Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chatham and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,550 a month against $2,956 in Chatham, rent and utilities included – about $16,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

144

Cost of Living Index in Chatham
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Chatham Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Chatham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,956

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chatham 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 Chatham and in Istanbul actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,956 per month in Chatham vs $1,550 in Istanbul, rent included.

Chatham $2,956
Istanbul $1,550

A couple spends around $4,000 per month in Chatham vs $2,415 in Istanbul, rent included.

Chatham $4,000
Istanbul $2,415

A family of three spends $5,044 per month in Chatham vs $3,281 in Istanbul, rent included.

Chatham $5,044
Istanbul $3,281

Chatham costs about 91% more than Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Chatham and Istanbul sit above the global median – Chatham by 119%, Istanbul by 15%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.44 £10.08

$12.30 ₺609

9.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.5 £70.2

$54.7 ₺2,708

70.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.77 £7.33

$9.22 ₺456

5.97%

Cappuccino

$3.58 £2.69

$4.40 ₺218

-18.64%

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

$2.95 £2.22

$1.68 ₺83.1

75.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 £1.20

$0.59 ₺29.40

171.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.26 £4.70

$4.70 ₺233

33.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.63 £4.97

$5.91 ₺292

12.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.87 £1.40

$1.21 ₺60.0

54.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 £1.54

$0.89 ₺44.10

130.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 £1.60

$2.19 ₺108

-2.74%

Eggs

$3.90 £2.93

$2.35 ₺116

65.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.54 £7.90

$10.42 ₺516

1.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.20 £6.90

$5.65 ₺280

62.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.27 £11.46

$20.94 ₺1,037

-27.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 £2.20

$1.90 ₺94.1

54.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 £1.46

$2.31 ₺114

-15.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 £1.96

$1.28 ₺63.1

103.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.60 £2.70

$1.80 ₺89.0

100.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 £1.48

$0.65 ₺32.16

203.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.88 £1.41

$0.64 ₺31.91

193.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 £0.88

$1.25 ₺62.1

-5.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.22

$0.56 ₺27.58

191.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.41 £16.06

$2.37 ₺118

803.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.05 £8.29

$13.42 ₺664

-17.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.03 £2.27

$2.40 ₺119

26.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 £1.80

$3.48 ₺172

-31.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.02 £3.02

$0.89 ₺43.84

351.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$112 £84.3

$67.4 ₺3,338

66.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.88 £3.66

$1.29 ₺64.1

278.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.72 £2.04

$0.92 ₺45.70

195.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.84 £14.88

$10.96 ₺542

81.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.47 ₺72.9

34.01%

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

$38.6K £29.0K

$50.8K ₺2.5M

-23.92%

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

$36.7K £27.5K

$44.5K ₺2.2M

-17.59%

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

$279 £209

$88.6 ₺4,387

214.36%

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

$16.97 £12.73

$11.59 ₺574

46.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.03 £19.53

$15.81 ₺783

64.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$113 £85.1

$77.2 ₺3,820

47.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.15 £6.87

$22.74 ₺1,126

-59.76%

Cinema Ticket

$17.64 £13.24

$8.14 ₺403

116.71%

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

$2,046 £1,535

$1,008 ₺49.9K

102.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.6K £22.9K

$25.6K ₺1.3M

19.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.0 £67.5

$54.0 ₺2,671

66.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.39 £34.06

$40.83 ₺2,021

11.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £76.8

$98.9 ₺4,895

3.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.1 £66.8

$96.6 ₺4,783

-7.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,044 £1,534

$985 ₺48.7K

107.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,632 £1,224

$650 ₺32.2K

151.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,470 £1,853

$1,983 ₺98.2K

24.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,092 £1,569

$1,180 ₺58.4K

77.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,902 £5,928

$3,138 ₺155.4K

151.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,319 £5,491

$1,780 ₺88.1K

311.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,938 £2,204

$1,205 ₺59.7K

143.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.12

40.92

-87.49%

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

Last update for Chatham: October 13, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chatham

$1.6K 55.2%

Istanbul

$650 41.9% 60.2% $982

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chatham

$322 10.9%

Istanbul

$116 7.5% 63.9% $206

Groceries & Markets

Chatham

$318 10.7%

Istanbul

$260 16.8% 18.2% $58

Eating Out

Chatham

$243 8.2%

Istanbul

$223 14.4% 8% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Chatham

$149 5%

Istanbul

$93 6% 37.2% $55

Getting Around

Chatham

$147 5%

Istanbul

$77 5% 47.6% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Chatham

$147 5%

Istanbul

$131 8.4% 11.2% $16

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,044 in Chatham versus $985 in Istanbul. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 144% higher in Chatham, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $94.0 in Chatham versus $55.0 in Istanbul. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $318 vs $260 – making Istanbul the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Chatham

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

13:21 1:21 PM

15:21 3:21 PM

2 h ahead of Chatham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

76,792

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 18, 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 18, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chatham Istanbul 2,450 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Chatham
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

Chatham vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chatham costs about 91% more than Istanbul, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,434 per month in Chatham and $2,325 in Istanbul. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Istanbul, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,956 in Chatham and $1,550 in Istanbul. That's a gap of about 91%.

Public transport costs about 67% less in Istanbul. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Istanbul, where all-in costs run around $1,550, than in Chatham at $2,956. In Istanbul it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chatham it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Istanbul costs $1,550 versus $2,956 in Chatham. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Istanbul. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Chatham makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.