TikToker Goes Viral Comparing 5-Star Hotel In Turkey And His Rent In The UK, Ends Up Moving There
Until 2020, the vast majority of humanity used to commute to work for centuries; COVID-19 massively introduced into people the very idea that working from home can be no less productive than attending the office. It’s time to get acquainted with work from holiday!
Yes, that’s right – when you work in the digital sphere, you make decent money, and at the same time, sporadically go to work in some paradise far from home. Where the sun always shines, where you can work right on the seashore, and where literally everything is several times cheaper than in your home country. And this viral TikTok video is just about that.
More info: TikTok
The author of the video is a Brit and he recently was scrolling through various accommodation options in Turkey
Image credits: joshkerr0
It turned out that a month in an all-inclusive 5-star hotel in Turkey costs even less than rent and bills in the UK
Image credits: joshkerr0
You can watch the original video here:
@joshkerr0 HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!? Yet again I ask myself why am I still in England? Its literally cheaper to live in a 5 star resort than it is to live in Manchester… #fyp ♬ original sound – Josh Kerr
The guy even questioned reasonably: “What are we doing in England?”
Image credits: Mikhail Nilov (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Mikhail Nilov (not the actual photo)
So the author traveled to Turkey and had his month in a great resort 300 meters from the seashore
So now meet Josh Kerr, a UK-based designer who, one day, sitting at home in rainy Manchester, was scrolling through various tourist destinations, and suddenly realized that a month of living in an all-inclusive 5-star hotel near the sea in Turkey would cost him less than rent and bills in Britain.
Josh actually found that a 28-night stay in a Turkish hotel, including flights (20kg hold luggage included) and meals, would cost £937 ($1,170), while rent in Manchester and all bills would cost him around £950 ($1,186). “What am I doing in England anyway?” Mr. Kerr wondered, and paid for the trip immediately.
As a result, Josh went to Turkey, stayed at the Port River Hotel and Spa in Antalya, where he got an excellent room with food and drinks included, a couple hundred meters from the gentle, warm sea, and even the ruins of an ancient city nearby, where you can go on an excursion. Not a bad alternative to the British rains, is it?
Well, in fact, this story is far from new – after all, back in the 19th century, young Britons, after graduating from college, went on a trip around the world – or at least around Europe (well, those of them whose wallet actually allowed it). However, it’s not surprising that accommodation in Turkey is cheaper than in the UK.
According to Forbes, the mean average annual pre-tax salary in the UK is around £34,900 as of April 2024. At the same time, TBS News gives the number of approximately £28,400 after taxes. For Turkey, the after-tax number is £3,700 – that is, almost 7.5 times less. Therefore, the whole essence of the life hack found by Mr. Kerr lies in the formula “earn in the UK, spend in Turkey.”
Image credits: Thorsten technoman (not the actual photo)
This, by and large, is the phenomenon of the so-called digital nomads, who, having remote work, move for several months from the the USA, Canada, the UK or Western Europe to much cheaper and warmer countries like Turkey, Vietnam, Thailand or Indonesia, receiving a special digital nomad visa in these countries. Moreover, if you rent an apartment there, rather than choosing an all-inclusive resort, you can save even more.
However, commenters on the original video simply praised Josh for being smart and inventive. “Remote working looking even more attractive…” one of the people wrote in the comments. “I work online. I could totally do that,” another one added.
“So does WFH now mean ‘Work From Holiday?’” someone commented quite sarcastically. Yes, these are the realities of the world in which we live nowadays. In some ways beautiful, in some ways weird and crazy. And by the way, have you, our dear readers, ever had the opportunity to work from holiday? If yes, please share your experience in the comments below.
People in the comments praised the author for being smart and inventive – and were also being quite witty over what WFH means here
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I was stationed overseas. The minute the landlord knows you're from a better funded country... rent goes way up!
« The guy even questioned reasonably: “What are we doing in England?” » Everyone can relate, and it has nothing to do with the cost of living..
