OT: Living the High?? Life

[Guest guest]

Hey Carol,

 

> Sounds good Butch but what are the wages for your average jobs?

> Carol

 

Distribution of wealth and the power to accumulate wealth is a major

problem here. There is little logic to it.

 

And it depends on whether or not you are a Turk or a foreigner. Many

Turkish wages are unionized .. defense industry wages are $1,000 or so

minimum a month for an admin position .. up to $1,800 for a manager.

Janitors get $400 or $450 a month if in that union .. but this is the

minority.

 

Some plumbers in the USA make equal to some doctors .. sameo sameo.

 

Unskilled labor and admin positions in the private sector are as low as

$150 .. around the minimum wage. Waiters and such might get $50 or so

and have to depend on tips .. which will generally work out to around

the $150 mark.

 

Government employee pay is really strange in that its possible for a

union driver of the Dean of a Faculty to make more than the Dean. But

the Dean has perqs. Its this perq system that offsets the wage scale.

A taxi driver who owns his own taxi can make $2,000 a month .. around

the same as the President. But the President has virtually no expenses.

The taxi driver paid out the nose for the taxi and the license.

 

A run-of-the-mill lawyer might make $1,000 a month .. a good one might

make $5,000 or more. A doctor starts out .. after graduation, around

$450 .. and will not get higher than $600 or so unless they open their

own clinic on the side .. and they can't do that until they become a

docent .. or an assistant professor. Then they can get rich.

 

The normal government employee .. young teacher, young cop, admin

assistant, etc., makes around $350-$375 .. and they usually live in

government housing .. free. They can't afford to live outside if they

are not married to a working spouse.

 

But the government also has perqs for the little feller. The Army has

their clubs and summer resorts .. same for the teachers and cops and

each of the ministries. In one of these spartan seaside resorts a

family can stay for $8 or so a day .. including meals in the common

mess. In the city their club/restaurants can serve food for half the

cost of a private sector restaurant.

 

Americans .. we're paid US wages if we work for a US company .. and the

first $75,000 a year is tax free because its hard to get folks to stick

it out when they are at an age and experience to make the big bucks. US

laws hamstring US companies to a great degree in that bribery is against

US law .. few countries have such enforced restrictions so other foreign

companies have an advantage over US companies. Means .. the US gummit

has to give them some incentives and that incentive is to their Expat

workers. US Company can pay the worker a bit less cause the worker is

partially tax free and gets to keep more of their salary.

 

Average Turkish national wage levels are not reliable .. but its

presently at around $2,500 annually. But this includes those in the

village who might have zero income as they are subsistence farmers.

 

Bottom line .. Turkey is a great place to live if you are a rich Turk or

a foreigner with hard currency. Its an uncomfortable place to live if

you have no education, no torpil (connection that can boost you) or you

have fallen out with the torpil system.

 

My maid could not live alone on her $175 a month .. but she is a peasant

and her family wouldn't allow her to live alone anyway. She must stay

with them until she marries.

 

Food is cheap, booze is cheap, taxies are cheap, rent is high and gas is

high (though cheaper than all the rest of Europe) .. labor is cheap and

services are cheap .. but all this only affects the Turk .. not me as I

have hard currency.

 

I have lived in many Third World and Emerging Market countries. Turkey

is ahead of most of them .. but behind Western Europe and the USA.

 

Y'all keep smiling, Butch

[Guest guest]

, butch owen <butchbsi@s...>

wrote:

Hi Butch.....

 

Ok.....crackin up...YES Butch is right...Life is good over there!!And

the waiter really will hover over you and treat you like royality for

a buck or two...REALLY!! Been there done that, just alittle West of

you in Kavala, Serres, area in Greece. My husband is from there but

we live on the Eastren Shore of Maryland now...been here 13 1/2

years. Yia Yai and Popoo are here now...they love it here but miss

alot of things that happen summertime in Greece and the

Meditarrainian. We have considered retiring from the restaurant biz

and spending 4-5 months a year over there and then back here. We are

on the water here so it is relaxing and quite here. There are

definetly plus and minuses to each country and until you have

actually been there and experienced it it is hard to really imagine

the differences. People are very laid back over there and take siesta

everyday but very serious when it comes to there businesses...Family

Pride!! > > life is less expensive...even though the Euro has

changed alot of that. I suggest a vacation to the Mediteranian in

the near future. They have alot of EO's being produced in Crete but,

keep going East until you bump into Butch and all the Roses!!!

I have taken the whole European theme from my trips to Greece and

have incorporated that into my products and website that is Coming

Soon. They know there herbs over there thats for sure!! Soak up

some sun for me over there Butch and keep the roses blooming!!

 

~Peace~

Michele Seretis

www.thesoapgardenboutique.com

 

*****************************************************************

Ya.... a maid. LOL That is the only thing I know to recommend.

