[Expat profile] Recipe for living abroad: curiosity, comedy and creativity

A better quality of life

Before Billy first came to Turkey in 1995 when he went to Bodrum on holiday. At the time, the only thing he knew about Turkey was that he liked kebabs. Not long after that, he met a Turkish girl in England and one year later they got married.

Like many of us, the process of moving here took place over a few years and for a variety of reasons. “In 2003 when I took voluntary redundancy from BP where I had the same job as ‘Homer Simpson’ -- lots of drinking tea and eating doughnuts -- we decided to invest some of the redundancy money in a holiday home in Antalya,” he explains. “Although I love İstanbul, I could not afford an apartment there. I visited my wife’s parents, who lived in Antalya, and decided it was the ideal place to invest. I like the seaside, holiday feel to Antalya but the residential lifestyle is also important. Antalya is also fairly cosmopolitan and people here are no strangers to people with skin as white as mine! They think I am German most of the time and when I say I am from Scotland, they start talking about “Braveheart” and become my instant friend. We also thought that this was a better place to raise a child. Things weren’t going too well in Scotland: I was working in a call center while my wife was recovering from cancer and, as she also missed the sun, we decided to try our luck full time in Antalya in 2006.”

Now that he’s here, Billy appreciates many aspects of living in Antalya. “It may be different for me because I’m a foreigner and I have a different perspective to the locals, but I think people here are generally happier than in the UK,” he points out, adding: “They definitely talk, laugh and certainly dance more spontaneously than people back home, which I like. I also like the food here; I find that I’m eating less meat because the fruit and vegetables are fresh and varied.” But does he miss anything about Scotland? “Good quality bands touring!” he emphasizes. “I went to see Robert Plant at the Konyaaltı Beachpark Amphitheater and it’s a shame there aren’t more concerts like that here. I have some musician friends in the UK and even though I’d like to bring them here, I feel as though people in Antalya just want to hear popular cover versions. In İstanbul they’d be much more open to alternative music. I also miss the comedy club scene and the people I used to meet through that, as well as watching great comedians perform live. Culture wise, Antalya isn’t brilliant, but, that said, there are lots of great events here, like the Oktoberfest, salsa and sundance festivals so maybe it isn’t as bad as I’m making out.”

Creatively Speaking

After a failed attempt to become a rock star as a teenager, Billy realized he should put his creative energy into comedy. “As I’d done drama at school and I’m naturally a bit of a drama queen, I rather naively thought I could do stand-up comedy, but it’s not as easy as it looks. I have since realized that it takes lots of hard work and years to get good at.”

So what prompted him to perform at the Edinburgh Festival, an annual comedy festival? “I found myself -- like every new comic -- seeing other people getting gigs and not me, so my ego took it badly,” he notes, explaining: “I thought I needed to get more stage time. You don’t actually need any experience to perform at the Edinburgh Festival; just hire a room and do the marketing. So in 2002 I booked myself in for an hour a day for three weeks. It was a bit unfair on the audience to subject them to that, as I’d only ever been on stage for 20 minutes before then! Sometimes it went well, others not, but that’s the nature of the beast. When I performed there again in 2009 it was also challenging, but for a different reason: I found myself performing in the middle of a ‘Bermuda Triangle,’ in a student area that was deserted, because it was the holidays. The show went ahead, but some days there were only 2 people in the audience, others 6, sometimes 12 and on others the show didn’t go ahead. It was a bit of a slog. I did do a 10-minute gig at a friend’s venue and 60 people came. That went quite well. After that I thought that was the end of stand-up comedy and that I’d got it out of my system.”

“I haven’t done much stand-up comedy here,” he adds. “I did once do a gig in Belek at a golfers’ dinner, which was tough going and not made any easier by the fact that my show coincided with the call to prayer from the mosque directly outside, but I did get some good feedback.”  So what about starting comedy nights in Antalya? “There’s not enough interest here,” he laments, adding, “Comedy works better where there’s not much sun and people are more in need of a laugh. You’d also have to find a compere and three or four different acts to both break up the evening and cater to different tastes. You’d also need a headway act you could rely on, so it’s really just not very feasible.”

And is he funny when he’s not on stage?

“I’m funnier when I’m off stage -- that’s the problem!” he says. “I enjoy making people laugh because I have had many difficulties myself and laughter brings healing. I don’t try to be funny all the time, though.”

Have video camera, will travel

Billy has also used his creativity to set up a video-based website so that people interested in the Antalya region can see for themselves what’s on offer there.

But what sets it apart from other expat websites?

“Antalyaliving is more like a personal blog with information about Antalya and the region tagged on the back of it,” he explains. “It’s useful for both people living here and those thinking of coming on holiday or buying property here. Hopefully it will also raise the area’s profile abroad. When I lived in the UK, I hadn’t heard of Antalya and only found out about it because my wife’s parents were living here. I realized that there are many different events and opportunities on offer. That gave me the idea to make videos of the nooks and crannies you don’t see on other sites. There are videos, photos and info about Turkey in general, Antalya, the Antalya region (such as Alanya and Aspendos), activities on offer, ranging from museums to horse riding, where to go shopping (including DIY shops), general info about transport with links to the major Turkish bus companies and to tour operators offering good deals on flights. There’s also a property section where people can find places for sale or rent in Antalya, Alanya, Belek or Kemer through a friend’s real estate business. Businesses can also advertise for free on the site. There are 3,500 photos and 150 videos on the site, so I have put a lot into it.”

“The first version of the site was done by hand using my basic html knowledge,” he continues, adding: “But I recently discovered ‘Wordpress Blog’ and so I have upgraded the look of it. I have to admit that I haven’t done much to promote it and so far I’ve funded it myself. Somebody suggested I try to encourage hotels to use it to advertise and generate some income that way. Unfortunately advertising doesn’t really work here because potential advertisers consider money spent on advertising as money disappearing into thin air; they would rather you brought them a customer and pay you commission.”