There is a handful of cities comparable to Istanbul. It has been a city of global importance for nearly its entire existence. Trade, science, art, architecture – it has been the center of these for centuries.
And in the modern era, cities of such historic significance – in addition to their continued importance – become tourist hotspots. So, it’s no wonder that Istanbul has become one of the world’s most visited cities, attracting millions and millions of visitors from around the globe. This has been true for quite some time.
A relatively more recent development, however, is that Istanbul started to also attract overseas investors. And not just any investors, real estate investors. Many of them also aren’t purely investors, as they buy properties for personal use, i.e., move to Istanbul or frequent the city for prolonged stays.
Why is this happening? Well, it’s harder to say why wouldn’t it be happening. Istanbul, as befits a city of its grandeur, isn’t just a regular property market. It’s extremely diverse in terms of offers, which applies to both the variety of properties and price competitiveness.
Simply put, it’s a huge market. Sometimes it may be quite difficult to navigate such a market with all of its peculiarities and nuances. Fortunately, today we have many tools that can help us through this. For instance, you can use Zingat. It’s a handy Turkish real estate listing platform where you can familiarize yourself with the market by checking out up-to-date prices and available properties. Its detailed listings are probably the closest you can get to knowing everything about a property without personally going there.
A kind of unique feature Zingat also offers is its Area Report, which provides well-visualized data on a particular area’s real estate market information, important demographic data, and socioeconomic conditions, including livability.
Tools like Zingat will help you understand why Istanbul was named one of the best cities in the world by Time Out magazine for its 2022 ranking. Announcing its annual index, the magazine said, “Our top cities this year are the ones with thriving nightlife, amazing food and drink, and art, culture and museums galore.”
Seeing this explanation, it’s hard to argue against Istanbul’s inclusion in the list. It’s a place that knows no sleep and provides its 16 million residents with whatever they need to liven up their routine big city lives. Entertainment is perhaps one of Istanbul’s strongest suits, offering diverse opportunities for recreation to both locals and scores of short-time visitors.
In addition to leisure, the ranking also takes into account factors like walkability, public transit, safety, and sustainability.
The results are based on a survey of thousands of city residents across the globe. As such, “97 percent of Istanbulites didn’t say their city was boring, while 82 percent said it was great for food and drink, and 83 percent thought it was diverse.”
Overall, Istanbul ranked 50th among the 53 best cities in the world according to Time Out.
Frankly, there is no need for any rankings to know that Istanbul is one of the greatest cities to live in. It won’t take long for someone to fall in love with this city. And if you ever consider moving to Istanbul, make sure you use the right tools to find yourself a perfect home in this magical city.
