The city of Ankara is one of the most beautiful Turkish cities, the cost of living in Ankara is relatively high, as it is the capital of the Turkish Republic, and the second largest city in it after Istanbul. It is considered a distinctive tourist destination, the center of diplomatic activity and the headquarters of various Turkish ministries.
A large community of foreigners are in the city of Ankara, where it is preferred to live and a large percentage of them reside in it, given the low cost of living in Ankara compared to Istanbul, the largest and most crowded city in Turkey. Let’s learn about the cost of living in Ankara, and the prices of basic goods and services in detail.
Accommodation cost of living in Ankara
Accommodation is always a challenge, especially when it comes to large central cities.
The average price per meter square for an apartment in the center of the city is from 2500 to 6250 TL, if it’s outside of the city center it is from 1500 to 3500 TL. If you aren’t planning to buy an apartment but rent one then the average cost per month for a one-bedroom apartment in city center is 1089 TL and 1845 TL for a three-bedroom apartment. If you’re looking for something cheaper you can rent outside the city center for 687 TL per month for one-bedroom apartment and 1160 TL for a three-bedroom apartment.
Food and groceries cost of living in Ankara
Food is actually one of the cheap affordable things in Ankara, unlike accommodation. You can find here a detailed grocery list:
Milk (1 liter): 3.8 TL
White Bread (200 g): 2.29 TL
Rice (1 kg): 6.69 TL
Eggs (12 pieces): 9 TL
Cheese (1 kg): 28.78 TL
Chicken (1 kg): 20.15 TL
Meat (1 kg): 56.41 TL
Apples (1 kg): 4.62 TL
Banana (1 kg): 8.8 TL
Oranges (1 kg): 4.53 TL
Tomato (1 kg): 4.97 TL
Potato (1 kg): 4.17 TL
Onion (1 kg): 3.95 TL
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter draught): from 10.5 TL to 20 TL
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle): from 14 TL to 25 TL
Cappuccino (regular): 8.98 TL
Coke (0.33 liter bottle): 3.39 TL
Water (1.5 liter bottle): 1.74 TL
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range): from 30 TL to 60 TL
Cigarettes 20 Pack: 15 TL
If you would like to save some extra money when it comes to buying food commodities, it is recommended that you buy from large stores that have promotions and discounts such as “Bem”, “Shock” and “Carrefour”. You can also use visa cards in the purchase of various goods, especially online, it also provides discounts on airline reservations. Another option would be to buy from the weekly market located in the city and it provides a good saving amount when purchasing weekly needs.
Transportation cost of living in Ankara
Luckily, transportation is relatively cheap in Ankara, and the best way to go around it. It is also very clean, convenient, and fast with a variety of vehicles and means. There are busses, sea busses, shared taxis, tram, metro buses, metros, cable cars, and ferries. One-way ticket in public transportation can cost 2.75 TL. A pre-paid transportation card costs 150 TL. You can find more information about public transportation in Turkey through the following article.
If you have a car, 1 liter of gasoline would cost you around 6.52 Turkish liras. If you want to take a cab, the basic tariff would be 4 Turkish liras and for each kilometer, you add around 3 Turkish liras.
To save on transportation expenses, you can buy a prepaid card such as the “Blue Card”, which is the most affordable card. There is also “Akbel Card”, which is characterized by the possibility of recharging it, it is sold in many stores in Ankara, such as grocery stores and small kiosks scattered around public transport stops, ferries and the metro. You can get to know more about transportation network through his link (http://iso.en.ankara.edu.tr/?page_id=1217).
Utilities and bills cost of living in Ankara
By comparing the household bills in Ankara with other European cities, you would find that it is relatively cheap. Which is also an added plus to living in Ankara and allows for a low cost of living budget.
Basic utilities for an 85-meter square apartment per month is 325 TL.
Water and sewage: from 50 to 60 TL per month.
Internet cost per month for 6mb per second 89.7 TL.
You can also get monthly maintenance services that ranges from 50 to 500 TL per month depending on services provided.
For mobile phone calls, one minute can cost 0.66 TL.
Dining out cost of living in Ankara
Dining out and trying cultural foods is a very important thing to add to your cost of living budget so that you get to experience important cultural sides through food, you can find here a price guide:
Meal in a cheap restaurant for two: 20 TL
Three-course Meal for two People in a mid-range restaurant: 72.5 TL
Fast Food Chains: 18 TL
Sports and other leisure activities cost of living
The average cost of 1 month gym subscription is around 127 TL.
Renting a tennis court to play with friends on weekends would cost around 74 TL an hour.
If you fancy a movie, going to a cinema would cost you 18 TL for 1 ticket.
Child care can cost around 1406 TL per month for a child in the age of pre-school and younger. A primary international school would cost 20,000 to 50,000 TL per year.
Medical care in Turkey is relatively of low cost, as governmental hospitals provide a discounted service for Turkey residents as long as they have a proof of identity or refugee identification card. This would serve well in planning your cost of living in Ankara.
If you’re planning to work in Ankara, the salary averages at 2411 TL after tax reduction.
All in all, Ankara is an amazing place to live in, with its amazing nature, modern residential areas, and very convenient cost of living.
