Okay, as a person who has lived in Saranda, Albania for almost 4 years I need to make something clear, this place is not the cheapest place to live anymore. Albania has now become a place of too many tourists and too many wanting to relocate here. The food has at least doubled and many items are on par with the same cost in the US. Too much tourism and too many people willing to plunk down astronomical amounts here, yes the cost of housing is cheaper but it will not be in the next year. Prices have already driven the locals out of both housing and food. Too many people are flooding the country making it very unaffordable for everyone.
Lots of foreign investors are buying properties... these are not expats, most are buying on speculation to rent given tourist demand. The actual number of long term foreigners in Albania I would suspect is quite low, and not likely to move prices of things like food. Great comment for sure. Price are in line with most of the Balkan countries we have stayed in, except for Serbia which is certainly higher. It's economy is definitely more advanced.
@@JayandSarah I must disagree with the fact that you don't believe there aren't a large number of long-term foreigners. I live here and know that who you have met and believe live here is just a small fraction. The expat community is extremely large and most people keep to themselves. Regardless of who is buying the properties it is driving the prices up substantially. The whole point of coming here was that it was cheaper than a lot of Balkan countries but not so anymore. Many people are going to Greece to buy products that are way overpriced here. It is not the expats moving the prices but all of the tourism being generated by all of these articles about how cheap and great it is, it is no longer that way. Regardless of who is responsible is a mute point prices have gone up substantially and do nit go back down. Plus the infrastructure here literally sucks, rolling blackouts, water shortages, clogged roads are incapable of handling the needs of those who live here. I just want people to not put on rose colored glasses about moving here this is not the western world and one most be willing to leave your comforts of home back there.
I understand what. you are saying. Prices are up and for sure won't go down, they never do. As you say, the infrastructure is pretty abysmal and I agree you must be eyes wide open to the fact you are not going to be living in a modern country with the creature comforts. This is what we like about Albania, we are comfortable with places that are rough around the edges, we enjoy that the most. As costs rise and are similar between the Balkan countries, Albania becomes less attractive in my view.. with the exception for those from the USA who can enjoy the year long stay without residency requirements. We just did our accounting this morning of our stay in Montenegro for about 2 months, and the costs per day were almost identical, with housing being slightly more. I can't speak for Sarah, but I would say with costs so similar, Montenegro is preferable. Thanks for watching and commenting, I know you have been following for a while and your engagement helps make our channel better. Cheers, Jay.
@@JayandSarah Thank you Jay for the reply. My intent was not to put down your articles, I think they do a great service for others to understand other parts of the world. The large majority of north americans have been cloistered and have no clue about the rest of the the world. Because you both have traveled so much you can see the differences between the western world and other countries. I just want people that say the wish to move here that they need to leave most of their attitudes about the western civilization behind. I see way to many people come here and constaltly complain that this is not the wa things are supposed to be simply because that is their conception of how things are. Can the Balkan countries learn a few things about trash and how to better run some necessities, absolutely but that is not going to happen for at least another two generations. Ideas and practices are deepely ingrained here and it aint gonna change any time soon. If you can move here and accept the differences then we will all welcome you but leave your western mentality at the door. I do like your channel by thhe way and wish you the best of luck.
Absolutely I completely agree with you. There is nothing worse than people from the west coming here and expecting to impart on the locals how thing should be done. We are tourists by definition (Jay and Sarah), but at the core, when we move to a place for a couple of months... we don't go there to be critical. We go there to observe, and to try to appreciate the history of the country or city, and just live with acceptance about how things are. We find it very liberating to see life through different lenses than we were used to at home. For some people this is too much, they can't live this way. That is too bad for them. A slower paced, much simpler life, with less stress. If the power goes out, so be it. If the internet doesn't work for a day, so be it. If you can't buy what you want at the store? Go without, or make do. We just completely go with the flow. About to go film some b-roll footage in Mostar... our new home for month and a half. Nice place so far.
I love your videos. While I am not ever planning on moving, I find your experience interesting. I have learned a lot about Saranda which is good for our upcoming vacation there is September. 😊
That is for 2 people. Rent is very reasonable, and I just want to possibly stay 1 to 3 months. Living in the PI for 5 years, I have learned real fast not to purchase overseas and rent. Save your money, time, and heartache and move around Europe. You can live on the cheap anywhere, especially if you are solo.
