Moving to Ankara
Make Ankara feel like home.
Smileys pairs practical local knowledge — the Handbook, written by members who went through it — with an in-person community, so you can sort out the paperwork, choose where to live, and build a real social life once you arrive.
Your move, step by step
What to read, and when — from the Handbook guides Ankara already has.
Before you arrive
I'm planning my move
Residence permits and where to live — the decisions to make before you land.
Open this stageYour first week
I just arrived
Get a working phone, a transport card and a way to pay — the first-week essentials.
- Başkentkart (Ankarakart): One Card for the Metro, Ankaray, Başkentray and the Buses
- Getting a SIM Card and Home Internet in Türkiye
- Opening a Turkish bank account as a foreigner
Your first month
I'm settling in
Healthcare, a longer-term home, family life and the everyday systems that make a city work.
No Ankara guide for this stage yet.
Once you're settled
Build your life here
Paperwork done — now the part that makes a city home: people.
The practical side
Member-written guides from the Ankara Handbook. Where a guide links official sources, those are the requirements; the rest is lived experience.
Residence permits and legal status
1 guideResidence Permit (Ikamet): Your first application, without the panic
Last reviewed 10 August 2026 · Links official sources
Banking and money
1 guideOpening a Turkish bank account as a foreigner
Links official sources
SIM, home internet and essential apps
1 guideGetting a SIM Card and Home Internet in Türkiye
Links official sources
Transport
1 guideBaşkentkart (Ankarakart): One Card for the Metro, Ankaray, Başkentray and the Buses
Links official sources
Safety, scams and emergencies
1 guideScams & Tourist Traps in Türkiye: How to stay safe without becoming paranoid
Last reviewed 10 August 2026 · Links official sources
Find your neighbourhood
Some of Ankara's neighbourhoods to start with.
Ulus
Where the Republic started — the first parliament, the Roman baths, Hacı Bayram and the old-town bazaars
Ankara Kalesi
The citadel: copper lanes, restored houses turned restaurants, and the museum quarter at its foot
Hamamönü
Restored Ottoman streets, courtyard cafés and the calmest walk in the old city
Kızılay
The city's crossroads — metro hub, Sakarya's fish-and-beer tables and the student crowd that never goes home
Kavaklıdere
Tunalı Hilmi, Kuğulu Park and the Bestekar bar street — Ankara's evening out
Bahçelievler
7. Cadde: bookshops, cheap eats and a long walkable evening in a garden-suburb grid
Build your life here
Events, clubs and hosts in Ankara.
Upcoming events
The Ankara calendar.
Clubs
3 active clubs — hiking, language, food, film and more.
Meet the hosts
The members who run events and clubs.
Community guidelines
How members look after each other — worth reading before your first event.
Ask people who've done it
Flatmates, an English-speaking doctor, schools, a lawyer or accountant, a vet, a reliable handyman — members ask each other on the Ankara community board.
Answers are members' own experiences, not recommendations or endorsements by Smileys.
Open the community boardArrive knowing people.
Joining is free. You only pay for events you choose, and the price is shown before you RSVP.