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Reviewing the latest posts, OP, and setting aside any prejudice I have re: Serbia (due to their role in the regional wars), I have to acknowledge that the suggestion to use Serbia as your 2nd location would make the most sense, considering that it borders on Romania, so shuttling back and forth as you envision would be very easy. That's what strikes me, after reading these posts. And if you want some beach time, you can drive down to Montenegro's coast, or Albania. Croatia, of course, is also good for that, though more expensive. Closer to Italy, though, if your wife wants to visit there.
Let us know what you decide on, when you're ready.
I'm concerned that Romania and Bulgaria are getting a little too popular. Cluj looks great, and rent there reflects the attention it's getting. Oradea is a beautiful town too and rent is considerably less. But we won't really know until we get over there to look around. Thanks for the great advice!
Disagreed completely. I find the breakup of Yugoslavia to be equally as compelling as either of the world wars - which sill have a lot of place in the Balkans anyways. There's a number of museums and galleries that are great for getting lost in and learning about regional history. There are some really cool capitals in SE Europe (Belgrade, Sarajevo, Pristina...) . You can also experience three different religions in a tiny portion of land; Orthodox, Christian, and Islam. The food is amazing and underrated. It has a great strip of beaches, it's very, very cheap, and you can see several different types of lifestyles you would never see in Western Europe.
I would agree with you!
But VERSUS the Schengen EU? I mean, (Belgrade, Sarajevo, Pristina...) versus Paris, Munich, Berlin, Barcelona, and dozens and dozens of other country capitals....
But is there a truly affordable Schengen country? The Balkans not only have a lot of variety but, at least for now, are affordable enough to allow us to occasionally visit those expensive European countries.
I'd say there are....go to some small town in the middle of Spain....it was a while ago, but I rented an apartment in Spain at around 200 euros a month. It wasn't in any popular/touristic city. Prices have probably gone up. But, look around a bit more.
Just like the U.S., you don't have to live in NYC to live in the U.S. An apartment in some town a couple hours outside of Syracuse, would be a small fraction of the cost....$100,000 for 3-bedroom kind of thing.
It's a myth that expensive countries only have expensive housing.
I'm concerned that Romania and Bulgaria are getting a little too popular. Cluj looks great, and rent there reflects the attention it's getting. Oradea is a beautiful town too and rent is considerably less. But we won't really know until we get over there to look around. Thanks for the great advice!
I think you'd need to go there.
I don't find them too popular at all. I visited both countries last year, and neither had anywhere near the amount of tourists that I'd see in say, Belgrade, for example.
But VERSUS the Schengen EU? I mean, (Belgrade, Sarajevo, Pristina...) versus Paris, Munich, Berlin, Barcelona, and dozens and dozens of other country capitals....
I can see his/her point. Yes, VERSUS the Schengen area. Obviously, it depends on what you're looking for, your interests. Frankly, I avoid big cities when I travel. I'm not keen on Paris, and have never been to Munich, in spite of being in the general area several times. What I love about the Balkans and Romania is the slower pace, the village life, the breathtaking nature (OK, Bavaria/Austria/Switzerland have that, and Norway), and the ancient traditions that are still alive, the traditional dress in some of the villages, the folk festivals, the home-made food products, the preservation of a way of life that's mostly disappeared from Western Europe.
Offered a choice between that, and a tour of top West European capitals, I'd choose the Balkans/Romania in a heartbeat! But that's just me. And one other poster. And a few other people I know. Different strokes for different folks, you know.
I'd say there are....go to some small town in the middle of Spain....it was a while ago, but I rented an apartment in Spain at around 200 euros a month. It wasn't in any popular/touristic city. Prices have probably gone up. But, look around a bit more.
Just like the U.S., you don't have to live in NYC to live in the U.S. An apartment in some town a couple hours outside of Syracuse, would be a small fraction of the cost....$100,000 for 3-bedroom kind of thing.
It's a myth that expensive countries only have expensive housing.
Let's consider: a small city with affordable restaurants, entertainment, and shopping, English widely spoken, quick access to other parts of Europe via discounted airlines, next door to other countries that'll allow you to spend next 90 days VS. a small town where you'll have to travel for the above, not to mention travel considerable distance to a country that'll let you spend next 90 days. Either that or jump through a lot of hoops as an American to get residency. You should check out Ohrid, Macedonia.
I can see his/her point. Yes, VERSUS the Schengen area. Obviously, it depends on what you're looking for, your interests. Frankly, I avoid big cities when I travel. I'm not keen on Paris, and have never been to Munich, in spite of being in the general area several times. What I love about the Balkans and Romania is the slower pace, the village life, the breathtaking nature (OK, Bavaria/Austria/Switzerland have that, and Norway), and the ancient traditions that are still alive, the traditional dress in some of the villages, the folk festivals, the home-made food products, the preservation of a way of life that's mostly disappeared from Western Europe.
Offered a choice between that, and a tour of top West European capitals, I'd choose the Balkans/Romania in a heartbeat! But that's just me. And one other poster. And a few other people I know. Different strokes for different folks, you know.
