Living Expenses in Turkey
A fund of EUR 500 a month is enough for any international student to live in Turkey during the period of studying, and this amount of money can be suitable when we think about other destinations around the world where life expenses are much more costly.
International students studying in Turkish universities have good discounts at restaurants, public transport, museums; theatres... so international students must hold their IDs to show to cashiers.
Books and administrative fees are almost EUR 180 for each term. Keep in mind that these figures depend on students’ different locations, lifestyles and the course’ degree a student is involved in.
Surely, life expenses in Istanbul is more expensive than other cities in Turkey, and standards of living play a great role in having different lifestyles and locations; the suburbs of Istanbul’s living expenses are less expensive than in downtown, so international students must be clever enough to stick to their budget to find a convenient place to live in.
Though Istanbul is a very big city, it is difficult to find a good job for international students as it has about 5 million people making it a very hard in looking for a suitable job, although lots of opportunities are in place.
$500 is not enough as a wage in Turkey, because after paying for insurance and taxes, the wage’s net will stand at $400, and this amount of money is not enough for an ordinary person to live decently in Istanbul, but for international students, be careful, this amount is ever sufficient if a foreign student has a good management in spending every penny.
Studying at Turkish universities using English as the main means of language, for instance, is more expensive than using Turkish as the main means of language. The costs of the first are from $ 700 – 1700, and the latter from $300 – 800.
Anywhere else in the whole world, living in cities needs much more money especially for international students, and in Turkey, Istanbul is believed to be the most expensive city. The city is a centre of businesses, tourism, economics and entertainments... The rents of different facilities are increasing from time to time such as the costs of transport, food, nightlife, restaurants....
On the other hand, the most affordable cities in Turkey to live in for international students are: Sanliurfa, Kayseri, Mersin, Konya, Iskenderun, and Hatay where foreign students would find an impressing environment and cheap living standards, but very far are these cities from the capital.