What they seem to be doing in England is complaining about rents that are one-third what they are here n NYC. I’m now toying with the idea of adding Manchester to my dream list of places to move to.
Load More Replies...
The housing market is rotten. Not only in the UK, but in most western countries. If l could work remotely l'd be considering leaving Europe.
I think I've found yet another reason to get my CV updated and leave my current job!!
All fun and games but how would it work exactly? Does he have no stuff that he owns? They have to be störend some where. If you take any meds, or need medical care, you will struggle. In Egipt it is quite good but in Turkey? I doubt that. I Aas in A hotel in Turkey And it was super bad. On the Website it looked fancy, but it wasnt. Food was horrible. You cant drink water from the tab. You cant cook because you have no kitchen. Good luck eating the same things over and over again. Also, If he works abroad, how would taxes work? Dude never lived abroad And it shows
Brexiteers & their fellow racists in the USA, Canada, etc spend all their time accusing refugees of being "economic migrants" while thousands of 'digital nomads' from Britain, the USA, Canada are Brits are literally economic migrants in other countries - maybe it's projection.
Are they literal economic immigrants? I thought that an economic immigrant is somebody who takes a job from a local in a place where they are not local. Digital nomads don't do that since they already have a job.
Load More Replies...
So if you have no job or an online job, and you have almost no possessions - you can live more cheaply in a foreign resort or on a cruise ship - where they can kick you out any time they want. Sounds like a good plan for a downsized retiree, who can camp out at their kids house now and then, or a writer or a rich remote-worker... but utter garbage, that will make you have to be homeless on the streets now and then, for anyone else? Also - doing it long term - don't you need a Visa and medical insurance? I think this person was STILL paying rent or storage back home. (Oh just realised! GREAT strategy if doctor gives you only1 year to live!)
thats a low price for all inclusive. hard to believe that is for less than $50 a day.
I was stationed overseas. The minute the landlord knows you're from a better funded country... rent goes way up!
« The guy even questioned reasonably: “What are we doing in England?” » Everyone can relate, and it has nothing to do with the cost of living..
What they seem to be doing in England is complaining about rents that are one-third what they are here n NYC. I’m now toying with the idea of adding Manchester to my dream list of places to move to.
Load More Replies... The housing market is rotten. Not only in the UK, but in most western countries. If l could work remotely l'd be considering leaving Europe.
I think I've found yet another reason to get my CV updated and leave my current job!!
All fun and games but how would it work exactly? Does he have no stuff that he owns? They have to be störend some where. If you take any meds, or need medical care, you will struggle. In Egipt it is quite good but in Turkey? I doubt that. I Aas in A hotel in Turkey And it was super bad. On the Website it looked fancy, but it wasnt. Food was horrible. You cant drink water from the tab. You cant cook because you have no kitchen. Good luck eating the same things over and over again. Also, If he works abroad, how would taxes work? Dude never lived abroad And it shows
Brexiteers & their fellow racists in the USA, Canada, etc spend all their time accusing refugees of being "economic migrants" while thousands of 'digital nomads' from Britain, the USA, Canada are Brits are literally economic migrants in other countries - maybe it's projection.
Are they literal economic immigrants? I thought that an economic immigrant is somebody who takes a job from a local in a place where they are not local. Digital nomads don't do that since they already have a job.
Load More Replies... So if you have no job or an online job, and you have almost no possessions - you can live more cheaply in a foreign resort or on a cruise ship - where they can kick you out any time they want. Sounds like a good plan for a downsized retiree, who can camp out at their kids house now and then, or a writer or a rich remote-worker... but utter garbage, that will make you have to be homeless on the streets now and then, for anyone else? Also - doing it long term - don't you need a Visa and medical insurance? I think this person was STILL paying rent or storage back home. (Oh just realised! GREAT strategy if doctor gives you only1 year to live!)
thats a low price for all inclusive. hard to believe that is for less than $50 a day.
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