What does Istanbul have to offer for digital nomads and remote workers wanting to based themselves in Asia?
Istanbul is one of the major cities of Turkey, having significance historically and culturally. The city straddles between Europe and Asia across the Bosphorous strait. The Asian side of Istanbul is rich for its culture and history having imprints of Roman, Ottoman Empires, while in the European side of Istanbul the style of architect and construction is legendary. So one would find a blend of culture not only in the city but also within the life style, construction and food. Hence, the city is fraught with lots of attractions to offer to its visitors and nomads.
With nexus to the lifestyle of a digital nomads, most people choose this type of lifestyle because they want to experience different cultures, lifestyle and socializing with different types of people. Moreover, this type of lifestyle not only broadens their horizon, but also gives and exposure to different life styles. Most of the digital nomads would be of the opinion that each country differs from other, so before visiting each country, an extensive research must be done. With this perspective, let’s look at the life of a digital Nomad in Istanbul, Turkey.
What does the city of Istanbul offer Digital Nomads and Remote Workers?
Istanbul, being the city with cultural, historical and ancient times is full of diverse forms of life. For centuries it had remained a hub of Muslim education, culture and politics.
So there are imprints of different Empires on the city which are reflected from its historical buildings like Hegia Sophia and mansions of Sultans of Ottoman Empire.
The splendid night views of Bosphorus river, and the glorious Asian neighbourhoods and definitely a worth experiencing thing, which only Istanbul can offer to its visitors.
Hence, the city allows you to be whatever you want, either European or Asian. Most people find Istanbul to be second home due to its this trait of acceptance to the new ones as well.
What is the cost of living in Istanbul?
The city of Istanbul is split into two continents i.e, Asia and Europe, each supporting diverse form of lifestyle, food, construction and culture. The currency is Turkish Lira, but the Asian side of Istanbul is considered to be more affordable and less costly, as compared to European side of the city. Therefore, one can assume that the average cost of living for any digital nomad belonging to European country or having earning in the currency higher than Turkish Lira could live quite comfortably.
Accommodation
The home rental prices vary from area to area and neighbourhoods. On average, a 100 m² home rental price in Istanbul range between 1800- 2000 TL in an Asian neighbourhood, while a less furnished accommodation in less known neighbourhood would cost around 1000- 1300 TL.
Though natives of Istanbul are of the view that it is considered to be one of the most expensive cities of Turkey as compared to Ankara, Izmir and Antalya, but for the nomads and tourists from Europe, having economy higher than Turkey find it to be quite affordable. One of the reason of being expensive is the highest number of tourists visiting this city every year due to its major trait of being a blend of Europe and Asia.
Food
Eating is less expensive with a variety and number of dishes from both Asian and European culture. One time meal at a less expensive restaurant would cost around 25 – 30 TL. The prices of beverages and alcohol are high, because Turkey is an Islamic country and it does not promotes alcohol consumption openly.
Turkey is known for its highest per capita tea consumption in the world. The reason to it is that, in almost all cities of Turkey, there are tea bars everywhere, where people sit for hours and socialize with each other unlike the cafe’s and bars in European countries.
Other famous eateries of the city of Istanbul include Çiya Kebab, and best ice cream by Ali Usta, both of which costs less than $10 USD.
Transportation
Apart from major historical worthiness, Istanbul is the metropolitan city. So there is an organized network of transportation for its commuters and means of transportation include ferry boats, metro bus service and taxi as well. Metro is considered to be the easiest source of commuting, as it only needs a card, which one has to make in order to avail public transport service. For aesthetic pleasure, one can also experience a trip to Bosphorus River via ferry or cruise which only costs 25 TL or $4.30 USD.
What to expect from the Digital Nomad community of Istanbul?
Though, most nomads would find language as a barrier of communication with natives, because most people don’t use English as a medium of conveying of their message. But still, the people of Turkey are super friendly towards tourists and nomads.
Moreover, there are regular community meet up events organized at different co working spaces along with Happy hours. Another way of socializing with the people are the tea bars, where people purposefully sit for hours to socialize with each other.
There is a community of over 50,000 of nomads which collaborative and supportive in case of any problem. The other easiest source to get in touch with the nomad community is through different groups on social media applications like Facebook.
What are the co-working space options available in Istanbul?
Like other peculiar digital nomad cities, in Istanbul too, there are co working spaces, which offer different facilities like high speed inter net, free vouchers for visitors, meeting rooms and much more as per the demands of its users. Some of the top rated co working spaces of Istanbul include Impact Hub, Workhaus etc. The charges of these spaces vary as per services like, the charges for a fixed desk for a single person range between 1000 – 1100 TL/month.
Conclusion
So what does Istanbul ultimately offer?
In a nutshell, Istanbul, Turkey has the chaos of Asia with culturally rich past and modern style of life style in it. It can offer a comely inter fusion of two continents and which is the best feature about this city.