Life in Istanbul for Students

Cost of Living

For many years, Istanbul has been a great city to have higher education. This state of Istanbul continues for a lot of reasons. The city is the home of 57 universities and has a variety of job opportunities in addition to a multicultural texture of living and history. One of the most attractive features of the city, however, is the fact that Istanbul is an uncostly city for an international student. Because of the condition of the Turkish Lira in the global exchange rate, international students can easily lead an affordable life in Turkey. In addition to the exchange rate, Turkey is a country that tries to improve the conditions of students by introducing special discounts to them. During their study periods, students can enjoy discounted prices in transportation, cultural activities, some restaurants, and some shops because of their student status.

Social Life for Students

Studying in a foreign country contributes a lot of things to international students. While the students mostly choose the country according to the university and the type of education, what shouldn’t be forgotten is the social life of the student. Luckily, Istanbul is not only a city of education but it can also offer great ways of spending time to the students who want an active social life. The city is famous for its bars that also host events for international visitors if the student wants a piece of nightlife after a day of studying. Apart from the nightlife that generally equals alcohol consumption, the universities also offer a great deal for the social life of the student. Almost every university has student clubs and organizations on numerous subjects. These student clubs organize events and occasions for the students to get together and spend fun times with each other.

Support for International Students

Starting a life in a foreign country is a very challenging idea. Starting a life in a foreign country while also studying in a program for higher education is even more challenging and it is very normal for students to need the help of other people. A student may need financial support apart from the ones they already have, need answers to their questions about being an international student, or just need someone to show them the ways of living in a foreign country.

Libraries

Libraries are still the home of knowledge in today’s world which is heavily digitalized. Even though information that can be found in libraries can easily be found on the internet, researching through google cannot provide the feeling of peace that comes from the silence in a library. Istanbul is a good option for library enthusiasts as the city is full of libraries. These libraries can be used for research, as a relaxing place to sit for some time, or as a means of being mesmerized by the history of the city. The city has many libraries that date back to previous centuries, and most of them have books and scripts that date back as far as 600 years ago. One of these libraries is the Central Library of Istanbul University. As this library holds extremely rare books dating back to the 15th century when Istanbul University was established, it is regarded as one of Turkey's most significant libraries. The library proves to be a reasonable place to find thesis and research articles.

Student Bank Account

Most of the time, students who get on with higher education go away and establish their own lives away from the safe refuge of their families. Once the students try to stay up on their feet, the most important thing for their newly established lives becomes money and its management. The same goes for international students too as they also try to be on their own in a foreign country. For monetary situations, students can find grants and scholarships, but managing these still fell on their own shoulders. At least now there are multiple banks to help international students in their money management chores in their daily lives in a foreign country.

Transportation for Students

Like in many cities around the world, Istanbul is a metropolis with an ongoing problem with transportation. The problem does not stem from a lack of transportation opportunities, on the contrary, it stems from the fact that there are simply too many people in the city to cause some stressful times during rush hours despite the plurality of transportation opportunities. However, Istanbul is still a city that covers the back of its residents when it comes to transportation, as the city has even intercontinental transportation. There are ferries at certain hours for travel between the European and Anatolian sides of the city. Also, one of the metro lines in Istanbul, the Marmaray, connects the two continents for easy travel by going underwater. Lastly, intercontinental transportation is possible through state or private buses and minibusses that use the bridges on the Bosporus. Both sides of the city have metro stations for quick travel in addition to busses that belong to the municipality and the state.

Health and Insurance

Problems in a person’s health are a possibility at all times. Even though people try their best to stay away from harm, a person may need the assistance of a medical unit. International visits usually require health insurance so as to avoid complications that may be seen in receiving healthcare while the person is in another country, and international students are not exempt from this situation. The Republic of Turkey requires all international students to have a type of health insurance that covers the period of their studying. Turkey has two types of health insurance; private and general. Private health insurance is offered by organizations that are working for international visitors, but private health insurance is not as extensive as General Health Insurance. While benefiting from private health insurance, the student can receive healthcare from a number of hospitals with which their health insurance agency has agreements. However, the other health insurance system that is known as General Health Insurance, enables the students to receive help and healthcare from every state hospital during their stay in Turkey.

Internships

Higher education shows a student the delicacies of a profession through lectures. For a bachelor’s degree, for example, a student is educated through mostly theoretical lectures for a minimum of four years. When these students graduate, they are thrown into the business world without any experience in their profession apart from the theoretical knowledge they obtained from their lectures. As this is the case in some of the degree programs, others have introduced a way of helping the students to acquire experience: internships. Through internship programs, students become familiar with their professions by working on them and come closer to graduating from their higher education institution while working. Istanbul is a great opportunity for many things, and some of these opportunities include the fact that the city is a business center, the universities of the city offer remarkable higher education, and these two opportunities work together to create great opportunities for internship during a student’s higher education period.

Employment Opportunities

It is a real honor to graduate from a higher education institution, but most students study higher education programs for their careers and work lives. In order to maintain their lives, everyone has to work for a salary, and some people need to work even while studying. One of the many opportunities for studying in Turkey is the work opportunities a student can benefit from. As a student-friendly country, Turkey mostly allows its international students to work. After obtaining their residence permit, international students need to apply for a work permit in order to work legally. While it is common for undergraduate students to work part-time jobs, graduate students are generally employed by their universities. They may be assistants or researchers in the university they study in.

Arrival

The process of coming to a foreign country for higher education may be tiring and hard, but the real adventure starts upon the arrival in the new country. There are certain things for all international students need to do for their study period to go as smoothly as possible. Some of these steps in the process of settling in the new country require working closely with the state, but all of these requirements for international students can be fulfilled quickly. One of the most important things to do once the students come to the Republic of Turkey is to get a residence permit. This documentation can be prepared only after the registration in the university of study.