White-collar family quits city for affordable life

ISTANBUL

Earlier the pandemic, and now, the rising cost of living is forcing many to quit the hustle and bustle of city life and reside in faraway lands, with the Sönmezoğlu family being the latest one to have moved to a village for an affordable and peaceful life.

Filiz Sönmezoğlu, 37, managed many stores in shopping malls for two decades, and her husband, Deniz Sönmezoğlu, 38, was an art director.

The couple recently left Türkiye’s most populous metropolitan city of Istanbul and moved to the neighboring province of Sakarya, but in a small house in the Altındere village.

“The moving cost was only 15,000 Turkish Liras [$897],” Deniz Sönmezoğlu told the daily on July 1.

When asked about the cost of living in a village, he added, “If you have an income of 8,000-9,000 liras [$478 or $538], you can easily live.”

The family is paying 1,700 liras [$102] monthly rent for a 160-square-meter village house. “When we lived in an apartment, we used to pay 3,000 liras as rent, plus 350 liras dues for a 130-square-meter house in Istanbul,” he noted.

Agriculture is now the Sönmezoğlu family’s new profession.

Filiz Sönmezoğlu has a piece of advice for all those thinking of starting a new life in a village.

“You either should have enough savings or have a job to do at the village and have the opportunity to work remotely,” she stated.

The latest data about those migrating from Istanbul is from 2018, with more than 210,000 inhabitants leaving the city.

The year 2021 was the only year in the last two decades when Istanbul’s population decreased. With 56,000 people leaving, the city’s population reached 15.4 million in the year.