Hey there!
Welcome to my first blog. I’m Max and I’m a Dutch student, and just in a few days, I will start my adventure in Istanbul. I’m going on an exchange period with the Erasmus program. After months of preparation, it is finally time to start.
For me, the decision to go on an Erasmus exchange in Istanbul was about more than just a new beautiful city, and a new university. It is also the chance to bridge a different kind of distance. My beautiful girlfriend, the love of my life, lives in Turkiye. So this is the ultimate opportunity to finally live closer for a longer time.
I found those months of preparation very challenging. I had struggles with finding out information about a visa, and I didn’t know how and where to look for an accommodation. Sometimes it was very frustrating, and that is why I came up with the idea of this website. I want to help you, I want to give you the smooth preperation that I wished I had.
On this website I will prepare pages where you can find all the information you need. I will cover transport, neighbourhoods, residence permit application, and everything else. There is also a page with useful links, which is a great overview for your own research. To make this website as good as possible, I could always use feedback or suggestions. So don’t hesitate to contact me!
I’ve visited Turkey multiple times before, though I haven’t spent much time in Istanbul yet. However, from my experiences there, I can say that Turkiye is so beautiful. There are so many beautiful cities, there is beautiful nature, and there are a lot of friendly people. And then I didn’t even talk about the culture and food yet! It’s an amazing country, and you will definitely not regret your decision to go to Turkiye. Be prepared for a bit of chaos, though! :)
My next blog will be written shortly before I leave for Istanbul. And in the next weeks and months I will take you through all my adventures. Think about the introduction on the university, the best food spots, or first impressions of the apartment – which took a lot of struggle to find.
For now, thank you for reading! Let me know about your own experiences in Istanbul or your own struggles in the preparation process. And to stay up-to-date, you can follow me on social media.
Erasmus student in Istanbul 
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