About this site

Built by someone who actually lives here

Most expat resources about Istanbul are written by people who visited for two weeks, scraped data from other sites, or are trying to sell you something. Istanbul Expat exists because those resources kept failing the people who needed them most.

Why this site exists

Moving to Istanbul involves a hundred practical decisions that generic relocation guides don't help with. Which neighborhood actually fits how you want to live? What does a realistic monthly budget look like once you account for aidat, DASK, and a Turkish SIM?

The answers to these questions exist. They're just scattered across outdated blog posts, Facebook groups, and Word documents passed between friends. Istanbul Expat brings them together as interactive tools that give you a real answer based on your specific situation.

What makes this different

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Locally accurate

Rent data sourced from local real estate portals. Neighborhood scores based on actual local knowledge, not travel blog impressions.

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Regularly updated

Istanbul changes fast. We update prices and data periodically to reflect current reality, not last year's market.

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No data collection

Our tools run in your browser. Nothing you type into our calculators is stored or transmitted anywhere.

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Free, no sign-up

All tools are completely free to use. No email required, no account, no paywall.

Our tools

We're building a small set of focused tools covering the most common practical questions expats face when moving to or living in Istanbul.

Neighborhood Finder Answer 5 questions, get a personalized ranked list of Istanbul neighborhoods
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Expat Budget Planner Realistic monthly budget estimates including the costs most guides forget
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Salary Reality Check Find out how far your foreign salary goes in Istanbul
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A note on affiliate links

Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This is how the site stays free. We only link to services we consider genuinely useful for expats in Istanbul, and affiliate relationships never influence the outputs of our tools.

Accuracy and updates

We do our best to keep information current, but Istanbul's rental market and regulatory environment change frequently. Rent ranges are updated periodically based on Sahibinden.com listings. Always verify critical information, particularly anything related to visas, tax, or insurance, with a qualified professional or official source before making decisions.

Istanbul Expat provides general information only. Nothing on this site constitutes legal, financial, tax, or immigration advice. For decisions involving significant financial or legal consequences, please consult a qualified professional familiar with Turkish law and regulations.