Hello and welcome to Travel Beans. I'm Alex, this is Emma, and we are full-time travelers and digital nomads currently staying in Istanbul. If you're thinking of coming to Istanbul either for a short holiday or longer, we've got you covered.

We are leaving Istanbul very soon. It's over; get over it, because we already have. So we thought now would be the perfect opportunity to share with you all of the knowledge we have accumulated here about the cost of living and life as a digital nomad.

We have found Istanbul to be a very affordable place to live. We have stayed in a number of cities around the world, but they're not always budget-friendly. For example, Tokyo. We absolutely love Tokyo, one of our favorite places, but the whole time we're looking at our wallet, we can only ever afford maybe one Geisha.

Every time you visit a Geisha, you learn what a Geisha is or does. So there's six women, are they? They do things like tea ceremonies and stuff. Just kidding. But what we find about Istanbul is that we are able to enjoy the city to its fullest.

So we are going to break down the cost of living here in Istanbul into a few different points, and our first one is accommodation. Obviously, there are a lot of variables when it comes to choosing accommodation, depending on how comfortable or uncomfortable you want to be.

Istanbul is split into two sides. On either side of the Bosphorus, you have the European side and the Asian side. From our experience, it seems to be much cheaper to stay on the Asian side. For that reason, we would always choose to stay on this side.

For example, we are paying just over a hundred pounds a week for staying here for about seven weeks. It's easier to have much cheaper accommodation, but we have specific requirements because we're teachers online. So we need separate rooms, and we need really fast Wi-Fi.

Just looking at listings on Airbnb, it seems you can pay as little as 220 pounds for an entire month here in Istanbul, and that's in your own private place as well. We use Airbnb because we find it the most convenient. However, I'm sure that local agencies would be even cheaper.

Like most cities, the cheapest way to get around is by public transport. And when you get to Istanbul, the first thing you're going to want to do is get yourself an Istanbul card. The Istanbul card is essentially a travel card, a bit like an oyster for those of you in London, where you load up a bunch of money and you can just use that card to pay for the different transport options around the city.

You get a flat fee of 2 liras for every mode of transport. So that includes the buses, the Metro, and the ferry, which is definitely our favorite way to get around. And that is a discount compared to buying individual tickets. If you want an individual fare, you're going to be paying roughly 5 lira per ticket.

Also, if you are needing to transfer to a different mode of transport within a certain time frame, it's even cheaper than that. The more expensive option is, of course, the taxi. But we are extremely lazy, and we've been taking them everywhere. And considering Istanbul has the second worst traffic in the world, it's actually not been that bad at all, especially for short trips.

The price does seem pretty reasonable to us. It starts at 4 lira on the meter, and a 15-minute journey usually costs about 15 lira. You may have heard that taxi drivers here, like in a lot of cities around the world, like to trick people out of their money a little bit. So we would recommend downloading an app called BeTaxi. With this app, it's a little bit like Uber, but actually you're using taxis. So the meter is running like in a normal taxi. However, you have the map on the screen on the phone with an estimated fare there for you. You also have the option of paying by card, so you don't have to have cash.

Unfortunately, food here in Istanbul and Turkey in general is going to be the death of us. One of the main reasons I'm looking forward to leaving is that it is so tasty and good—the most delicious food ever. You're almost guaranteed to gain weight here. And as you are doing exercise to counteract it, you can eat on any budget here. And of course, if you shop at the local markets, it's going to be the cheapest option. But eating out is very affordable.

And also, guys, I do recommend, for fresh fruit and vegetables, going to the local markets instead of the supermarkets. The quality is unreal. Your first option for eating out is cheap street food, and it is everywhere. You've got burgers, you've got wraps, and cockroach kebabs are just a few of the things you can get here. These can be hit or miss, but when they're good, guys, that noise means it's really good.

