Are these good prices for everyday goods?

Hello Samza83!

I hope that other members will help you soon, and that you will be given some advice.

Harmonie.

well, the prices r not bad. however if u want to make it as little as possible, im payin around 48 lira for my internet. limitless n im pretty much happy with my speed. digiturk is useless, forget it. u can have the cable tv. it has some british channels, some german n french too. well at least u can watch the news in english n even catch some nice shows or movies.

about the fone using, definitely get a pay as u go one. i'd suggest u to have vodafone since its an international company n has lots of advantages for calling abroad or texting. so u can call home or something.

but umm. 750 dollars budget is almost impossible in Istanbul. unless the renting costs and electricity/natural gas bills are not included in it lol

Thanks ArvitA.

Rent is not included in that 750USD budget. I can't quite figure out how much electricity/utilities are going to cost, might you have an idea?

A 1,300 Lira Budget isn't enough?

Thanks

Samza

well if the rent isnt included, then its fine.
about the bills umm lets see. electricity bills wud be like 30-40 lira. natural gas 60-80 lira. water 20-30 lira. depends on how much ur using that stuff. transportation is an issue in a huge city like istanbul. u will probably pay a lot for it if wer u will be living is far from ur work place. but i cant really give u an idea about it without knowing wer u will live.
then umm. wud u go out often n go to clubs or stuff?
otherwise if u have a calm simple life, i think 1300 lira might be enuf

if you can spend and take a control expenses maybe it s enough. but you need home-friend for share expenses then enough..

Thanks guys this does help:)

I don't believe I will be able to get a roomate, probably per the terms of my lease.

I am pretty frugal here even in the US hehe and want to try and be so there but there's only so much one can plan for.

Thanks again Samza83

well an australian friend of mine was just here a few days ago. n she found the prices here completely cheap. she kept laughin everytime she paid for somethin. so, compared to australia especially, or even ur home the US, everything is pretty much cheaper. that shud make u happy

dont worry samza you can live in istanbul with 750 usd. but with economy mode.. cheap home or room enough for you maybe...

Welcome!

Here's what we pay or have discovered:

Internet with Grid Telekom 10 mb per second: 59 tl/month

Water and electricity really varies month to month for us, but not too expensive. We recently got ceiling fans installed and they've been a lifesaver for the summer heat. They help create a really good cross breeze in our apartment.

Cable: We've lived here a year now without ever buying a TV. I don't miss it. We sometimes watch a show or movie through Itunes or cucirca.com. I figured the cost of buying a new TV plus paying for cable wasn't necessary. Save the money to travel instead!

For groceries, definitely try to shop at one of the weekly pazars around the city for best prices and selection. I'm still amazed by how cheap produce is and how wonderful it tastes here.

Cheers!

Thanks for all the advice everyone. This might sound like a dumb question but are the food pazars open everyday or just certain days of the week?

The pazars are located at different areas around the city. Do you know where you'll be living yet? These are the ones I go to, but there are others around the city too.

I often frequent:
Tuesday - 4Levent or Kadikoy on the Asian side
Thursday - Ulus
Saturday - Besiktas - this is a large one and has a ton of vendors!
Sunday - there is one down off Tarlabasha, but I haven't been to this one yet.

i'd recommend getting a pay as u go deal and using Skype or similar for calls abroad. also a small note; although Vodafone is international, their website doesnt have anything in English, Turkcell has at least part of the site in English. this is, if you get a 200sms package for 5tl or something, the website is a nice help, but not a big deal of course.

also maybe forget tv/caböe if you are frugal and depend on internet. the 10mb/59tl is not available nearly everywhere in the city btw, so you might possibly have to get the 50-70tl 1-2mb connection. getting it through the landlord (as i understood u have the option now) might be a good deal because running around in the shops and calling TTnet if you dont speak turkish can be hell!!

Hello,

80 lira for internet is really expensive i think. If you live in a place that has infrastructure, ı suggest you to have Superonline fiber internet. I dont suggest Türk Telekom internet and phone. Some of people dont use home phone, they just use mobile becase there is only Turk TElekom on that and you have to at least around 20 lira per month as tax. And if you use superonline, you wont need a phone to setup connect internet.

There are 3 operators Avea Vodafone Turkcell. I suggest Turkcell or Vodafone. Vodafone has some price list in that can be spoken cheaper to abroad.

For getting food, no need to go pazar. There are a lot of shopping centers like Carrefour Uyum Bim those sell as cheap and as fresh as pazars.

And if you will buy digiturk, no need to cable tv. In fact, no need cable tv. If you will cable tv, you can purchase also cable internet that is the cheapest and maybe worst.

I lived in Istanbul on 800TL a month and with no problems.  I had a 2 bedroom apartment that was new.  This was also with a family of 4 with 2 teenage boys.  I am using UYUDU NET it is fantastic - paying 38lira a month for very high speed internet and that price also includes a fairly good cable tv service.

Simcha wrote:

I lived in Istanbul on 800TL a month and with no problems.  I had a 2 bedroom apartment that was new.  This was also with a family of 4 with 2 teenage boys.  I am using UYUDU NET it is fantastic - paying 38lira a month for very high speed internet and that price also includes a fairly good cable tv service.

Wow that's pretty amazing, I converted that back and that's around 470 dollars a month. Really? What's your secret. I am into frugal living and not paying full price for anything but that's pretty amazing.

No secret just buying smartly and not wasting what you get. I bought everything at the pazar and buy on sale.  We didnt eat alot of red meat as that was 30tl a kilo so if you want to eat meat add another 20tl to that a week. But we ate fish and chicken.  We also went to the occasional restaurant on that as well.  Not your 5 star ones but the local workers kind where you can get soup, salad, main and a desert all fo 5 lira.  I am now in Gaziantep where everything is cheaper and we are living on about the same amount of money.  Our money here can buy alot more especailly now since everything is in season.  Good luck.

thats amazing. I also got an offer but 1000 TL per month to live in Istanbul with family of 3. I want to ask whether 850 TL include price for accomodation as well? or you just spent that on food and transportation.