DaveH

We have welsh friends who bought an apartment in Callis a year ago and who `sold up` in Wales and live in Callis permanently now.
We have personally always had our doubts about such a venture... our personal future goal ( we also own an apartment )is to not sell up in England EVER , but to eventually visit Turkey more in the future years hopefully in the spring time and Autumn months.
However it appears that our friends, who had always enjoyed their holidays in Turkey, are now deeply regretting their permanent move.
As we have always thought,it may, for some, not be ` living the dream` but can turn out `killing the dream` !
we personally like the holiday feel about Turkey when we visit our apartment, we look forward to the sunshine / wining / dining / seeing our english and turkish friends, then going home, to look forward to all that later again in the year. That scenario, for us, is the best .Living there permanently ? Nope.
Our friends who now live there permanently are ` bored with all the sunshine,finding it too unbearable during july and august,and the novelty of sunbathing etc gone,they seldom even dip in their pool ,they seldom go out to restaurants/ bars etc, because its `not the same feel, when your on holiday there, they find they have nothing, or very little to do during their days
( both of retiring age )they are extremly bored during the winter months when everything closes down, missing their grandchildren, UK TV programmes ,worrying about the future `health wise` with possible high turkish medical costs etc if ... and we are all getting older, their health deteriorates. Also they are relying on the high ( at the moment) Bank interest rates in Turkey for some of their finances, and getting depressed at the thought of the predicted threat of the rate coming down to single figures by 2006 !! and totally regretting `burning their bridges back in Wales. Stuck in a very unpleasant trap, and as we all know... cant sell up in Turkey until a minumum of 5 years has elapsed if they wanted to go back to Wales being a lot worse off financially whatever their turkish property sells for.What a mess they are in. Why oh why didn`t they research everything first.
Holidaying in Turkey ( or anywhere ) is one thing.... but when you live there , for some it seems it `kills the dream` instead of the expression `lives the dream` we tried a year ago to tell them,and warned them of this possible scenario, but they naively didn`t listen and now deeply regret everything.
A warning for others possibly ? Are there many others in Callis or anywhere feeling that way yet I wonder ?
A lesson to be learned..... be warned folks.



Topic

KayaKoyuOldBoy

We're living the dream! Problem Yok!

alain01

You're so right Dave, I have lived abroad twice (working) and it is completely different to holidaying.I would like to do it again but not without having a base here to cool down during the Brit summer.By the time my fourth summer came round in Cyprus I was hiding from the sun.Still swam a lot as you need to...not much problem with eating out as it super for grub there..I don't want to put anyone off, that is not the idea..but you have to think about more than just getting a place in the sun..I think that is maybe why a lot of peeps still opt for timeshare...Alan.

mushtaq

A very good point, but different people have different needs, my plan is to spend more time in Turkey, but still keep a base here in the UK.

Gail

Dave thank you for that, we also know of a Geordie couple who have moved out to Turgutreis and he loves it and she doesn't, she said she misses her family too much so they are now trying to sell their house to move back to the UK. We have lots and lots of friends who have moved to Turkey and sold their property over here and they tell us they are the happiest they have ever been.
We are planning to move over there permanantely and I can hardly wait, we have lived abroad before and loved it and we are hoping that when we eventually go we will be able to persue our hobbies more as we just don't get the time over here.

Gail

Lindy

A very interesting topic Dave and moving abroad is certainly not something that should be taken lightly. You see couples on these 'Place in the Sun' and 'Re-location' programmes contemplating moves to places they have never even been to [:0] Something that i just can't understand.

For oursleves, living abroad is something both of us have always wanted to do, both independantly before we met and now together as we share the same dream. It has only been our careers and pension schemes that have held us back but, all being well, our dream is now less than 18 months away

It was only recently that we decided upon Turkey, having visited on numerous occasions over a number of years and made many Turkish friends. For us, it was not so much about the place but more the people, culture and values etc. which we know will suit us and that we will be able to fit in with.

I think a big thing many people miss are their family, friends and a social life. It must be difficult to move to a country knowing no-one, lacking the language skills etc. and I can impagine would be a very lonely existance.

When we decided upon Turkey being our future home, we visited in the winter months (we have done so twice now) and also visted a bigger city to experience the people in another area of Turkey i.e. not just a holiday resort. We were reassured on both counts and in fact surprised ourselves by loving the place more in the winter than in summer i.e. we loved the tranquility, different pace of life and being able to spend quality time with people. By doing this we have also experienced the worst of the weather i.e. torrential rain for 6 out of 7 days and this still didn't put us off.

I would advise anyone to do the same, as there is a stark difference to a place in and out of season. We also don't want to move to 'little England' as so many ex pats seem to want to do. Whilst having some English friends and neighbours will be OK - we predominately want to mix with Turkish people and integrate ourselves into the culture etc. - when in Rome .... or in this case Turkey [8D]

mushtaq

I think having an internet connection when you move there helps a lot, as you can still contact friends and family and keep up with news and events in your old country.

Gail

Yep, I agree Mushtaq. Linda made a very good point about going there in the winter as we will be spending 50% of our time in the winter months! We have been 3 times in the winter and we love it, we both enjoy it more as our Turkish friends have time off so we can actually spend more time with them. I'm sure the majority of people settle into their new lives with little problems but I do feel for the people who don't.

Gail

peter the postie

Ideally we will be working towards 6 months in Turkey and 6 months in the UK to start with. We would see how we feel after doing that.