Cost of Living in Albania 2022
Megan searching for cilantro at one of the many outdoor produce stands.
What does it cost to live in Albania? That was a question my wife and I were asking about a year ago, while we were living on the island of Guam. Prices in Guam were on the rise, which was a little bit alarming sense the cost of living was already high when we moved there 2 years earlier. We were paying $1500/month for rent, hundreds of dollars a week for food, and $5/gallon for gasoline.
Megan (my wife) and I had long had the goal of quitting our 9-5 jobs and working for ourselves. We both had small businesses that were enjoying steady growth, but the income wasn’t significant enough to afford the expensive island life. So, we started looking for alternatives.
We knew we didn’t want to move back to the States, so we started looking at countries in Asia and Eastern Europe. Thailand was an obvious option, Vietnam was appealing, and Georgia (not the state) also had promise. But there was one significant problem! We were planning to move at the beginning of 2022, and almost every country in the world had some form travel restrictions in place due to the pandemic.
After hours researching travel restrictions and visa policies, we stumbled across a small country called Albania.
Now, I’m not a geography master, but I consider my knowledge of the world map to be decent. That said, if you had asked me to point out Albania on a map a year ago, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. It’s a small country, south of Montenegro and north of Greece, bordered on the west by the Mediterranean Sea (technically the Adriatic and the Ionian Sea).
Long story short, Albania turned out to be the perfect fit for us and we moved here in February 2022. One of the key reasons we chose Albania was the cost of living. Now that we’ve been residents for approximately 6 months, I feel informed enough share some prices with you. I hope this information will be helpful to anyone considering a similar move.
The butcher hangs his offerings in the open air.
Our Albanian teacher’s husband, Velo, showed us the best place to buy fresh cheese and milk products.
DISCLAIMER: We live in Vlorë, Albania (Population = 130,000). Vlorë is the third largest city in Albania and a popular summer tourist location. The price list below reflects life in Vlorë. Vlorë is not the most expensive place to live in Albania, nor is it the cheapest. If I had to guess, I would bet the cost of living in Vlorë is higher on average than the rest of Albania.
Personal Cost of Living in Albania as of August 2022:
Rent:
Rent for Apartment (2 bed & 2 bath, inner city, 1000 sq ft, top floor) = $300/month
Utilities:
Electricity Bill = $70/month
Water Bill = $8/month
Cell Phone (22gb data and 3500 Minutes) = $14/month
Internet = $30/month???
Personal:
Annual Gym Membership (We go to Nirvana Fitness in Vlorë) = $200/year
Consumer Electronics (laptops, cell phones, etc.) = 30% more than USA
Transportation:
Gasoline = $7.36/gallon
Bus/van to Tirana = $8/one way
Inner city bus in Vlorë = $0.25 per ride
Direct shuttle/bus to Tirana airport = $11/one way
Rental car = varies based on season
Taxi from Tirana airport to Vlorë = $86.00
Food:
Meal for 2 at Cheap Restaurant (2 gyros, Greek salad, 2 bottles of water) = $10.00
Coffee at a café (expresso, macchiato, cappuccino) = $0.60-$1.20
Loaf of fresh baked bread = $0.70
Milk (liter) = $2.80
Packaged cheese = $2.45
Big water bottle (1.5 liters) = $0.52
Small water bottle (16 oz) = $0.39
Coke (1.5 liters) = $1.20
Red Bull (8.4 oz can) = $1.14
Ground beef (2.2 lbs) = $6.18
Medium Sized Chicken = $4.41
Potatoes (1 kg) = $0.49
Onions (1 kg) = $0.54
Apples (1 kg) = $0.71
Oranges (1 kg) = $0.66
Small desert at a local pastiçeri = $0.50-$1.20
Man selling dried tea and herbs at an outdoor stall.
Prices have been on the rise in Albania throughout 2022. However, it remains a relatively cheap country to live in (especially for Europe) and you can get a lot for your money. If you are looking for a location for an extended vacation or something more permanent, Albania should definitely be on your list.
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