Erasmus Experience in Izmir, Turkey by Miguel Angel

Why did you choose to go to Izmir, Turkey?

I decided to go to Izmir because of the great opportunity it brought to me: Living in a country with different culture, ancient history, mediterranean climate and food... Also, my spanish university's agreement offered me 9 months grant in a modern, bilingual and with good facilities university.

How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

My scholarship was 9 months duration.
By the other hand, the amount of money I received, close to 300€/month, was enough to "survive" there.
Of course you have to enjoy the city as much as you can, go to partys, or visit the more different places you can...so, it's better having (saving) more money for your month expenses.
I also recomend to you saving some extra-money for the first month, because you will have to arrange meetings, pay school or rental fees, your visa, student transport cards, and you will be quite lost (where to buy, where to go,...) and probably your money will get out of your control...

What is the student lifestyle like in Izmir?

Izmir is a young city. People there, are always hanging out in the streets, coffees, bars, the seaside, playing soccer...
The turkish people is friendly and helpful! they'll try to help you in any way they can.
Turkish lifestyle is just awesome, you can do a different thing everyday.

Would you recommend the city and the University of Izmir to other students?

Of course.
Izmir is a huge and modern city (as I remember it had close to 5 Million population). It has good transportation facilities by bus, metro or ferry. And as I said before, it's a place where you can enjoy every day in a different way.
In regard to the University, I studied in IEU (Izmir Ekonomi Universitesi: http://www.ieu.edu.tr/sanaltur/) it's bilingual (lectures are in English), modern with good facilities, classes and lecturers.

What is the food like?

Since I'm spanish I like mediterranean spanish food, but...despite of it, I think Turkish food is probably one of the bests I had tasted. I thought it would be quite weird and full of spices (actually it has a lot of spices) but it was really surprising discovering and enjoying it.

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Izmir?

My hometown university gave me the way to contact with a partner that was there one year before me.
I called him, and he gave me some Izmir contacts too in order to stay with the first days and find a sharing flat with my future Erasmus partners.
He told me that the university dormitories weren't really comfortable, people were "time-scheduled" and also separated by gender.
The first week I stayed with a turkish friend, then, with his help (for translate and negociate) I found an appartment to share with three of my erasmus partners.
So, finding an accomodation wasn't very difficult.

How much does it cost to live in Izmir?

If you are organized it's not very expensive. A big flat can be rented for 1100 turkish liras/month (550€ aprox.), so the more people you live in, the cheaper it will be...
I think my total month average expenses were close to 400-450€

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

The language isn't difficult and you can quickly get used to it. The university offers turkish lectures, so you can learn it faster.
The Izmir young people normally speaks english or another extra language too. So they can help you.

What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Izmir from your city?

By plane of course... (with one stopover minimum)
You can also try to find tickets to Istanbul and from there try to find some low cost tickets from turkish companies (pegasus airlines, sunexpress, atlasjet,...)

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Izmir?

In my opinion, Alsancak is the best place to go out, there are many discos, bars, or narguile places...and you can end your night in the seaside eating some turkish mydie, kokorec or hot dogs... Just great.

And for eating? Can you recommend some good restaurants in Izmir?

Well...It's hard to remember the restaurant names....but going to a good restaurant isn't too expensive...
there's also a website to order food that everyone uses there:
www.yemeksepeti.com

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

Efes ruins, Cesme beaches (and boat trips), Pammukale, Hierapolis,...
and in the city the districts of Inciralti, Asansor, Konak, Karsiyaka...

And visit Istanbul (flights from Izmir are really cheap!!)

Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Izmir in the future?

Enjoy it as I did.