IbrahimAbi

You also need original documents that prove that you have graduated from high school in your own country. Some older people find this a serious problem, particularly those from the UK, where they do not give a high school diploma as such. If you convert a foreign licence into a Turkish one (without the driving course) your original foreign licence is taken and returned to the issuing authority. I am not sure what happens if you take the driving course as US citizens are obliged to do.

The electricity meters are only read every 3 months, here the water is read every 2 months. I think the date will depend on the area you live in. We are in the country and the electricity meter tends to be read at weekend (it can even be a Sunday), April, July, October and January.

No I don't, we pay all bills by direct debit or occasionally internet banking. We pay the water bill cash to the guy who reads the meter.

Generally it is often difficult to pay with a non Turkish credit card. Even Turkish debit cards are sometimes no accepted for on-line purchases. As far as I know the PTT only accepts cash. In my opinion this is your best option until you have a bank account.

I am not from Antalya, but wonder how much you will save by paying directly to the provider. I think you may pay more in transport costs than you would in commission. After you get your account set up you can arrange direct debits from your TL current account to pay all of these. IMHO it is not worth the stress.

Presumably abandoned after commission was paid! I would either ask a neighbour who the yonetici is, and go to see them, or go back to the agent

I would not ship items of sentimental value, I would bring them with me. DHL or UPS are options, but they will only hold them for about 3 days, so best to get someone to send them to you after you arrive here. Anything you send may be liable for customs fees. I know someone who had a major hassle getting a parcel out of customs, and it was only a cheap spare part for his car.

You should have been given a key to this along with the key to your apartment door, after you signed the contract. Ask the agent or the person who gave you the apartment key to get one for you. Failing that, most apartments have a manager (or yönetici), to whom you pay the monthly maintenance fee (Aidat), they should be able to supply one. Let us know how you get on

We often have a doggy bag, generally it actually goes to the doggies. We cannot see good food go to waste. at home meals are often made from left-overs, after that the doggies hoover it up. We all need to remember that the Earth is in water crisis, and all food has taken up water as it grows, wasting food is wasting water.

There have been various real estate scams in Turkey over the years. Several foreign investors have lost their life savings. I think that people are reluctant to recommend anyone, as they would not want to feel responsible if you are cheated.

When looking at residences or sites, make sure that you ask how much the monthly fee is for cleaning of communal areas and maintenance. Obviously sites with pools will be more expensive. If renting check who is responsible for paying these fees. If you use an agent you should expect to pay 1 month rent as commission to the agent. In some areas parking is a problem, if you intend to get a car have a look at the parking situation in the evening. dedicated parking is a big plus.

I converted my UK to a Turkish one last year. they do take your UK licence and return it to the UK at the end of the process. Technically the DVLC in the UK state that you should only use a UK licence if you are living in the UK, when you move overseas then you should get a local licence. In my case it took about 7 months, as the Turkish authorities contact the DVLC in the UK for confirmation that your licence is valid and that you are still legal to drive. The instructions that I was given at the outset stated that if the proof of education submitted was from overseas then it should be authenticated by the authority in Turkey. This was not the case, they accepted it without question.

That is why we old-timers recommend everyone to rent before they buy. Every country and every town have different appeals to each individual. Sorry to hear of your disappointment. Don't let one area put you off Turkey though.

Wise is an excellent system, you know how much it will cost you upfront, and you know exactly how much you will get in TL. In my experience your money will be in your account within 2 hours. Some banks simply don't want foreign customers. In some cases they will not open accounts for specific nationalities, eg Iranians.

No, the commission is a one off for finding the property. you should expect a raise in the rent though, but it must be within the legal guidelines. There is a maximum percentage increase that is legal.

Sorry I cannot compare, I use internet banking, but not mobile, as I hate these HUGE smartphones. My wife has one, but generally, we prefer internet banking. We are more than happy with Garanti, their internet banking is more than we need, we have used it for paying bills, paying traffic fines, money transfers to pay bills, or send money to our other accounts, to receive money from, and send money to our banks in the UK. The English provision is also good.

You will find Kusadasi more relaxing than a big city like Izmir, but it will be much quieter in winter time. Izmir tends to be quieter in summer as people move out to the beach towns.

We banked with Yapi Kredi for a while, no problems, but now use Iş and Garantı banks (only because they are ın the nearest town)

We have several hundred books in English (but suitable for adults not kids), you can have what you want for free in you are able to collect. We are about 120km from Antalya. Send me a PM if you are interested.

I wouldn't expect anything to happen this week as it is Bayram. I think you will see changes in status from Monday

We have used (transfer) Wise several times over the last year. I am pleased with the clarity, they tell you what you will get, and what you will pay in commission. The money arrives as they say it will, and you can track it every step of the way. (I am transferring from a UK bank, not US). It is a bit of a fiddle to set up, but bear with it, after the initial proof of who you are, it is so simple, and relatively secure. My UK bank would want at least £25 per transaction, I pay a fraction of that with Wise, and get a good rate. The only issue though, as it has to arrive in TL, is to transfer only what you will spend in the upcoming month.

I would be wary of bundles. Years ago I signed up to a TV and internet bundle with one major company whose name begins with a 'D'. After 3 weeks they contacted me and told me that, as I was a foreigner (with residence permit), they could not activate the internet. They requested me to return the equipment (which I did, and got a signature), they would cancel the contract. They then hounded me with up to 7 different lawyers for several years because I had not made the monthly payments for the service that they had cancelled.

We have two vehicles, one a Ford (bought new), one a VW (bought second hand). I have no preferences for either. First you need to bear in mind that Road tax (bandrol) is payable twice a year, and can be expensive. It icreases (significantly with engine size and newness of the car. It is in band of 3 year. So, for a 5L engine, under 3 years, you will have to pay thousand of dollars. Service for well know makes is easily available and reasonably priced, although they do not service as they do in Europe. Oil will be changed and filters, but if you have a specific requirement eg cam belt replacement, you need to specify this, it will not be done automatically at a particular mileage point. Check whether there is an authorised dealer in your town, eg we had our eyes on a Jaguar, but Antalya 120 km away is the nearest dealer, so we let that one go. If buying second hand, I would take advantage of the new computerised check up (Expertiz), available in the industrial estates in many towns. Any more questions, then please post. If buying second hand look at prices in www.sahibinden.com to get an idea what is reasonable (but even some of these are too high). Never pay the asking price. Good luck

You do need the 11 digit TC number though, it begins with a 99 for foreigners.

Or UPS