Most welcome! Depending no how much travel you have done or where you have lived before, there could be some culture shock for sure but it's a great place. You can see our Pros and Cons video on it.
@@cl2385 yes this is good to point out. Anyone going to stay for the year visa free needs to understand the tax consequences and best to speak to a reputable tax accountant familiar with world taxation in countries with no tax treaties. I don't think there are many wealthy American expats living in Albania long term for this reason.
We are looking as well to relocate to Albania. The cost of food has got me thinking though. Still if the living cost was still extremely affordable I could overlook the food cost. Any suggestions for smaller more quaint towns in Albania?
I'm in Tirana right now after traveling overland in the north of the country for ten days. I was last in Albania in the summer of 2017. Prices in restaurants have easily doubled and in some cases tripled since i was last here swvwn years ago. Grocery store prices in a Spar or Lidl in Slovenia are significantly cheaper than a similar grocery store in Albania. We are shocked at how high the prices have become compared to only sevwn yrs ago!
Albania has actually experienced lower than average inflation compared to many surrounding countries in Europe over the last decade. The prices are really not that much higher, what you are experiencing is the substantial rise in the value of the LEK to the EURO. The only significant inflation numbers have been in the last couple years, as global food prices have escalated and Albania lacks domestic production and any half decent distribution system. 35% of what you are experiencing is related to the fact the LEK has been one of the strongest currencies in the world in the past 7 years.
Very useful video ! Thks for the detailed cost breakdown ! if i remember correctly, you did mention in a previous video that your AirBnB had very poor heating, and you had to resort to using many blankets to cover up when sleeping ? Was that a big problem ?
It wasn't a big problem... the buildings are concrete and they get cold. We could have kept the heat on full blast but we were paying for utilities so just used blankets instead. It was in March and lasted 3 weeks, after that it was so hot we couldn't wait to turn on the air con.
Excellent video, Jay and Sarah! Thank you. Great detail. We plan on visiting the area this fall. Three months in non-Schengen, then 90 days in Schengen. Are there extreme weather patterns? Like still heat or freezing wind? It looks amazingly tranquil. Were you happy with your accommodations? Do you have any suggestions for future travelers? Did you fly into Corfu? Thanks! Dean & Cindy
We were very happy, the weather is quite stable. We fly Ito Tirana instead of Corfu mainly due to price but also Tirana is worth visiting. We have always been happy with our times in Albania. This is the 3rd stop and we will be back.
When you arrive there, take the public bus into the city center, it is very cheap and goes (I believe 1 per hour), is much less expensive than taxi. It will take you to Skanderbeg Square, which is the reference point to basically explore the city and find everything.
What is your target cost of living per month that you want to keep it under? Do you plan to spend similar amounts every month, or overall you want to budget say 24K or 30K USD per year, even if monthly costs are higher in certain places? Thanks.
Yes monthly costs vary from place to place. The annual budget is trending $26k usd and up slightly. Asia should bring it down. Each month it can vary a few hundred dollars but overall in 8 months it’s a very similar daily spend. The lodging is the biggest variable. Also if we stay long term we do cut food costs quite a bit.
Jay and Sarah, I wish you a wonderful time in Belgrade. I had question, now that you have visited a few countries in the Balkans, considering all factors, which country in that region will be best for retirement?
We just had a nice week in Belgrade, what a city! We're back in Montenegro for a few days and then off on our next long term stay. Watch for our Serbia vides. That is a really hard question you ask. This is really dependent on what is important to someone in retirement. Where are you from? What do you want in your retirement? Just off the top of my head, with current situation of these countries not being Schengen or EU, I am a big fan of slow travelling them in a perpetual circle. You can move between them by bus for low costs, you can stay for 3 months at a time.. and you never trigger residency and have to deal with the headache of multi jurisdiscutinal taxations, with countries that may not have a tax treaty with where you are from.
