My parents hail from central Anatolia and those types are a bit staid and religiously conservative.
My extended family in Europe are most numerous in following order; Holland and Belgium and very few left in Germany, France, Austria. Most of the ones in Germany left for Túrkiye in the last 3 decades. They initially arrived purely for economic reasons and not for asylum which Kurds abuse.
*Turks feel patriotic to their motherland and remain steadfast in their Turkishness wherever they are. They tend not to be interested in other cultures, not out of disdain or haughtiness, they’re just proud to be Turkish and that’s what they immerse themselves in.
*Since Turks are slow to assimilate, they’re not in a position to affect changes in society that might further their interests. Turks don’t even have such goals tbh. I don’t even think the rise of Islamophobia will alter this, as most Turks have dual nationality and just prefer a return home.
*There are many ethnic-Turks in SE Europe, places like Moldova, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Thrace. They tend to remain low-key, and are even less adventurous than Turks in West Europe. They’re remnants of the Ottoman empire and no trouble at all.
*Natives from the West Europe may feel slighted that Turks don’t assimilate much, as if European culture isn’t “good enough” for Turks, despite economic advantages European citizenship brings. I think Islam is the main barrier. That said, for most Muslims fear of Gods punishment keeps any errant ways in check.
*The Islampophobe Geert Wilders emphasized the poor assimilation basically saying things like…. “We gave them [Muslims] housing, state benefits, everything, but we still couldn’t make them Dutch”. Geert (who has Jewish ancestry) has done much to inflame tensions in Holland.
*Character-wise Turks tend to be direct, a bit brusque, and they appear a bit rough and bellicose. Their image can belie their well-meaning. It’s a matter of acclimatising to their ways. In Bulgaria a nod means ‘No’. We all have our idiosyncracies.
*The saying goes that Turks are born soldiers. Another goes that Turks can be your best friend, or your worst enemy. Trust me, Turks rather the former, even with our Greek neighbours. If only Erdogan was fluent in English then a lot of the misunderstandings and apprehensions would disappear.
On the whole diaspora Turks generally lead simple lives. Don’t know what else to say really, but ask me anything and I’ll try my best to answer.