How do Çorum hometown associations build a support network for people from Çorum in big cities? Data on life away from home, belonging and social support.
Imagine a wedding hall in Ankara or Istanbul where leblebi (Çorum's famous roasted chickpeas) is being served, and families from İskilip, Sungurlu and Osmancık are humming the same folk song at their tables. For many people from Çorum, this picture is familiar. Over the years, Çorum people living in big cities have built a network that stretches from solidarity dinners to scholarship funds. Çorum hometown associations are the most visible face of this network. In this article we look at the size of "Çorum outside Çorum" through the data, discuss what hometown ties (hemşehrilik, the bond between people from the same home town) mean for people who have migrated, and consider the possible contributions and limits of these networks for mental health.
What Do the Figures Say? Çorum Hometown Associations and Çorum Outside Çorum
First, one concept needs clarifying. In TÜİK's (Turkish Statistical Institute) Address-Based Population Registration System, the "province of registration" is the province where a person's civil registry record is held; most often this is the father's family's home town. This means that second and third generations who were born and raised in another city may also appear as "registered in Çorum". These numbers show the breadth of the hometown network, not the number of people who have migrated out of the province.
Within this framework, the key data are:
- The Çorum outside is bigger than the Çorum inside: According to Çoban's (2016) study based on TÜİK data, in 2008 56% of the 1,154,827 people registered in Çorum lived outside the province. By 2013 this had risen to 60.6%, increasing every year between 2008 and 2013. In other words, in the latest official series, 6 out of every 10 people registered in Çorum lived outside the province.
- Almost a second Çorum in Ankara: According to news reports citing TÜİK data, in 2025 there were 438,640 people living in Ankara whose civil registration is in Çorum. This is around 7.4% of Ankara's population; roughly one in every 13 people in the capital. People from Çorum are the largest hometown group in Ankara.
- A growing community: The number of Çorum people in Ankara was 336,694 in 2009 and reached 438,640 in 2025. This increase reflects not only new migration but also generations born in Ankara remaining on the Çorum registry.
- Other cities: According to figures reported in the news, around 179,000 people from Çorum live in Istanbul, 43,050 in İzmir, 27,699 in Antalya and 19,415 in Bursa (the data relate to 2023–2024; the exact years are not fully stated in the reports).
For comparison: Çorum province had a population of 519,590 in 2025. The number of Çorum people in Ankara is equivalent to around 84% of Çorum's own population.
How the associations are organised
According to a study by Yücel and Gürbüz (2019), as of 2017 there were 6,304 hometown associations in Istanbul under 135 federations. Among these, the Çorum Hitit Associations Istanbul Federation was founded in 2013 and brings together 12 associations and around 3,000 members. Its activities include solidarity dinners, picnics and scholarships; its aims include training for women and young people. Gatherings organised by the Çorum Hitit Associations Federation in İzmir, and a federation founded in Bursa in 2022 with the aim of uniting hometown associations in Turkey and abroad, have also been reported in the news.
The limits of the data
The current official total of Çorum people living outside the province, and its exact distribution by province, could not be found in published sources; the most recent official series we have dates from 2013. There are also no verifiable data on the number of Çorum people abroad or on associations in Europe. Nor is there an academic study examining the effect of hometown associations on members' mental health specifically for people from Çorum. The psychological assessments in this article are based on the general literature.
A Sociological Reading: Why Are Çorum Hometown Associations So Strong?
Çoban (2016) explains why people from Çorum most often choose Ankara through geographical proximity, job opportunities and "the hometown solidarity created by those who went before". According to the study, the large number of workers registered in Çorum, especially in the construction sector, creates a pull; those who go first invite their relatives too. This is known as chain migration.
A natural consequence of chain migration is that a familiar circle is already in place in the destination city. In important moments of life such as work, housing, school, and even weddings and funerals, the hometown network steps in. In the urbanisation literature, hometown associations are described as a "buffer mechanism" for people coming from villages or small towns to a big city: they soften the transition to the new city and provide the first foothold.
There is also a debate in the same literature: do these networks make it easier for people to adapt to the new city, or do they simply create a circle "turned in on itself"? Probably both are possible; what matters is how the association and the individual use the network.
Seen in this light, the function of a hometown association may also change depending on what stage of the migration process a person is at. For someone who has just arrived, practical help with work and housing comes to the fore, while for someone who has lived in the same city for years, the association becomes more of a space for identity and remembrance. For members who have reached retirement age, regular gatherings can be a way of keeping the rhythm of daily life and their social circle.
Another factor is Çorum itself. Most older people living in Çorum are growing old in the province where they were born, while their children are, to a significant extent, in other cities. "Home" therefore remains not just a place but a bond where parents, relatives, the village and childhood live on. The hometown association is a way of keeping this bond alive within the big city.
Returning home is also part of this bond. According to TÜİK's 2025 internal migration data, 1,161 people came to Çorum for the reason "returning to family/hometown", while only 298 left Çorum for this reason. This is the largest category in which Çorum gains through net migration. Even so, it is a small movement compared with the hundreds of thousands of Çorum people living elsewhere.
A Psychological Reading: Hometown Ties, Belonging and Social Support
The need to belong
People need to belong to a group. For someone moving to a new city, this need can be especially intense: familiar faces are few and the small habits of daily life have been lost. The hometown network gives a sense that "there are people like me here too". Speaking the same dialect, missing the same food, knowing the name of the same village make a person feel seen.
The protective role of social support
Research shows that social support is an important protective factor in coping with stress and against loneliness. A hometown network can provide several types of this support at once:
- Emotional support: People you can call and confide in on a hard day.
