Experience in Istanbul, Turkey by Berkay

What is it like to live in Istanbul? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

Istanbul is a fantastic city. There are a lot of things that you can try and enjoy. Bosphorus bridge view, historical places, cultural foods, Turkish drinks etc.. If you go to Istanbul for erasmus, you will try and see all of this them. My special advice is "rakı" for you. You can drink rakı with fish, white cheese and fruit. Warning: please don't forget to put water on the rakı:)

What is the student lifestyle like in Istanbul?

Istanbul is huge city and very crowded. Approximately 20 million people living in Istanbul and a large of population is student. Traffic is very important trouble in Istanbul. If you want to make plan for night, you must think traffic and far from your location. Turkish people are so helpful. If you want to know about city or other requested, you can contact with them and give their advices..

How much does it cost to live in Istanbul?

The currency is Turkish Lira in Turkey and when you arrive in Istanbul, you will use the Turkish Lira as you know. 1 euro is instead of approximately 3 Turkish Lira.(04.07.2015 1 euro=2,97 TRY). The beer is 4,5 TRY in the market(50cl Tuborg,Efes), ın bar or pub the prices are difference but you can think generally 8-10 TRY. The most important thing to live in Istanbul is accommodation. If you want to live in city center and a lot of things in home, you will probably pay 400-500 euros.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Istanbul? Is there any advice you can give?

To be honest, it is not difficult to find accommodation in Istanbul. There are a lot of places to live in Istanbul(Kadiköy,Bostanbı,Taksim,Beşiktaş etc), and also a lot of students so the point that is your University location and your characteristic features. If you want to enjoy all night you can choice to Taksim. There are hundreds of pubs and bars in Taksim but it will not cheap for you. Please remember, ıf you stay in Kadikoy, you can go 30-40 minutes to Taksim. My advice to give you is Beşiktaş. There is very historical places and ıt has got many universities so there are a lot of students to live in Beşiktaş. You can go to Taksim 10 minutes and the other places to easily.

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

In Istanbul, you can easily find the other countries food cultures. You can try to eat Turkish Kebab and Doner. They are very delicious.

What places would you recommend visiting in Istanbul?

Topkapı, Karaköy, Eminönü, Sultanahmet.. They are historical places in Istanbul and you can find a lot of museums.

Is it good to eat out in Istanbul? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

Yes, it is good idea for you to eat out in Istanbul but the prices are not cheap for students. You can eat fish in Nevizade with rakı. Also in Ortaköy, Kadiköy and Beşiktaş has got a lot of restaurants to eat out ın Istanbul.

Is the nightlife good in Istanbul? Where is good to go?

Nightlife in Istanbul is not good, perfect! Taksim is the center of nightlife in Istanbul. There are a lot of pubs and bars in Taksim. Also you can enjoy in Kadiköy and Ortaköy.

What advice would you give future students heading to Istanbul?

If you think to go Istanbul and other cities, you can stop thinking. Istanbul is the perfect option for students. You can find helpful people, a lot of students, interesting food and drink culture and..
Not enough to describe with words..

"If the world is a country, its capital would be Istanbul." Napolyon Bonapart.