Photo illustration by Max Herman/Borderless Magazine; screenshot of Hatice Özge Akbudak from video by Tara Mobasher; additional screenshots from Akbudak’s social media. When much of the world was locked down in early 2020, Hatice Özge Akbudak started documenting her journey in America. Now, she has a dedicated following as she elevates her culture and explores Chicago.
The City of Chicago prides itself on being a “Welcoming City,” embracing everyone and offering a place to call home.
That resonates deeply for Hatice Özge Akbudak, who moved to the city from Istanbul six years ago.
Since then, the 28-year-old unexpectedly rose to prominence as a Turkish social media content creator after the start of the pandemic. Her videos highlight Turkish culture, how to navigate living in the United States, beauty tips, and more. She boasts a following of more than 80,000 subscribers on YouTube, over 30,000 followers on Instagram, and almost 4,000 followers on TikTok.
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Akbudak has also created a community for Turkish women with a WhatsApp group called “Turkish Girls Only.” The group of 700 women, many of whom live in Chicago, supports each other by answering questions on visas, financial issues, and general well-being.
Borderless sat down with Akbudak to discuss her experiences becoming a content creator, elevating her Turkish culture and the importance of diverse voices. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Why did you decide to move to Chicago?
I was born and raised in Turkey, but I always wanted to come to America. The United States had such a great influence on me. Geographically, Turkey is in the middle of Europe, which makes it easier to visit many of the nearby countries but it’s so hard to visit America.
I saved money to come to the U.S. and study for a four-month program. I first arrived in New York in 2016, but I didn’t like it. When I returned to Turkey after that experience, I realized I enjoyed being around so much diversity. I wanted to return to the states. I hadn’t planned on living in America long term, but I wanted a little more time, so that’s what I did. After moving here for a year, the pandemic happened and I wasn’t able to return home so I was stuck. At the same time, I started to feel like I was planting roots here. My career as a content creator took off and I had found friends in the city. Now, here I am six years later loving Chicago.
How did you initially find a community in Chicago?
When I first moved here, I visited every Turkish restaurant in Chicago. There were about 25 of them. The first thing I thought about was finding my community and letting them know: “I’m here.” Some of them were like, “Welcome. It’s going to be hard for you.” They shared their experiences, and I made many friends just by driving to restaurants and introducing myself.
Then, I started posting about my experience on social media. I documented moving here by myself, with no family, no money – just my diploma. It was like a snowball effect and the Turkish people living in the states, not just Chicago, started finding me and supporting my journey. That was valuable to me.
I also started a WhatsApp group called “Turkish Girls Only.” If you have a breakup, you text the group. If you need money, you text the group. If you have questions about visas, health, waxing, or any type of question that comes to mind, you can just text the group, and they will get back to you. It is so important to support each other when you don’t live in your home country. I am very grateful for my Turkish community in Chicago and in America. I have great support behind me.
How did you start content creation?
At the start of the pandemic, I worked for a restaurant, and we had multiple locations that had closed for two weeks. I enjoyed myself for those two weeks, but then the shutdown continued and I couldn’t sit still. I had to do something. That’s when I started posting on social media. I talked to my camera and posted about my journey. From how I got my apartment to videos about American grocery stores, everything was content at that time because there was nothing else to do. I never stopped after that point. I remember my first YouTube video had 100 likes. Then it jumped from 15k to 50k. It grew faster than I would have imagined.
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How have you preserved your identity in a new country?
Food is huge in our culture. We love eating. I always try to highlight Turkish restaurants to showcase the food and honor my culture. There are so many Turkish restaurants in Chicago that serve authentic food.
I also plan Turkish nights with my Turkish friends. There are about 20 to 25 people, and everyone invites their Turkish friends. We dance, play music, and have fun. It’s our culture. Everywhere I go, I feel like I’m bringing my culture with me. Whether it’s my accent, food, or a gesture, these little details in daily life are my way of presenting and preserving my culture.
What is your favorite Turkish dish?
I love lahmacun. It’s similar to pizza but it’s very thin. It’s made with ground beef, diced onions, parsley, tomato paste, cumin, black pepper and so many spices. It opens like a flatbread but it’s crispy on the outside. You serve it with some parsley and lemon on the side, roll it like a burrito and eat it. I can always eat lahmacun but I love all Turkish food.
How do you highlight Chicago’s diverse lifestyle scene?
I moved here six years ago and everything was new to me. There were so many new things for me to try and experience. I had never had Indian or Polish food before. I thought it would be a great thing for me to document because I’m Turkish and these are my first experiences as an immigrant.
People loved seeing different cultures from someone else’s point of view. I post a lot about different cultures and different tastes. I post about anything Chicago-related. If there’s a festival going on, if there’s a new restaurant, hair salon, nail salon, massage place – literally anything and everything. People will sometimes point out that I drink alcohol. I post halal food. I’m not trying to impose any culture or religion. I’m just here exploring, eating and telling you my honest feedback so you can enjoy it.
Why is it important for you to keep posting?
Elevating the voices of immigrants in Chicago is so important. It’s important that people hear more immigrant voices, like why we are here and what we are trying to do.
People have two homes in their lives. The one they are born into and the one they choose to live in. I love Istanbul but I choose to live in Chicago. Chicago is my forever home.
Tara Mobasher is a Northwestern Medill Reporting fellow at Borderless Magazine. Email Tara at Tara@borderlessmag.org.
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