> > Karen J

>

> Its a great recommendation .. but not so practical in the USA now

I'm

> afraid. Having gotten used to servants is one of the four reasons I

> remain in Turkey. I don't want to clean and crap when I can have a

maid

> for $175 a month plus her busfare .. and she considers herself

overpaid

> and underworked because I work my people according to the labor

laws.

> That is 45 hours a week .. the average Turk boss squeezes 60-65

hours

> out of their folks and dares them to quit. I also pay social

security

> but the average Turk boss avoids it .. and dares the employee to

quit.

>

> I can get a haircut, a shave, shoulder massage and manicure for

roughly

> four bucks here .. barbers won't shave men in the USA now and a

haircut

> alone costs $10 and up .. plus they use electric clippers. These

folks

> take their time .. scissors and such.

>

> Taxis are so cheap .. and parking is so rare .. that I never use my

car

> unless I am going out of town. So no concern about having a couple

of

> beers and driving.

>

> In half the areas of Ankara and damn near all the areas in Istanbul

> pedestrians walk in the street and dodge the cars .. cause the cars

are

> parked on the sidewalk. ;-p Red lights mean slow down and see if

there

> is a cop in the vicinity .. that is, unless your father is a big

shot.

> Then it means do whatever the hell you want cause you know he is

gonna

> get you out of it. We have traffic and pedestrian discipline in

the US.

> I know some of you might disagree but if you come here for a week

you

> will not disagree when you return to the USA. ;-)

>

> Here I get service when I WANT IT .. not when the service provider

wants

> to give it. Competition in the food business in the America

resulted

> in fast food prices going down in the last ten years. Too many

folks

> into service here means you get what you want when you want it and

at a

> unbelieveably low price.

>

> Here, when you go to a restaurant and they don't have what you want

on

> the menu .. the chef will send a boy out to the market to get it so

he

> can cook it up for you. The waiters will hover over you like you

are

> the only customer they've had this year .. all they want is a

dollar or

> maybe if they're lucky .. a $2 tip after they provide grand service

and

> with a smile. In the USA, if you can get the attention of the surly

> waiter you might get served. And when you are ready to leave, if

you

> don't overtip the smartass s/he is likely to insult you on the way

out.

>

> Here .. I'm treated as a honorable retired army officer by all who

know

> I am, and as an Uncle, Father, Big Brother, etc., by those younger

than

> I am. In the USA I'm just one more over-the-hill ex-friggin GI who

like

> most average folsk in the USA gets no respect but a healthy dose of

crap

> from most of the other folks they run into on a daily basis.

>

> Here .. one can go to a bar or pub for years and never see a fight

or

> even an arguement .. but try that for a week in the average

American bar

> or pub. Turks are kinder and more formal than Americans .. and

they are

> less sincere than Americans too. That's sorta what happens when

formal

> behavior or politically correct behavior is the order of the day.

>

> Here I can't get a BLT or ham and cheese at the local restaurant ..

but

> I can get a full meal for $3 or so or a lay out fit for a sultan at

a

> five start restaurant with drinks included for $20 a head. Can't

go to

> Shoney's buffet lunch but I can order ala carte from most any place

and

> they will deliver. Can't watch forty-eleven channels of relatively

fine

> TV (which most Americans take for granted) but I can go to the

opera or

> real theatre for $4 or $5 or so.

>

> Can't go out in the back yard and have a bar-be-que cause everybody

in

> the city cept'in for the REALLY RICH don't have a yard .. we live

in a

> friggin apartment. But we almost always have a nice view cause

Ankara

> is built on hills .. like Rome.

>

> Here, I can always count on friends to be there when I need them ..

and

> even when I don't need them. :-( I can always count on them

demanding

> the same in return for their friendship. That's an unfortunate

part of

> life here .. you make friends and its like you are committed to

their

> welfare and they will take advantage of that. You don't say NO to a

> friend .. even when you'd really like to choke them for asking

favors

> that you really don't want to get into. The higher the position of

the

> friend, the more they will expect in return. I think American

mentality

> in this regard is light years ahead of the rest of the world.

Maybe our

> sincerity that causes us to appear to be disrespectful to

others. ;-)

>

> There are many more positives and negatives to living here .. same

as I

> find when I go back to the USA. I think I have to live in both. ;-

p

>

> All said and done .. there are upsides and downsides to living in

any

> place. I've not mentioned the other t3 reasons .. though two of

them are

> fantastic bread baked three times daily .. and ice-cold Efes

Beer. ;-p

>

> Turkish wimmens who are beautiful (no shortage of them) generally

have

> money cause they marry well. They are spoiled by their husbands and

> soon become very vain. American wimmens who are married to Turkish

men

> here do a much better job of keeping their husbands in check cause

they

> are less inclined to allow themselves to be bought off with baubles.

>

> Y'all come on over and you can have a nice beach house on the Med

for

> $20,000 .. a maid or two for peanuts .. a chauffer/butler for $250 a

> month and a five star face lift and tummy tuck for around $2,000

more.

>

> Y'all keep smiling. ;-p Butch http://www.AV-AT.com