Cost of Living in Albania: Real Estate, Groceries, Health Care, Transportation, Etc

Albania: Cost of Living
Book a consultation call: https://calendly.com/traveleconomics/60min

Contact me: https://checkinprice.com/contact/

Check our other videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCINdDQXISgr7KtvmhWJqOBA/videos

Music: https://bit.ly/3v6GIfA

00:00 Factors we will cover about the cost of living of Albania
01:17 Real Estate in Albania
02:39 Groceries
03:24 Going out and Services
04:24 Transportation
05:10 Salaries
05:58 Cost of staying (visa, residence permit)
06:59Health care
07:34 Verdict

Real estate in Albania

Albania is still the cheapest place to live if you want to live on the Coast of the Adriatic sea or the Ionian Sea. It beats with a safe margin its Northern neighbor Montenegro, and its Southern neighbor Greece.
Tirana on the other hand is comparable to some other capitals in the Balkans. The Albanian diaspora is one of the several driving factors forcing prices up in the country.
More recently, a new wave of expats composed of retirees and remote workers are also pushing the prices up in the country.
The coast of Albania still has many real estate opportunities which I would consider under priced. If we take the example of Saranda and Vlore, you can still find decent apartments with prices even below 1000 euros per square meter.
You can check prices in MerrJep.al, which translates literally to “give take” and is the largest web portal in Albania for buying and selling all kinds of things, including properties.

Groceries

Groceries in Albania are moderately priced, but if we consider the local purchasing power they are definitely not cheap.
International products like Coca cola, some toothpaste and similar stuff will be virtually the same in Albania as in all other countries in the region.
If you like to buy local produce Albania might be an excellent choice. Farmers markets are the places in which you can definitely find the lowest price for groceries in Albania.
There are some international supermarket chains operating in Albania, we can mention two examples here: one is Conad and Spar.

Going Out and Services

Going out and services in Albania are usually cheaper than in most countries in Western Europe and oftentimes even cheaper than countries in Central Europe.
Another important aspect is that Albania lacks a number of multinationals that you will see almost everywhere else around Europe. For example, there is not a single McDonald’s in the whole country.

Transportation

Transportation infrastructure in Albania is not excellent, but it is improving significantly in the last few years.
Just like in places like Kosovo, Montenegro and even in Greece and Croatia to a certain extent, the mountainous terrain of Albania makes infrastructure investments to be rather pricey.
In the last couple of decades Albania has benefited from heavy investment from EU funds, and some roads in the country are at a high level.
Pricewise buses and vans are quite inexpensive in Albania. Taxis tend to be a bit more expensive, and just like McDonald’s there is no Uber in Albania.

Salaries

Salaries in Albania are well below European standards, and way below North American standards.
It is definitely not a good investment to move to Albania if you are just looking for a well paying job.
The average salary in Tirana is somewhere between 400 and 450 euros. On the coast and during the season.
On the other hand if your income does not depend on Albanian sources, the country can be a real paradise.

Cost of staying (visa, residence permit)

Now let’s talk about the cost of staying in Albania.
That engulfs the price you pay to get a residence permit, in case you are a freelancer, or working for a company abroad, or a retiree, or a businessman.
If you want to stay in Albania now as an independent person, without looking for a job or getting married to an Albanian, the most cost effective option is starting a sole proprietorship company.
You will need an accountant and you will need to pay mandatory social contributions, which at the moment are at around 80 euros. An accountant you can probably get for 50 to 70 euros a month.

Health insurance

All foreigners residing in Albania need to have health insurance in order to get and renew their residence permits in the country.
There are public and private health care facilities in the country.
Unfortunately, the public health care in Albania has a pretty bad reputation. I have heard several Albanians complaining about the quality of the services.

Final budget considerations

To sum up, it is possible to live in Albania with a budget of as low as 1000 euros per month. As a matter of fact, many Albanians live on salaries much lower than that. But considering you will likely have to pay rent and get used to it initially, I would say a budget of 1000 euros a month can guarantee you some decent level of comfort.

Видео Cost of Living in Albania: Real Estate, Groceries, Health Care, Transportation, Etc канала traveleconomics