Retiring to Turkey

Ten top tips for anyone contemplating retiring to Turkey to help them with their planning and organising

Turkey is rapidly becoming the latest in affordable sunny hotspots attracting the attentions of would be British, European and indeed international retirees.  The essential factors that draw many people to Turkey on holiday annually are now luring pre-retirees into considering the nation as the perfect location in which to relax, put their feet up and enjoy retirement.

Basically these essential factors include the fact that the cost of living in Turkey is so low, the standard of living relative to the cost is incredibly high, the climate is almost perfect particularly in Southern Turkey, there’s a wealth of things to keep you entertained in Turkey and what’s more the people are so welcoming and friendly that retiring to Turkey is becoming ever more popular.

If you want to retire to Turkey here are ten essential aspects of your retirement decision to consider and get right before you move: -

1) The location – Turkey is a vast nation – if you haven’t already done so you need to look on a map of the world and see the vast expanse of land that the nation covers, it’s incredible! 

Much of the nation is under-populated or indeed uninhabited and the main centres where retirees consider living are all along the southern coastline.  Fortunately this means you can narrow your location considerations down a little – but even so, there are about 15 – 20 towns and communities where most retirees feel comfortable and so you have to spend time in Turkey exploring the coastal regions you favour and determining in which location you could happily see yourself living. 

2) Finding housing – before you rush ahead and buy property in Turkey once you’ve decided exactly in which community, town or village you would like to reside we would recommend that you rent a home for at least a year so you can get used to the climate and the realities and practicalities of living in Turkey.  During your year’s trial period of the country you’ll get to know many estate agents, developers and those with land or homes for sale and as time goes on the prices you’re quoted will drop significantly as you are accepted as a local person and therefore charged local person’s prices!

This period of renting a home in Turkey and getting to know the nation and its people better will allow you to decide whether you’ve chosen the right nation and the right neighbourhood and it will give you food for thought about the type of property you want to live in in Turkey.

3) Sorting out finances – before you rush out the door and hop on a flight to Izmir or to Istanbul you have to spend time getting your financial affairs in order.  You need to know how much you will have to live on in Turkey, you need enough in the bank or coming in from a pension to cover any bills you have back home and in your new home nation, you need enough to cover the odd flight back home and you of course need money to support you once you’ve retired and are living in Turkey full time.

Find out more about the cost of living in Turkey relative to what you pay now, find out about medical and other essential insurances and get to grips with your finances so that you don’t risk your status in retirement.

4) Getting social contact – once you’ve moved to live in Turkey you have to get out and about and start meeting people.  This is far easier if you’re living in a community of expats where you’ll quickly and easily meet up with like minded people and from a few initial friendships, a whole social network will develop.

Any expat – whether retired or not – will tell you that establishing social contact almost the minute you arrive is critical.  You will need to rely heavily on your new found friends for information and advice and support.  And the good thing is – expats as a demographic group (no matter what their background or where in the world they are living) manage to provide all this and more because they are all in the same boat, have been through it, seen it and got the t-shirt and want to make you as excited about the new life you’ve established for yourself as they are about theirs. 

5) Securing healthcare – you cannot rely on receiving free health care in Turkey and you cannot rely on receiving decent and affordable healthcare.  You will either need money in the bank to pay for any treatment you may need or you will need insurance – get the facts, get informed and cover yourself.

6) Managing accessibility – there are many airports in Turkey but some of the ones along the coast are only serviced by low cost airlines and charter flights during the summer season.  You need to ensure you are within reach of an airport to which your family can fly to visit you and from which you can travel if you ever need to. 

While you’re retiring to Turkey and planning on making a home there, being realistic about it, it is highly likely that there will be times you need to leave Turkey for social, personal, family or even medical reasons perhaps.

7) Your leisure time and your lifestyle – just because you’re retiring abroad to a stunningly beautiful and interesting nation like Turkey, that doesn’t mean every waking moment of your day will be filled with things to do!  In fact, retirement anywhere suddenly means you have a lot more time on your hands.  I know, that sounds obvious!  But the reality of the situation is all too often that retirees get bored.  Additionally, married couples who have led separate working lives and who are now suddenly thrown together 24 hours a day in retirement in a foreign country often drive each other mad!

Keep this in mind and establish leisure time where you and your spouse do things together and where you do things with separate new friends.  Maintain a lifestyle where you get out and about and have plenty of varied social contact and time engaging in activities that you enjoy.  Keep yourself and your mind active.

8) Learning the language – Turkish is a notoriously difficult language to learn but luckily Turkish people are well educated and especially in the main towns and resorts you’ll be able to get by in English with just a little Turkish.  Of course, the more you make an effort to learn the language the more you will get out of your time in Turkey and the more friendly and welcoming the Turkish people will be.  But don’t stress about learning it before you go, once you get to Turkey you’ll find plenty of local people willing to teach you and what’s more, you’ll be surrounded by Turkish TV, newspapers, street signs and conversation which will help you.

9) Dealing with cultural and essential differences – Turkey is a Muslim nation and culturally and socially it has many differences to the UK, USA or countries in mainland Europe.  These differences are not problems, they are just differences!  To get to grips with Turkey and Turkish culture you need to spend significant time in the nation before you commit to it so why not spend a few extended holidays in different parts of Turkey at different times of the year and get used to and learn to embrace the differences.

10) Family and friends – when you move abroad you physically leave family and friends behind and you need to make a much greater effort to keep your close ties well established.  Be ready to write letters and emails, make phone calls and host family and friends as well as returning ‘home’ to make regular visits.  Schedule in plenty of time for maintaining old ties – after all there is nothing more important in life than friends and family.

And finally – if you are planning on retiring to Turkey – good for you!  It’s a fantastic, exciting country with huge amounts of potential for positive future developments and one in which I am sure you can find happiness.