what to prepare for the move and what you need to know in advance about the country
Like many in the current situation, I decided to temporarily leave Russia and wait out the storm in one of the countries accessible to Russians. The choice of country fell on Turkey. Unfortunately, it is difficult to talk about all the features of relocation and life in Turkey in one article (it would be a very long article). Moreover, many problems have to be solved on the go (for example, transferring money from Russia and opening an account) and this takes some time. Therefore, I have prepared a series of several articles about various tricks and useful information about moving and living in the country, which I will add to as new information becomes available. In the first article, I will present the most basic information that is needed when arriving in the country. In subsequent articles, I will cover some topics in more detail. So who is interested, I ask under the cat.
Country selection
I myself am from Yekaterinburg and I have experience of living in another country (seven years in the Czech Republic). Therefore, relocation is not something completely new for me, but it was the first time in such extreme circumstances.
Why Turkey? Now there are not many countries that let Russians in without a visa. Among them are Serbia, Turkey, Montenegro, Georgia, Armenia. The decision popped into my head quite spontaneously as several colleagues from my company decided to move here. One colleague has already been living in Istanbul for half a year.
I was looking for air tickets in a very short time. The tickets were exorbitantly priced. I considered any options through various cities (Astana, Bishkek, Moscow). As a result, I found a ticket from Moscow through Antalya by Pegasius.
My advice is to be very careful when buying connecting flights operated by a low-cost airline, especially a Turkish one. My luggage upon arrival in Istanbul was searched for a long time, I lost an hour and a half on this.
If we talk about crossing the border, then I was asked almost nothing at passport control. When did you buy the ticket? Am I flying as a tourist? And quietly missed.
Money and currency
The currency of Turkey is the Turkish lira. Turkish lira exchange rate: 1 TRY = 3.39 RUB (source). The lira has been fluctuating a lot lately.
As many people know recently, the MIR card does not work in Turkey. I made a map very badly just before the trip and my map immediately turned into a pumpkin. You need to take cash in euros or dollars with you. It is difficult to estimate the approximate amount if you are flying for the first time. I exchanged rubles for 2700 euros. I exchanged part of the currency at the Antalya airport.
Surprisingly, the Turks are calm about international currencies. Probably affected by the tourist popularity of the country and a large number of foreigners. As my experience has shown, Turks in restaurants can accept euros for payment and even exchange euros for lira.
In the center of Istanbul, I exchanged 100 euros for 1770 Turkish liras, 500 euros for 8850 liras.
mobile connection
It is better to organize mobile communications in the country in the very first days. I had to buy a SIM card because there is a free Wi-Fi network at the airport, but its use is limited to 30 minutes and I have to register at a special machine.
There was a huge queue for this kiosk. For registration, it was necessary to make a spread with the name of the passport through a special sensor. The sensor worked very badly, so each person tried different interface languages (and sometimes it helped).
Now about mobile operators. There are several mobile operators in Turkey: Turkcell, Vodafone, Turk Telecom. Turkcell was advised to me, so I bought it. Purchase includes 50 GB internet package
I purchased a tourist SIM card Tourist Welcome Pack SIM card (unfortunately I don’t remember the price). The first month of use includes 20GB. I was offered to buy more data, but I categorically refused. For more information about Internet packages, see here.
I buy a sim card
In addition, you will need a SIM card later to issue a Turkish TIN. Without a TIN, it will not be possible to open an account in a Turkish bank.
That’s all for now. Good luck and easy moving!
PS. I ask you to treat my style of presentation and the completeness of the information prudently. I would like my articles to provide important information for making a decision to move and to avoid my mistakes. Thank you for understanding!
PS 1. Please do not downvote. It is not easy to write a good article.