I like to swim in the sea. In the uk sewage is dumped in the sea and in rivers and I just discovered same in Albania! Have you experienced this problem and are cautious to go in the sea? I think it has brought an invasion of jelly fish perhaps Natures way of cleaning up sewage I don’t know
@@JayandSarah that is most interesting! Chlorine is what I don’t like about swimming pools and the idea that water in pools and jacuzzis are rarely changed just circulated. When you say polluted everywhere do you mean in Albania globally? Is the sea polluted in the south of Albania Riviera and corfu? I am thinking to travel to Red Sea what about there or even in far east like Vietnam is it polluted do you think? I really appreciate your comments it means alot
@@TikuParekh I don't know what the actual levels of pollution are in the sea near Albania, but anywhere that has large amounts of marine traffic, and cities not likely to have technologically advanced waste water treatment... you are getting pollution in the sea. A pool is a controlled environment, and treated. Just my opinion.
Sold it all. No sense having a house at home and dealing with tenants. The rules are so lopsided that if you end up in a dispute and are far away, it can cost you thousands to deal with it... which is often half a years retirement income here.
Most of the apartments are vacant for the majority of the year, so most landlords will take a reduced amount to get 12 months rent over a few months in the peak at higher rates. That is our experience.
@@maureenmitchell3297 what some expats choose to do in Saranda is to just rent for 9 months and then leave to another city, or country altogether to get away from the swarms of visitors. Some apartments are only rented in peak season, where the occupants of the apartment move in with family and use those 3 months as a major boost to their annual income.
Yes that was from our balcony. The sea in Saranda is lovely to look at, if you have not yet you can watch our many videos on Saranda and you will see often it in our backdrop... the boat trip video shows you very nicely what it is like.
I am not sure, but in that area most buildings have low occupancy.. I would say there is lots to rent. Mango beach is a 25 minute walk into downtown Saranda. Having said that, most of our groceries were done just a 5 minute walk from our apartment. Only finding decent beef was a problem, very few places have that... instead it's veal and I'm not interested in veal meat.
Bank card fees can be lowered or avoided altogether by opening a Charles Schwab account. My ATM fees are always refunded at the end of the month even when I am here in the US. Last month the refunded 20.00 dollars. While in Albania and the Balkans I typically got a 30 dollar per month refund. Oh BTW during covid I lived in Saranda for about 1,200 USD per month.
@@Analog_nomad01 Charles Schwab is great for Americans. We aren’t Americans. That said, we take out large sums at once to reduce the impact of fees. In terms of money , it’s negligible in our budget. $1200 usd for sure you can do that. We could do it for less than we do but we did hang out with friends. We spent more socializing than we did in rent each month.
@JayandSarah hi guys, enjoyed your budget video! My wife and I are slow traveling Canadian youtubers as well, currently we are in Durres, Albania. Our channel is called wattstraveling. A tip for reducing bank fees, before leaving Canada we setup an international account with Scotiabank. We pay no atm fees wherever we travel. We still pay foreign exchange fees. That seems to be unavoidable but choosing the option of allowing our bank to handle currency conversion whenever available helps to keep those fees down. Cheers!
@@jasonwatts_wattstraveling Good info to share. Bank fees don't cornern me that much, the amount we have paid in total is very low in 8 months. My banking relationship benefits more than cover any fees over the course of a year. One thing we did do is get Home Trust No FX Upcharge credit cards in Canada. You get charged the posted visa.com rate for the currency on the day, not your bank credit card plus the "hidden commission" where they add to the rate by like 1.75 to 2.5%. I'll check out your channel, thanks for watching.
what is the cheapest country for living permanently in europ can anyone please help me out? i am a trader so my work is online so will that be any problem in risidinf permanently?
Are you trading your own capital or working for someone? Those are 2 very different things. And residency requirements are different for many countries. If you are a salaried employee for a firm, Montenegro might be a good option I think you can stay on nomad visa for work but you must have a confirmed salary of a certain value to be accepted.
Albania's economy is expected to grow 6-7% in the next couple years. Hope this gem doesn't become californicated (overpriced, overpopulated, overrated) too soon.
The entire balkan region has similar costs. The biggest risk in my view in terms of cost, is the rise of the LEK to the EURO/USD which is something the Albanian gov't is not incentivized to stop.. as most of it's debt is in Euro's and this reduces repayment costs. It is the only currency in the region that is experiencing this, and there are a few theories to why. To me it presents a problem long term for foreigners.
