Moving to Eskişehir
Make Eskişehir feel like home.
Smileys pairs practical local knowledge — the Handbook's guides — 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 Eskişehir already has.
Before you arrive
I'm planning my move
Residence permits and where to live — the decisions to make before you land.
- Working Remotely from Türkiye: Digital Nomad Visa, Work Permissions, Tax & Social Security
- Entering Türkiye: Visa-Free Stays, e-Visas and the 90/180 Rule
- Residence Permit (Ikamet): Your first application, without the panic
Your first week
I just arrived
Get in from the airport, then a working phone, a transport card and a way to pay — the first-week essentials.
- Getting a SIM Card and Home Internet in Türkiye
- Eskart: One Card for Eskişehir’s Trams and Buses
- 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.
- Health Insurance for Your Residence Permit: What Is Accepted in Türkiye
- Turkish Basics and Etiquette: Words, Customs and the Rules Worth Knowing
Once you're settled
Build your life here
Paperwork done — now the part that makes a city home: people.
The practical side
Guides from the Eskişehir Handbook, written by the Smileys team. Where a guide links official sources, those are the requirements; the rest is lived experience.
Residence permits and legal status
3 guidesWorking Remotely from Türkiye: Digital Nomad Visa, Work Permissions, Tax & Social Security
Last reviewed 24 September 2026 · Links official sources
Banking and money
2 guidesGetting a Turkish Tax Number as a Foreigner (Vergi Kimlik Numarası)
Last reviewed 26 September 2026 · Links official sources
SIM, home internet and essential apps
2 guidese-Devlet for Foreigners: Getting Your Password and What You Can Do With It
Last reviewed 26 September 2026 · Links official sources
Healthcare
1 guideHealth Insurance for Your Residence Permit: What Is Accepted in Türkiye
Last reviewed 28 September 2026 · Links official sources
Transport
1 guideEskart: One Card for Eskişehir’s Trams and Buses
Links official sources
Safety, scams and emergencies
3 guidesLost or Stolen Passport, Residence Permit or Phone in Türkiye: What to Do
Last reviewed 26 September 2026 · Links official sources
Find your neighbourhood
Some of Eskişehir's neighbourhoods to start with.
Odunpazarı
The hill of restored Ottoman timber houses — Kurşunlu Mosque, glass workshops and the Odunpazarı Modern Museum
Arifiye
Hamamyolu's long park strip with the old thermal baths, the centre's evening walk
İstiklal
The south bank of the Porsuk in the middle of town — riverside cafés, footbridges, the tourist boats
Hoşnudiye
Across the river on the Tepebaşı side — Barlar Sokağı and the centre's late nights
Yenibağlar
Bağlar — the tram stop, Espark mall, student flats between the centre and Anadolu University
Yeşiltepe
Anadolu University's Yunus Emre campus and the student streets around it
Build your life here
Events, clubs and hosts in Eskişehir.
Upcoming events
1 on the calendar in Eskişehir.
Clubs
3 active clubs — hiking, language, food, film and more.
Meet the hosts
The members who run events and clubs.
Community rules
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 Eskişehir community board.
Answers are members' own experiences, not recommendations or endorsements by Smileys.
Anyone can read the board; posting a question needs a Smileys account.
Open the community boardArrive knowing people.
Joining is free. You only pay for events you choose, and the price is shown before you RSVP.