Can you practice minimalism in one of the world’s largest cities standing on two continents?

Sure. You can practice minimalism anywhere. It’s a choice, a mindset.

Yes, all my friends in this city have busy, stressful and complicated lives, but I choose not to take the most travelled path. It’s clear where it takes you. The lifestyle I designed for myself is simple and it gives me the option not to take the corporate job and join the rat race.

Istanbul is an expensive city, but I spend very little. Transportation (both public and gas prices), restaurants and alcohol are costly. Most working people my age eat at least 2 meals out and nobody cooks. Although restaurants are expensive, vegetables and fruits are not and I think Turkish people take this for granted. The selection of vegetables and fruits are great, they’re mostly grown in Turkey, and are very affordable. I eat/drink outside once a week, and cook simple (yet very healthy) meals at home everyday. Instead of getting a corporate job and buying a car to drive there for 2 hours everyday, I try to work online and take a nice morning walk to my favourite coffee shop.

When you’re content with yourself and don’t have to impress others, life becomes much simpler. For me, minimalism is mostly about freedom — living however I want, wherever I want. This makes the title of this post irrelevant, but cities don’t really matter. My days are not much different in Istanbul, Vancouver, Colombia or Argentina. Sure, it’s easier in a Caribbean beach town than a 15M+ people megacity, but you can find simplicity anywhere.