I can tell you right now, no foreigner couple are living in Albania for $300 usd per month for everything. That is just not happening. Thanks for watching. We know many expats and we know several Albanians and I can assure you, none of those couples live for $300 usd per month. And if you compare our costs with other expats you will see it’s actually lower than most for a couple. This is not about what some Albanians retire on. Your information is so incorrect for what anyone would find. Show me an apartment in Saranda on a yearly rent for $150Usd per month and then show me groceries to eat for a month for $150usd and include a phone and all the rest. Is not happening. $1800 is good value. Your number is nonsense.
Thanks for useful information
most welcome, glad you like the video. Jay.
Okay, as a person who has lived in Saranda, Albania for almost 4 years I need to make something clear, this place is not the cheapest place to live anymore. Albania has now become a place of too many tourists and too many wanting to relocate here. The food has at least doubled and many items are on par with the same cost in the US. Too much tourism and too many people willing to plunk down astronomical amounts here, yes the cost of housing is cheaper but it will not be in the next year. Prices have already driven the locals out of both housing and food. Too many people are flooding the country making it very unaffordable for everyone.
Lots of foreign investors are buying properties... these are not expats, most are buying on speculation to rent given tourist demand. The actual number of long term foreigners in Albania I would suspect is quite low, and not likely to move prices of things like food. Great comment for sure. Price are in line with most of the Balkan countries we have stayed in, except for Serbia which is certainly higher. It's economy is definitely more advanced.
@@JayandSarah I must disagree with the fact that you don't believe there aren't a large number of long-term foreigners. I live here and know that who you have met and believe live here is just a small fraction. The expat community is extremely large and most people keep to themselves. Regardless of who is buying the properties it is driving the prices up substantially. The whole point of coming here was that it was cheaper than a lot of Balkan countries but not so anymore. Many people are going to Greece to buy products that are way overpriced here. It is not the expats moving the prices but all of the tourism being generated by all of these articles about how cheap and great it is, it is no longer that way. Regardless of who is responsible is a mute point prices have gone up substantially and do nit go back down. Plus the infrastructure here literally sucks, rolling blackouts, water shortages, clogged roads are incapable of handling the needs of those who live here. I just want people to not put on rose colored glasses about moving here this is not the western world and one most be willing to leave your comforts of home back there.
I understand what. you are saying. Prices are up and for sure won't go down, they never do. As you say, the infrastructure is pretty abysmal and I agree you must be eyes wide open to the fact you are not going to be living in a modern country with the creature comforts. This is what we like about Albania, we are comfortable with places that are rough around the edges, we enjoy that the most. As costs rise and are similar between the Balkan countries, Albania becomes less attractive in my view.. with the exception for those from the USA who can enjoy the year long stay without residency requirements. We just did our accounting this morning of our stay in Montenegro for about 2 months, and the costs per day were almost identical, with housing being slightly more. I can't speak for Sarah, but I would say with costs so similar, Montenegro is preferable. Thanks for watching and commenting, I know you have been following for a while and your engagement helps make our channel better. Cheers, Jay.
@@JayandSarah Thank you Jay for the reply. My intent was not to put down your articles, I think they do a great service for others to understand other parts of the world. The large majority of north americans have been cloistered and have no clue about the rest of the the world. Because you both have traveled so much you can see the differences between the western world and other countries. I just want people that say the wish to move here that they need to leave most of their attitudes about the western civilization behind. I see way to many people come here and constaltly complain that this is not the wa things are supposed to be simply because that is their conception of how things are. Can the Balkan countries learn a few things about trash and how to better run some necessities, absolutely but that is not going to happen for at least another two generations. Ideas and practices are deepely ingrained here and it aint gonna change any time soon. If you can move here and accept the differences then we will all welcome you but leave your western mentality at the door. I do like your channel by thhe way and wish you the best of luck.
