We completely understand why people ask because, if you’re thinking about moving your family to another country, buying a home or spending your retirement somewhere new, it’s probably the single most important question of all.
Over the years, though, I’ve realised it’s also one of the hardest questions to answer. Not because I don’t know the answer, but because the answer isn’t a statistic. It’s a feeling.
Why Safety Is More Than a Statistic
People often expect us to quote crime figures or government travel advice, and whilst those things certainly have their place, they don’t tell you what life feels like once you’ve unpacked your suitcases, settled into a routine and started calling somewhere home.
The only perspective I can honestly offer is my own because it’s the one my family and I have lived every day since making Turkey our home.
When I first moved to Turkey, I behaved exactly as you’d expect someone from England to behave. I checked the doors before going to bed, made sure the car was locked and thought twice if I’d left anything valuable inside.
Those weren’t habits I learnt in Turkey; they were habits I’d brought with me. I didn’t even realise how much of my daily routine revolved around security until those habits slowly began to disappear. It wasn’t because somebody told me Turkey was safe, it wasn’t because I’d read a report or looked at a set of statistics. It happened naturally through hundreds of ordinary days.
Little by little, without even noticing it, I stopped checking everything twice. I stopped assuming the worst would happen if I made a simple mistake. Looking back, I think that’s when I realised I wasn’t just living in Turkey anymore. I was beginning to feel at home here.
The Moment Turkey Began to Feel Like Home
There’s one memory that has always stayed with me because it perfectly sums up what I’m trying to explain.
One warm summer’s evening we left the balcony doors open all night. The crickets were singing outside, a gentle breeze drifted through the house while we slept, and when I woke the following morning, everything was exactly as we’d left it.
It sounds insignificant when you read it on a page, but for me it wasn’t insignificant at all. It was the moment I realised I’d stopped living on high alert. I hadn’t consciously decided to trust where I lived; somewhere along the way, that trust had simply become part of everyday life.
Feeling Safe as a Husband and Father
As a husband, there are other moments that have stayed with me just as much. Ayşegül enjoys meeting her friends around Yalıkavak Marina, and if she decides to walk home afterwards, I don’t spend the evening wondering whether she’s going to be alright.
I know she’ll walk through the front door a little later, probably laughing about something one of her friends has said over dinner. It’s become completely normal for us, and yet I know that’s one of the things many people moving from Western Europe find hardest to imagine because it simply isn’t the reality they’ve become used to.
Being a father changes the way you look at safety as well. I still remind my son to be careful when he’s riding his bike, just as every parent does, but what gives me confidence isn’t simply the street we live on. It’s the people around us.
Communities here still feel like communities. People know their neighbours, the local shopkeeper recognises familiar faces and there’s almost always somebody sitting outside enjoying a tea or chatting with friends. If something doesn’t look quite right, somebody notices, not because they’re being nosy, but because people genuinely look out for one another. It’s one of those cultural differences that’s difficult to explain until you’ve experienced it yourself.
Can You Wear Watches and Jewellery in Turkey?
One conversation always makes Ayşegül smile because we’ve heard it countless times over the years.
Sooner or later, somebody will quietly ask whether it’s safe to wear their Rolex or expensive jewellery in Turkey. They aren’t really asking about the watch. They’re asking whether they’ll have to change the way they live.
Many people arrive from countries where they’ve become used to hiding expensive watches under a sleeve, avoiding certain streets after dark or thinking twice before leaving a handbag hanging over the back of a chair in a restaurant. Those habits become so normal that they stop questioning them. Then they arrive in Turkey and, without even noticing it, that constant awareness slowly begins to fade.
That was certainly our experience. We don’t spend our lives worrying about what’s on our wrist or whether somebody is watching us. We don’t think twice about:
Wearing a nice watch.
Leaving valuables in the house while we’re out for dinner.
Parking the car outside with shopping still inside.
Those aren’t things I’d encourage anyone to do carelessly anywhere in the world, but they’re honest examples of how life has felt for us after making Turkey our home.
