehow seem to be children longer but the education system isn't as good.

Also for children to be able to go to a Turkish state school they would have to be fluent in Turkish.

I do love the Turkish way of life, there are many things that are better there but we have a much better standard of living here in the UK than we did when we wer in Turkey. Things like healthcare are far better here unless you can afford to go private.

I am hoping we will buy a second home in Turkey so we can spend more time there but I don't think I would return permanently.

Being away from my family was also difficult, it wasn't as hard for my husbad as his family are from a different part of turkey to where we lived so he didn't ssee them so much anyway but I was used to seeing my parents every day.

We still go back to Turkey all the time, we have just come back from 3 weeks in Bodrum as we do love it there.