We Moved to Albania 30 Days Ago. Here's What Nobody Tells You.
We Moved to Albania 30 Days Ago. Here's What Nobody Tells You.
When we left Jacksonville, I had one quiet little theory I never said out loud to anyone: Albania was going to fix everything. My stress. Moe's stroke. Even my 40-something eyesight, lol. I knew that was magical thinking. You don't sell most of what you own and move across the world and have it solve your eye prescription. But somewhere in the back of my head, that's what I was hoping for.
The strange part? I wasn't completely wrong.
Thirty days in, this already feels like home. And the thing I keep turning over in my head is that we never really had a moment of doubt. No second-guessing, no "what did we do" panic at 3am. I keep asking myself whether that's because Albania is magic, or because of something simpler. I don't think it's magic. I think it's the lifestyle. And I want to be honest with you about both the parts that have been better than I imagined and the parts I'm still figuring out, because if you're sitting where I was a few months ago, wondering if you're crazy for even thinking about this, you deserve the real version, not the highlight reel.
I'm a Calmer Person Here, and I Think I Know Why
Here's what surprised me most: I'm more tolerant in Albania. The things that would have set me off in the States just don't land the same way here. At first I couldn't explain it, so I'll just tell you what's actually different about how we live now and let you decide.
We don't have a car. We walk everywhere. Sometimes three or four miles, just to get to the dentist or to check whether the home goods store across town has the pan we've been hunting for. I always said I wanted to walk more back home. I never found the time, and honestly I figured I wouldn't even like it. Turns out I love it. That's the part nobody warns you about, that the slower, more physical rhythm of the day does something to your head before you even notice.
And it is slow here. Meal service in Vlorë is not quick, and you will almost always have to flag your waiter down to get the check so you can leave. That used to be exactly the kind of thing that would have driven me up a wall. Now I barely register it, barely.
The Honest Highs and Lows of Our First Month
I don't want to paint this as a postcard, so here's the unfiltered version.
Our apartment is amazing. The building it's in? Not so much. The videos I watched before we moved warned me about this, that a lot of Albanian buildings look kind of rough and even a little scary from the outside, and ours absolutely fits that description. I genuinely don't care. Inside is wonderful.
There are stray dogs, but far fewer than the videos had me bracing for. It's more heartbreaking than anything else. Moe has started naming them, which tells you everything about how that's going for us emotionally.
The food has been my biggest letdown, and I'll be straight about it. I expected something closer to Greece, light, fresh, a pretty charcuterie spread. What I've actually found is more heavily spiced meats, and the spices aren't ones I love. I can get Cokes and chocolate bars no problem, but so far there isn't a lot of food here I'm crazy about. The grocery situation is its own adventure too. The little markets don't carry arugula. The watermelons aren't as sweet as back home. But the tomatoes and cucumbers are better, which is funny, because I didn't even like them before.
A few other practical things I wish someone had told me plainly:
It's mostly a cash society, but a lot of restaurants and bigger markets take cards. The catch is you never really know until you get there, so carry lek.
Vlorë runs on tourism, so in the busy season businesses will ask you for a Google review. We love leaving them for the places we genuinely enjoy. It actually helps them.
When we first arrived, the water shut off every Tuesday. That seems to have resolved itself now. The only time we've lost power was when we overloaded our own circuit, which, fair enough.
The traffic looks insane and the drivers are aggressive, but it honestly doesn't bother me. Most will stop for you at a crosswalk. They'll just stop a little closer than you'd like, lol.
What It Actually Costs to Live Here
This is probably why you're here, so let me give you real numbers instead of a vague "it's cheaper."
We pay 450 euro a month for a furnished two-bedroom, one-bath apartment with a sea view, just off the main Lungomare. We signed a one-year lease before we ever moved, which I'd recommend if you can swing it.
Day to day, most things cost less than back home, but not everything. A coffee runs about 100 lek, roughly $1.22. But we paid almost $10 for half a watermelon, and a flat iron cost me $62 because imported goods aren't cheap here. Local services, on the other hand, are a steal. I got my hair cut, colored, and blown out for about a third of what I paid in the States. This morning we spent 2,100 lek, about $25.58, on breakfast, and that's "expensive" by our normal Vlorë standards.
May is going to be our biggest month because Moe wanted a bigger TV and we picked up a few things to settle the apartment. I'm breaking the entire May budget down line by line in a separate post, so if numbers are your thing, that one's for you.
Coming soon: Our Full May Budget, Broken Down — every dolalr and lek of our first full month.
"But What About Healthcare?" (Especially After a Stroke)
I mention Moe's stroke and I can feel the question forming, so let me answer it. He's well enough that he doesn't need ongoing care here. He does his VA speech therapy online, and the in-person care we have needed has been genuinely good and genuinely affordable.
Here's what he’s actually done in 30 days: a mole removed, a dental cleaning, a bridge, and a root canal, all the dental work together came to $1,063.57. He does physical therapy for his shoulder once a week at 4,000 lek a visit, about $48.72. That's it. No drama, no nightmare.
Moe's filming the dental and dermatologist visits for the channel because honestly, you have to see it to believe the difference.
Coming soon: our deep dive on healthcare in Albania, plus Moe's dental cost video and mole removal video.
The Visa Question, Answered Simply
The paperwork is the part that scares everyone, and it scared me too, so here's the plain version of what we were told for our situation. As Americans, we can stay for a full year on our US passport. After that, we'll apply for residency. For us that means showing proof of income, renewing every year, and a few requirements specific to our VA benefits. We're using a local attorney to handle it, it runs about $250 per person, and so far it's been genuinely easy.
I want to be careful here: residency rules depend on your situation and they change, so treat this as our experience, not a checklist. Talk to a local attorney about your own case. That's the single best money we've spent.
The Part I'm Still Figuring Out
I'm not going to wrap this in a bow, because that wouldn't be true.
Here's what I'm still working on: since Moe and I aren't working anymore, I haven't fully figured out how to fill my days. There are enough expat events to stay busy, and that community has been our absolute saving grace, both for figuring out where to shop and eat and for plain old companionship. The people who've been here longer than us have been generous with everything they know.
But the slow pace I love in some moments still catches me in others. I keep imagining a version of myself who can sit in a cafe and stare at the sea for hours, content. I'm not quite her yet. Maybe in another 30 days. Maybe that's the part that actually takes the longest.
So no, Albania didn't magically fix everything. But it gave me a life where the things that used to weigh on me have a lot less room to. And 30 days in, I'll take that.
Thinking about a move of your own? We're documenting the whole thing as we go on YouTube and Instagram. Come along.