Absolutely I completely agree with you. There is nothing worse than people from the west coming here and expecting to impart on the locals how thing should be done. We are tourists by definition (Jay and Sarah), but at the core, when we move to a place for a couple of months... we don't go there to be critical. We go there to observe, and to try to appreciate the history of the country or city, and just live with acceptance about how things are. We find it very liberating to see life through different lenses than we were used to at home. For some people this is too much, they can't live this way. That is too bad for them. A slower paced, much simpler life, with less stress. If the power goes out, so be it. If the internet doesn't work for a day, so be it. If you can't buy what you want at the store? Go without, or make do. We just completely go with the flow. About to go film some b-roll footage in Mostar... our new home for month and a half. Nice place so far.
Thankyou so much for this breakdown of expenses 😊. Wishing you lots of luck and happiness on your travels.
Most welcome! We are really enjoying our stay in the balkans!
I love your videos. While I am not ever planning on moving, I find your experience interesting. I have learned a lot about Saranda which is good for our upcoming vacation there is September. 😊
That is so great to hear Mary. Thanks for watching, it means a lot to us! We love trying to make content people will find interesting!
That is for 2 people. Rent is very reasonable, and I just want to possibly stay 1 to 3 months. Living in the PI for 5 years, I have learned real fast not to purchase overseas and rent. Save your money, time, and heartache and move around Europe. You can live on the cheap anywhere, especially if you are solo.
Yep
I’m thinking of relocating in Albania. These videos help.
Most welcome! Depending no how much travel you have done or where you have lived before, there could be some culture shock for sure but it's a great place. You can see our Pros and Cons video on it.
Health care, services and much more are to take in consideration. We left Albania years ago to come to Italy and yet here we are
@keedledee If you are American you can stay 1 year but after 183 days you are considered a tax resident and they have a 15% tax.
@@cl2385 yes this is good to point out. Anyone going to stay for the year visa free needs to understand the tax consequences and best to speak to a reputable tax accountant familiar with world taxation in countries with no tax treaties.
I don't think there are many wealthy American expats living in Albania long term for this reason.
We are looking as well to relocate to Albania. The cost of food has got me thinking though. Still if the living cost was still extremely affordable I could overlook the food cost.
Any suggestions for smaller more quaint towns in Albania?
I'm in Tirana right now after traveling overland in the north of the country for ten days. I was last in Albania in the summer of 2017. Prices in restaurants have easily doubled and in some cases tripled since i was last here swvwn years ago. Grocery store prices in a Spar or Lidl in Slovenia are significantly cheaper than a similar grocery store in Albania. We are shocked at how high the prices have become compared to only sevwn yrs ago!
Albania has actually experienced lower than average inflation compared to many surrounding countries in Europe over the last decade. The prices are really not that much higher, what you are experiencing is the substantial rise in the value of the LEK to the EURO. The only significant inflation numbers have been in the last couple years, as global food prices have escalated and Albania lacks domestic production and any half decent distribution system. 35% of what you are experiencing is related to the fact the LEK has been one of the strongest currencies in the world in the past 7 years.
Very useful video ! Thks for the detailed cost breakdown ! if i remember correctly, you did mention in a previous video that your AirBnB had very poor heating, and you had to resort to using many blankets to cover up when sleeping ? Was that a big problem ?
It wasn't a big problem... the buildings are concrete and they get cold. We could have kept the heat on full blast but we were paying for utilities so just used blankets instead. It was in March and lasted 3 weeks, after that it was so hot we couldn't wait to turn on the air con.
Thanks, appreciate it. Can you talk about the flight options from Canada or the US?
@@micmike via Heathrow or Germany
Very nice, I love cost compilations! Hope you guys are enjoying your days, can't wait to see where you'll be traveling to! 😊
Right now we are in Belgrade Serbia, videos to follow. It’s so hot we can barely function 39 today
@@JayandSarah Oh my! Hopefully you will have AC, but that doesn't help outside. Sending thoughts of cool breezes. 😎
A/C in our place but outside it's been really bad. We had to cut a video short yesterday, we were feeling sick just from the heat.
@@JayandSarah Don't forget to hydrate!
Excellent video, Jay and Sarah! Thank you. Great detail. We plan on visiting the area this fall. Three months in non-Schengen, then 90 days in Schengen. Are there extreme weather patterns? Like still heat or freezing wind? It looks amazingly tranquil. Were you happy with your accommodations? Do you have any suggestions for future travelers? Did you fly into Corfu? Thanks! Dean & Cindy
We were very happy, the weather is quite stable. We fly Ito Tirana instead of Corfu mainly due to price but also Tirana is worth visiting. We have always been happy with our times in Albania. This is the 3rd stop and we will be back.