Why Community Can Matter More Than Cameras
Perhaps the biggest surprise for many foreigners is that Turkey doesn’t always rely on the kind of visible security they’re used to seeing back home. One of the first questions many buyers ask us is about CCTV systems, alarms and security gates because that’s what they’ve always relied upon.
Then they spend a few months here and realise something rather unexpected. Hardly anybody else has them.
We live on a small development in Bodrum. There isn’t a guarded entrance, there aren’t security patrols driving around and, if you walk around our neighbourhood, you won’t find every house covered with cameras and alarm boxes.
Some luxury developments have those features, and many apartment buildings in Istanbul have controlled entrances because that’s simply how city living works, but ordinary residential neighbourhoods often feel remarkably different from what many foreigners expect.
In all the years I’ve lived in Turkey, I’ve personally heard of remarkably few burglaries amongst people I know. That’s not a statistic, and I’m certainly not suggesting crime doesn’t exist because it does. It’s simply an honest reflection of my own experience after making Turkey home.
I think the reason is something that’s very difficult to measure because it doesn’t appear in a report or on a government website. It’s woven into everyday life.
People know each other, neighbours naturally keep an eye on one another’s homes, the local shop owner recognises who’s from the area and who isn’t, and life is still lived outdoors. People are walking, talking, drinking tea, sitting in cafés or chatting with neighbours, so there are always familiar faces around. It’s not about people watching each other; it’s about communities still feeling like communities, and I genuinely believe that’s one of the reasons so many foreigners slowly begin to relax after moving here.
Back home, security often comes from technology. Here, it often comes from people.
Safety Still Requires Common Sense
That doesn’t mean Turkey is perfect because nowhere is. We still lock our doors before going to bed, we still use common sense, and I’d never suggest anyone should stop being sensible simply because they’re living in another country.
There is, however, a huge difference between taking sensible precautions and constantly expecting something bad to happen. For me, that’s probably been the biggest change since moving here.
When people ask me today whether Turkey is safe, I don’t immediately think about crime statistics or international rankings. I think about:
Leaving the balcony doors open all night on a warm summer’s evening, listening to the crickets outside and waking up to find everything exactly as we’d left it.
Ayşegül walking home after an evening with her friends, knowing she’ll walk through the front door smiling a little while later.
My son riding his bike around the neighbourhood while neighbours quietly keep an eye on him without ever being asked.
The local café where people greet each other by name, the shopkeeper who already knows what you came in for before you’ve asked, and the feeling that somewhere along the way I stopped living on high alert and simply started living.
Turkey hasn’t removed every risk from life because no country ever could. What it has given me, and what it has given our family, is something I hadn’t realised I’d slowly lost over the years. Peace of mind. Perhaps that’s the real Turkish charm that so many foreigners struggle to describe until they’ve experienced it for themselves.
From our family’s experience, yes. Like every country, Turkey has areas that are busier than others and sensible precautions always apply. However, we’ve found everyday life to be relaxed, welcoming and built around strong local communities, which has given us a genuine sense of peace of mind.
Does Turkey have street crime?
Like every country, Turkey has crime and visitors should always use common sense. Our own experience, however, is that street crime has never defined the way we live our lives. We find ourselves thinking about it far less than we once did before moving here.
Can I wear luxury watches and jewellery in Turkey?
This is one of the questions we’re asked most often. We can only speak from our own experience, but we wear watches and jewellery without giving them much thought. As with anywhere in the world, good judgement is always sensible, but many newcomers are surprised by how quickly they stop worrying about it.
Is Bodrum safe for families and retirees?
In our opinion, yes. One of Bodrum’s greatest strengths isn’t just its beautiful coastline, but its sense of community. Neighbours know each other, children still play outside, and many people tell us it reminds them of what their own hometowns used to feel like years ago.
Is Istanbul safe to live in?
Istanbul is one of the world’s great cities. Like London, Paris or New York, some districts are quieter than others, which is why local knowledge is important. Many of our clients live very happily in Istanbul, and choosing the right neighbourhood is often far more important than judging the city as a whole.
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James Mumcuoglu is a London-born, UK–Turkish dual citizen and Bodrum resident. With a background in corporate and entrepreneurial sectors, James combines local and international expertise, helping buyers secure property and citizenship in Turkey.
