Spending on the “essentials” in Turkey, if you come there to live, and not rest on “all inclusive”, will amount to about 70 thousand rubles a month, and from some prices “eyes climb on the forehead,” he said on his channel in Yandex. Zen is a Russian blogger living in Turkey. At the same time, he presented the current prices – for April 2022. And this despite the fact that, as the author of the blog noted, “the rate of the Turkish lira returned to normal”: “When we arrived, the rate was 10 rubles per lira, now on average you can change from 6-7 rubles.”
More he presented his list of necessities that will have to be spent in Turkey – those that he included in his minimum list:
- Cellular: 280 lira per SIM card, with 200 lira being a tourist tax for those who do not have a residence permit. Moreover, only 20 GB of Internet for a month and no “unlimited”, “Internet is expensive and slow.” Moreover, if you do not register your (foreign) phone within 120 days, then the smartphone will stop working with Turkish SIM cards. He recommends two ways for tourists – either to buy a cheap smartphone in Turkey, or to register your own officially – this will cost at least 12.6 thousand rubles in tax.
- Housing: those times when it was cheaper in Turkey have passed with an influx of those who want to “escape” to Turkey. The previous prices, when in Alanya “it was possible to rent an apartment 1 + 1 or 2 + 1 (Euro two-room apartment, euro three-room apartment) with a good repair and not far from the sea for 2-3 thousand liras (15-20 thousand rubles)” soared 2-3 times . Supply is limited and demand is huge.
- Utilities: “the amount of the bill depends on you,” the blogger assures, and tells the following. “We lived for a month, saving a lot (they didn’t run air conditioners for heat, they only heated the room in the evening in very cold weather), because they scared us with huge tariffs. As a result, we paid 200 lira (1,500 ₽) for electricity and water, but our friends “heated” constantly and they got 1,900 lire (13,300 ₽)”
- Food: the tourist was “stunned” by the prices of beef – they are from 111-275 liras (777-1900 rubles/kg). “This is some kind of space! And lamb is even more expensive, ”the blogger is indignant. Eggs are not cheap – 180 rubles, sunflower oil and sausage. But “the prices for fruits and vegetables were very pleased and even pleasantly surprised”: apples and oranges for 17-35 rubles. kg, cucumber-tomatoes 50-70 each, etc. “Food in the bazaar is undeniably cheap, even if multiplied by 10 rubles – this is the rate at which we changed money at the beginning. On the market, we leave an average of 200 lira (1400₽) which is just vegetables and fruits for a week,” the blogger says.
- Household chemicals + appliances. “At first, my wife and I were shocked when we saw toothpaste for 50 lira, deodorant for 30-40 lira, etc. We simply multiplied by 10. When the exchange rate became less, it was already more pleasant to look at the price tags,” the blogger said, adding that “some positions” in Turkey are still cheaper. “But household appliances are quite expensive. The cheapest washing machine costs 4,200 lire = 29,000 ₽,” he added.
- Entertainment. “On average, prices in local cafes start from 40 liras per dish (for example, Adana kebab, served with rice or bulgur, sauces and bread, cost from 45 to 55 liras in different establishments). The average check is 100 lire (700 rubles),” the blogger said.
- Transport. “Gasoline here really infuriates with its prices! Because here he jumps back and forth from 18 to 22 lira per liter (from 130 rubles per liter). Let's say a full tank of 50 liters will cost you about 1000 lire (7000₽). And when we first arrived and the lira was 10 rubles each, we filled up a full tank for 10,000 rubles,” he said. You will also need insurance for your car. “And do not forget that there are many toll roads. From Alanya to Istanbul there was one paid section in front of Istanbul. They gave 210 lire to drive over the bridge,” the blogger said indignantly. As for public transport, the bus fare here costs 9 lire (63₽). Bicycle from 25 to 50 per day (from 140₽ per day).
“In total, to come, just live without a “golden card”: buy only the necessary products (we put in 600 lira a week and I do not include sweets like baklava, Turkish delight, etc.), once fill a tank of 50 liters per 1000 lira, walk 1 once a week in a cafe (400 lire/month) and have paid housing, you need to pay: 64,600 rubles, ”said the blogger. At the same time, he stressed that the amount does not include the cost of travel, insurance and obtaining a residence permit. At the same time, in reality, according to him, more money is spent – a month cost them more than 200 thousand rubles, although initially they planned to spend only 70 thousand.
“It is always very difficult to save in a new country, because that you still don’t know the place, you don’t know the price yet, the variety of new things is amazing and you want to try everything, visit different places – tourist and not so much,” the blogger added.
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