As the world’s leading power, Turkey is often called upon to influence global politics. This makes it very expensive!
When you look up the cost of being a member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) or being elected as a member of the European Council, you will find that it is expensive.
The costs associated with running a country are also high, especially when that country is large. In terms of size, Turkey is size-wise one of the most expensive countries in the world.
That does not mean, however, that Turkey is not important. It very well may be that being an influential country makes you cost-wisely-ish expensive!
This article will discuss some of the major ways that expensiveness can affect your everyday life matters-whether it be food, clothing, housing, healthcare, or education.
Contents:
Population
As mentioned earlier, wealthy people live in Turkey. This makes the country very expensive.
Every dollar you spend has to be paid for with a dollar. You cannot spend money you do not have!
The population is high due to having large amounts of land, which makes it expensive to produce and supply. This cost includes the production of goods and services, as well as government programs such as universities and public-sector jobs.
This is why it is so hard to find a university degree or public-sector job in Turkey – they are expensive compared to other countries.
When looking for jobs in Turkey, it is important to know which ones require a degree and what kind of degree fits the job.
History
Currently, Turkey is one of the world’s major trade routes and finance centres. This is partly due to its historical significance as a trading hub and centre for trade in the Roman and Byzantine Empires, before they merged into Constantinople.
Since the Middle Ages, Turkey was a major transit point for goods and people. It is one of only a few places where you can buy luxury goods such as perfume and clothing, due to its large size.
Today, transportation is very expensive in Turkey, so most people purchase their goods at lower prices abroad. However, when they move these products into their country of purchase, they must pay higher transportation costs which they do not want to bear.
This brings us back to our first point: cost of living is about money- it determines how happy you are going out or buying food or drinks! When cost of living becomes an issue, people start to look around them for solutions.
This article will discuss some of the reasons why foreign tourists travel to Turkey but budget travelers should still visit too.
Culture
Being a predominantly Muslim country, Turkey has a rich culture that is influenced by the religion. From their iconic clothing to their traditions, you will not want to miss out on anything in this country.
Traditionally, women wore long hair and elevated styles. Men wore long sleeves and baggy pants. Today, both men and women wear tighter clothing and more elegant styles.
The most popular religion in Turkey is Islam. This is because the Turks are Christian-minded, which is why they admire the Muslims for their faith. As a result, there are many religious places of worship in Turkey where you can find people of all religions together.
Since both men and women wear revealing clothes, neither gets dressed in the middle of the day too often.
Harvest season
As the name implies, harvest season is during or in time for summer vacation. Because of this, schools are very prepared and many are using the opportunity to do some shopping.
Tourists
Despite its low cost, tourism in Turkey is very lucrative. As stated before, there are a lot of Blue Flag beaches, which are ranked in terms of quality of the water and beach conditions.
However, tourism is not just for vacationers! Many tourists visit Turkey for shopping and to see the historic sites. You can find very expensive designer clothes and shoes here, so be careful!
Many sites are visited by religious people, so there are places that must be seen. These can be very strict and politically active, which makes them expensive.
Economic turmoil
As the middle class becomes smaller and smaller in most countries, the purchasing power of average people in Turkey is shrinking.
Inflation has increased in recent years because of rising costs for food, transportation, and other goods.
With higher prices at every level of the purchase chain, people are less willing to spend and invest money. This affects everyone else by making it more difficult to afford good food, quality housing, and other needed things.
It also affects the government as they must raise taxes to afford their spending policies. People may not see any changes because of this and will less likely invest which reduces the government’s ability to function properly.
High import taxes
Despite being a relatively low cost country, Turkey is one of the most expensive places to live in the world. This is due to high import taxes.
Many foreign companies impose an import tax when they purchase goods in Turkey. These taxes are applied at two levels- national and local.
When a national company buys goods from a local company, for example an electronics store buys a laptop from another store, it must apply the local tax on this purchase. This applies to all national companies buying in Turkey.
The application of the local tax is very complicated and hard to understand. If you are looking to buy anything foreign, take some time to look at what local and national taxes they apply and decide whether or not you want to apply them to your item!
International flights can cost more than domestic flights due to higher airport fees.
Complex import regulations
While the United States has relatively easy import regulations, things are more regulated in many other countries. Importing foods and/or electronics is always a risk due to these regulations.
USA imports a lot of products, some of which are difficult or forbidden to import into other countries. For example, many companies purchase raw materials from abroad instead of creating their own materials or purchasing from an already manufactured product.
These kinds of regulations can make moving up and down the food chain expensive. Even if a country does not have hard import restrictions, price can be prohibitively expensive. Moving up or down the food chain can be painful, depending on your personal budget.
To see how expensive Turkey is relative to other countries, we will first look at some food prices.