Most people from Çorum now live outside the province. The 438,000 in Ankara, hometown networks and the psychology of longing for home, explored through data.
A wedding hall in Ankara. Roasted chickpeas (leblebi) on the tables, keşkek brought from Çorum on the menu, and three generations joining the circle as soon as the folk dance tunes begin. Most of the guests were born in Ankara, and some know Çorum only from holiday visits; but when asked, almost all of them say, "I'm from Çorum." Population studies on people from Çorum show that this scene is the rule rather than the exception: according to official data, 6 out of every 10 people registered to Çorum live outside the province. The number of people from Çorum in Ankara alone is equal to about 84% of the entire population of Çorum province. In this article we get to know this "Çorum outside Çorum" through the data, and then look at the psychological side of living between two places.
Where Do People from Çorum Live? What Do the Figures Say?
First, a note on the concept. In the Address-Based Population Registration System of TÜİK (the Turkish Statistical Institute), the "province of registration" is the province where a person's civil registry record is held, which usually reflects the father's side of the family's home town. It does not show where the person was born or where they feel they come from. The second and third generations who were born and raised in Ankara may also appear as registered to Çorum. For this reason, the figures below do not describe the number of people who have migrated out of the province; they describe the breadth of the network of people who trace their roots to Çorum.
The share living outside grew every year. Ahmet Çoban's study, published in the Marmara Journal of Geography in 2016, gives the following series based on TÜİK data:
- In 2008, 1,154,827 people in Turkey were registered to Çorum; 646,705 of them (56%) lived outside Çorum.
- In 2013, the registered population rose to 1,227,216; the number living outside Çorum rose to 743,123 (60.6%).
- Between 2008 and 2013, the share living outside the province increased every year: 56%, 57.1%, 58.2%, 59.1%, 60% and 60.6%.
More recent news reports, citing TÜİK, refer to about 1.32 million people in Turkey registered to Çorum; however, the year of this figure is not stated. A rough calculation using this news data suggests that the share living outside the province is approaching two thirds; but because different years and secondary ratios are used, this is only an estimate that gives a sense of scale.
A second Çorum in Ankara. According to news reports citing TÜİK data, 438,640 people registered to Çorum lived in Ankara in 2025. People from Çorum are the largest group of "hometown" residents in Ankara, making up about 7.4% of the capital's population, roughly one in every 13 people. The number of people from Çorum in Ankara was 336,694 in 2009, and it has risen steadily in the years since. For comparison: the population of Çorum province in 2025 was 519,590, and that of Çorum's central district was 299,565. The people from Çorum living in Ankara number about 1.5 times the population of the central district.
Other cities. According to news data for which the year is not fully specified, around 179,000 people from Çorum live in Istanbul. Istanbul is followed by İzmir (43,050), Antalya (27,699), Bursa (19,415), Kocaeli (14,923) and Samsun (8,973). No official or academic data could be found on the number of people from Çorum living abroad.
The limits of the data
The 2008 and 2013 values are based on TÜİK data published in a peer-reviewed journal. The recent figures for Ankara, Istanbul and other provinces come from news reports citing TÜİK, and in some of them the year is not given. An official total for 2025 of people from Çorum living outside the province could not be found in published sources.
Why Do So Many People from Çorum Live Outside the Province? A Sociological Reading
Proximity and work. According to Çoban's study, the reasons why people from Çorum most often choose Ankara are geographical proximity, job opportunities and the solidarity built up by fellow townspeople who went before. Ankara's closeness makes it easier both to move and to travel back and forth at weekends; this turns migration from a clean break into a life that continues between two cities.
Chain migration. The same study notes that in Ankara, particularly in the construction sector, the large number of workers registered to Çorum was an attraction for newcomers, and that those who went first invited their relatives to follow. A job, a place to stay and a familiar circle found through a relative or someone from the same village make the first difficult months of migration easier.
An ongoing flow of migration. Migration continues today. According to news reports citing TÜİK data, in 2024 8,386 people moved from Çorum to Ankara, while 3,486 came from Ankara to Çorum. In 2025, the largest net losses in migration out of the province were for finding a job, for better housing and living conditions, and for moves linked to family members.
The legacy of the registry. The rise in the number of people from Çorum in Ankara reflects not only new migration, but also the fact that children and grandchildren born in Ankara remain on the Çorum registry. In other words, "Çorum outside Çorum" is a community that keeps growing by itself.
Institutionalised hometown ties. People from Çorum have founded associations and federations in the cities they moved to. According to a 2019 study by Yücel and Gürbüz, there are 6,304 hometown associations under 135 federations in Istanbul; one of these, the Istanbul Federation of Çorum Hitit Associations, was founded in 2013 and has 12 member associations and around 3,000 members. Federations of Çorum associations are also active in İzmir and in İnegöl, Bursa. Their activities mostly consist of solidarity dinners, picnics, scholarships and cultural gatherings.
The role of hometown associations in adapting to city life is a debated topic in the general literature. According to one view, these associations act as a "buffer" for newcomers: they make it easier to find work, housing and a social circle, and they reduce loneliness. According to another view, staying only within the circle of fellow townspeople can delay building ties with the city one lives in. Probably both are true, to varying degrees from one person to another.
No study on hometown identity specific to people from Çorum could be found. For this reason, the psychological reading below is based on the general literature on migration and belonging.
Living Between Two Places: A Psychological Reading for People from Çorum
Place attachment and "memleket"
In psychology, place attachment is the emotional bond a person forms with a particular place. This bond extends not only to the physical space, but also to the people, sounds, smells and memories associated with it. In Turkey, the concept of "memleket" (one's home town or ancestral homeland) is a very strong expression of this bond: even if a person has never lived there, their memleket is part of their identity. This bond can act as a safe harbour; in difficult times, the feeling of "belonging somewhere" keeps people going.
