Here's a few questions they should ask:
Do you have chidren?
I do, I'm a lucky man.
Do you know the price of international schools in IST ?
I do, that's one of the reasons they're not here.
How do you feel about having your children placed in a school that is located 2 hours away in IST traffic ?
Move closer to where the school is located. Kids are picked up before -and dropped off after school.
Do you know the price of a decent apartment in IST by western standards ?
I do. Living in one and it's cheaper than an equivalent in Europe.
What do you think of the price of taxis in IST ?
Try Paris, London, Rome, Berlin
Do you know if you are authorized to own a car ?
Why shouldn't you be? Everybody who wants one (in Istanbul
) has one, or two...
What do you think about Turkish drivers ?
Not different than the ones in New York or Mexico City.
Would you and your family use public busses ?
Why not? Public transport gets you from anywhere to everywhere and is cheap too if you can not afford to buy a car - or two...
Are you aware that we do not provide a pension scheme ?
You should know that before you come for an interview if it bugs you that much. 'Their set of train' is what I heard on quite a number of other contracts.
What do you think about having only 21 calendar days per year of holidays .
See answer above.
In the event of a major natural disaster happening in IST while you are flying , do you think your family will be safe ?
Your aircraft might get hit by a piece of space garbage while cruising at 410. SF's still standing.
What I want to say is that one should get as info as they can before moving anywhere. They do have their own way of doing things, but so do the people in Belgium
Once you know how things go it'll become 'normal'.
Move to HKG and you'll be surprised that it's not different/easier there to get things done.
Many years ago I spent a week in DXB with the family to find out if it could work. At the end we didn't go.
Believe me, working conditions will change in the near future. Also FDT regulations. It just takes time (another few years) maybe way earlier if a crew tries to land a jetliner while they're asleep.