Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buckingham and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,550 a month against $2,219 in Buckingham, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Buckingham
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Buckingham Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Buckingham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,219

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buckingham and in Istanbul

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Buckingham and in Istanbul actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,219 in Buckingham versus $1,550 in Istanbul.

Buckingham $2,219
Istanbul $1,550

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,265 in Buckingham versus $2,415 in Istanbul.

Buckingham $3,265
Istanbul $2,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,311 in Buckingham versus $3,281 in Istanbul.

Buckingham $4,311
Istanbul $3,281

Living in Buckingham is roughly 43% more expensive than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Buckingham 64% above, Istanbul 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.03 £15.03

$12.30 ₺609

62.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.9 £59.2

$54.7 ₺2,708

44.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.44 £7.83

$9.22 ₺456

13.23%

Cappuccino

$4.60 £3.45

$4.40 ₺218

4.55%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 £1.54

$1.68 ₺83.1

22.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 £1.12

$0.59 ₺29.40

154.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.45 £4.09

$4.70 ₺233

15.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.52 £3.39

$5.91 ₺292

-23.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.21 ₺60.0

24.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.77 £1.33

$0.89 ₺44.10

98.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.82 £2.11

$2.19 ₺108

28.77%

Eggs

$4.04 £3.03

$2.35 ₺116

71.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.09 £6.82

$10.42 ₺516

-12.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.72 £5.79

$5.65 ₺280

36.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.42 £12.32

$20.94 ₺1,037

-21.59%

Apples (1kg)

$3.29 £2.47

$1.90 ₺94.1

73.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 £1.16

$2.31 ₺114

-33.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.80 £2.10

$1.28 ₺63.1

118.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.20 £2.40

$1.80 ₺89.0

77.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 £0.87

$0.65 ₺32.16

78.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.30

$0.64 ₺31.91

170.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 £0.97

$1.25 ₺62.1

3.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 £1.01

$0.56 ₺27.58

141.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.66 £17.75

$2.37 ₺118

898.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.10 £7.57

$13.42 ₺664

-24.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.14 £2.36

$2.40 ₺119

30.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 £1.71

$3.48 ₺172

-34.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.38 £2.53

$0.89 ₺43.84

279.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$94.7 £71.1

$67.4 ₺3,338

40.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.18 £3.14

$1.29 ₺64.1

224.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.69 £2.02

$0.92 ₺45.70

192.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.36 £24.28

$10.96 ₺542

195.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.53

$1.47 ₺72.9

38.78%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$38.4K £28.8K

$50.8K ₺2.5M

-24.43%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$41.3K £31.0K

$44.5K ₺2.2M

-7.29%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$200 £150

$88.6 ₺4,387

125.67%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$17.46 £13.10

$11.59 ₺574

50.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.68 £32.77

$15.81 ₺783

176.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.77 £34.34

$77.2 ₺3,820

-40.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.74 ₺1,126

Cinema Ticket

$13.38 £10.04

$8.14 ₺403

64.37%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,464 £1,099

$1,008 ₺49.9K

45.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.0K £16.5K

$25.6K ₺1.3M

-13.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.3 £63.2

$54.0 ₺2,671

56.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.33 £23.50

$40.83 ₺2,021

-23.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.7 £55.3

$98.9 ₺4,895

-25.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.2 £72.9

$96.6 ₺4,783

0.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,462 £1,097

$985 ₺48.7K

48.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 £777

$650 ₺32.2K

59.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,105 £1,579

$1,983 ₺98.2K

6.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,659 £1,244

$1,180 ₺58.4K

40.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,081 £3,812

$3,138 ₺155.4K

61.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,819 £2,865

$1,780 ₺88.1K

114.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,447 £3,336

$1,205 ₺59.7K

268.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.06

40.92

-87.63%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Buckingham: October 10, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Buckingham

$1K 46.7%

Istanbul

$650 41.9% 37.3% $386

Eating Out

Buckingham

$297 13.4%

Istanbul

$223 14.4% 24.9% $74

Groceries & Markets

Buckingham

$297 13.4%

Istanbul

$260 16.8% 12.6% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buckingham

$261 11.8%

Istanbul

$116 7.5% 55.6% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Buckingham

$129 5.8%

Istanbul

$131 8.4% 1.3% $1.7

Getting Around

Buckingham

$126 5.7%

Istanbul

$77 5% 38.9% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Buckingham

$73 3.3%

Istanbul

$93 6% 28.8% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,462 in Buckingham and $985 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buckingham pays 269% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $79.0 in Buckingham vs $55.0 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $260 per month, with Istanbul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Buckingham

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

08:36 8:36 AM

10:36 10:36 AM

2 h ahead of Buckingham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,890

15,701,602

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.66 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buckingham Istanbul 2,570 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Buckingham
Istanbul

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Buckingham vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buckingham and Istanbul differ by about 43% in total monthly costs ($2,219 vs $1,550 including rent). Istanbul is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 269% higher in Buckingham, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,462 in Buckingham versus $985 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,219 per month in Buckingham versus $1,550 in Istanbul – a 43% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Istanbul runs roughly 40% less than in Buckingham. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,550 in Istanbul versus $2,219 in Buckingham, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Istanbul but tight or insufficient in Buckingham. The gap between the two cities makes Istanbul the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Buckingham and Istanbul are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Istanbul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Buckingham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.