This update was received from Marti, Istanbul. We also agreed that until we find a final solution, I will post her updates. Anyway this is a good starting point and a learning curve for both of us.
Getting started
Hi, first of all, so sorry for being late for my January update. But promise you that, you’ll be having my updates on time from now on :). Since I like writing a lot, it’d be quite fun for me to send you some updates from my side on a regular basis. Some of my friends claim that I talk too much sometimes (in my opinion, it’s only valid if I’m so happy or too tired), but I hope you wouldn’t get bored if I sometimes write long :).
Well, maybe I should have introduced myself first. This is Marti from Istanbul, Turkey (sharp & short). The rest... you’ll be figuring it out as you keep reading.
January, 2010 - A new year ahead
Towards the end of Dec-09, I’ve felt that 2010 will be a different year for me. It’s hard to explain, but sometimes you just feel it & by the time passing, you start to see the consequences. As usual, I took some decisions to be applied within 2010 for myself of course (this years are more mature things I guess), made a high-level plan in my head etc. Well, we’ll see... I’ll keep you posted :)
This year I didn’t feel like partying in New Year’s Eve. I was planning to be at home, having dinner with my grandma, dreaming a pieceful night, having full day rest in Jan,1st after a hardworking month. And also, I attended a birthday part just one day before the new year which was very similar to a new year party :). So, I was really looking forward to be at home and watch TV. While I was planning like that, I had a call from one of my close friends which I haven’t seen lately, inviting me to his house party for New Year’s Eve. Well, as you can imagine, I couldn’t say no.
After I had early dinner with the family at home, I arrived there around 9:30 pm. Altough there were few people that I know in the beginning, I met a lot of new people and enjoyed it a lot. It was a very good party over all. Music, drinks, people, chat, fun, photos etc. When I got home it was almost 4a.m. I was upset that I had to wake up around 8 am. Wondering what the hell is wrong with me? :)
New year, new home
For the last 5 years, there was one idea that I couldn’t give up thinking of: moving out. Altough I had very pieceful environment at my parents’ house, I just felt that it’s time to move out. There was no specific or negative reason for that at all. On the other hand, instead of thinking it (searching flats in papers/internet & dreaming decorating them), just decided to take action. I just thought there’s nothing to lose. Sometimes we cannot guess the result if we don’t give it a try, right?
Well, as I said, I was already searching for a flat or house for a long time and hoping to find one as I like. Sometimes I found the house that I wanted, but I couldn’t afford it or vice versa (I had money, but couldn’t find one that I’d like to move in), so couldn’t rent it somehow until so far. There were 4 regions in my mind to search for a flat: Bebek, Akatlar, Baltalimani, Maslak. Sorted as my preference. Let me tell you how I made the selection:Bebek
I think it’s a very nice place to live in Istanbul. Altough it’s getting more crowded each day, I like it. You can find everything you need when you go to street. Sea-view is another advantage, of course :). I think it has one of the best view of Bosphorus in Istanbul. I mean I love it. On the other hand, the area is quite expensive and buildings are very old, so they do require a lot of additional investment.Akatlar
Another nice area. No sea-view, but I have a lot of friends living here. It’d have been nice to seeing them frequently. But again buildings are old and really hard to find one as you like.Baltalimani
It’s where my parents live. Very neat area to live, but realized that I wouldn’t feel that I moved out. So, I gave up this option at the end.Maslak
Where the office is located. Nobody prefers to live close to office in general. But, in Istanbul, I think it’s a luck. As most people know, there’s too much traffic here and unfortunately, there’s no way to escape.In summary, after meeting many real estate agents, I decided to rent one flat in Maslak. Okay, I admit that I couldn’t resist sleeping 30-45 minutes more in weekday mornings and getting to office in 5-10 minutes without any traffic :)
My flat
It’s not very big - only 85m2 -, but in a new building, so it’s very clean. It has also swimming pools, tennis & basketball courts etc. I believe it’s very good start for the first moving out type of flat. The only thing that I don’t like about it is that it has no balcony. I can say that I love houses with balcony for sure, but anyway... maybe in the future...
P.S. Yes, I woke up at 8 in Jan, 1st since I needed to be at my new home for cleaning. It was the only day that I could arrange a cleaning lady. When you have someting exciting in your life, you can tolerate & sacrifice a lot of things if you’re really into it, believe me.
