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!

Get a long EU passport for your kids before you go and make sure that they have EU citizenship.

Contact the Turkish consul and Embassy: they will put you in touch with epat groups. Make sure you don't just end up relying on your Dh's family - that can be very isolating..
Good luck

DD has a UK passport already. DH has also been trying to get her Turkish citizenship. DH's family live near the Antalya coast so quite a lot of expats there already I think.

Thanks.

Any more tips and 'if only I'd known' thoughts?

Early days now I know, but you may want to think about what sort of school your DD goes to if you are going to stay there for more than a couple of years.

I taught in Istanbul for 6 years in international schools. I'm not sure I would have wanted my DDs to go to Turkish state schools.

I do have very fond memories of Turkey, but I would second zazen's advice. Getting a good balance and learning the language could make for an extremely rewarding experience.

obviously it will be something we'll have to think about (if i do settle into living there). we won't be in a major city although not far from Antalya. i'm not saying i'll learn the language fluently, but i do have some linguistic ability in other languages, so hopefully i'll pick some up. i did get into a bit of a panic the other day though thinking that DH would be at work for long hours and i'd be stuck with no language ability in a strange place with a young daughter...

strangely, my mother was in the exast same situation with me when i was little...funny how generations repeat things...

Hi Wonderfull,
I relocated to Turkey 10 years ago with my Turkish husband and have had 2 children since being here. Took me quite a long tome to settle but now wouldn't change it but must say it takes continual efort with the language, mine is reasonable, you can feel very isolated with out it. Make an effort with both expats and locals, it is very easy for expats to slip into a them and us situation and a negativity about Turks and all things Turkish can be catching and drag you down.
Education has its issues, I am not unhappy with the state education but it is very different so has been a steep lurning curve for me.
Health insurance for us has been a must, we have had to use it on a number of occasions, our local state hospital is not somewhere you want to end up!
The children have a lovely life here and I wouldn't change it, so child friendly and child loving kind of place you will be sure to meet others simply by being out and about with yours.
Good Luck!

I live in Turkey, on the South West coast, with my DH, who is Turkish, and my DD, who will be 3 in December. My DH's parents live in Antalya, so I know it fairly well.

Hopefully you'll be able to rent a place furnished. Even if the furniture isn't to your liking, my advice is to put up with it for a couple of years (after about a year you'll cease to notice that you don't like the design of the sofa, or the colour of the walls!) and then think about shipping furniture over. I didn't bring over any furniture, but I did bring a load of other stuff that I thought I'd want to have around me (like candlestick holders, and rugs, and fancy wine glasses, and cushions that I was particularly fond of - seems ridiculous to me now!) all of which I could easily have done without. It's amazing how little you do actually need in life.

Just bring the clothes that you all need, and anything your daughter needs. Children's clothes here are quite expensive for what they are, and children's shoes aren't measured like they are in the UK, so I'd bring enough clothes and shoes to last her for a year. Also toys - you can buy most things here like little tricycles and dolls etc but you might want educational toys which speak English, if you see what I mean. There is a Mothercare in Antalya, but it's not stocked like the UK ones (although I think you can order from their catalogue) but it is slightly more pricey than the UK.

Bring a couple of decent recipe books. You'll be doing a lot more cooking from scratch here than you do in the UK - there's very little in terms of ready-meals - if you want a chicken pie, then you start by measuring out the flour and rubbing in the butter to make the pastry!

And as for the language - your DD will pick it up at the speed of light, and you will learn as she does. Since mine was born I've learned all sorts of obscure words that I hadn't been using in daily life, and had never needed before, like 'timse', meaning 'crocodile', and 'kucak', meaning basically, 'pick me up and cuddle me'!!

Am more than happy to answer any other questions you might have.

I would recommend taking Turkish lessons now, before you even get there. Knowing a few words and phrases will dramatically improve your initial experience of living in Turkey.

It is very rare for foreigners to learn Turkish, so Turks are very appreciative of those who make an effort. You will find locals very helpful and kind when you can at least say "thank you" (which, unfortunately, is one of the harder phrases in the language )

Outside of major cities, I would not count on finding an ex-pat community of Anglophones.

longgrass - I love your DD's vocabulary

Btw, crocodile = timsah and kucak = lap.

Hello - I moved to Ankara about 3 months ago as a trailing spouse, my son is 18 months.

I really wish I had started learning the language before arriving - it would have made a real difference to my first (very confused, lonely and frustrating) weeks. I also wish I had bought a year's worth of clothes, shoes and toys for my little fella; travelled much much lighter (forget the furniture and nik-naks) and packed a whole suitcase full of PG Tips & Marmite :o

Echoing what has already been said, I have been astounded at how wonderfully friendly and child loving Turkish society is; and last but not least, the weather is better Good luck :)

Hi,
I am from Istanbul originally but lived in Antalya for 10 years before I moved to Cyprus. And I worked in many hotels in Antalya city, I am Med,Uni gradute on hotel management there. Even I am not living there anymore, please feel free to ask anything I would be happy to help.

Antalya city center has got it all, many shopping malls, nice restaurants, cheap clothing etc...you will not find any Indian restaurant at all, or a decent Chinese restaurant though - there is only one, quite pricey (in case you are fan) if you are going to towns like Alanya or Side, these areas are more tourist atrraction places, winters might be dull but luckily winter only lasts about 3 months. As for schools, I do not know area schools around towns/villages but the state schools in Antalya would have been good,your child will grab Turkish very quickly-as my daughter is bilingual as well. There are couple of private colleges in Antalya, good education but all follow Turkish cirriculum, also they are not cheap.

Hi everyone, thanks for your helpful and thoughtful responces. After months of nothing happening and the plans looking further and further from reality, DH has now been offered a job in the hotel industry near Side. We are now looking at renting our home in the UK and moving pretty soon. It's all a bit scary now that it's really happening.

DH wants us to stay with his family first to save a bit of money before we find somewhere to rent. He also says his mind will be at rest knowing my DD and I will be somewhere familiar, somewhere safe.

I was/am very worried about that prospect because his parents are quite conservative and traditional, but DD insists it's the best option, so I'll have to view it as temporary and try to learn and enjoy it as much as possible.

My main worry is for my daughter. She is allergic to dairy and peanuts (possibly other nuts). I'm pretty strict about not letting her have sweets and stuff. Here in the UK I can get loads of dairy alternatives, but I don't know how available they are in Turkey.

Soya milk is available in larger supermarkets like Migros if that's any help (expensive though). Turkish pastries and sweets often have nuts in them, particularly walnuts and pistachios.

I understand your worries about living with the parents in law. That would not have been an option for me as mine can be quite set in their ways about how thing are 'done' although they are very well meaning. Privacy doesn't seem to be a concept they understand either however they do live only 5 minutes away though and we see them alot and the children get so much out of them being nearby as am sure your DD will.