And this is going to set you back between about 5 and 15 lira each time. Next are the mid-range restaurants. So you can expect to pay between about 15 and 40 lira for a really good-quality sit-down meal. For example, the best Chabad of my life. Oh, God, it kills me. I haven't had this again. It was less than 30

lira. Another restaurant called Sheer Safrasi was featured on Chef's Table on Netflix, which means that it's probably overpriced compared to other places of the same quality. However, we had an absolute feast there for about 100 lira. Another great food that is fantastic value for money here in Istanbul is breakfast.

The Turkish breakfast is phenomenal. It is my favorite breakfast, and all of the world's time travelers are too. So you can get a full-on Turkish breakfast for about 50 lira for two people. And then, if you're feeling a bit fancy and want to splash your cash, Istanbul has got places for you too, guys. Don't worry. You get great value for money, especially if your parents are paying for it.

We ate a ridiculously nice meze and fish dinner with wine with an incredible view of the Bosphorus and averaged out about 260 lira per person. Now, of course, you can't do this every night. Well, maybe you can, you rich bastard. But if you do splash out, you're going to get more for your money than you would in other countries.

All in all, Istanbul is a foodie's paradise. No matter what your budget, you can spend so much or so little, and whatever you get, you know it's going to be good. The biggest compliment we can give to the Turkish food is that we have basically only eaten Turkish food the whole time we've been here. And that never happens. Usually, within a week, we're reverting back to some home comforts. But this time, never. Turkey's got you covered.

On drinks too, it is the biggest consumer of tea per capita in the world. So you can easily find it everywhere, and a cup of the good stuff is going to cost you about one lira 50 upwards. And a cup of coffee, starting at around 3 lira. Fresh lemonade is also a favorite of ours here in Istanbul, which you can find everywhere. If you buy it on the street, we've seen it as low as about 8 lira for a very small cup. Or if you buy it in the cafes, it will probably be around 15 lira.

And if you like to tickle your tonsils with some alcoholic beverages, then you will definitely find it here. You might get some criticism in the comments about being an alcoholic if you like a beer every now and again. But as long as you're not filming it, you're fine. The price of alcohol is not that dissimilar to that in the UK because they have very high taxes here for it.

But a beer from a convenience store will cost you about 12 lira, and a bottle of good local wine will start at about 40 lira. In restaurants, you'd probably expect to pay around 20 to 25 lira for a beer, and maybe a bottle of wine would start out around 120 lira. But of course, that all depends on the place that you're buying it from.

Next up, we have entertainment. There is no shortage of things to do here in Istanbul. Entrance fees for the typical tourist sights range from being completely free up to about 80 lira. Something we highly recommend on a budget is 425 lira. You can take a four-day Bosphorus cruise up towards the Black Sea.

We did this with Alex's parents when they came to visit us, and it is still one of the highlights of our trip so far. Another thing we love to do on our travels is go to the cinema, and here it is about 30 lira for a ticket. And that is actually an expensive cinema. It can be a lot less.

And I think we paid about 40 lira to go to the IMAX. But our personal favorite things to do in Istanbul are actually completely free. We like to just wander around the neighborhoods and soak up the city. Two of our favorite neighborhoods that we highly recommend you guys go and check out are Moda and Chris Gunn. Check in with Kursk and Chuck.

The streets are extremely beautiful. It's an Instagram paradise. And if you decide to make a cringy music video, it's the perfect place for you. Next up is safety. We can ask this question a lot. People always ask, "Is Turkey safe?" Categorically, it's extremely safe.

And actually, when you come here, you will be surprised that people even ask this question. Like any city, you have to take precautions so that you don't get pickpocketed in the busy areas and you don't get scammed. But other than that, we have felt extremely safe walking around at night. We have had absolutely no issues here whatsoever.

Lastly, we just want to talk about Istanbul from the point of view of a digital nomad or someone who's planning to stay here longer as a base. Istanbul has got to be one of the best locations in the world. You have Europe, Asia, and Africa basically on your doorstep. And for less than a hundred pounds, you can fly to so many countries.

