Watch The Lira Now

[Marky Mark]

Guilty as charged but Ukraine is easy to find on Google maps

Deposit interests have fallen but now steady @ 1.85% with the whole amount guaranteed at State banks with no limit.

Entry is fairly easy, proof of worth, income and no criminal conviction.

A one-time payment of $20 (?) gives permanent residence for life and you can walk the streets any time in safety. You could live reasonably on $500 pm, we tend to splurge eating out 1 or 2 times a day but still have change from $1,000 pm.

Few expats in my corner of the country but the biggest problem is language. If neither you or your partner speak Russian it will difficult - English is now mandatory at schools but people 35+ y/o rarely speak English.

Thank you Jay....

 

[Kanga]

Thank you for the reassurance. At the moment I just transfer small amounts between my UK & Turkish bank accounts, monies there very quickly & no fees, although I guess I pay the fees with possibly a lower exchange rate. At least you are given the exchange rate online before confirming the transaction

Far better than the old days when you had to phone them to move money & they charged you £25 to do it

Open a sterling account in your Turkish bank, if you haven't already ; you can then just move sterling into lira as you need it. you wont get much interest on the £££, if any, but it's very convenient. We do this (IsBank), just hand over 2 bank books, it's immediate, and there's no exchange rate trimming, we get the top rate.

 

[Mushroom]

If you are travelling from the UK, you can always take Sterling to either put in a Turkish bank Sterling account and transfer to Lira when the exchange rate suits or change it immediately at the bank to Lira to avoid any transfer fees, but would you risk it going missing and obviously it's subject to limits. I did that several times.

 

[VILLASUNDAY]

I hadn't realised that you could have a sterling account. I should of really, as we originally had a Euro Account and a Lira account. We currently just have a basic lira account that we use for standing orders for the utilities. We will upgrade to an account with a debit card etc when we move or before if we can

 

[Mushroom]

I have kept our Sterling and Lira account open with about £2 and 200 lira respectively purely to convert what is now holiday spends when I send it that way.

 

[yalimart]

I hadn't realised that you could have a sterling account. I should of really, as we originally had a Euro Account and a Lira account. We currently just have a basic lira account that we use for standing orders for the utilities. We will upgrade to an account with a debit card etc when we move or before if we can

I would also check that your UK bank will allow you to keep it open if you leave the UK, some banks have pushed back on that and have actually closed accounts on that basis

 

[Chasey]

Is living in Turkey a good idea? Inexpensive? Safe?

Strange question?

Looking at the Turkish economy and the powers that are influencing it and then considering the close neighbors Turkey has and the potential for conflict, you can surmise two things

1: If you income is in Sterling right now, you can live like a king in Turkey on little money. The only fly in the ointment is buying a car which is ridiculously expensive. I just baught a Skoda Kodiaq in the UK for 31,000 ex demo (can be picked up for 36,000 new). The same car new in Turkey would cost me £100,000

2: Are you safe? There is currently and probably always will be a risk that you will have to give up life in turkey and go home, but it realy depends on your own tolerance level of risk if thinks properly kick off with Turkeys immediate neighbors. I think theres also a risk that the economic melt down could have repercussions from angry locals towards immigrants, but I have never heard this happening and its never happened to me. Which frankly, I find surprising.

3: Is your money safe? Any fixed investment in Turkey like property or your car lets say, is at risk. We paid 125K for our villa, it went up to 250K and now back down to sub 100K. In many ways due to the economy, but also to do with management issues on the site. If on any sort of managed site you should be aware that property management companies in Turkey have a very bad reputation for ripping people off. RE: Money in the bank? Simple just keep enough to keep you going in the bank, then the risk goes away.

My general experience of Turkey is warm welcoming friendly and incredibly helpful people and I have been very happy there. I definitely have a better quality of life in Turkey than I do in the UK

 

[immac]

2: Are you safe? There is currently and probably always will be a risk that you will have to give up life in turkey and go home, but it realy depends on your own tolerance level of risk if thinks properly kick off with Turkeys immediate neighbors. I think theres also a risk that the economic melt down could have repercussions from angry locals towards immigrants, but I have never heard this happening and its never happened to me. Which frankly, I find surprising.

I don't think there is a high risk toward those who live here without working; we are not taking anyone's job, not taking benefits, and are paying our way - all the things that get chucked at immigrants in UK.

Having said that, Turkey has its share of xenophobes and bigots: being Kurdish in this area, or Gypsies, is to be the target of dislike. They don't see enough black people to care about that side of racism. They also look down on people from the cities (I am told that is reciprocated), village people, and are disdainful of those who tread down the backs of their shoes.