I think I'd choose Portugal....get down to Madeira...on and on...or Spain. I liked Bavaria as well.
There are a lot of amazing pockets of the Schengen area....
Let's consider: a small city with affordable restaurants, entertainment, and shopping, English widely spoken, quick access to other parts of Europe via discounted airlines, next door to other countries that'll allow you to spend next 90 days VS. a small town where you'll have to travel for the above, not to mention travel considerable distance to a country that'll let you spend next 90 days. Either that or jump through a lot of hoops as an American to get residency. You should check out Ohrid, Macedonia.
In general, it is WAY better to have a strong interest in a particular country, have visited it a few times, and KNOW the language to some degree, that you can interact with locals in their own native language. Anything else, and you are kind of bordering on some expensive English-oriented pocket of inflated prices with English menus.
If you've never been there, are you sure you really ready to start thinking about residency?
Usually people visit first, decide if its even for them, and then consider residency, etc. It might be completely different than you are imagining it is, and usually is.
It SOUNDS like you want a tourist city, if you are thinking of entertainment and English widely spoken. Plus you want a SMALL CITY with both of those characteristics, which makes it more touristic-oriented....i.e. cost a bit more money.
In general, I find that people speak more English in Serbia. If I remember right, it was WAY LESS in Bulgaria in particular. You'd definitely have to learn to read Cyrillic to read menus, etc. I think there might be a few touristic cities in Bulgaria where you can find English menus. But, most of the time, you'll encounter a lot of non-English speaking people everywhere, particularly in that country. Romania, being a romance language, the people are a bit better with English. Serbia seemed to have a lot of English-speaking people, more so than its neighbors, I don't know why though.
I FEEL like you are looking to live an American experience with a lot of American shopping, entertainment, English, etc...but you want to do it cheaply somewhere else. It SEEMS like that is what you are looking for....which you won't find. It would be better to be in a small town in the U.S. instead.
It feels even more so like that since you haven't been to any of these countries, and you are so quickly willing to choose any country based on just very basic knowledge of them....i.e. whether you perceive them to be too popular or not, etc.
Regarding the original Question though - Have you been to Macedonia?
I have only been to SKOPJE. It had a very Soviet-influenced feel to it. The people kind of had a small Russian-feel to me. They seemed a bit rough around the edges, a bit tough nature. But, also very warm and welcoming as well.
The city has tons of large monuments, which reminded me a lot of Soviet-inspired nation-building. I think if I said 'Soviet-inspired', any Macedonian would NOT like that term at all, to describe it like that though. I realize they are a very different person than Soviet USSR.
That being said, you feel the effects that has had on the country, and most other countries in the region, like Bulgaria, for example. That being said, Skopje had a lot of touristic-oriented restaurants and cafes for locals and tourists alike. It was quite interesting to walk around the city.
It seems the building of monuments is a key focus, well above large potholes in the streets and other issues. Like all countries, its interesting.
For me, personally, I just don't have the interest to study the Cyrillic script, and the country is okay, but I'm not particularly passionately interested in the people and the country.
That's basically why I say choose a country, despite it costing a little more in gov't statistics. For example, if Portugal is interesting to me, and I'm interested in the Portuguese language. Than it would be cheaper to live in some small Portuguese-oriented community in Portugal; than trying to live off of English menus in Macedonia (which might cost me a bit more comparatively, perhaps).
In general, it is WAY better to have a strong interest in a particular country, have visited it a few times, and KNOW the language to some degree, that you can interact with locals in their own native language. Anything else, and you are kind of bordering on some expensive English-oriented pocket of inflated prices with English menus.
That's not what the OP meant. I get where he's coming from. He said earlier, for ex., that English is widely spoken in Romania. What he means is that the younger generation now knows English (compared to when I was there, when no one did, except little kids in school), so he feels he'd be able to manage. And I vaguely recall that he was keen to start studying Romanian. So that's the OP's approach.
So, now that he's considering Macedonia, well, that's more of a challenge. If he had to learn Bulgarian or Macedonian or Serbian, he wouldn't be able to draw on highschool or college French or Spanish, and another alphabet would be involved. So your point is well-taken in the case of Macedonia. Though it's possible that young people do speak English there, more so in Serbia.
As far as the OP's expectations about being around other expats, that actually would be the case in Cluj, Romania. Not so in Macedonia, probably not in Serbia, either. I don't get the impression the OP is into shopping, except his wife may be thinking of that on an occasional sortie to Italy, which she was interested in. And entertainment: the Balkans and Romania are great for local entertainment, folk orchestras in cabarets, and that sort of thing. On the other hand, in Ohrid and some other locations, they'll be isolated without knowing the language, in terms of access to news (OK, they'll have their computers), and there will be inconveniences. But they seem to be wiling to accept that, and to adjust.
Still, if they can afford it, a visit to the areas in question would be a good idea. I don't have the impression they have a lot of extra money to work with, though.
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