Izmir

Izmir is off-the-radar of many tourists and nomads, but it has a lot to offer. It's relatively affordable, and it's warmer in the winter than many other parts of Türkiye, it has good public transit, decent food and shopping options, and reliably fast and stable internet. It's also a good jumping-off point for a day trip to Çeşme and several Greek islands that can be reached by ferry. You can pay by card nearly everywhere except the Izmir Metro, Izban — even for small purchases of 50¢ (currently 16TL)

Things that might turn you off:
1. This is not an English speaking city, even among the young university population. You can get by, but you are unlikely to strike up intricate conversations with most locals unless you're attending a language exchange meetup or hanging out near an English school. If however, you are looking for language immersion, I can recommend a homestay and/or making friends with locals here.
2. Turkish people love to smoke. If you want to hang out at a cafe and work, particularly outside most people are lighting up.
3. Internet in Türkiye is censored. Even sites like Booking aren't available without a VPN. The big ones that the government knows about may also be blocked. On the same note, connecting to public wifi requires personal information including your passport, and to be able to receive SMS 2FA, so if your foreign SIM does not have service, you can't use these APs.
4. Pork is really only available at the upmarket Macrocenter supermarket. Every restaurant offers halal as a default, and their version of pepperoni or sausage is all beef based. Beer and liquor, however, are available in every corner store and supermarket. I don't know why.

If you do decide to buy a Turkish SIM, only Tourist plans are available to foreigners without residency, with an inflated price of $21 just for the SIM and activation. (Though the data packages can be competitive.) Therefore, for short visits, it might be more economical to use one of these world roaming eSIMS, which I don't normally recommend.

I wouldn't recommend using the expat FB groups to find short or long-term housing because they are cryptic and never list the price in the ad. Though maybe you'll ask around and find one by word-of-mouth instead and get a better deal, more in line with Turkish incomes.

Lastly, do try to integrate in your local community and chat up locals. Don't be the digital nomad that doesn't talk to anyone. You can live anywhere. This doesn't mean that you need to behave like the place you left behind.

I've lived in İzmir for more than 10 years, so I have the need to say some things that may be valuable to one or the other. Izmir is the most liveable city in Turkey. It's less religious, (therefore) more open to foreigners and just more fun! We have a racism problem, but not against any European, or American. It's more about being associated with other muslim ethnicities like Arabs, Afghans etc. and also because many of these groups cause economic issues in the country - it's complicated.
About the positive stuff: Izmir is for sure a better option than Istanbul, which is waay to packed and crowded. Of course Izmir is crowded too, but not nearly as Istanbul. Yes, people are very friendly, that's just part of turkish culture. It's not 100% safe, since the whole country is still dealing with poverty and has gone trough many crisisis. But I would say, just like any other country/city, it should be fine if you are careful where you place your personal belongings and are not outside after it's getting darker (especially as a woman). Overall, Izmır is very special and should be given a chance 100000%.

Pros
- cheap: lunch for 1 person for less than USD10, grande cappuccino in Starbucks for less than USD2
- good cafes and restaurants, for them go to Mustafa Enver Bey street in Alsancak, to Cengiz Topel street in Bostanli, or to Hilltown, Mavibahce, and Istinye Park malls
- a big city with skyscrapers in the financial district, good public transportation including metro, trams, buses, and ferries, and big malls, but slower, cheaper, more relaxed, and less crowded than Istanbul
- great climate, historic attractions, and perfect beaches and kitesurfing spots in a 30 to 60 minutes drive.
- liberal and cosmopolitan city, with many bars and nightclubs. No problem to buy alcoholic drinks in any supermarket. Also, there are several good wineries near the city where you can go for a wine tour.
- wonderful friendly people who will love your children as their own
- fast and reasonably priced mobile internet (but do not buy a sim card in the airport)
Cons
- in many parts of the city it is not convenient to walk: pavements are mostly narrow and bumpy and traffic lights work in a weird way
- not so many people speak English, but usually, people are friendly and open to communicating via google translator
- not enough options for short-term accommodation: several good Airbnbs and expensive hotels of international chains are good. Unfortunately, I didn't find any good hostels there. And economic hotels are mostly outdated and usually based in depressive neighborhoods. Hope the situation will change soon.
- many neighborhoods look depressive, but the city is developing and getting more attractive. While you are in Alsancak, Bostanli-Karsiyaka, or several places in Bornova and Bayrakli - everything is perfect and safe. By the way, Izmir is a very safe city.

Pros
- Friendly locals, easy to make friends. Go to a bar and chat with whoever. You'll become friends quickly.
- Coffee and tea shops everywhere with good prices
- Internet is pretty fast in my experience
- I never got foreigner pricing, unlike other reviewers
- Good prices if you're bringing in outside currency
- Younger people speak English, older people don't, but you should be attempting Turkish anyway :)
- Never felt any kind of racism(Korean)

Cons
- Smoking everywhere. It's impossible to sit in a cafe and not smell cigarette the whole time
- Extremely hilly in some areas. Great if you want to perform leg day everyday
- I was disappointed by the quality of food in general. Find a local to show you the best restaurants. Gözleme and kelle paça were my favorites.
- Super hot in September. I hated to stay indoors all day, but that's what I did for many days.
- Taxi drivers all have a dreamcast installed in their car and they're all playing crazy taxi
- Ages seem to skew higher. Hard to come across people my age or younger.

