Couple Visited 47 International locations, Then Moved to Their Underrated Favourite

This as-told-to essay relies on a dialog with Alicia Walter, 28, and Nathan Stark, 41. The couple has visited 47 nations and moved from San Diego to Tirana, Albania, in 2023. Collectively, they run The Passport Couple, a travel-advice weblog.

This interview has been edited for size and readability.

Alicia: My husband and I’ve traveled via a lot of Central and South America, components of Africa, a very good portion of Europe, and most of Southeast and East Asia.

We have visited 47 nations, however our favourite is Albania, an underrated nation within the Balkans.

Albania is totally attractive and nonetheless feels untouched by mass tourism, particularly in comparison with different European locations like Barcelona, Paris, London, Rome, and even Prague. The meals is a few of our favourite anyplace, and the locals are extremely welcoming and have handled us like household.

It isn’t good. The nation continues to be creating after its communist period ended within the Nineteen Nineties, so you may nonetheless see bunkers scattered throughout cities. A serious earthquake close to Tirana, the capital, in 2019 additionally destroyed many houses, condominium buildings, and companies, so there’s nonetheless a whole lot of ongoing building.

That is a part of what makes it so distinctive — each time we return, it appears like discovering a brand new place.

Albania has beautiful nature and good climate

Alicia: Albania is throughout the Adriatic Sea from Italy, bordering Greece and Montenegro.

It is a comparatively small nation, in all probability concerning the measurement of Portugal. You’ll be able to simply street journey the whole nation in per week or two.

It has a light local weather, typical of the Mediterranean area. Winters are typically delicate, and summers can get fairly scorching inland, however alongside the coast, the climate is rather more comfy.

The nation might be finest identified for the Albanian Riviera — a stretch of shoreline alongside the Ionian Sea with crystal-clear blue waters. Theth Nationwide Park can be beautiful. We drove via it within the fall, and it felt like {a magazine}.

Albania has mountains, together with the Albanian Alps, the Korab Mountains, and the Tomorr Mountains. Whereas there are no ski resorts, the mountains get snow and are nice for climbing.

It is simply so lovely right here. Each time we head out into nature, away from town facilities, we’re blown away by how beautiful it’s, and the way little we might heard about it earlier than.

Albania’s structure is sort of various. In cities like Berat, often called town of 1,000 home windows, you may discover well-preserved Ottoman structure — white stone buildings with dark-tiled roofs and wooden-shuttered home windows, some courting again almost 2,000 years.

In distinction, Tirana’s structure is a mixture of types. There are stays of communist-era buildings and new, fashionable developments with many inexperienced areas.

Dwelling in Albania is extremely inexpensive

Alicia: We moved to Tirana in February 2023. We had been touring full-time for 3 years, simply residing out of suitcases, and needed to settle in Europe.

We reside in a brand-new condominium complicated in a completely furnished 740-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit. We pay 450 euros, about $520, in month-to-month lease. Utilities — web, water, and electrical energy — value us round 100 euros, or $115, month-to-month.

Housing in Albania is far more inexpensive than within the States. In 2019, earlier than touring overseas, we lived in San Diego and rented a 630-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit about an hour from town heart for $1,250 a month — the most affordable lease we might discover.

The worth for cash right here is unimaginable.

Worldwide meals within the metropolis generally is a bit costlier, however conventional Albanian meals are tremendous inexpensive. You will often get 5 – 6 shared dishes, served family-style, together with a liter of wine, or some beers, and infrequently spend greater than $50.

Public transportation can be nice and inexpensive in Tirana.

Nathan: I have been stunned to see what number of electric-vehicle taxis are right here; they’ve grow to be the principle ride-share type.

Alicia: The town was lately added to Google Maps, which has made navigating even simpler. Driving a bus throughout the metropolis prices simply 40 cents per trip. There are shuttles for journeys to different cities — we took one to the port metropolis of Durrës for about $10.

We will stroll most locations and do not actually need a automotive in Tirana

Alicia: Our neighborhood is tremendous walkable, with bike lanes and sidewalks virtually in every single place. Our day-to-day wants are inside strolling distance, which is superb coming from San Diego.

We have a grocery retailer simply down the road, a bakery the place we are able to get contemporary bread for about $1, and a produce stand close by for fruits and veggies. There’s even a bookstore that sells English books a couple of 25-minute stroll from us.

There is not a lot of a nightlife scene in Albania. Although to be truthful, we’re not large nightlife folks ourselves.

As a substitute, folks right here actually worth what are often called “third areas.” Many Albanians reside in multi-generational houses, the place prolonged households reside collectively. These third areas are sometimes inexperienced areas inside condominium complexes, like shared courtyards, the place everybody gathers, particularly round sundown.

There’s one thing known as “xhiro,” which is like a night social hour. At the moment, everybody heads outdoors: children play; dad and mom chat; neighbors catch up. Individuals usually go to cafés, that are an enormous a part of the tradition right here. They’re going to order an espresso and a glass of water, and simply sit and chill out for hours.

There are some trade-offs to life in Albania, however the professionals outweigh the cons

Nathan: The cash we save on meals and residing bills in Albania has significantly affected our lives.

It is allowed us to journey and make investments extra in our journey enterprise. A part of the explanation we left the US to pursue this dream is that we merely could not afford to do it there.

There are some trade-offs to residing right here, although. For instance, now we have to go to completely different locations to get all the things we want: one retailer for dry items, the produce marketplace for vegatables and fruits, a bakery for bread, and one other grocery retailer simply to get espresso. Comfort generally is a problem.

We additionally haven’t got delivery right here. There is not any dependable option to get packages delivered as a result of we do not have correct addresses — only a avenue identify that everybody on the road makes use of.

Nonetheless, there are a whole lot of benefits to residing right here.

A giant one is Albania’s visa coverage. US residents get a 365-day visa on arrival. Plus, our Schengen visa days reset every time we depart Albania and journey to the EU. For instance, we are able to take a $100 flight to Rome for the weekend, and once we return, we are able to begin contemporary with extra time within the EU.

Alicia: Past that, locals have been extremely supportive and genuinely useful to us getting settled right here.

Finally, our dream is to purchase a house in Italy, however there are a whole lot of steps earlier than we get there. Proper now, we’re simply actually completely happy right here in Albania.