You should first check out the EasyExpat guide to Istanbul: http://www.easyexpat.com/en/istanbul.htm. It has comprehensive info about moving there.

Wikitravel actually has a nice description of areas of Istanbul as well: http://wikitravel.org/en/Istanbul

Best of luck!

 

Hi there,

1. First things first. You should definatelly stick to the side where you will be also working. Living in Europian side and working at Anatolian or vise versa, will get you a world of headache.

Why? long commutes...very long commutes

2. Since you mentioned 2 primary age kids, school factors in to narrowing your choices.

3. Your budget plays a big role making that decision.

Assuming you will be renting, you could be living on the suburbs renting out a 2 story semi detached "villa" for 2500TL in Bahçeşehir.

If you wanted to live on the coast, that same amount would get you a substandard 3 bedroom on a 7 story apartment building.

If you are asking in general though,

expats usually chose to live close to city: Taksim, Ortaköy, Beşiktaş, Bebek etc..

Best of luck!

If you need an assistant when you first arrive, you can contact me.

 

Taksim is one of the best choices for me as it is close enough to the Asian part and to one of the and are full with foreigners almost all year. Not bad idea is to take in mind the location of your working place as the traffic in this city is terrible and it might take hours to get from one point to another especially during the rush hours.

Adie