Who all is going to the Pride Parade this weekend? The meeting point is at the Open Air Tirana at 12pm and then afterwards there will be an after party. If you want more info, please reach out.
Kush do të shkojë në Paradën e Krenarisë këtë fundjavë? Pika e takimit është në Open Air Tirana në orën 12:00 dhe më pas do të ketë një festë pas festës. Nëse dëshironi më shumë informacion, ju lutemi të na kontakton
Hi everyone,
I have a couple of opportunities to move and start a business in either Albania or Montenegro and am trying to do as much research as possible.
If I come to Albania (with partner and cat) I would want to rent a house with some sort of garden and am looking at Durres or Vlorê.
I am originally from Scotland but grew up mainly in London, now live in rural Portugal.
I work in music and events mainly but the project opportunity is slightly different.
I don't drive but am able bodied so getting around is not such an issue but want to live somewhere with a nice environment.
Not so interested in just an expat community, when I live in other countries I want to learn the language and the culture and be a benefit to local people and beyond.
A city is ideal for me, I am not looking for a London of course but access to good local, fresh produce, interesting cafe / bar culture, pretty surroundings and livable place is ideal.
Would love to hear your thoughts.
Hi everyone,
I have a couple of opportunities to move and start a business in either Albania or Montenegro and am trying to do as much research as possible.
If I come to Albania (with partner and cat) I would want to rent a house with some sort of garden and am looking at Durres or Vlorê.
I am originally from Scotland but grew up mainly in London, now live in rural Portugal.
I work in music and events mainly but the project opportunity is slightly different.
I don't drive but am able bodied so getting around is not such an issue but want to live somewhere with a nice environment.
Not so interested in just an expat community, when I live in other countries I want to learn the language and the culture and be a benefit to local people and beyond.
A city is ideal for me, I am not looking for a London of course but access to good local, fresh produce, interesting cafe / bar culture, pretty surroundings and livable place is ideal.
Would love to hear your thoughts.
Hi everyone,
My Albanian e-Visa application was rejected, but I never received any email, refusal letter, or explanation about the reason. The portal only shows that the application was rejected/refused.
Has anyone experienced the same situation? How did you find the actual rejection reason? Did the embassy or e-Visa support reply to you, and were you able to appeal or reapply successfully afterward?
I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences or advice. Thanks.
i’m actively looking for a reliable agency that can help me process my visa application to hopefully go to Albania in one month.
would greatly appreciate some recommendations!! 🙏🏼
Hey everyone,
I’ve been looking into Albania for a short vacation and now I’m kinda convinced I should just go for it 😄
I’m planning to apply for a tourist visa soon, but I’m trying to avoid learning things the hard way (aka rejection 🥲). If a parent is sponsoring the trip, is a signed sponsorship letter enough or do I need to go on a full stamp-collecting adventure with notarization and ministries?
Also, what actually matters most for approval? I keep hearing bank statements and proof of ties are key, but I’d rather hear from real people than guess and hope for the best.
Any tips, mistakes to avoid, or “I wish I knew this before applying” advice would be really appreciated.
Thanks 🙏
Hello everyone. As a Turkish citizen, I'm considering buying real estate in Albania. So far, I've only visited in Tirana; I don't have any information about other cities. I love nature, the land, and calm; even a detached village house would suit me. I'm also a social person and would like to be able to easily go to the city whenever I want. My budget is limited. Could you suggest some suitable locations for me to research? Thank you in advance.
I'm trying to get a rough idea of my stay in Albania. I will go in the second half of August, and I can stay for 3 months without a visa. Planning 2 and a half months so I can extend a bit if I want to.
My general plan is the coast August / September, then Tirana for October.
So let's say 6 weeks on the coast.. I'm not sure if I should spend 6 weeks in Sarandë area, or 3 weeks Sarandë 3 weeks Durrës, or 4 / 2 weeks.. etc. What's your experience with the different areas?
I'll be taking some day trips, but definitely not every day, maybe even overnight somewhere if it's too far for a daytrip. I mostly plan to chill, work a bit, read and write a lot. I don't care if there's not much to do, I can spend days on end at the beach and not get bored. I like staying in places for a few weeks and building little routines like going to the same cafe repeatedly. I just don't want to move around too much so three bases max 😄
Thanks for any insights or recommendations!
Is there any bank in Albania who offers mortgage loans to American citizen living and working in USA but wants to buy a home in Albania?
I am looking for coffee especially instant cofee that I can take from albania.
I tried asking chatgpt. It keeps showing me nescafe and Jacob instant coffees.
Or the turkse coffee with no mention of which brands to get.
I went to a store earlier today to buy chips and cookies. Unfortunately I only found lays and cheetos which are widely available back home. Same for chocolates and cookies but it was a smaller store.
Tl:dr looking for local coffee(instant), cookies, chips and chocolates.
Hey everyone! 👋 I’m a 26yo male from Ukraine, currently working remotely. I’ve been seriously considering moving to Tirana for the next few years because I’ve heard so much about the hospitality and the unique energy of the city.
Since I’ll be working from my laptop, my main concern is actually "living" the life there, not just being a tourist. I’d love to get your honest advice on a few things:
Any advice or just your general thoughts on what it's like for a guy like me in Tirana would be much appreciated. Thank you! 🇦🇱 🙏
I am going to be birding and backpacking Albania, i was thinking north with the mountains and then moving south.
How is it with transportation is it easy to find busses for longer rides (tirana - shkodër for example) and where are the best birding reserves i shoud not miss?
Also is wildcamping in a Hammock/Tent a good idea?
