Is Bodrum One of the Best Places in the World to Live?

Bodrum is a Peninsula located near the junction of the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea on the southwest coast of Turkey. It is a town where you can relish bits of both contemporary and ancient life, with its history dating back 2000 years. Besides this, its major attractions are the beaches, nightlife, the Museum and galleries in the Bodrum castle and the Mausoleum of Mausolus, which is one of the wonders of the ancient world.

Although Bodrum is most popular as a summer destination, it is now becoming more and more so for the entire year. In summer, you can enjoy exquisite Turkish baths (known as Hamam), go diving, windsurfing and enjoy boat and yacht tours. Spring is the perfect time for hiking, sightseeing and yachting. Autumn is also a very good time to sail and the Bodrum Cup Traditional Wooden Yacht Regatta is held annually during this season. During winter, Camel Wrestling and the Tangerine Orchards are call to you. Due to all these activities, this town holds an appeal for tourists as well as the residents throughout the year.

Since the mid- 20th century, Bodrum has been attracting many people, including archeologists, artists, investors and tourists. Most of these people choose this town as their secondary residences and some of them eventually became regular inhabitants. This has brought a lot of investment to the town and the business of real estate has flourished.

There are many people, mostly from European countries, who have been living in Bodrum for decades and are working in the fields of archeology, yachting management, real estate, tourism, and some of them also own cafes and bars. According to them, life in this town is perfect, totally safe and they feel protected there. Initially, they had to face difficulties in applying for residency and also in getting a work permit as both procedures are rather lengthy processes in Turkey. Despite these difficulties, there are many British and other Europeans who have moved to Bodrum and are working in the real estate and tourism industries, which are two of the thriving ones in the town.

With all this growth, there have been many positive changes. Besides the development in the real-estate sector, there are a lot of opportunities available for shopping now for the ease of both the residents and tourists. There are many supermarkets, furniture and home improvement outlets, thus making it more convenient to buy things from the very same town instead of loading and bringing along baggage from some other city. Looking at the business opportunities, the British store Marks and Spencer and the supermarket chain Tesco have also opened their stores in Bodrum. The health care facilities are excellent in the town and are very much up to the European style and standards, with two private hospitals. Other than that, there is secure food hygiene and control over environmental pollution.

Considering all these aspects, one can easily say that Bodrum could be one of the best places to live in, as there are all kinds of facilities available along with the sights and appealing climate. It is the most suitable place for you to live in if you wish to enjoy eastern culture, music and food and still be close to Europe as you can do both while living here.