Cost of Living in Turkey

Who can resist experiencing the duality of East and West culture while making most of the country’s affordable quality of life.

Real Estate

With a thriving property market, foreign nationals not only see Turkey as a top tourist destination or a place for foreign investment, but as a place for a permanent home.

In Turkey, the law mandates that only 10% of the property and land in cities, towns and resorts can be purchased by foreign individuals and corporations (rural areas exempted).

Buying a Property

While property prices remain low compared to EU countries, acquiring properties in Turkey is considered an ideal investment.

In Istanbul, apartments costs average USD$106,950 (75 square meters), USDS166,800 (120 square meters), USD$234,430 (170 square meters) and USD$596,750 (275 square meters).  

Renting a Property

Compared to the UK, renting in Turkey is exceptionally cheap. In Istanbul, rent ranges from TL500.00 (approximately USD$327.00) to TL1,300.00 (approximately USD$852.00) monthly.

It is advised to have rental contracts in both languages to avoid any confusion as the law in the rental market is considered pro-landlord. One of the exceptional rights of landlord is their right to evict tenants without notice.

Monthly Utilities

Basic utilities like electricity, gas, water and garbage costs approximately USD$63.21 monthly or even higher while Internet costs range from USD$10.00 to USD$20.00 monthly depending on the provider and the connection speed. 

Shopping

Turkey offers spectacular shopping experiences, and bargaining is still the norm and a social custom when shopping.

The capital of Istanbul has huge shopping malls and produces high quality leather products. TL200 is enough to find sufficient clothing. 

Food Consumption

Eating out is inexpensive. One can eat in fast food restaurants for TL9.00 (USD$5.90) per person.

A kilogram of white loaf of bread costs TL2.40 (USD$1.57). A half kilogram of butter costs TL6.49 (USD$4.25).

The items that are heavy on the wallet are alcohol, wines and beers. A can of local beer costs TL2.25 (USD$1.47) while imported can of beer costs TL4.00 (USD$2.62). Beer in bars costs TL5.00 (USD$3.28).

Tipping

It is customary to give tips in Turkey. One is expected to give small change as tips even in the cheapest restaurants. Notably, some high-end restaurants add service charge or servis ücreti (10% to 15%) to the bill; but one may opt to add a tip.

Taxi drivers do not expect tips; however, most often the drivers expect one to pay the cost of the metered fare rounded up to the nearest 50 kurus (example a metered fare of TL4.70 is rounded to TL5.00).

Service masseuse/masseur in Turkish baths, are usually given 10-20% tip.

Transportation

A three-kilometer bus fare within the city costs TL1.30 (USD$0.85). Car ownership and petrol in Turkey is more expensive than in UK. Diesel costs TL3.02 per liter (USD$2.44) as of 2010. 

Taxes

Value added tax (VAT) or Katma Değer Vergisi - (KDV) in Turkey is at a standard rate of 18%, however, a reduced rate of 8% is applied to goods like basic food, medicines and other items.