As a school scholar, Doug Barnard took a visit together with his mother to India in 2017. It was so impactful it will definitely impressed him to develop into a full-time traveler — a path he did not suppose was doable for him.
Fast ahead to 2020, Barnard was working in e-commerce at Walmart whereas attempting to launch a YouTube channel devoted to his travels.
“Going to India was an eye-opening experience for me. It was the first time I’d been to some place so foreign, so stimulating, and for me it was this epiphany that I needed to experience more,” Barnard tells CNBC Make It.
“The most exciting part was talking to the people and seeing how things work. The immersion was what really got me.”
At the time, he was incomes about $60,000 a 12 months working within the e-commerce sector, and though he did not dislike his job, it actually wasn’t his ardour.
“I think a part of me was looking for more meaning in my work,” he says.
Barnard moved to Istanbul in 2023.
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The first journey Barnard featured on his YouTube channel was a go to to Saudi Arabia in 2020. Later that very same 12 months, Barnard was laid off from Walmart due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While others might need been nervous about being unemployed, Barnard noticed it as a chance to guess on himself.
“My dream was to go travel full-time, live abroad, immerse myself in these foreign places and make a living from YouTube,” he says.
About three months after being laid off, Barnard booked a one-way ticket out of the U.S. In January 2021, he arrived in Serbia after which traveled for two years earlier than settling in Istanbul, Turkey, as his residence base in 2023.
“Growing up in Connecticut, I never would have imagined that I’d ever end up living in a place like Istanbul or traveling to all the places that I’ve been lucky enough to travel to,” Barnard says. “I found myself coming back to Istanbul again and again. It really is the perfect place for what I’m doing. It is pretty much the center of the world. I love the language, I love the culture, I love the history.”
Barnard and his girlfriend have been dwelling in Turkey collectively for over a 12 months.
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When Barnard first moved to Istanbul, he lived alone in a one-bedroom residence and payed roughly 16,000 Turkish Lira in hire, which on the time was equal to about $850 USD. Because of the fluctuating forex alternate fee, by the point he moved out, Barnard’s hire had decreased to about $500 USD.
After assembly his girlfriend, İlkay, the couple moved right into a furnished two-bedroom, two-and-a-half rest room duplex residence within the Kadıköy neighborhood of Istanbul. They pay 55,000 Turkish Lira or $1,368.91 USD a month in hire.
“I always describe it to people as kind of like the Brooklyn of Istanbul. It has a lot of thrift shops, coffee shops, bars and that kind of hipster vibe,” Barnard says. “It’s one of the best neighborhoods in the city, especially for younger people.”
Barnard and his girlfriend, İlkay, stay collectively in a duplex residence in Istanbul.
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Barnard and İlkay stay on the Asian facet of Istanbul. The Turkish metropolis is located on the border between two continents: Europe and Asia. For Barnard, it was essential to stay on the Asian facet as a result of it is much less touristy.
“All of the historical stuff is on the European side, so tourists almost all stay over there and people tend to speak a bit more English, too,” Barnard says. “I really wanted to focus on learning the language. This neighborhood is very well-connected, and it’s also one of the most secular neighborhoods in Istanbul, whereas other neighborhoods can be much more conservative.”
The couple’s extra month-to-month bills common about 3,761 Turkish Lira, or $94 USD. That contains payments like water, gasoline, electrical energy, web and a constructing upkeep price.
While Barnard and his girlfriend do not but know if they may keep in Turkey, the couple has determined that in the event that they do, they’re going to probably signal one other one-year lease for the duplex.
Barnard’s travels overseas impressed him to begin a tourism enterprise the place he guides shoppers on immersive excursions.
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Barnard’s time overseas impressed him to begin a boutique tourism firm known as Doug Barnard Travel. They take small teams of 8 to 10 folks on cultural immersion excursions of locations like Iraq, Syria, and Pakistan. Barnard provides personal excursions as nicely.
The group excursions begin at $2,700 per particular person and what’s included in that all-inclusive bundle can differ nation to nation. Flights should not included.
“It is truly authentic travel. I mean it is as real as it gets. Places like Egypt and India are amazing, but they have mass tourism industries and a place like Iraq is so new to tourism that you get a really authentic experience,” Barnard says. “The people are excited to have you. The hospitality is out of this world and everything you’re seeing is unparalleled.”
Since he has been dwelling in Istanbul for over two years now, Barnard says the Turkish metropolis is the proper location for him as a result of a good portion of his enterprise is within the Middle East. It’s one of many fundamental the reason why he does not see himself transferring again to the U.S. proper now.
“The more time I spend living in Istanbul and the more people I meet and the better I get at the language, the more it feels like home,” he says.
Conversions from euros to USD had been carried out utilizing the OANDA conversion fee of 1 Turkish Lira to 0.02 USD on July 12, 2025. All quantities are rounded to the closest greenback.
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