This question comes up constantly. And most of the answers you’ll find online are either vague reassurances from travel bloggers who spent a week there, or outdated warnings based on Albania’s reputation from thirty years ago. Neither is useful. Here’s…
Short answer, no. Long answer, you’ll probably be glad you tried at least a little. Albania isn’t one of those places where English just disappears. In Tirana and the main coastal cities, especially with younger people, you can get by…
You’ve booked your flight. Your apartment is waiting. You’ve done the research. And then you land and realize none of that really prepares you for what it actually feels like to be there. Everyone’s experience is a bit different, but…
Nobody talks about this part when they’re selling you on the dream. The cost of going back. If you’re moving abroad and you still have people in Canada, and most of us do, then flying home is not a hypothetical.…
Renting in Albania isn’t like North America. If you’re used to browsing listings, calling landlords, and setting things up yourself, most of that goes out the window. You can deal directly with a homeowner and sometimes that works out, but…
Moving to a new country at fifty-plus means something different than it does at twenty-five. You’re not looking for nightlife or backpacker hostels. You’re looking for a place where you can breathe, where the food works for your body, where…
Before you move anywhere, you need to know what things actually cost. Not the tourist prices. Not the inflated expat guesses. Real numbers from people living there. I’ve done the research, and here’s what Albania actually costs. Currency First Albanian…