Where to live in Türkiye
We track 12 cities in Türkiye, including Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir. Average temperatures run from 12°C to 20°C. We estimate a couple needs €2,282 to €2,624 a month to live centrally. Türkiye sits in our low to medium tax tier. For foreigners, long-term residency is possible, with conditions.
12 questions, about 4 minutes, no account needed. Taking the quiz is free, and so is seeing your #1 city. Full results for both of you are a one-time US$12 (€12 in Europe).
- Tax tier
- Low to medium
- Moderate personal income tax
- Languages
- Turkish
- Limited English
- Safety
- 60/100
- country-level
- Healthcare
- 70/100
- country-level
- Internet
- ~50 Mbps
- median fixed broadband
The 12 cities we track
| City | Size | Setting | Avg temp | Rain a year | Est. cost a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adana | large | coastal | 20°C | 685 mm | €2,448 |
| Ankara | large | inland | 13°C | 373 mm | €2,503 |
| Antalya | large | coastal | 19°C | 705 mm | €2,423 |
| Bursa | large | coastal | 15°C | 587 mm | €2,493 |
| Diyarbakır | large | inland | 17°C | 483 mm | €2,449 |
| Eskişehir | mid-sized | near the coast | 12°C | 436 mm | €2,392 |
| Gaziantep | large | near the coast | 17°C | 506 mm | €2,465 |
| Istanbul | major | coastal | 16°C | 675 mm | €2,624 |
| İzmir | large | coastal | 18°C | 671 mm | €2,488 |
| Kayseri | large | inland | 12°C | 363 mm | €2,430 |
| Konya | large | near the coast | 13°C | 462 mm | €2,429 |
| Trabzon | mid-sized | coastal | 15°C | 966 mm | €2,282 |
Source: City size from GeoNames, temperature from the Open-Meteo archive (2019 to 2023 averages), rainfall from TerraClimate (1991 to 2020 normals), coast distance from Natural Earth. Cost is our model estimate for a couple living centrally.
Taxes
Türkiye sits in our low to medium tax tier: moderate personal income tax. The tier applies to every city here, and couples who cap tax below it will not see these cities in their results.
Source: OurNextCity tax tiers, assigned by hand from each country's top marginal personal income tax rate and overall tax reputation, with no fixed rate cut-offs. Coarse by design; not tax advice.
Residency and visas
Possible, with conditions. Long-term residency is realistic either through an income-based short-term residence permit on proof of sufficient means or by purchasing qualifying real estate, with larger property investment also opening a path to citizenship.
The cheapest self-funded routes we track for Türkiye:
- Income: about $917 a month (Turkey short-term residence permit on 'sufficient means', 42,112.50 TRY/mo for a single applicant (1.5x the 2026 net minimum wage of 28,075 TRY); converted at 45.95 TRY/USD; as of June 2026)
- Investment: about $200k (Turkey residence permit via property ownership, USD 200,000 minimum nationwide (uniform threshold since 16 Oct 2023; already USD-denominated on the title deed); as of June 2026)
For short visits, 95 of 198 passports can enter visa-free, 22 can get an e-visa or visa on arrival and 81 need a visa in advance.
Source: OurNextCity residency dataset, hand-reviewed approximations researched against published immigration rules, figures as of June 2026. Not legal advice: check the official source before you apply. Short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset (ilyankou, MIT).