Living in Fethiye as a digital nomad
Looking out over Çalış Beach with Babadag mountain in the background, October 2023
I want to share my experience of settling in beautiful Fethiye to live and work remote for 3 months. I’ll go over how to get a place to stay, what to do, as well as some pros and cons to being a nomad in Turkey. Let’s dive in!
Why should you move to Turkey as a nomad?
Turkey, now formally also recognized as Türkiye, is the bridge between Europe and Asia, and offers the best of mediterranean living with Middle-eastern and Asian influences. Turkey boasts a great variety of delicious foods, extremely diverse landscapes, and a rich culture and history. The mild climate, modern infrastructure and the low cost of living are especially attractive to digital nomads.
Fethiye is a town situated on the southwest coast of Anatolia, by the Aeagan sea. With just over 150.000 inhabitants you’ll have access to all the goods and services you need, without it ever feeling like a busy or crowded place. It’s a popular tourist destination, because of its gorgeous beaches, mountains and various activities. As a digital nomad it really does check all of the boxes, so let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how you can get set up here.
How to find a place to live in Fethiye
Finding a place to live is definitely possible on short notice - we did not have a place booked before coming here.
If you’re planning to stay for 3 months (or more) here's what I would do:
Apartments for rent are managed by real estate agents. In Fethiye there are plenty. Real estate agent is “Emlak” in Turkish. Search them up on google maps, and spend a day visiting them all. Tell them what you’re looking for, and they will help you find a place.
Alternatively you can use sites like sahibinden.com to find houses and apartments for rent (and for sale). You’ll notice that the listings are mainly posted by real estate agents. Keep in mind that the agents will take a commission fee, and that they might not mention this fee until after you’ve signed a contract for the lease. This fee could be anywhere from 10.000 TRY to a months worth of your lease, so keep that in mind when budgeting.
If you’re staying for more than 3 months you need a residence permit. It used to be easy to get, but recently applications are being rejected at an increasing rate. If you’re a nomad, three months is still ample time to explore the area before moving on to your next destination.
If you’re staying for less than 3 months here's what I would do:
AirBnb or hotels are probably your best bet, although you might have luck finding a short term lease in facebook or telegram groups for expats. A lot of the communications in these groups are in Russian, but with a bit of help from trusty ol' google translate you should be good to go.
If you travel off season (October to April) you might be able to contact hotels directly and negotiate a monthly price. In Fethiye, these neighbourhoods are popular with expats and nomads: Çalış beach area, Foça, Akarca, and Taşyaka – which is closer to the city-centre. There is also Ölüdeniz, which is a bit further away, but right by the most spectacular beach in the area.
We live in Akarca, because it’s within walking distance to Çalış beach, the Fethiye Bey Park and our coworking space. We pay 15.000 TRY/month for a 1+1 bedroom apartment - that’s around 430£ (Nov. 2023).
You can get almost anything at the Çalış sunday market.
Places to work from in Fethiye
There are two big coworking spaces in Fethiye, Hipokampus and Lokal. In town there are two additional smaller ones. We work from Hipokampus, and we love it! It has a big outdoors area, airconditioned inside working spaces and a quiet area. The internet is stable enough for days jam-packed with meetings, and there are small booths for you to talk without distractions.
If coworking isn’t your thing, and you prefer spending your money on barista-style coffee instead, there are plenty of cafés to work from. I like Doc Coffee, and Gloria Jean’s on Çalış beach. (Cervos Coffee Roastery right next to it has better coffee, but can’t say for certain if they have power outlets.)
All in all working from Fethiye is a breeze!
Activities
Because Fethiye is nestled between the sea and the mountains, it’s paradise to those who love outdoor activities. As I’m writing this in november, the sea is still warm and the sun is shining. You can lounge at the beach, go island hopping with a boat tour or try kayaking and paddleboarding.
If you’re looking for an adrenaline kick, there’s paragliding, scuba diving and white water rafting available nearby. Go visit Saklikent canyon, explore the ruins of Kayaköy or hike to Butterfly Valley.
For a picturesque weekend getaway you can take the ferry to the Greek island of Rhodes from the marina.
There’s also a shopping centre with a cinema, different night clubs and plenty of great restaurants (some with shows!) in town.
There is lots to do and discover!
Pros and cons of living in Fethiye as a digital nomad
Pros
Living in Turkey is a lot cheaper than many other places in Europe.
A lot of Turkish people speak English. Because they use the latin alfabet, learning some basic turkish is also not too hard.
It’s easy to meet other nomads, and the expat community here is welcoming and social.
Fethiye is calm and relaxed, while still having some nightlife.
The climate is mild year round. Summer is scorching, but spring and fall is perfect with temperatures around 24-29 degrees. During winter time temperatures will very rarely drop below freezing, and the daytime temperature is often around 15 degrees.
Turkish people are generally open, polite and very friendly!
You don’t need to rent a car to get around. There are regular buses going in to town and to the various beaches. Fethiye also has a beautiful bike and walking path going along the entirety of the waterfront. The area we live in (Akarca) is very walkable, and the bike path and regular buses makes it easy to get to the city-centre.
Fresh produce is easily available at weekly farmers markets, and there are supermarkets and small shops everywhere.
Cons
I really don’t have a lot of cons for this list, but if I had to give some it would be these:
Turkey doesn’t adjust their time for daylight savings, so keep in mind that if your work is UK-based that you’ll be 3 hours ahead during the majority off the off-season. We didn’t take this into account when we first got here!
As it is a muslim country pork is expensive, and alcohol is highly taxed. Not really a big con though, as you can get most meat products made without pork, and alcohol is still cheaper than in most of Europe.
Significant travel time to and from the airport. To get to Fethiye you can fly to Antalya or Dalaman airport, then get on a bus. The Antalya airport is cheaper to fly to and has more connections, but it’s further away. To get there you have to do a 4 hour bus ride to Antalya bus station, and then another 30 minute taxi ride or 1 hour bus ride to get to the airport. If you have to travel frequently this could be a significant downside.
I’ve found some sales people to be very pushy, or in some cases not very transparent about the price of their services. Please seek advice from your turkish friends about “very good deals” before making bigger financial decisions like signing a lease.
Ultimately the pros far outweigh the cons and Fethiye is a beautiful place to stay for a couple of months while enjoying the beach and great turkish foods. I understand why so many expats have made it their home!