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BTW - I am from the UK and my wife is Indonesian. We see Turkiye as a good place to retire.

@daviddomoney

Hello David, 

It would be helpful if you provided details on what is priority to you; it’s all relative to what you desire.  I am also retired and will I be moving as well In hopefully a year.  My chosen city is Eskisehir which suits the lifestyle I am looking for:  it is a clean, well maintained progressive city with lots of parks, bike paths throughout, museums, live music events, and a very good tram system making it easy to get around.  It has 3 large universities and has a population of 870k.

So it would be helpful if you offered what you are looking for.  BTW, if you want to get a residence permit by investment, the residence you purchase must be a minimum of $200k.  Good luck in your search.

Thanks alot for the reply.

Somewhere in the mountains if possible or in an ideal world a location that has beach/mountain/forest or those near to each other that could access by hiking or bus.

Somewhere with good hospitals but will to compromise as I realize big cities have the best healthcare whereas a really unspoilt off the beaten track location would probaboly not so maybe somewhere in between.

Somewhere relaxing, reasonable healthcare, low cost of living, authentic turkish culture I guess

Eskisehir  - any beaches, forsests, mountains accessible by train/bus/hiking?

@daviddomoney

I am by no means knowledgeable of °Õü°ù°ì¾±²â±ð much (my parents were Türkish but I was born in the USA) but there are places I would suggest based on your desire for mountains/forest relaxing targets.  I looked into these when I was trying to find my destination.

1) Sapanca is a destination for Istanbul people when they want to relax and wind down.  It is about a 1.5 to 2 hour drive to Istanbul.  I considered it for myself but I wanted a colder climate and more amenities.  It has a population of about 45k people and is known for the things you are looking for.  It is roughly 20 minutes from Sakarya which has a population of a bit over 1M.  Of course, you could also consider Sakarya as well.

Websites to explore: 

2) Trabzon I have heard is a beautiful town on the Black Sea coast (Population of 1.15M) and is surrounded by breathtaking mountains and natural beauty.  I'm not very knowledgeable about the area, I'm just suggesting it as it seems to fit the bill for you.  I'd advise further research.

Websites:

And close (88km) is a small town of Gümüşhane (Population 40k) which you may consider as well.

As for Eskisehir, my mother recommended it for consideration because of what it has to offer but just as importantly, its climate is known for being cold, which was an important factor for me.  There is a reason I live in Minnesota.  I'm not sure what outdoor activities there are around Eskisehir but there are many mountains surrounding it when driving in to the city.

I hope this helps.  Hopefully there will be more members to chime in to suggest more places.  Good luck.

Thanks Gino, very helpful and some good places to research.

I believe for retirement visa only need income of around 400 usd a month?

Does Turkiye have good healthcare and can foreign retirees access that without insurance or need insurance?

@daviddomoney

There is a website which will help you navigate through all the requirements for obtaining a residence permit.  This provides good general information on residence permits.  Within the same are FAQ which may answer any questions you may have.  To apply for a residence permit, you may do so via this .

As to health insurance, you will need to purchase private insurance your first year.  You also have the option of getting government provided insurance (SGK) your second year if you choose.   I'm not aware of its current cost.   °Õü°ù°ì¾±²â±ð is ranked well in healthcare, the following website provides good insights: 

As far as income, the requirement is 1.5 the official minimum monthly wage of 22,104 TL which is 33,156 TL per person.  At the current exchange rate, it amounts to $863.  This provides more detailed information.  Or, additionally browse this website: 

Best of luck in your endeavors.  😊

Great thanks

(SGK) - is it cheap and good?

@daviddomoney

Hello, my wife and I bought a house in the mountain of Taurus in Alanya, we are literally on top of a mountain looking down the Mediterranean and the center of Alanya. We love it there, we are away from the hussle and bussle of the city but yet 15 minutes drive we can be down by the beach. Turkey is beautiful. Good luck with your adventure.

Wow sounds fantastic! Thanks

Alanya is in Antalaya?

@daviddomoney

What are the best places to retires in Turkiye?

There are many places to retirement in turkey - the main problem foreigners can not buy a property in villages, middle anatolia is best and cheapest place in turkey for retirement

Any places in mountains can recommend?

If you would like to travel and see natural places, you will have to spend almonst 2 years, because there are more than 1000 different hidden places to visit in turkey

If not open to places by beach.

I offer you- buy a small car or motorbike and travel all beach places mediterranean agean marmara and black sea, you will see amazing shore sides

What kind of amount in USD need for a property in Turkiye?

Do you mean how much you need to live or what kind of usd? Question is not undestandable

Do foreign retirees get free healthcare if not what is the cost for it?

You can not get free health or medical services in turkey - there are a few ways,

Buy a property - be turkish citizenship and every month pay about 900 lira (20 usd) for full medical services

Get medical insurance from your country, before you settle to tukey

1. Show yourself - you are working in a company, pay about 250 usd per month

Ah okay thanks will take a look. I mean to buy in USD? Ah okay is health insurance in Turkey expensive?

I do live on the coast (Alanya/Mahmutlar).

