Should I move to Turkey to protect my future, or stay in Iran?
Salam everyone.
I’m 21 and currently living in Iran. I’ve been working remotely as a freelancer, but over the past few years I’ve lost a lot of opportunities because of internet restrictions, sanctions, and other limitations. Despite all of that, I managed to overcome the difficulties and things were finally going well for me.
Unfortunately, after the protests and the recent war, the internet was shut down again, and I lost my job because of it. Suddenly, I had no income, no job, and honestly felt like I had no future. I’m sure many people here can relate.
Thankfully, once the internet came back, I was able to recover and find another remote job. But now I’m constantly worried that another internet shutdown could happen, I could lose my job again, and I’d have to start my life over from zero.
Because of that, I’ve been seriously considering moving to Turkey. To be honest, Turkey isn’t really where I want to live. I’ve always hoped to eventually move to Europe or Canada, but that’s much more difficult for me right now. I don’t have a bachelor’s degree, and getting into European countries or Canada is generally more complicated, especially financially.
Turkey seems like one of the few realistic options available to me at the moment. I don’t need a visa, the process is relatively fast, and I have a good chance of getting accepted into a university there. My plan would be to start a bachelor’s degree while continuing my full-time remote job.
The problem is that I would have to start my bachelor’s degree from the beginning if I move to Turkey, or potentially to another country as well. So I’d be investing several years into a degree in a country that I don’t necessarily want to stay in long-term, simply because it may be the safest option for me right now.
I’m also really scared of taking that step because there are several major risks:
Because of mandatory military service (Sarbazi), I can only get permission to stay outside Iran for one month.
If something goes wrong after that month, I may not be able to return to Iran.
I’m financially independent and would have to rely entirely on my own income and savings. I don’t want to depend on my parents. But what happens if I lose my remote job while I’m abroad? I could potentially run out of money and still have no way to return because of the Sarbazi situation.
So I feel completely stuck. Staying in Iran feels risky because another internet shutdown could destroy my job and income again. But moving abroad also feels like a huge risk because I’d have limited financial security, would have to start my bachelor’s degree again, and could potentially lose my ability to return to Iran.
Basically, I’m afraid that whichever decision I make could completely change my life for the worse.
Has anyone here been in a similar situation, What would you do in my position? Is there any realistic solution I’m overlooking?