Cost of living comparison
compared to
Istanbul vs. Taichung Cost of Living Summary
Istanbul is 36.2% more expensive than Taichung.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.0 times more in Istanbul
- Groceries
-
pay 44.1% less in Istanbul
- Transportation
-
pay 50.4% more in Istanbul
- Housing
-
pay 90.5% more in Istanbul
- Childcare
-
pay 2.2 times more in Istanbul
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 53.5% more in Istanbul
- Clothing
-
pay 5.4% less in Istanbul
The cost of childcare, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Istanbul are more expensive than in Taichung. Expenses including groceries and clothing are lower in Istanbul. Notably, childcare, restaurants, and housing are significantly more expensive in Istanbul.
Istanbul vs. Taichung Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Istanbul instead of Taichung, you would:
pay 2.0 times more for restaurants
|
Taichung
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.71
NT$153.43
|
$12.19
TRY606.11
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.71
NT$153.43
|
$9.35
TRY464.68
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.01
NT$32.84
|
$1.73
TRY86.04
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.75
NT$24.32
|
$0.58
TRY28.76
|
|
Taichung vs. Istanbul - Cost of restaurants
pay 44.1% less for groceries
|
Taichung
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.73
NT$56.26
|
$0.92
TRY45.76
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$14.39
NT$468.81
|
$5.28
TRY262.29
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$12.19
NT$397.15
|
$4.69
TRY232.86
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.54
NT$82.85
|
$2.41
TRY119.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.58
NT$116.74
|
$2.54
TRY126.19
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.95
NT$63.41
|
$0.85
TRY42.32
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.87
NT$28.50
|
$1.03
TRY51.06
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.39
NT$45.24
|
$0.57
TRY28.45
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.00
NT$32.59
|
$0.84
TRY41.53
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.55
NT$17.98
|
$0.31
TRY15.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.87
NT$28.42
|
$0.29
TRY14.22
|
|
Taichung vs. Istanbul - Cost of groceries
pay 50.4% more for transportation
|
Taichung
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.93
NT$128.06
|
$5.43
TRY270.07
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$31.39
NT$1,022.85
|
$67.03
TRY3,331.58
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,523.97
NT$1M
|
$50,810.11
TRY3M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.20
NT$332.43
|
$8.40
TRY417.69
|
|
Taichung vs. Istanbul - Cost of transportation
pay 90.5% more for housing
|
Taichung
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$21.18
NT$690.08
|
$16.15
TRY802.49
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$398.65
NT$12,990.21
|
$996.85
TRY49,547.03
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$277.01
NT$9,026.66
|
$647.83
TRY32,199.56
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$95.01
NT$3,096.13
|
$68.87
TRY3,423.14
|
|
Taichung vs. Istanbul - Cost of housing
pay 2.2 times more for childcare
|
Taichung
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$340.05
NT$11,080.89
|
$1,021.62
TRY50,778.49
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,741.06
NT$546K
|
$25,999.20
TRY1M
|
|
Taichung vs. Istanbul - Cost of childcare
pay 53.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Taichung
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.57
NT$51.14
|
$4.78
TRY237.39
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.79
NT$90.92
|
$4.31
TRY214.45
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.85
NT$125.30
|
$2.34
TRY116.17
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$32.43
NT$1,056.78
|
$76.22
TRY3,788.18
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.73
NT$317.08
|
$8.13
TRY404.07
|
|
Taichung vs. Istanbul - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.4% less for clothing
|
Taichung
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$72.12
NT$2,350.00
|
$53.35
TRY2,651.47
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$36.02
NT$1,173.72
|
$39.62
TRY1,969.15
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$84.23
NT$2,744.65
|
$99.91
TRY4,966.02
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.09
NT$3,750.46
|
$95.52
TRY4,747.86
|
|
Taichung vs. Istanbul - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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