NavoyNostos

Ankara vs Bursa

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Ankara edges it, 60 to 58, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Ankara is stronger on air quality; Bursa on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 7.3 of 60 points (scores 65/100)Safety: 5.9 of 60 points (scores 53/100)Healthcare: 8.1 of 60 points (scores 73/100)Internet: 6.3 of 60 points (scores 57/100)Visa ease: 8.1 of 60 points (scores 73/100)Getting there & around: 7.8 of 60 points (scores 70/100)Climate: 3.7 of 60 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 6.1 of 60 points (scores 55/100)Quality of life: 6.4 of 60 points (scores 57/100)60
Ankara
out of 100

Türkiye's orderly capital on the Anatolian plateau

Full Ankara profile →Where to stay in Ankara →
Cost of living: 7.4 of 58 points (scores 66/100)Safety: 5.9 of 58 points (scores 53/100)Healthcare: 8.1 of 58 points (scores 73/100)Internet: 5.8 of 58 points (scores 53/100)Visa ease: 8.1 of 58 points (scores 73/100)Getting there & around: 8.7 of 58 points (scores 78/100)Climate: 4.6 of 58 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 3.0 of 58 points (scores 27/100)Quality of life: 6.4 of 58 points (scores 57/100)58
Bursa
out of 100

First Ottoman capital under a ski mountain, two hours from Istanbul

Full Bursa profile →Where to stay in Bursa →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricAnkaraBursa
Cost of living6566 ✓
Safety5353
Healthcare7373
Internet57 ✓53
Visa ease7373
Getting there & around7078 ✓
Climate3342 ✓
Air quality55 ✓27
Quality of life5757

Cost

MetricAnkaraBursa
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$871$850 ✓
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricAnkaraBursa
Homicides per 100k2.412.41
Political stability (0–100)50.250.2
UHC service coverage (0–100)7777
Life expectancy75.3 yrs75.3 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricAnkaraBursa
Download20.2 Mbps ✓15.5 Mbps
Upload5.8 Mbps ✓5.5 Mbps

Visa

MetricAnkaraBursa
Nomad visaDigital nomad visaDigital nomad visa
Minimum income for the visa$3,000/mo$3,000/mo
Entry, US passport90 days90 days
Entry, EU passport90 days90 days
Entry, UK passport90 days90 days

Getting there and around

MetricAnkaraBursa
Non-stop airport destinations94352 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)33
Transit (1–5, editorial)4 ✓3

Climate and air

MetricAnkaraBursa
Comfortable months per year45 ✓
Annual mean PM2.525.3 µg/m³ ✓37.9 µg/m³

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Ankara or Bursa?
Bursa is cheaper: about $850 per month versus $871 for one person.
Is Ankara or Bursa safer?
Ankara scores higher on safety (53 vs 53), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Ankara or Bursa?
Ankara: a measured median of 20.2 Mbps versus 15.5 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.