Determined to move to Istanbul

I can recommend teaching english as the best way to earn money in Turkey for foreigners.

Thank you for the reply. I'm willing to try that but I don't know what avenues to take.. ? Where would one start?

kleenaxe wrote:

I don't know where to start. I know very little Turkish, and I don't know what such a move would entail. Also.. I would need a job and I don't know what kind of jobs are available to foreigners that don't know much Turkish. Any input is appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Why Istanbul?   

If you don't speak Turkish you will struggle to find a 'normal job'. I work for a engineering company selling machines overseas, I speak English to most of my customers but Turkish with my colleagues/co-workers not everyone knows English. There are always lots of jobs advertising teaching English and if you're a native speaker (British/American and so on) some firms prefer you and you can earn a little extra. Most companies want you to have a CELTA or some other certificate but my sister in law has a friend from Cameroon who teaches English to children and she doesn't have a certificate but I would think you would get paid less without it.

I am a British national and my wife is Turkish, I got married here, I live and work here in Istanbul. If you need any advice or help just ask.

Good luck,

David

Thanks David. I'm a native American with no certifications. Until now it hadn't crossed my mind to teach English.. but if that's where I have to start I'm willing, I just don't know what avenues to take. I do also want to learn Turkish.

  John, Istanbul because I love it there.

To start learning Turkish something like Rosetta Stone is a good starting place. Turkish will seem very very strange to you as a native English speaker, but it's like everything, the more you do it the better you will get. If you need any help just ask.

In Turkey some jobs are banned to Foreigners like Doctors, Police, I think Scuba diver (there is a list online somewhere) is another but a long as you have a work visa all other jobs will be available to you. Forget your Turkish for the time being, what career experience do you have? Where have you worked before? In an ideal world what would you want to do here?

If we bump our heads together I'm sure we get you out of the starting blocks.

David

Hello, thanks for your input. Indeed, Turkish seemed bizarre at first. The format is so different, but I'm slowly learning and I can read some complete sentences. Is it possible to get a job teaching English - while learning Turkish?? Seems like this might be effective. I'm not a doctor and have no desire to join any police force    Technical Support for a broadband company is my job here and yes ideally I'd want a similar job if I relocate, but I'm open to others. As long as I can support myself.

  Thanks again for your reply, it's encouraging  )

I know people that have lived here over a year and can't speak a word of Turkish, if you're already learning then that's great. I have learnt more Turkish being here because the language is all around you, I am sure the same will apply to you so don't panic in that regard.

My sister in law's friend teaches 2 days a week and she speaks purely English in the class room, no Turkish at all. Whether all teachers/courses are the same I don't know. Search CELTA course in your area, if you can come Istanbul with that I'm sure you'll find work no problem.

If teachings not for you (like me) there are other jobs to be found. Harder but not impossible...took me 8 months to find work so don't get disheartened. Just have to remember your fighting against 14 million (officially) other people in Istanbul. You speak fluent English maybe something in the tourism industry?

Oh I couldn't wait 8 months to find a job.. I don't think I could save enough money to stay jobless for more than a month. I'll look into CELTA courses, I didn't even know such a thing existed until I found this forum. I also thought about starting a business there.. but then there's start up costs.. so I'll need to start with a job.

  Thanks again for the input, it's much appreciated!

Don't forget the cost of living here is lower than in the States, your dollars will stretch further. Also take into account depending how you do your visas/permits it can take several weeks/months to get all your paperwork done and returned to you. My residence permit took 6 weeks due to the number of people applying around that time and my work permit took another 4 weeks on top of that, then you have to search for work.....burası Türkiye

Good luck, hope you manage to make it here.

David

Yes, I'm slowly finding resources and I've got enough information to point me in the right direction. I will need a job shortly after arriving though.

  Thanks again for your help, you seem like a genuinely good person 

You don't need really to speak turkish if you are looking for an position anglophone in Istanbul,
Try to get in touch why some headhunters international,
Get in touch with some women association like AWI (AMERİCAN WOMEN OF ISTANBUL ) IWI, IPWIN .....

Hi,

  Thank you very much for this helpful reply, I will definitely look more closely at these organizations. At this point I guess I'll just have to learn Turkish as I go(once I'm there).

  Thanks again 

djoh270687

hello David can you help me as am also from Ghana but i am willing to travel to turkey and work there i am a professional furniture and upholstery maker is there any way you can help because i don't know how to begin thanks.

Hi Yusif,

I think the visa process is more difficult for you. I just search the web and found this document (hope it's helpful).

http://www.akra.be.mfa.gov.tr/images/lo … 8649b6.pdf

Gives you a list of the items needed for a Turkish visa. Doesn't show residence visas though, whether you can apply from within Turkey I don't know. There is a phone number for the Turkish consulate in Accra + 90 312 292 29 29.
Strangely this is a Ankara telephone number but I am sure it will put you through to the right place and you can ask.

Good luck