A RECENT debate on social media made me think: someone had asked a question about whether I would know how many expats actually live in Didim on a permanent basis, writes Klaus Jurgens.

I replied by saying as far as I know five years ago we had about 4,000 international residents among us but that this number had fell to just over 3000 since then.

Why would this matter? Well, I am a true defender of our town and region and continue to suggest future generations of expatriates move here and follow in the footsteps of those who are already happily settled.

Hence it makes sense to put numbers into perspective in order to ascertain whether or not Didim is sufficiently a hot pick with future fellow international residents.

Many things have changed in the past decade in this regard. Whereas a fair number of expats spent year in, year out in town, step by step more and more of us frequently returned to the UK for extended periods of time. I recall busy winter evenings spent in the good company of international friends only to realize that by now very few seem to be around 24/7, 365 days a year.

Not only this – but I have the impression that hardly any newcomers arrive on our shared shores and most definitely very few if any with children in tow.

The latter point is easy to explain. Unless you would have won the lottery back home one would need to work regardless of living under palm trees or in Putney. And jobs are scarce to come by for foreigners. Not that the paperwork could not be done rather easily – the problem is there are no suitable vacancies.

And opening a bar, café or restaurant or perhaps even a boutique hotel is not everyone’s cup of tea so to speak although I know of many successful Turkish-foreign business marriages.

So does this then imply that Didim is ready for expat business but only ready for retired folk?

I wholeheartedly disagree.

It just depends on how much time you are willing to spend in your Didim rented or owned apartment or house. And this leads me to the gist of this contribution. I want more UK based international residents to move to Didim but fully accept if they do so ‘part time’ – think going and coming four to five times a year, making the most of your holidays and the most of your Didim investment.

And somehow this has not as of yet been good enough promoted overseas. Often I hear that Didim has become a kind of retirement home which is mirrored by those of our Turkish neighbors who are mostly pensioners, too, most definitely in Mavisehir.

Mavisehir has currently 778 Turkish citizens on the electoral roll if my figures from after the March local elections are correct (777 on election night but then my wife registered for the Presidential vote and thus become a proud Number 778) and may I add that except for those who run the bars and shops and night-market almost all of them are retired indeed.

And retired expats are absolutely welcome – it is a human right to spend a happy, carefree retirement life in Didim and above all else a fantastic choice, too.

But as a columnist should point the finger into the right direction or at least should be allowed to try to do so my wish is that more ‘part time’ Didymians decide to rent or buy here, spend as much time with us as possible and somehow positively change the demographics to a more inclusive picture.

A holiday resort should be run according to a wave pattern. Summers are for short stay hotel holiday and hotel guests plus those of us who truly fancy the perfect weather. Spring and autumn should be for those who enjoy warm climes without the over-crowdedness. Winters should be for everyone who lives here permanently or wishes to spend New Year’s Eve under the Aegean Seas skies. Different seasons, different expat profiles perhaps.

If Didim once more stays open all year round we would have so much better bargaining power. More expats, more impact on the town hall. More expats, better infrastructure! More expats, better hospitality establishment offers. More expats, more socializing, too!

A new generation of expats, a new generation of Turkish homeowners. Dare I say, that this should become Didim’s winning formula for the next ten years.