Also, the flights around Turkey itself are pretty cheap. If you have a look at Skyscanner, you can see flights through every corner of Turkey for less than about sixty pounds. One thing that might be worth noting, especially for the digital nomads out there, is the cost of electronics in Turkey.

I know that Alex and I sometimes, when we stop somewhere for a period of time, look into replacing some of our electronics that have had a bit of wear and tear. This is not the place to do that. Due to taxes, a lot of electronics are a little bit more expensive here than in other places, like London, for example.

In England, we can get a GoPro 7 for 329 pounds. Here, it costs about 450 pounds to buy the same device. There are also an abundance of cafes and workspaces around Istanbul, many of which offer free Wi-Fi, which are the perfect places to get your work done.

Also, in the apartments, you can get very good Wi-Fi speeds, which would be good enough for any kind of video conference, like accessing emails or teaching like we do. Also, on a side note, data is not so expensive here, and getting a local SIM card is a great option.

The most convenient way to do this is to get one at the airport, but it's about double the price of what you'd pay at a local store for the same SIM card. However, the process of getting one is fairly straightforward and definitely good as a backup option. We feel that Istanbul is the ideal place for digital nomads to stay because of the geography, the cost of living, and just the lifestyle that you can actually have here.

All of those things put together make it one of our top choices for digital nomads. Lastly, we would like to give a huge shout out to the sponsors of today's video, SafetyWing. SafetyWing is a travel medical insurance company aimed specifically at nomads.

Some of the reasons we love these guys are, firstly, their flexibility. You know how much we value flexibility in our lives, and they offer a fully flexible plan, a bit like Netflix, but you can cancel at any time. A huge plus for us is that you can buy this when you're abroad. Once you've left your home country, obtaining insurance becomes a crucial consideration, and Safety Wing offers a solution without the hassle. Their coverage, priced at just $37 for four weeks of worldwide protection (excluding the U.S.), provides excellent value for money. Moreover, for an additional fee, they extend coverage to include trips to the U.S. Another perk of Safety Wing is that visits back home are covered, alleviating concerns about holiday travel. They operate on a flexible system where for every 90 days spent abroad, you're entitled to 30 days of coverage in your home country, with 15 days covered if you're from the U.S. Interested individuals can find more information through the affiliate link provided in the description, supporting the content creators without incurring any extra cost. Viewers are encouraged to share their own travel tips and resources in the comments and join the community on Facebook for further insights. Donations are also welcomed, and if you enjoyed the video, giving it a thumbs up and subscribing is appreciated.

The Beehiiv newsletter offers a comprehensive solution for businesses seeking to streamline their marketing efforts. By utilizing Beehiiv, you can effectively manage tasks, projects, and communications all within one platform. With features like calendar views for visualizing deliverables, integration with Gmail for seamless communication, and customizable templates for increased efficiency, Beehiiv enhances productivity and collaboration within your team. Additionally, Beehiiv's 14-day free trial allows you to experience its benefits firsthand, making it a valuable tool for businesses looking to optimize their marketing strategies.

Transform your marketing game with GetResponse, the ultimate all-in-one platform designed to supercharge your business growth. Say hello to seamless email marketing, powerful automation, high-converting landing pages, and insightful analytics, all in one place. With GetResponse, you'll unlock the tools you need to engage your audience, nurture leads, and drive conversions like never before. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or just starting out, GetResponse offers intuitive features and expert guidance to help you succeed. Don't just reach your goals; surpass them with GetResponse and take your business to new heights.

The best of everything...

I am on a mission to help 10 million people with useful and good content through my newsletters. Here is the link to my newsletters. Please subscribe to my newsletters. https://www.beehiiv.com/?via=Ark

If you've been finding my content helpful, I would appreciate any amount you choose to give! My favourite kind of coffee is decaf lattes (I'm very sensitive to caffeine and get jittery), so that's what I'll be ordering with your donation!

Thank you so much for your support ❤️️. It means the world to me. Ark09 is Best of everything...