Hi ya
Sometimes in life you have to throw yourself in at the "deep" end & i guess it will be 'sink or swim'
But is is much better to try & fail then to live with the regret of "i wished..........."

Just make sure you have an open ticket or enough money to buy 1 .... just in case it all goes belly up...........otherwise have a great time

And if you're only staying for a few months.. then you can get a loan right? I guess you're coming back home, so then you can pay it off...

I think for you it can be dangerous. You are going to İstanbul, you are looking for a job and you don't have any good qualifications. All this says, "I'm looking for trouble".

There are many foreign women in İstanbul who work in the sex industry. Some of them might be tricked when as they came here. It is possible that they were offered a good normal job and a nice income but later it turned out to be something else.

If you are considering running away from home just go to a neigbour town for a while.

Somehow people always seem to show the negative side of Turkey! Why would it be dangerous if you just go to a shop and say you need a job.. You just shouldn't go to some sort of bazar and try to get your luck there.. But as I said, there are a lot of 'normal' shops in Taksim where you could probably get a job.. :-/

I also got warned by a lot of people because I went to Istanbul with a girlfriend of mine. But it turned out to be as 'dangerous' as Amsterdam -> you shouldn't go outside after about 9 (when it is getting dark), and you should take good care of your stuff..

I think Amsterdam is even more dangerous than Istanbul, but you just have to seem self confident in what you're doing.. and don't talk to everyone you meet! In every big city you have to be careful...

But.. why do you want to WORK in Turkey, you can also study there right? Especially if you graduate from college, you could go to Turkey and pick a nice study?

Or don't study at uni, but do some sort of exchange with another student?! That's what a friend of mine from Turkey did.. I taught her Dutch last year, and now she's back in Turkey again, and she had a great time!

I am sad now to here what really goes on in Turkey. I haven't been there, but still would like to visit. It breaks my heart, I had no idea. I just take things for granted here.

hey,
a loan would be a really good idea, but after I leave Turkey I am going to go to Italy, so I don't know if i can pay it off later. Studying would be a nice idea, but after 13 years in school I think when I graduate I'm goin to enjoy a nice long break. I know istanbul is a very big city, but that just means I am going to have to be extra careful, with my stuff, and with myself, all it is is common sense. thanks everyone

if i were u, i would come to turkey after university..
this is much easier..
u cant find job easily.. may be in hotel.. and they dont give money too much..
u have to be realistic..

I don't understand why you are so pessimistic about country. Of course it is safe and more safety from the most European countries. At least we have people who like foreigners and we are blind of colours, I mean we don't know the racism at all and we like the people in all colours.

I think jwallace needs to visit our country and she can make the best decision after that.

I simply say to jwallace: welcome!

i just wanted to focus on economical situation for turkey..
u have to realize 2 things..
1)traditional stuff is si different from economical stuff..
2)if anyone who is tourist cant know turkish life style.. they just spend money, not earning in turkey..

if u dont graduate from good university od dont have good qualification, u dont get a good job in turkey.. u just have to live with average salary.. that means u cant buy any luxury, cant go out at nights etc etc.. and plus u cant get an extra hobby..
i know my country very well.. my dad was a teacher and i had to work very hard to get my job..
after 25, i will earn and spend my money withhout thinking the end of mounth...
p.s. some of us who graduated from unüv even MBa cant find job.. even they r convinced an average salary = 250 $