Hi Reader,

When we left the USA in 2023, we made a commitment to ourselves and to you: we would track every single expense as we navigated life abroad. We didn't want to give you vague "it's affordable" headlines; we wanted to give you the real-world math.

We’ve now officially wrapped up our first full year in Albania, and we have the receipts to prove exactly what it cost.

The Bottom Line: Living in four cities—Durrës, Pogradec, Sarandë, and Vlorë—our total spend for the year (including residency fees and relocation) was $35,467.82.

If you strip away the one-time costs of moving and getting our legal residency, our daily living cost for two people averaged $85.82.

In the United States, that amount might not cover basic survival in many cities; here, it bought us a life of abundance. We lived in coastal apartments, took university language lessons, and enjoyed fresh Mediterranean meals daily.

Because you are a subscriber, you have first access to our full Year One Report. We’ve broken down the data into the itemized categories we track every day—Food, Housing, Technology, Health, and more—across all four cities:

• Durrës: Our least expensive city at an average of $83.03/day.
• Pogradec: Our lowest daily average at $80.58/day, though housing prices during peak season were a surprise.
• Sarandë: A winter bargain at $83.97/day.
• Vlorë: Our current "anchor" where we transitioned from temporary rentals to a long-term home base.

We’re officially making Vlorë our "anchor," but our journey as senior nomads is just evolving. We can't wait to share the next chapter with you.

One country at a time,

Sandra & Jeff
​American Expats & Senior Nomads