I gave my views before, Turkey is not so cheap as before, that is fine for me (or I have to accept)

Health insurance (we are 63 and 54) is not so cheap, but I have to say very acceptable and with private insurance very good treatment and attention. (for the both of us we pay EUR 250 per month) and I have to say refund for almost everything.

I just hate hospitals, but that is aside (I spent a week for lung emboly, but in case they noticed it (family)

Interesting thread though, what do you want from life, I made quite some posts on expenses and other items.

We spend EUR 2500 pm. this includes all, restaurants, smoking (3 packages per day), more then enough alcohol, ...

I am fine, I have to say no rent for us as we bought.

Interesting thanks. Are prices rising quick there from inflation?

Unfortunately, inflation is outpacing even using the US dollar as a basis, meaning that what was considered comfortable monthly budget of $1200 to $1500 about 2 years ago has now risen to roughly $1800 to $2200.

If you are bringing in USD into the country is alot of the inflation offset due to currency deflation of lira against USD?

But clearly by what you said it is still about 50% increase in terms of USD over 2 years which is concerning. Do you think over long term is alot less?

TRY on a relative basis is doing well against EUR and USD, so also in EUR things are more expensive (also in TRY for locals).

Turkey is doing quite well, but clearly not as cost-effective as a few years ago, but people are great and so is (in our area)     the infrastructure is great, health, transport, restaurants, shops, .. I have nothing to complain. But Turkey is not so cheap as in the past, we lived in many countries, prices in Turkey are the same as for example in Hungary (Hungary is has one advantage (EU/Schengen).

But Turkey (depending on the area) has a lot too offer and I wil only support people to relocate.

Nobody knows about the future.

For people to come to Turkey they should come for the right reasons, saving money is however not one of them.

Thanks interesting feedback. Any good resources to find more information?

@cdw057

I completely agree with your assessment of the great quality of life in °Õü°ù°ì¾±²â±ð.  Your acknowledgment that the cost of living has gone up everywhere is very accurate.  So, it is still cheaper to live in °Õü°ù°ì¾±²â±ð compared to a lot of places.  I am seeing it firsthand here in the USA.  Groceries, restaurants, services, cost of durable goods are significantly higher here in the USA compared to pre-covid times.  The primary reason I want to move is for the quality of life °Õü°ù°ì¾±²â±ð offers especially because of the warmth and hospitality of the people and not for economic reasons.  As a retiree here in the US, my life is stagnant and boring.  I can't wait to move.

True this is across many countries increased prices. Yeah Turkey is very appealing. I am from UK and my wife is Indonesian. We will probably retire Indonesia but are open to other locations, I think Turkey is are plan B.

However retirement is still far off so Turkey could overtake Indonesia in our thinking. Interesting UK state pension increases with inflation (based on UK inflation I believe) if retire in Turkey but not in Indonesia. Any Brits here can confirm this?

@daviddomoney

What is retirement? I went in semi-retirement at 52. Enjoy life when you can, everybody dies, go to restaurants, smoke, drink (beach swimming, swimming pool and sauna (for my wife)).

Still it costs, even if basics are also getting more expensive (much more even in EUR), for us it is fine, my health issues would exist in other countries as well (in Turkey I have to say excellent (as my experience))

Now I am almost 63, fine (record holder in family (parents, grandparents (genes)).

What is you stopping to go right now, risk, money, ..

We live (with own appartment) comfortably at EUR 2500 per month (including the above). I have no icome, just from my savings.

Coming to Turkey with less then EUR 1500 pm is a no go (very , very basic)

Honestly Turkey does not need poor pensioners.

@daviddomoney

As a side note in Turkey I do miss Indonesian, Chinese and Indian kitchen.

Turkish kitchen is great, BUT ..

Interesting, thanks.

Only 37 so some way off, good to think about these things though I guess.

Surprised no Asian food there.

@cdw057

Not to contradict your statement but if you visit TripAdvisor, you will find a good mix of international cuisine available in Alanya.  I'm not sure if they truly  serve oriental cuisine as advertised but here is what I found:

312 Bishkek Restaurant    - Chinese, Asian

Carlise Restaurant - Japanese, Pizza

Dotto Alanya    - Chinese, Japanese

Lavash Restaurant - Mediterranean, Central Asian

Rolik Alanya - Japanese, Sushi

Veinte Cafe - Asian, Indonesian

Bamboo Asian Cuisine Avsallar    - Chinese, Japanese

Restaurant Heaven    - Thai, European

Sushi-Market Alanya - Japanese, Pizza

Asalet    - Asian, Turkish

Mahsen Kitchen & Wine    - Italian, Japanese

China Royal Restaurant - Chinese, Asian

İllusion Palm Beach    - Japanese, American

Ah okay great thanks

@Gino_C

Thanks for your comment, but Alanya is 13km or so from Mahmutlar (when I lived in London it was just a 400 m walk to go to restaurants), food is important, but not at all efforts (I am not going to spend so much time in a taxi or bus)

Nevertheless, perhaps they have home deliveries, I will check it out. Thanks again for the suggestions.

Altinkum - saw this place on a video. Anyone been there and would you reccomend it?

Not including medical insurance how much you expect including rent a couple needs per month in usd to retire in Turkey?