10 replies to this topic

[melekhelimoglu]

Hello everyone! My name is Angela and I have been married to a Turk for 6 years now and have resided in Oregon. We are moving to Beysehir (small city outside of Konya) in April, permanently! I am excited to finally occupy my home (which has been renovated and left empty for years) on a permanent basis and start my new life in Turkey.

I am hoping to meet other people who are in a similar situation as me. It would help me feel less isolated and more comfortable during this big transition.

I am a make-up artist by trade and my husband is an Engineer. We met while he was attending college for his masters degree in 2006. He never planned on staying here for an extended period of time until he met me Now it is time to pursue bigger and better things. Moving to Turkey is the best decision we have made. I am SO excited!!!

Angela (Melek)

[Abi]

Hi Angela and welcome to our forum. Well you have certainly got some exacting adventures in front of you and wish you and your husband many happy years living in Turkey.

Sadly we don't have any members as far as I am aware living in the area you are moving to, but will look forward to you posting about your new life there.

[sunny]

to our forum Angela. I'm sure you will find life in Beysehir very different to your life in Oregon.
Have you ever visited Beysehir prior to moving here? It's not a very big place according to web-sites, about 120,000 people although I expect the number expands as tourists visit it in the summer to see the mosque which is mentioned in travel guides.
Unless you have taken Turkish nationality you won't be able to work as a make-up artist as permission is usually restricted to jobs that Turkish people can't do, such as teaching English and tourism work.
I hope that you have learnt some Turkish as that will help you to settle in.
As Abi says , as far as we know we don't have any members living in that area so we look forward to learning more about it from you.
Good luck.

[swabs]

Hi Angela and welcome to the forum, I hope that you manage to settle in nicely. It is always hard settleing in and finding friends in a new place, thats where what sunny comes into effect, speaking as much turkish as you can really helps you settle in better.

Its great to have someone in the forum moving to an area where none of us live, i hope that your move goes nicely and you can keep us up to date with everything xx

[melekhelimoglu]

Thanks for all the kind words and comments. I have been to Turkey twice in the last 6 years. One for vacation and once to get married. Each time I spent a little over a month in Beysehir. I had my honeymoon in Cappadocia and stayed at Karlik Evi, the most amazing boutique hotel in the world. I am a Navy veteran and have traveled all throughout Asia, so adventure and new places don't scare me.

We do own a home in Beysehir that just went through a complete renovation last March. We have an unobstructed view of the lake, which is the third largest in Turkey. I am also about 2 hours from the Med. Sea. Alanya is my LEAST favorite city that I have visited, mostly because the heat and humidity bother me a lot. I prefer to go there in the winter time.

I have a very good Turkish vocabulary but, I am a shy speaker. I know what is being said (usually) which is a big help. I have a lot of advantages that most other people moving to Turkey from a different culture usually do not have. My husband has taught me SO MUCH about customs, traditions, mannerisms, and culture. I find that Turkey is much more liberal than I imagined. I am agnostic, always have been, and that has never been a problem for him or his family. His mother says she loves me more than my husband! LOL!

I am SO BLESSED to be able to experience everything in Turkey, and take my time doing it. I am really not able to express exactly how happy I am. I wanted to leave yesterday!

We had the mover guy show up today and give us a quote to move our overflow of clothes, shoes, and random toiletry items.

Sunny- Because I have been married to a Turkish citizen for more than three years and our marriage has been registered in Turkey since 2006 I am eligible to take Turkish nationality as soon as I arrive. My name is on our apartment deed so I can prove residency based on my Turkish address. (There is also a benefit of having a sister-in-law and Father-in-law who are both lawyers and can figure this stuff out for me!! ))

I am going to be bringing my cat, Mr. Fatty, with me in April. He is a Tonkinese. Here is a picture of him!

[sunny]

What a lovely cat. You seem to have it all organised. It's a pity you didn't get your Turkish nationality whilst still in the States as it usually takes about a year to get over here, give or take a few months and you will have to take a verbal language test.
Anyway, good luck and keep us posted. We enjoy hearing about people's experiences.

[Ken]

Welcome Angela! I think you'll be our only member in Konya, I seem to remember a member who was seeking an English teaching position there but I don't know if he went or not. I've only passed through there once, I hope you'll let us know about your life there. If you're into blogging, your story would certainly be an interesting one. I just wanted to say hello and give you a proper welcome.

[aderb]

Hello Angela, it seems you have everything covered for your move, I hope it all goes as planned and your life in Konya brings you all that you wish for!

[melekhelimoglu]

Hey there Ken! We have a large group of family members living in Izmir! I remember my first time in Turkey we took the 8 hour drive there to see them. I had been in Turkey for a week and somehow I was very ill during the drive... I will never forget it! I have pictures of me in the car with a bottle of pepto bismol!! My husband decided to take the mercedes for a little 160KPH joy ride down the toll highway from Isparta to Ismir... Oh my! Next time I make that journey I hope that I am healthy.

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I plan on starting a blog before I leave the USA in order to document the process. I am sure it would be helpful for those who might be planning a move like I am.

Any tips on bringing a cat over there via Lufthansa Airlines? I had to change from Turkish airlines to Lufthansa due to the 6Kg. weight limit for the cat AND the bag. Ridiculous. You would think TA would make a little bit of an exception?

[Vic801]

Welcome to the forum Angela! Konya is on the list of my must-visit places, maybe I'll get there one day! Hope you enjoy this forum.

[baykus]

Welcome to Turkey Central Angela. Good luck with the move.