More expensive than Berlin?

I just got back from a trip to both Berlin and Istanbul. As a tourist at least it's way cheaper. Is rent just that much higher?

I haven't been to Berlin but have spent a lot of time in Istanbul.

Istanbul is big, really really big, like mind-bogglingly big. It's Europe's biggest city (although technically part of it is in Asia too) but if you want to live somewhere posh like Bebek or Nisantasi it's as expensive as anywhere else nice in a major European city. If on the other hand you're prepared to live in a less nice area or a bit further out then there's some good deals to be had.

If you're living somewhere properly then the quality of the food is far higher than that accessible to me here in my bit of the UK, eating out is generally more expensive in terms of average income percentage but typically less expensive than London in terms of raw costs.

I would highly recommend Istanbul to anyone looking to try something a bit different. It really does feel like nowhere else in the world, a chaotic mishmash of east and west but with a great vibe and great people.

If any of you guys need help / advice on just about anything in the city, let me know. I'm a Turkish expat designer (from Istanbul) living in New York—I wouldn't mind helping a fellow HNer.

I don't remember the rent exactly. It may have been somewhat similar or slightly more expensive in Istanbul. But eating out is definitely more expensive there, unless you want to subsist on lahmacun.

It depends on what you eat, but there's far more than lahmacun on the diet. Now, you're probably sticking to Turkish food (Chinese is going to start at 15TL, the equivalent of 8.5 dollars or so) but I'm regularly eating decent food for the 3-8 dollar (2.5-6 euro) range, with drink.

Great produce is also ridiculously cheap here, which makes cooking a much better deal.

Depends if you spent more time in east or west Berlin I guess, from what I remember there was a shocking price difference between the two.