Cost of living comparison

United States

compared to

Turkey

Istanbul vs. Mission Viejo Cost of Living Summary

Istanbul is 42.4% cheaper than Mission Viejo.

Restaurants: pay 32.4% less in Istanbul
Groceries: pay 53.9% less in Istanbul
Transportation: pay 9.5% more in Istanbul
Housing: pay 69.3% less in Istanbul
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in Istanbul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.4% less in Istanbul
Clothing: pay 16.6% more in Istanbul

The cost of childcare, clothing, and transportation in Istanbul are more expensive than in Mission Viejo. Expenses including housing, groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Istanbul. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Istanbul.

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Istanbul vs. Mission Viejo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Istanbul instead of Mission Viejo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 32.4% less for restaurants

	Mission Viejo	Istanbul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$21.50	$12.19 TRY611.44	-43.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.00	$9.35 TRY468.77	-6.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00	$1.73 TRY86.80	-13.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.55	$0.58 TRY29.01	-62.6%
Average			-32.4%

Mission Viejo vs. Istanbul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 53.9% less for groceries

	Mission Viejo	Istanbul
Bread 1 loaf	$3.90	$0.92 TRY46.16	-76.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.00	$5.28 TRY264.59	-24.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.00	$4.69 TRY234.91	+17.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.50	$2.41 TRY120.90	-46.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.21	$2.54 TRY127.30	-59.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.23	$0.85 TRY42.69	-61.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69	$1.03 TRY51.51	+48.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.29	$0.57 TRY28.70	-55.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.24	$0.84 TRY41.89	-62.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.99	$0.31 TRY15.56	-68.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.94	$0.29 TRY14.35	-85.3%
Average			-53.9%

Mission Viejo vs. Istanbul - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.5% more for transportation

	Mission Viejo	Istanbul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.12	$5.43 TRY272.44	+6.2%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$67.03 TRY3,360.91
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,499.00	$50,810.11 TRY3M	+51.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.36	$8.40 TRY421.37	-54.2%
Average			+9.5%

Mission Viejo vs. Istanbul - Cost of transportation

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pay 69.3% less for housing

	Mission Viejo	Istanbul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$65.67	$16.15 TRY809.55	-75.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,633.33	$996.85 TRY49,983.16	-62.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,700.00	$647.83 TRY32,482.99	-76.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$188.44	$68.87 TRY3,453.27	-63.5%
Average			-69.3%

Mission Viejo vs. Istanbul - Cost of housing

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Mission Viejo	Istanbul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$545.83	$1,021.62 TRY51,225.46	+87.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,400.00	$25,999.20 TRY1M	+209.5%
Average			+140.7%

Mission Viejo vs. Istanbul - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Mission Viejo	Istanbul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.00	$4.78 TRY239.48	-4.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.47	$4.31 TRY216.34	-21.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.86	$2.34 TRY117.19	-80.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$40.00	$76.22 TRY3,821.53	+90.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.00	$8.13 TRY407.63	-32.3%
Average			-14.4%

Mission Viejo vs. Istanbul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.6% more for clothing

	Mission Viejo	Istanbul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$31.44	$53.35 TRY2,674.81	+69.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.60	$39.62 TRY1,986.48	+14.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.00	$99.91 TRY5,009.73	+38.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$139.17	$95.52 TRY4,789.65	-31.4%
Average			+16.6%

Mission Viejo vs. Istanbul - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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