Stayed here for 2 months, it was terrible—internet was slow, people were racist, blatant price gouging of foreigners, and my boyfriend was accosted in the street one night when a random group of brawling men were kicked out of a bar and they came out punching and kicking at anyone who had the misfortune of being in their way. We stayed in 2 different AirbnBs in the most central part of Izmir and both of them had spotty internet. In one of them, the water cut out several times despite being billed as a “luxury” accommodation. Price gouging foreigners is not an uncommon phenomenon in any destination, but when you walk into a corner store and are told that a bottle of water costs 10 Euros, that really takes the piss and leaves an incredibly bad taste in your mouth. Didn’t feel safe as a woman either—a female friend of mine visited for a week and we went to grab some dessert one night, only to be harassed by two men at the table next to us who seemed to think that because we politely responded to their question of where we were from, it was an invitation to try to follow us home and get angry and rude when we asked them to stop. The list of negative experiences goes on and on. To be honest I wanted to leave by the end of the second week but I stuck it out, telling myself to stay open minded. Unfortunately, the longer we stayed, the worse it got. We were very relieved to leave. We did make one very kind local friend here who kept us sane and even they said they wouldn’t live here if they had the choice. There are much cheaper and more pleasant places to stay! The person who left a comment about two beds going for $120 is quite mistaken. Even looking on long term rental sites you would be paying around $600, and if you are foreign the landlords will do things like demand the whole year’s rent up front.

Totally false about the numbers being off, who ever left that comment. There are nice apartments, even two-beds going for about 1,800 lira (120 dollars) if sign a long-term contract so i'm sure $87 is possible

The numbers are completely false here. 1br studio rent in center for $87? That's impossible. You gotta pay at least $300 for a crappy studio. The new and the modern ones is probably around $500-600.

I loved, loved, loved Izmir! It's an excellent place for student exchange programs. Five months was enough for me, though. People are friendly, helpful, and always highly optimistic.

PROS:

People -> amazing!,
Food (a great place for vegans),
Nature,
Prices,

CONS:
Pavements (or lack of pavements),
Smoking (people smoke everywhere),
Bureaucracy (If you don't speak Turkish, forget about running errands in local municipalities),
Language barrier (Not many people speak English well),
Politics (If you are open-minded and support freedom of speech, and freedom in general, it's not a good place for you. You could suffer from stomach ulcers).
It's an excellent place to see, a fantastic place to meet many friends, but not the best place for the long run.

Cheaper version of Athens. Most liberal city in Turkey. Definitely underrated and amazingly cheap. The city has a great beach, restaurant and bar scene.

In all of Turkey, Izmir is by far the most educated and cosmopolitan city. I have lived in Turkey for 12 years and have been visiting for 30 years. Changes in the geo-political climate have shown restrictions to freedoms that a lot of westerners will find uninviting. Izmir is a city that is that I have found that has a positive attitude amongst the people towards most foreigners.

İzmir is probably the best digital nomad destination in Europe. In terms of: cost of living, access to Internet, places to work from, activities in the city, public transport, safety, city/beach/nature balance. Those who found it boring are probably looking for places where youngsters get drunk in pool parties or such. If you are looking for kind and educated population, ease of access to all amenities, Izmir is definitely a great choice. Yes, it is not a tropical destination, so it gets cold in winter for about two months.

Turkey was a fascinating and exotic place in the eighties and nineties but even then I took a dislike to Izmir after getting robbed and threatened there. In more recent times, the considerable slice of the population has become more and more hostile to Westerners although it's usually disguised. I stopped going in 2015.

Racism is absolutely present in Izmir and Turkey. You only have to take a look here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_Turkey to find systemic racism "towards non-Turkish ethnic minorities such as Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks, Kurds, Jews, Yazidis and Zazas as well as hostility towards minority forms of Islam such as Alevis, Sufis, and Shiites."

I don't think nomad list is somewhere to lean all your trust in because I have loads of friends from Izmir and they have never complained or talked about it being racially intolerant.

Izmir is probably the friendliest city I have seen in my life. Seeing bad ratings for racial tolerance here just made me lose trust in nomadlist. Pity, idea is good but data is completely twisted and has nothing to do with reality.

I love Izmir. I taught English in Izmir. There are many things to do and I love the people and the great little restaurants everywhere. Buses provide perfect transportation from Izmir to any destination in Turkey. I wish I were there right now! Walk along the Kordon, explore Alsancak, Karsiyaka and Kemeralta. Take a bus to Kusadasi or Cesme on the weekends. Wonderful! Try the Manisa Kebap. I was a solo female.

Izmir what a horrible boring place. We were there 2 months and we hated it. It is dry and hot and nobody speaks English. We have been all over the world but Izmir was the worst.