Advice on moving to Izmir/Antalya with 2 children please!

[EmilyC]

Hi,
I have just joined this forum as we are hoping to move to Turkey from London. We have two children aged 9 and 7 years who only speak english. If anyone has any experience or recommendations of international schools this would be helpful. I am lucky enough that my partner, although not Turkish, speaks fluent Turkish himself although I have so far failed to learn much myself. He is a British Citizen, but does have aunts, uncles and many cousins who are Turkish Citizens living in Istanbul.
We are hoping this may be helpful with resident permits. We do not intend to work as have property in the UK which is rented to fund our living expenses. We are hoping to rent an apartment / villa for the first year and if all goes well to buy a property in Turkey to live in. If anyone has any advice on residents permits or areas which would be good for us to live it would be much appreciated. We do not want to live in Istanbul as it is just too hectic, but think Izmir or Antalya may suit us.
We are hoping to move in around 2 years time, so will be coming on some fact-finding missions in the meantime as with the kids we really need everything to be well planned out before we make such a big move.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to reply.

 

[LauraB]

Hello Emily

Not wanting to put a dampener on your plans but do think very carefully about your children's education and future prospects. They will need to work at some point too. Will that be possible in Turkey? There are many on here with children in the system and I'm sure they will be able to advise better than me.

 

[cork laurence]

You seem to be making the correct decisions. Renting first, not relying on work for an income and asking for advice. If you are more specific with your questions, this forum is a wealth of information.
Good luck with your move.
Laurence

 

[beyazbayan]

There is an international school in Antalya teaching in English and follows the European exam system.

 

[apollo too]

There is an international school in Antalya teaching in English and follows the European exam system.

I believe that this school is fairly highly regarded. We used to live in Antalya but only visited İzmir on a few occasions.

We found İzmir to be a huge city. Antalya is big but we believe that it is a better place for young children. Access to the beaches and other amenities is easier.

But each to their own.