Italy’s Coastline, Ireland’s Greenery, Portugal’s Low Costs

Four years into slow traveling with my wife Kathleen, I ran into the question that many slow travelers face: Where could we stay long-term?

In our case, long term means more than 90 days. The 27 European countries within the Schengen Zone—including those that we best like to spend time in—kick out tourists after three months.

This was bad news for us. Kat and I, as travel writers, were never looking to “settle down”… but as we crossed into our 70s, we realized that carrying backpacks, schlepping through airports, and climbing stairs and hills might soon become untenable.

After spending several months of time, many thousands of dollars, and a lot of mental anguish, we recognized that getting citizenship in any country was cumbersome. The process of FBI background checks, translating documents, and having everything specially notarized or “apostilled,” was a bureaucratic nightmare.

While we needed a home base… it would have to be outside of the Schengen Zone.

That’s when we landed on Albania.

Albania boasts the coastline of Italy, the greenery of Ireland, and the affordability of Portugal. But unlike those countries, Albania isn’t part of the European Union, nor the Schengen Zone… and it offers a one-year visa for Americans.

The Albanians created this extended stay back in the early ‘90s as a “thank you” for American protection during the Kosovo/Bosnian Wars.

Now, it’s a bonus for American expats.

In Albania, to “reset” a visa, you have to leave the country for 90 days. That means you can enter Albania on January 1, stay until December 31, then leave for, say, Greece or Italy for 90 days. Once you return, the clock is reset and you can stay another year.

There is an option for temporary legal residency, which gives access to the public healthcare system… but because we’re avid travelers, and the process is known to be tedious, we decided the yearlong visa was the easier path forward. Aside from access to social and medical services, there are few benefits to residency aside from being able to open a bank account.

We looked at the pros and cons of going through the residency application process, but decided there was no tangible benefit for us. Even without residency, a foreigner can still buy real estate here.

Saranda

Of the 37 countries Kat and I visited during our years on the road, Albania was the most affordable. But we had other items on the wish list, too: proximity to other European countries, a vibrant expat community, and good healthcare, for starters.

We began by scouting Facebook groups a few months ahead of our scheduled move. Like a fly on the wall, I got a sense of real estate, favorite eateries, and local events. I found that Saranda’s two expat Facebook groups—which you can find here and here—were particularly active… and chock full of fellow Americans.

Saranda, population 20,000, is only a few dozen miles away from Greece, and Italy is just across the Ionian Sea. Historic Butrint, just 30 minutes south, is a nearby UNESCO World Heritage site (Albania’s first), and was once a pivotal stop along trade routes for several different civilizations.

The Greeks, Romans, Ottomans, and Venetians all left their marks on Butrint, and the 37 square miles of grounds is lovely to hike, enjoy a leisurely lunch, and explore the fresh and saltwater marshlands, all the while marveling at the waterfowl in the area.

Along the way you will pass through the resort town of Ksamil… and 30 minutes in another direction is the Blue Eye, a natural spring that spouts out the most stunning turquoise water!

Once we found our two-bedroom rental unit, which boasted an incredible ocean view of the Greek isle of Corfu, we were decided. Our unit is a ten-minute walk from anywhere in town… making the location convenient to boot.

The kicker: it costs only $500 per month.

Rentals are abundant, and you can still buy a property in Saranda for around $100k. In speaking with many realtors, they confirmed that ocean-view properties like ours are the most desirable, and almost all of them are condominiums. Finding a detached single family home, the holy grail of most Americans, is not likely… but the good news is that condo association fees are just a few hundred dollars a year!

Summer rental prices do increase significantly, as Saranda’s a magnet for tourists. But in the off season? You can live large on very little… keeping in mind that the off season is quite slow. Not ghost town slow, but the majority of restaurants are closed through the winter months. (That said, I’m always able to snag a breakfast byrek, a Balkan pastry with spinach, meat, and cheese, for about $1.)

Even as Southern Californians, we found the winter temps very tolerable with just a few days in the low 40s and little rain. Corfu, we learned, protects Saranda’s coastline from cold winds… giving southern Albania some of the nicest winter weather in Europe.

The expat community is a wonderful gateway to any new city, and the one in Saranda is better than most. We found the local restaurant was an expat hub, and we joined the local hiking group, too. Every week we expanded our circle of friends.

And we found Sarandans to be honest and friendly, too.

On one occasion, I didn’t bring enough Albanian currency to pay for our dinner out… and the restaurant didn’t accept credit cards. I asked what we could do.

“It’s no problem,” said the waiter, “just come by tomorrow or the next day to pay the bill.” And that’s what we did!

When Kat ran into the same problem while grocery shopping, she was told the same.

Many Balkan countries, and especially Albania, abide by the code of “Besa,” which means “faith” or “oath” to honor your promise. Balkans take their integrity and respect for each other—and visitors—to a whole new level.

If we were lost and could not find our way, locals would walk us to our destination… with nothing expected in return. We felt safer walking home at night than we did in many U.S. towns.

And just before we were getting ready to leave town last May, my Albanian friend Adi asked me out to coffee.

The reason? He wanted to give us a curated list of his recommended locales while we explored the rest of the country. “I want to show you the best places to visit,” he told us, “in my country.”

It was Albania’s beauty and affordability that first attracted us… but it’s the Albanians who now help us call this place home.