I am thankful for every comment
I'm not on Meta stuff so I tend not to find out about many of the "expat" activities here. When I say "progressive", I'm not talking about political parties in Albania (or any other country) per se. I'm speaking feeling about issues ways that are generally considered progressive like sustainability, biodiversity, affordable housing, good wages & benefits, public health & sanitation, etc.
I'd be happy to meet other foreigners and especially Albanians who have a progressive bent. Are there any coffee chats, events, or cultural centers that might be more conducive to that?
Hi,
Do I need to visit Albania to finalise my application and get approved?
Assuming I can get approved without ever visiting Albania, can I also maintain and renew the residency without ever visiting Albania?
Thanks!
Привіт, реддіте!
Моя сестра планує переїзд до Албанії з однієї з країн Європи. Ми з тіткою плануємо відгукнутись на її запрошення допомогти в переїзді і заодно трохи відпочити у цій країні.
Я ніколи не планувала туди подорожувати і відповідно в мене абсолютно відсутні інформаційні здобутки про цю країну.
Буду дуже вдячні за поради стосовно бюджету, місць для відпочинку та розваг (якщо порадите смачні ресторанчики, в тому числі і місцевої кухні, буде просто неперевершено) у Тирані або Дурресі.
Можливо маєте якісь застереження або готові поділитись власним досвідом перебування у Албанії
Орієнтовно поки плануємо подорож на 2-3 тижні у липні місяці
Завчасно дякую всім, хто відгукнеться 😍
My flight is at 6.45 am so I am aiming to be at the tirana airport by 4.30.
I want to book a taxi for 4 am so wanted to ask which taxi services are reliable. The taxi would show up on time and wont scam me on my way out of tirana.
Also let me know if paying by card is possible or I need cash
Hello all, I have been based in Spain (with residency) and the legit housing crises- and months upon months of stress of finding suitable, reasonable and affordable accommodation- has me shifting my focus toward researching Albanian (Shkoder specifically) as a year long "new" base option to not go through the entire Visa process again (US citizen), still have European proximity, all while waiting out citizenship via reparation (they don't give updates as to status/processing- so you just have to wait until they tell you the outcome) for a different EU country.
Here are my questions-
We got rid of everything except a few suitcases... BUT have a medium size dog and two cats. I am aware of the history of dogs in Albanian, and both don't want to be culturally insensitive/ disrespectful, nor want to "limit" the quality of life for my dog. It has been suggested to look for houses with yards, or ground floor apt to not cause concerns for neighbors (i.e. avoid taking dog on elevators that might make locals uncomfortable.)
How realistic is it to find these options and what is the price range (in Shkoder) to be expected? Are there local quirks/issues to be aware of in the housing search? (i.e. if you use an agent in Spain they are wanting a full month's rent for shuffling papers of "searching" only the listed property in THEIR databases... or if you direct contact posters on the main online listing sites- a property will go up and within 10 minutes there'll be hundreds of email responses- no response, ghosting mid communication, and complex scams are prevalent...)
My interest in Shkoder is because we are "outdoorsy" people who lived in the mountains with lakes, rivers, nature, etc... It seems the proximity would make this option... but I also see a lot of mixed reports on the severity of winter... what have the past few years been like?
Day to day life... I work digitally. Not planning to have a car. What are the realities/ease of getting around, within and outside the city, etc.? I know Shkoder has been themed the bicycle city... anything I should keep in mind? I see mixed reviews about packs of dogs throughout the country... Are there options where I can take my dog out for a run (off leash) without worries about packs coming at us or freaking out/angering the locals?
Any other areas I should look at or consider? Thank you for any input...
I just arrived in Tirana and this was my first interaction. I kept trying to find the bus but google maps kept taking me to the taxi area outside the airport.
I should have taken one of the "official airport" taxis. But I kept walking to find the buses. I had planned to take the 4 euro buses.
Eventually ran into someone who asked me if I was looking for a taxi.
He quoted me 25 euros to take me to hotel Livia. I said what the heck. Ill go.
Then he takes me to his taxi which doesnt look like other taxis. Its just a regular car with his jacket or trousers in the back.
The whole duration he didnt know the way. He didnt have any internet.he kept asking to use Google maps on my phone. Kept asking me directions.(I am not a local).
Then when we reached nearby he couldn't find the hotel. He kept asking me for directions so I got annoyed. I asked him to just drop me I'll find my way.
Then I get off I give him 3000 lek. Because I dont have change. Google says it should be 2300 to 2500 lek.
He takes the 3000 and just says thank you. I said we agreed on 25 euros thats around 2500 lek. Please pay me back the rest.
He looked upset that i asked for 500 back. He started showing me his pockets. He said he had no change. Only coins. He kept saying he has no change.
I kept saying we could go to a store and ask change. He kept saying there is no store. There is no shop.
In the end I got frustrated and left.
Its just 5-6 euros but feels horrible when you know you have been scammed.
What a horrible start of my holiday. I dont think I will go out anymore today.
For people planning to come in please only use the official taxis.
The rules say that a valid multi entry schengen visa can be used to enter Albania, does a double entry also count under this rule? I tried emailing the officials but no one gave me a clear answer. I ended up applying for an Albanian Visa anyways as I wasn’t sure, but it is still under processing and my trip is coming up next week, I’m not sure how to proceed.
Appreciate any help on what to do.
Hello, does anyone have experience with traveling to Albania while having a ban to enter the Schengen area. I know that Albania is not part of Schengen, but they still use the SIS database and may reject entry. I would like to know if anyone with a ban to enter the Schengen area has had difficulties with entry or if you have been able to travel there.