The two faces of nostalgia
Longing for home, or nostalgia, is often seen as a negative emotion. Yet research shows that nostalgia can strengthen a sense of belonging and continuity, and can be comforting in moments of loneliness. However, when longing turns into a state that constantly makes present-day life feel lacking and foreign, it can become isolating. We look at this fine balance in more detail in our article on homesickness.
The feeling of being "neither here nor there"
For second-generation people from Çorum born in a big city, memleket is a place made up of stories they have been told, holiday visits and the dishes on the table. At school, they answer the question "Where are you from?" with "I'm from Çorum"; when they go to Çorum, however, they are sometimes referred to as "the ones from Ankara". This dual position can be a source of richness, but it can also sometimes lead to a feeling of not fully belonging anywhere.
Grieving from afar
One of the hardest moments of living between two places is the loss of a relative who stayed in the home town. Not being able to be there during an illness, setting out on the road to make it to the funeral, and, when the burial takes place in the home town, living part of the grief in another city and part of it at home... This experience means that grief is divided both emotionally and geographically. For some people, a mother or father who wishes to be buried in their home town is a symbol of a bond that continues after death; for others, the fact that the grave is far away is a separate source of longing. Being able to talk about these feelings helps grief to unfold in a healthy way.
The bond with those left behind
The other side of "Çorum outside Çorum" is the older parents who remain in the province. The great majority of older people in Çorum live in the province where they were born, while their children often live in Ankara or Istanbul. The worry, guilt and fatigue that come with caring from a distance are part of the everyday life of many adults from Çorum living in big cities.
Sometimes memleket is not an address but the first sentence a person reaches for when describing who they are.
Let us imagine an engineer in his thirties who was born, grew up and married in Ankara. When his father retires, he wants to move back to the house in the village, while his mother does not want to be separated from the grandchildren. On the one hand, the engineer does not want to interfere in his parents' decision; on the other, he worries that he will have to travel between the two cities every weekend. This fictional example shows that the question of memleket is often a decision not for one person, but for a whole family.
The dream of returning and the reality
According to TÜİK migration data, in 2025 1,161 people came to Çorum to "return to family or home town", while only 298 left for that reason, a net gain of 863 people. Those who came for retirement numbered 100, while 56 left. Return migration exists, but on a small scale compared with the hundreds of thousands of people from Çorum living elsewhere. Returning is often a step that is dreamed of for years but that can bring unexpected difficulties of adjustment once it happens: the home town has changed, old friends have left, and children and grandchildren have stayed in the big city. We explore the psychology of this decision in our article on deciding to return home.
Practical Suggestions for People from Çorum Living Outside the Province
- Keep the bond alive through rituals. Cooking home-town dishes together, turning holiday visits into a family tradition and telling children their grandparents' stories keep the sense of belonging alive.
- See the hometown network as a source of support. Association events can be an important anchor for those who feel lonely in a new city. However, making sure this network does not become your only social circle helps you put down roots in the city where you live as well.
- Do not treat a dual identity as a forced choice. It is possible to be both from Ankara and from Çorum. Give your children this flexibility too.
- Make a regular communication plan with parents who stayed behind. Calls at set times, a visiting schedule shared among siblings and contact with a relative or neighbour nearby all reduce worry.
- Do not rush the decision to return. If you are thinking of moving back to your home town in retirement or at another stage of life, first having an extended trial period and talking through the expectations of family members reduces the risk of disappointment.
When Should You Seek Professional Support?
Longing for home and feeling caught between two places are usually ordinary feelings. However, it may be helpful to talk to a professional in the following situations:
- If longing constantly makes your life in the city where you live feel worthless and temporary
- If loneliness and listlessness have not eased months after moving to a new city
- If worry and guilt about the parents you left behind are affecting your sleep, work and relationships
- If the decision to return home or to stay is leading to ongoing conflict within the family
- If, after the loss of a relative far away, grief continues for a long time and grows heavier
How Are Home Town, Belonging and Migration Addressed in Therapy?
In therapy, migration and belonging sit at the centre of a person's story. In cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), thoughts such as "I'll never feel at home here" or "If something happens to my mother, it will be my fault" are examined, and the way these thoughts feed worry and guilt is explored. Steps are then planned together to help the person both put down roots where they live and maintain a healthy bond with their home town.
From a schema therapy perspective, patterns such as "I don't belong anywhere" or "I have to carry my family's burden", which may have formed in childhood in connection with the family's experience of migration, can also be addressed. If decisions about returning home or providing care are on the family's agenda, it can be helpful for the family members involved to join the sessions.
For people from Çorum living in Ankara, Istanbul or another city, online therapy makes regular sessions possible regardless of distance; those living in Çorum can continue their sessions face to face.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people from Çorum live outside the province?
According to the latest official series based on TÜİK data, in 2013, 743,000 of the 1.23 million people registered to Çorum, or 60.6%, lived outside the province. An up-to-date official total could not be found in published sources; news data suggest that this share has grown further.
Why are there so many people from Çorum in Ankara?
Geographical proximity, job opportunities in Ankara and chain migration, in which those who went first invited their relatives, are among the main reasons. The fact that generations born in Ankara remain on the Çorum registry also contributes to the growing number.
Is it normal to feel that a place I have never lived in is my home town?
Yes. The bond with a home town can be passed down through the generations through family stories, traditions and visits. This bond can strengthen a sense of identity; it is only worth reflecting on if it starts to make your present life feel worthless.
Are hometown associations good for mental health?
Social support is one of the well-known protective factors against loneliness and the stress of migration. Hometown associations can provide this support; however, staying limited to this circle alone can make adapting to the city you live in more difficult.
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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.
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