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My wife is Turkish, and over the years of visiting Turkey, I fell in love with the country. Also, given the state of affairs in the US (especially with respect

My wife is Turkish, and over the years of visiting Turkey, I fell in love with the country. Also, given the state of affairs in the US (especially with respect to education), we figure we're no worse off raising our children in Turkey. Of course, we also have a number of contacts in Turkey which make it easier (we plan on sending our kids to private school)...but that's a whole different topic for another time! I think it's definitely interesting times in Turkey. I know a lot of people are worried that a turn to the east is a foregone conclusion, but at the same time the growth in places like Istanbul and Izmir is hard to ignore. Just a few weeks ago there was a major meeting of tech startups and VCs in Antalya. There's no guarantees, of course, but I think it's not impossible that Turkey could become a major player in the world economy in the next 15-20 years...

rolleiflex 14y ago
One potential downside: I personally could find no satisfactory career paths in Turkey—that's why I decided to come here to the States to study. Any place that would accept me as a designer were paying below $1500 start-up salary per month, which is ridiculous in a city like Istanbul, which has traditionally been one of the more expensive european cities. The living cost in Istanbul and New York is pretty much the same for me, at least, while in New York, as what I strive to be, I am far more confident in that I can make a living out of it. Turkish public high school education is far better than the U.S. public education, and the private schools, provided you pick carefully, should be up to par with their european counterparts (which is pretty good). But for the universities, definitely send them abroad. I didn't even know Turkey had VC's! Interesting. If you do such things, we can meet up for a coffee somewhere in Istanbul this summer, I'll be back for a short break. Meanwhile, enjoy the country!

rolleiflex 14y ago

One potential downside: I personally could find no satisfactory career paths in Turkey—that's why I decided to come here to the States to study. Any place that would accept me as a designer were paying below $1500 start-up salary per month, which is ridiculous in a city like Istanbul, which has traditionally been one of the more expensive european cities. The living cost in Istanbul and New York is pretty much the same for me, at least, while in New York, as what I strive to be, I am far more confident in that I can make a living out of it. Turkish public high school education is far better than the U.S. public education, and the private schools, provided you pick carefully, should be up to par with their european counterparts (which is pretty good). But for the universities, definitely send them abroad. I didn't even know Turkey had VC's! Interesting. If you do such things, we can meet up for a coffee somewhere in Istanbul this summer, I'll be back for a short break. Meanwhile, enjoy the country!