@@JayandSarah Thank you for the reply. I will check out flights into Tirana. Thank you!!
When you arrive there, take the public bus into the city center, it is very cheap and goes (I believe 1 per hour), is much less expensive than taxi. It will take you to Skanderbeg Square, which is the reference point to basically explore the city and find everything.
What is your target cost of living per month that you want to keep it under? Do you plan to spend similar amounts every month, or overall you want to budget say 24K or 30K USD per year, even if monthly costs are higher in certain places? Thanks.
Yes monthly costs vary from place to place. The annual budget is trending $26k usd and up slightly. Asia should bring it down. Each month it can vary a few hundred dollars but overall in 8 months it’s a very similar daily spend. The lodging is the biggest variable. Also if we stay long term we do cut food costs quite a bit.
@@JayandSarah Thank you and good luck.
@@pathkris2984 so far so good!!! Thanks!!!🙏
Jay and Sarah, I wish you a wonderful time in Belgrade. I had question, now that you have visited a few countries in the Balkans, considering all factors, which country in that region will be best for retirement?
We just had a nice week in Belgrade, what a city! We're back in Montenegro for a few days and then off on our next long term stay. Watch for our Serbia vides.
That is a really hard question you ask. This is really dependent on what is important to someone in retirement. Where are you from? What do you want in your retirement?
Just off the top of my head, with current situation of these countries not being Schengen or EU, I am a big fan of slow travelling them in a perpetual circle. You can move between them by bus for low costs, you can stay for 3 months at a time.. and you never trigger residency and have to deal with the headache of multi jurisdiscutinal taxations, with countries that may not have a tax treaty with where you are from.
If you move every 3 months does that mean get new tourist visa so then don’t have to apply for visa…im British passport
I like to swim in the sea. In the uk sewage is dumped in the sea and in rivers and I just discovered same in Albania! Have you experienced this problem and are cautious to go in the sea? I think it has brought an invasion of jelly fish perhaps Natures way of cleaning up sewage I don’t know
I don't swim in the sea, too polluted everywhere. I'll take swimming pools instead thanks!
@@JayandSarah that is most interesting! Chlorine is what I don’t like about swimming pools and the idea that water in pools and jacuzzis are rarely changed just circulated.
When you say polluted everywhere do you mean in Albania globally?
Is the sea polluted in the south of Albania Riviera and corfu? I am thinking to travel to Red Sea what about there or even in far east like Vietnam is it polluted do you think? I really appreciate your comments it means alot
@@TikuParekh I don't know what the actual levels of pollution are in the sea near Albania, but anywhere that has large amounts of marine traffic, and cities not likely to have technologically advanced waste water treatment... you are getting pollution in the sea. A pool is a controlled environment, and treated. Just my opinion.
Do you maintain a house still in Canada. Or did you sell it all and now just slow travel
Sold it all. No sense having a house at home and dealing with tenants. The rules are so lopsided that if you end up in a dispute and are far away, it can cost you thousands to deal with it... which is often half a years retirement income here.
@@JayandSarahExactly 💯
How hard is it to find a one bedroom for long term (retirement) for a flat monthly rate? I can’t afford a 3x price increase for peak season.
Most of the apartments are vacant for the majority of the year, so most landlords will take a reduced amount to get 12 months rent over a few months in the peak at higher rates. That is our experience.
Whew - that’s a relief. 😅
Good to know.
@@maureenmitchell3297 what some expats choose to do in Saranda is to just rent for 9 months and then leave to another city, or country altogether to get away from the swarms of visitors. Some apartments are only rented in peak season, where the occupants of the apartment move in with family and use those 3 months as a major boost to their annual income.
Let me understand the calculations. You took expenses for three months and averaged it per month. Then averaged it per person?
Expenses for 3 months averaged over the 3 months, and the numbers are for both of us, not per person. That is the entire cost for two people.
Was that picture from the balcony overlooking the ocean in Seranda?
