* It was almost my first time abroad, my English wasn't great, and I was new to the culture. However I was amazed that how welcoming and patient people were. I hear the opposite from my friends living in Europe and US.
* I found a job while in Turkey, and the company sponsored me for the visa; and since they were an accredited employer the visa process was painless.
* Job variety is definitely small. I think it is not that hard to find _a_ job since there's usually demand for IT; however they are all pretty similar to each other(big finance/telco companies). If you have a specific interest (FP/Haskell and smaller companies in my case) it would be hard to find a job you like.
* Rent is expensive. Almost every one of my single friends flatshare, but I was able to find a one bedroom flat to live with my partner. I pay about 40% of my salary to the rent.
* However I do not think living expenses are too much. Our weekly shopping are usually cheaper compared to Turkey relative to the income. And most of the stuff we like to do for fun is usually cheap or free.
* People are nice. The city feels safe. Nature is great, lots of great hikes just an hour drive from the city center.
Overall; I can not compare with Europe or US since I've never been there, but I'm glad I am here now. And moving here was not that hard, so I think it has everything it needs to be a Tech hub, other than momentum.