A newbie introduction

Dear Jon,

I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to share with you my experience living in Turkey for a year. Unfortunately, we were not very happy there due to a few reasons. Firstly, my daughter attended international schools since kindergarten, and even in Turkey, she went to an international school in Istanbul. Secondly, after her graduation, she expressed her desire to study medicine at Medipol University. However, we were shocked by the high cost of tuition, which amounted to USD 38,700 per year. After conducting some research online, we discovered that studying medicine in Italy would be a much better and more affordable option for us. The average cost for an international university in Italy is only €5,000, which is a significant difference. Therefore, if your daughter is considering studying at a university, I would not recommend Turkey.

Best regards,

Johan.

Hold your horses Jon...

You and your wife might be happy here, but do you also plan to bring in your daughter ?

Don't know if you've been to Pakistan, Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia but this country's future will most likely be like theirs not like the free Europe you guys are used to...

I would never do that to my daughter nor should you...

Wait until she has her own life there and only then you can decide to move here with your wife....

If there is still something left to be seen by then of course...

Don't take me wrong and think for a second that I'm just a selfish Turk who doesn't want to "share his beautiful country with some foreigner"... Just talk about your project around you when you get here and you'll see how people react...

99% of them will think that you are totally out of your mind and 100% of them will gladly switch place with you and stay in Europe never to set foot here ever again !

That should tell you something about your project and make you think twice before you jump...

If you have money and want to live here like a hermit in a cave without interacting with the locals at all, then fine.

But otherwise you'll have to live among them and eventually be like them.

Are you ready to hate your neighbor just because he has different political opinions or a different religion ?

Because that is the way of this land my friend, you better realize it beforehand.

At the end of the Ottoman Empire (that's 100 years ago, so just 4 generations), one third of the people here were jews, christians, greeks etc. Now it is way below 1%.The young Turkish Republic had to get rid of them to survive, create some kind of an union and establish itself and (which is kinda understandable with a historical perspective).

But with the years, it's only gotten worse and it'll take generations until people in Turkey are ready to accept differences and learn to "live and let live" like it's pretty much the norm in the UK and the rest of Europe.

You're ready to wait that long or accept to change and become like that just to try to blend in ?

Knowing that you'll be a "gavur" for the rest of your life no matter what you do and how hard you try.

(gavur = not muslim, foreigner. A very pejorative word that could also be translated in english as: piece of s...)

How can you even think on imposing that on a minor and moreover; a teenage girl !!!???

PS: Sorry to shatter your dreams pal, just trying to be helpful here, trust me...

My dear friend, I must say that your assessment of our friend Jon's situation is indeed accurate, even if he is a converted Muslim. I personally experienced this when I lived in Turkey for a year, and there are three main points that contribute to this. Firstly, the Turkish people within Turkey generally do not have a strong inclination to learn or speak English, or any foreign language for that matter. Secondly, the cost of living in Turkey is not as affordable as many foreigners perceive it to be, especially when compared to their income and expenses. Thirdly, Turkish people can be quite reserved when it comes to accepting others as friends, although there are exceptions to this, of course. Additionally, education for foreigners in Turkey is incredibly expensive, and there are certain requirements such as purchasing property or paying rent for a significant period of time, or having a Turkish national act as a guarantor, which sets it apart from living in most Western countries.