Yes that was from our balcony. The sea in Saranda is lovely to look at, if you have not yet you can watch our many videos on Saranda and you will see often it in our backdrop... the boat trip video shows you very nicely what it is like.
@@JayandSarah Thank you.
Are there other apartments available in the same building with ocean views and is it walking distance to town for groceries and such?
@@keedledeeyou have no ocean in Albania sir, just wonderful mediterranean sea ❤ and yes groceries are always walkable, not many albanians own a car
I am not sure, but in that area most buildings have low occupancy.. I would say there is lots to rent. Mango beach is a 25 minute walk into downtown Saranda. Having said that, most of our groceries were done just a 5 minute walk from our apartment. Only finding decent beef was a problem, very few places have that... instead it's veal and I'm not interested in veal meat.
Bank card fees can be lowered or avoided altogether by opening a Charles Schwab account. My ATM fees are always refunded at the end of the month even when I am here in the US. Last month the refunded 20.00 dollars. While in Albania and the Balkans I typically got a 30 dollar per month refund. Oh BTW during covid I lived in Saranda for about 1,200 USD per month.
@@Analog_nomad01 Charles Schwab is great for Americans. We aren’t Americans. That said, we take out large sums at once to reduce the impact of fees. In terms of money , it’s negligible in our budget. $1200 usd for sure you can do that. We could do it for less than we do but we did hang out with friends. We spent more socializing than we did in rent each month.
@JayandSarah hi guys, enjoyed your budget video! My wife and I are slow traveling Canadian youtubers as well, currently we are in Durres, Albania. Our channel is called wattstraveling. A tip for reducing bank fees, before leaving Canada we setup an international account with Scotiabank. We pay no atm fees wherever we travel. We still pay foreign exchange fees. That seems to be unavoidable but choosing the option of allowing our bank to handle currency conversion whenever available helps to keep those fees down. Cheers!
@@jasonwatts_wattstraveling Good info to share. Bank fees don't cornern me that much, the amount we have paid in total is very low in 8 months. My banking relationship benefits more than cover any fees over the course of a year. One thing we did do is get Home Trust No FX Upcharge credit cards in Canada. You get charged the posted visa.com rate for the currency on the day, not your bank credit card plus the "hidden commission" where they add to the rate by like 1.75 to 2.5%. I'll check out your channel, thanks for watching.
what is the cheapest country for living permanently in europ can anyone please help me out? i am a trader so my work is online so will that be any problem in risidinf permanently?
Are you trading your own capital or working for someone? Those are 2 very different things. And residency requirements are different for many countries. If you are a salaried employee for a firm, Montenegro might be a good option I think you can stay on nomad visa for work but you must have a confirmed salary of a certain value to be accepted.
Albania's economy is expected to grow 6-7% in the next couple years. Hope this gem doesn't become californicated (overpriced, overpopulated, overrated) too soon.
The entire balkan region has similar costs. The biggest risk in my view in terms of cost, is the rise of the LEK to the EURO/USD which is something the Albanian gov't is not incentivized to stop.. as most of it's debt is in Euro's and this reduces repayment costs. It is the only currency in the region that is experiencing this, and there are a few theories to why. To me it presents a problem long term for foreigners.
Can one survive comfortably in Albania for ca. $1000 USD monthly? Comments, suggestions welcome.
One can certainly survive on it, everyone definition of comfortable is different. I wouldn't want to live on $1000 USD a month here personally.
👉❤️🇺🇸🇦🇱🇽🇰❤️
Nice!
Guys 1800 is a lot… people in retirement there live with less then 300usd
I can tell you right now, no foreigner couple are living in Albania for $300 usd per month for everything. That is just not happening. Thanks for watching. We know many expats and we know several Albanians and I can assure you, none of those couples live for $300 usd per month.
And if you compare our costs with other expats you will see it’s actually lower than most for a couple. This is not about what some Albanians retire on. Your information is so incorrect for what anyone would find. Show me an apartment in Saranda on a yearly rent for $150Usd per month and then show me groceries to eat for a month for $150usd and include a phone and all the rest. Is not happening.
$1800 is good value. Your number is nonsense.
They probably own a place to live.
@@natalias1212 exactly.