Kalkan Turkey Forum - EnjoyKalkan.com
Kalkan Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: tinks on October 10, 2008, 08:53:11 PM
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Hi,
I''d love to know what life''s like for those who live in kalkan
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Hi
Myself and my family have been living out here for 10 months. Before that we came out for holidays. To live here is a totally different experience than a holiday or just coming out a couple of times a year to your holiday home etc. You experience Kalkan warts and all when you live here full time. (the list is long) I look back to my holidays here and compare them to the experience of living here now and it feels like a totally different place to be. This is not necessarily a negative feeling but just ''very'' different, and you get to see the bigger picture once you live out here. Its not all ''hearts and flowers'' out here like some people (mainly non residents) try to suggest. Fortunately for us we don''t live in the centre of Kalkan and live in Akbel which for me is ''real turkey''. Kalkan is a 6 month resort catering for tourists and is a ghost town in the winter (which I personally prefer). The best people to speak to for advice and the real picture are the ''Permanent residents'' unfortunately you won''t find too many of them using this site.
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Life is quite easy in Kalkan not sure about Akbel bit like Texas up there.
There may seem very little to do and if you like golf, bowling, bingo, the pictures , a curry, Chinese, or big mac your in a spot of bother. There are not as many British people live full time here as some may think so it is quite easy to keep to yourself if you wish, or you can join in some of the activities people organize like walking , and trips.
The weather is not freezing cold though it is colder the higher up you live, we do have some very severe storms but they tend to last for a few days then blow themselves out.
Christmas is nice and low key as is new year there are parties organized if you like people round you at these times.
Quite a few people that live here tend to go travelling during the winter months either in Turkey or elsewhere.
You can still swim during the winter, and you can still eat out side you just need a few more cloths on.
Don''t let people paint a picture of a ghost town closed down for 6 months, there are enough places open to eat and drink in, most with log fires to make you feel cosy.
January and February over and the first 2 weeks of March the days start to lengthen and you can feel spring on the air, then the last 2 weeks in April every one is rushing to do what they have had 6 months to do, the boats go back in the water and that is a sure sign that summer is coming.
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I echo Hoca''s comments exactly.
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Sounds blissful Hoca.
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It is, keep your head down and believe half what you see and nothing you here and you won''t go far wrong.
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Hoca, that sounds like my kind of life :) but I can only dream and just try and cram as many holidays there as i can :(
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I am married to a Turk and live in Kalkan. For me, the best part is getting to know the local people a little better than possible as a visitor. We don''t go (very often) to the ex-pats haunts and even more rarely eat in the restaurants. I cook at home, experimenting with the new foodstuffs and have bought a juicer for fresh juice (pomegranate at the moment!). It''s a very different life than the hassle and stress of my past existence in the UK. I try to practice my poor Turkish and all the shopkeepers are very patient with me.
They all speak English but speak with me in Turkish which, I really appreciate.
The weather is great of course, and any aches and pains I may have felt in an English ''summer'' (damp, grey and wet) have disappeared.
I do get frustrated with some of the ''manyana'' attitudes and some skill shortages (is there a decent plumber or electrician here?) but believe me it''s more than made up for by other things.
I am looking forward to the winter but only so my OH and I can do some travelling and take a holiday! Yes, although we live in Kalkan we want to get away from here occasionally! The season is long and hard for those who work here, 16 hour+ days not that unusual for months on end. So, for us roll-on the end of the season but of course I hope you have had a great holiday if you managed to get here this year (and aren''t we lucky to all those who live here!!).
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This is a good thread, makes me very jealous though!!
Would also be interesting to know whether people have retired in Kalkan or are working, if so what job do you do?
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yes I would be interested in that too Lougie. I have heard it''s nigh on impossible to get a job in Turkey if you are not a Turkish citizen.
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I personally am not retired but i don''t make a living in Turkey. It is very difficult to get a work permit so i think most people are retired or have some interest in the U.K.
You do see people working through the season and out of season, perhaps they could let you know how they manage to work here and how they got there permit to work and tell you about the Turkish inland revenue system?
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Hoca
Now that would be really interesting......... ;D