The Importance of Picking the Right Location For a Second Home Is Now Palpable

 

During these troubled times, I, like many others, I’m sure, have been receiving frantic calls from friends, family members, and business associates about what to do next. Whether it’s about temporarily closing their business, practicing social distancing, or complete self-quarantine, some of these calls have been very emotional, especially from those with young children.

I have had to think very hard and long, not wanting to run the risk of giving incorrect advice that could cause permanent irreparable damage to the health and wellbeing of friends and loved ones. 

So, enough of overthinking. Let me get to the point that has brought me personally to where I am today. As a global citizen with more than one passport and plenty of options, I feel blessed during these very unsettling times. 

I made a fully conscious decision at the age of 20 to leave London, in search of a cleaner, more relaxed, lifestyle-based existence. My search took me all over the globe, and I discovered some of the world’s most amazing places, many of which were relatively unknown – except to the global backpacking community which, more than 30 years ago, was only a fraction of its present-day size.

We (the backpackers) used to say that we first found such places as Koh Phangan in Thailand before there was even a building there and, after some time, Hilton would track us down and build a hotel close by. It was while on these travels that I found the place that I call home today, which was considered and identified by the local residents as the country’s best-kept secret. 

More than 20 years ago, my backpacking brought me to the now infamous elite hang-out of Bodrum, on Turkey’s Turquoise Coast. In a recent article, Business Insider told its readers to “forget Bali, Mykonos, and St. Tropez. The hot new under-the-radar luxury travel destination is the seaside city of Bodrum, Turkey.”

You can learn enough from this article to understand what attracts the social elite to Bodrum’s shores in their superyachts, but I would like to explain something that’s more relevant to the present circumstances. After reading a recent, extraordinarily comprehensive article in IMI, written by Peter Macfarlane (Investment Migration in the Post Visa-Free Travel World), I felt compelled to tell this story as some of the points raised in it are what drove me to discover Bodrum.

With 4,000 years of history, Bodrum has also been home to countless ancient civilizations, including the Byzantines, Dorians, Carians, Lelegs, Romans, Persians, and Ottomans. The various studies carried out to understand why all these groups eventually settled in Bodrum all concluded that the underlying factor was food security. 

Until recently, few among us had thought they’d ever need to take something as rudimentary as food security into account when deciding on a potential destination for your alternative – or backup – destination. Recent events, however, have demonstrated how vulnerable supply lines can be, even in the modern world.

One of the studies referred to found that Bodrum had 390 different wild plant types, which, unlike in most of Mediterranean Europe, are locally used for both food and medicine to this day.

With supermarket shelves emptying around the world and supply chains being disrupted, I, like the local population of Bodrum, do not feel threatened at all. In addition, Bodrum boasts both a top ten spot in the world for air and sea quality, with an average of 310 days of sunshine a year. 

The coastal town has recently opened a state-of-the-art international airport, and Turkish Airlines flies to more destinations than any other airline in the world. So, if you need to travel, or your loved ones wish to visit – which, believe me, they will be queuing up to do – you would be hard-pressed to find a better destination. 

Turkey has only recently, over the last 10 years or so, witnessed huge advances in transport and communication infrastructure, which has propelled it to a status envied by many of its European counterparts. This is also increasingly the case when it comes to both health and education in Bodrum, now that some of the region’s most up-to-date hospitals and international schools have opened here. Due to the high number of UHNWI and HNWI living in Bodrum, these are among the best institutions in Turkey, and the facilities are only a few years old. 

Turkey, furthermore, is among the top destinations in the world for medical tourism, and the hospitals can perform every procedure imaginable, from life-saving surgery to hair transplants. Many schools run internationally recognized International Baccalaureate programs, so, if you are thinking of permanently relocating, your children’s educational needs will be well-covered. 

Bodrum has been a favorite choice for many different nationalities both as a holiday and long-term residential destination for many years now, first through its world-leading yachting industry and, more recently, after the opening of the international airport. This means there is a well-established ex-pat community, which has evolved into an integral segment of the local population. This has created this fantastic demographic mix of a cosmopolitan population still rooted in centuries of local tradition and culture.

When looking at all the points raised in Peter Macfarlane’s great article, I really felt that I had to let the secret out, and inform the rest of the RCBI industry about this magical place. 

The second article that caught my attention on IMI was written by the editor, Christian Nesheim, and looked at the possible effects of recent events on global real estate prices, and the demand outlook from the industry (Will The Covid/Economic Crisis Make RCBI Real Estate More Attractive?). He argues that the tug-of-war between the countervailing forces of economic recession and massive quantitative easing will determine the direction of real estate prices globally. I tend to agree more with his third scenario; that the two forces will roughly balance each other out so that nominal prices remain relatively stable. However, the option of real estate as the investment model for acquiring residency or citizenship is a must, if you are viewing it from the perspective of family, wealth and financial security.

Taking all these factors into account, I am happy to offer and present our recently completed villa and apartment project, located in one of Bodrum’s favorite bays. There is a total of 40 stunning apartments and villas available, which will be fully completed by the end of April. This project is not being advertised for sale yet, as we have decided not to until they are 100% completed, with all of the legal paperwork in place.

We will be offering the chance to market and sell these units to our preferred partners only, so if you would like to be one of these collaborating partners, please get in touch with us to receive all relevant information and marketing material.

Alternatively, you will see the project when we release it in our next article, only on IMI, at the end of April.

Visit us at CIPTurkey.net, email us on info@cipturkey.net, or call me on +90 555305 32 93.

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