On the other hand, they are obsequious towards any person of status, politicians, those who have money, or who is famous.

Ian

 

[Jaycey]

IMO the most dangerous places in Turkey are the markets.

Prices are usually unmarked and, on realizing that you aren’t Turkish they’ll size you up and increase the price accordingly.

Here they are very different. You agree a price and they give you a discount & on realizing that you are foreign you get yet another discount and a life time friend! Our local market has some 250 stalls & we are greeted by at least half of them.

I really don't see they make much profit so, on being handed any tatty notes in change I just tell them to keep it.

 

[Mushroom]

We had a few years of taking the highest of interest rates and repeatedly compounded it, but as the capital in the bank kept rising, it was always at the back of my mind that the 'guaranteed' safe amount per account in Turkey was 100,000 TL and who exactly was guaranteeing it when the president is in charge?.
I often looked back at the situation in Cyprus when a change in rules for bank accounts resulted in lost funds and wondered if the same could happen at the stroke of a pen in Turkey.
Today if RTE wants my 200 TL, he can have it.

 

[Kanga]

IMO the most dangerous places in Turkey are the markets.

Prices are usually unmarked and, on realizing that you aren’t Turkish they’ll size you up and increase the price accordingly.

Here they are very different. You agree a price and they give you a discount & on realizing that you are foreign you get yet another discount and a life time friend! Our local market has some 250 stalls & we are greeted by at least half of them.

I really don't see they make much profit so, on being handed any tatty notes in change I just tell them to keep it.

We spent an amusing half hour some years ago, pre euro days, listening to the haggling in Kusadasi as we sipped our teas. The market trader selling colourful handknit socks and hats, etc, was multilingual, and had different exchange rates for different nationalities. He ripped off the Germans and Americans, wasn't quite so bad with Brits, and native Turks got the best deal, naturally, as they are also expert at haggling.

 

[enoch]

Our local bank now gives you free access to market rates at no extra cost only government tax.

 

[Camden]

He just can't leave it alone ... Yesterday in his speech at his party's group meeting knowing the effects his words have on the markets and future investment

He said talking on inflation, again promising again to meet their target on inflation , said they again they would make an assault on "interest rates " he said "I hope we will reduce this figure even more by reducing the interest rates to single digits. We are determined on this issue. "
Seemingly to follow the same ole policy .....This policy is surely seen to be a failed policy , interest shouldn't be determined politically but by Independent economists at the TCB and used to meet market trends and fluctuations ....

Even his official figures on inflation and unemployment the Turks can't believe to be true .. the official inflation according to leading Turkish economist Mahfi Eğilmez


TurkStat announced the 12-month inflation rate as 16.19 percent in terms of consumer prices (CPI) and 31.20 percent in terms of domestic producer prices (D-PPI) as of March.


When you ask people on the streets, they say they feel the inflation rate they encounter is more around 30 percent.

Enflasyon Oranının İnandırıcılığı Sorunu

Mahfi Eğilmezin blogunda ekonomi, para ve maliye politikası, ekonomik krizler, felsefe ve Hitit tarihi üzerine yazı ve makaleler bulunmaktadır.

www.mahfiegilmez.com

Erdoğan: Kendi iktidarını ülkenin felaketinde gören zihniyeti, en az darbeciler kadar tehlikeli görüyoruz

Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan, "Kendi iktidarını ülkenin ve milletin felaketinde gören bu habis zihniyeti, en az teröristler ve darbeciler kadar tehlikeli görüyoruz." dedi. - Anadolu Ajansı

www.aa.com.tr

 

[enoch]

The end of the year dollar rate has been given by the Central Bank at 8.5749 tl to one dollar. From 7.9455

 

[Kanga]

The end of the year dollar rate has been given by the Central Bank at 8.5749 tl to one dollar. From 7.9455

what's that in proper money please?

 

[enoch]

Not a lot. About 8.5 pence to about 7.5 pence, but no garanti I'm right

 

[Jaycey]

what's that in proper money please?

Did you mean US$ or Euros?
I don't think GBP is classed as real money any more.

 

[Kanga]

Did you mean US$ or Euros?
I don't think GBP is classed as real money any more. View attachment 21713

I could fall out with you. . . . . . . but I know you're only joking.

 

[IbrahimAbi]

Did you mean US$ or Euros?
I don't think GBP is classed as real money any more. View attachment 21713

...............And I was just going to leave you £200 000 in my will Jaycey, still, the dogs home will put it to good use.

 

[Jaycey]

...............And I was just going to leave you £200 000 in my will Jaycey, still, the dogs home will put it to good use.

When were you thinking of leaving - I reckon I'll beat you to it!