- Practical support: Help with finding work, renting a home, hospital matters, moving and so on.
- Information support: Someone who knows how things work in the new city.
- Support in grief and crisis: A community that organises funeral arrangements, burial back home or condolence visits when a loss occurs.
If you would like to read more about loneliness when living away from home, you can take a look at our article on feeling lonely.
Nostalgia: both comfort and trap
Hometown gatherings feed nostalgia. In research, nostalgia is often mentioned for its positive functions: it strengthens a person's bond with their past and increases their sense of meaning. However, when home is remembered only in idealised form, present life can always seem lacking. The thought "If I were there, everything would be better" can make it harder to invest in the life you have now. These two faces of longing for home are discussed in detail in our article on homesickness.
An example: the first year in Ankara
Let us imagine a young family who have moved from Alaca to Ankara for work. One partner starts work straight away, while the other spends the days at home with a small child, knowing no one. At a hometown association gathering they attend on a neighbour's recommendation, they hear a familiar accent; a few weeks later the child has a playmate and the mother has a neighbour to go walking with on Sundays. The association's role here is not to be a great rescuer, but to open a small door in the first wall of loneliness. Once through that door, forming other ties in the new city makes the adjustment lasting.
The second generation and hometown ties
The continuing growth in the number of Çorum people in Ankara also suggests that much of this community has now been born and raised in the big city. For the second and third generations, Çorum is often the village visited in the summer holidays, grandmother's house or a place remembered through bayram visits (family visits during Turkey's religious holidays). For these young people, Çorum hometown associations can offer a space in which to get to know their family's story. However, if the associations' language and activities appeal only to older people, young people may feel outside this network. Scholarship, mentoring or career events that young people can join through their own interests can strengthen the bridge between generations.
The risks of closing in
Like any support network, a hometown network can carry some risks:
- Social control: In a small, close-knit circle, the worry "What will people say?" can be carried to the big city too. A person may fear exclusion if they choose a different lifestyle.
- Single-source support: If all of a person's social relationships come only from the hometown circle, a problem with that circle can leave them suddenly alone.
- The generation gap: Young people born in the big city may struggle to find a place for themselves in the network their parents built.
Roots hold a person steady; but a tree grows not only through its roots, but also through its branches.
Practical Suggestions for Individuals, Families and Associations
For people from Çorum living in big cities:
- See the hometown network as a starting point, but not as your only support. Be open to building ties through work, your neighbourhood and your interests as well.
- Keep your bond with home alive; but try not to keep comparing your present life with home.
- If you are going through a difficult time, talking to someone you trust in your hometown circle can be a first step.
For parents:
- When telling children who are growing up in the big city about home, do not force it on them. Stories, food and visits build a stronger bond than pressure.
- Recognise your child's right to be both from Çorum and part of the city they are growing up in. Two belongings are not rivals.
For Çorum hometown associations:
- Ties can be built not only through social events, but also through training, scholarships and mentoring for young people and women.
- Regularly calling older and isolated members, and organising visits during times of illness or loss, can be among an association's most meaningful contributions.
- Awareness talks on mental health can spread the message that seeking support is not something "shameful".
When Should You Seek Professional Support?
However strong a hometown network is, some burdens go beyond the support it can provide. In the following situations, talking to a mental health professional can be helpful:
- If, long after moving to the big city, loneliness, unhappiness or longing for home is noticeably affecting your daily life
- If you feel completely alone after experiencing exclusion or conflict within your hometown circle
- If guilt and worry about the care of your parents back home constantly occupy you
- If you are struggling to grieve a loss experienced from a distance
- If there have been changes in your sleep, appetite or energy for weeks
If you are experiencing hopelessness or thoughts of harming yourself, do not wait; in an emergency, call 112 (emergency services).
How Are Migration, Life Away from Home and Belonging Addressed in Therapy?
In therapy, the experience of living away from home is approached with a view that tries to see both a person's losses and their resources. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can help with noticing thoughts such as "I'll never feel at home here", gradually widening social relationships and reducing the avoidance behaviours that feed loneliness.
A schema therapy perspective helps in understanding how themes of belonging and exclusion connect with experiences in a person's past. For example, someone who places great importance on being accepted by a group may feel caught between the expectations of their hometown circle and their own wishes; this tension can be worked on in therapy.
For people from Çorum living in big cities, online therapy offers the chance to talk to a professional who knows the language and culture of home without leaving the city you live in. For those living in Çorum, face-to-face sessions are also possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people from Çorum live outside Çorum?
According to the latest official series, in 2013 60.6% of people registered in Çorum lived outside the province, and this proportion was rising every year. A current official total could not be found in published sources. As of 2025, 438,640 people registered in Çorum live in Ankara.
Is joining a hometown association good for mental health?
That social support protects against loneliness and stress is a well-known finding. A hometown association can be one source of this support. However, its effect may be limited when it becomes a person's only social circle or creates intense social pressure.
Do children born in big cities feel they are from Çorum?
This varies from person to person. Many young people feel attached both to the city where they grew up and to their family's home town. When parents see these two belongings not as rivals but as bonds that complement each other, it makes things easier for the young person.
I'm thinking of moving back home but I'm not sure. What should I do?
Assess the decision to return not only through longing but also through concrete matters such as work, family, health services and social circle. Short trial periods, for example spending a few weeks back home, can help you compare your expectations with reality.
Bu yazı genel bilgilendirme amaçlıdır; tanı veya tedavi yerine geçmez. Yaşadığınız güçlükler için bir ruh sağlığı uzmanına başvurmanız önerilir. Acil bir durumda lütfen 112'yi arayın.
Eda Erkan Alapala
Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.
Eğitimler
