Musings I've Had on Life Since Staying in the Poorest Country in Europe
Big ideas are my bag this week
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The average Albanian makes $500 (some make as low as $282) a month and has the lowest level of disposible income in the whole of Europe.
It’s also been my home for the last few weeks, living in the very local 21 Dhjetori district where my ten or so words of Albanian have been stretched very thin.
One of the massive advantages of living on the road is that every single place offers a different perspective of the world. You collect thoughts, musings and even epiphanies as you see how other people live. Never is this more the case than when you visit a country whose wealth is drastically different from your own (Britain ranks 28th in the world, Albania sits at 90).
Albania has given me a lot of food for thought. These are the highlights.
A little bit of comfort goes a long way
I’ve never stayed in an apartment before that doesn’t have a single side lamp. There are four overhead light fixtures, every single one of which has multiple daylight bulbs screwed in.
I thought it was our apartment host skimping on little touches until I started to look into apartment blocks as I walked by them and realized that every single place here only uses their overhead lights.
This woman and the 88 thousand people who liked her tweet would have a rough time here:
Living with overhead lighting is not the biggest deal in the world but it’s also not particularly comfortable - and you notice it big-time. Watching TV in the dark every night because you don’t want to overload on blue light before bed. Scrambling about in the bedroom with your phone torch. Desperately trying to find the loo in the middle of the night without turning on the overhead on.
I truly believe that you don’t know what comfort is until it’s gone and this little inconvenience has made me realize how far a little bit of comfort can really go.
No one is excluded from the hamster wheel of consumerism
I have never seen so many BMWs, Mercedes, Audis and Range Rovers in my life as I have on the streets of Tirana. And I’ve lived in Essex, Britain’s most status-driven region.
It’s a strange sight to see $125K+ cars on streets that are also home to people living on that aforementioned $282 a month.
Car ownership was banned under Albania’s harsh Communist rule, so from what we hear, these days cars are the ultimate status symbol. If you can somehow afford it (or borrow money for it) then you buy it.
It’s a real insight into how far reaching consumerism is - and how deeply people believe it to be their saviour. We are all part of a system that celebrates consumerism and makes us all believe that we can buy our way out of poverty. The consumerist hamster wheel.
It makes me think about this quote from The Minimalists’ Joshua Fields Millburn about his poor upbringing:
The problem wasn’t necessarily a lack of things, it was a desire for the things we thought were going to solve the problems that we had — The Minimalists
Whilst I can’t comment on everyone’s financial situation here, I can say that I’ve lived in many places where people try to buy their way out of poverty and it’s never a long term solution.
Buying a car that costs more than the average apartment in your country (in fact, you could buy two apartments here for the cost of a new Range Rover) is only going to see you in the same situation as people who live beyond their means in wealthier countries.
Out of control and still without two Lekë to rub together.
No one, it seems, is safe from the lure of over-consumption.
Good quality food should be for everyone
MAN Albania’s food scene is incredible. Have you ever eaten Fergesë? Roasted tomatoes, peppers, garlic and onion are mixed with a local cheese similar to feta and baked in the oven until it turns into a gooey, messy dip. And that’s just the tip of the foodie iceberg here.
Everything here is locally sourced and often organic (pesticides and herbicides are expensive, labor is not, so organic farming is much more commonplace than in the likes of America or the UK). I’ve never seen so many specialist organic shops - and they’re used. Even in the supermarket they have yoghurt made in a small farm just a few miles from Tirana (it’s delicious).
We’re talking fresh fruit and vegetables grown down the road and meat slaughtered just hours before. We’re talking family farms. Every day I wake up to the sound of chickens - in the middle of the capital city. Food is revered and the quality is beyond incredible.
I’m in the poorest country and Europe and yet I’m eating as well as I’ve ever eaten? That’s an argument for small scale agriculture if ever I’ve heard one.
And it’s not just me with my Western salary - locals are shopping at the same supermarkets, the same small vegetable stands that line the streets, the same butchers.
It’s a travesty that we have gone so far in our pursuit of profit that quality food is now only for the rich and privileged in some of the wealthiest countries in the world. We could learn a thing or two from Albania.
You don’t have to be rich to be generous
I wrote about Albania’s “code of honour” called Besa last time I visited back in September 2022. Here’s an extract that sums it up:
Besa is like a code for Albanians that makes them courteous, trustworthy, and generous. If someone needs something from you - if they are in your home, your restaurant, or your shop - you treat them well. In my experience, exceptionally well.
Because of Besa, you know that it is more likely you will be treated well rather than poorly. You know you’re not going to be ripped off at every turn. You know you’ll be hassled less.
It blows my mind that there are countries where trust is still A Thing. Where preying upon gullible tourists like myself is something to be treated with disdain. Rip off your guests? You’ve got no class, mate. No Besa.
Once you’ve read this, re-visit the world of Besa. It’s a philosophy we could all do with in our lives:
Other less profound observations about Albania (but useful if it’s on your travel itinerary)
The style of many bars in Tirana reminds me of the UK back in the early noughties. Lots of clutter, bright colours, themes and cartoons on TVs above the bar.
The music is also nineties and noughties-driven but the really good stuff. It’s like I’ve regressed to being 20 - and I don’t dislike it.
Albania has a very forward-looking attitude and whilst that is applaudable, it’s sad to see huge apartment and hotel developments going up in the city center, many of which are financed with foreign money. I fear what this may do to the soul of the city.
There is ZERO health and safety here. All of last week there was a huge hole dug in the pavement close to my apartment with not so much as a barrier across it. Last year, 50 or so of us were given the opportunity to climb around a building site with no safety measures in place. I kinda like it if I’m honest…but I’ve tripped up more times than I care to count.
The stray dogs of Tirana have such a lovely temperament. Whilst it’s always sad to see strays, these are at least tagged and looked after well both by the state and the people who feed them (we found the same in Tbilisi, Georgia). These dogs are part of the fabric of the city - citizens as much as the humans.
Don’t believe the hype about Albania being dangerous. It is in fact one of the safest countries in Europe. You’re more likely to be mugged in Spain than you are here.
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I’m from Pennsylvania and now Florida -- never traveled to Europe. But the whole time I was reading this I kept saying in my head, “but isn’t Albania dangerous?!” So I liked your last bullet point 🤣 also, love a bar playing 90s.
Man, so much of what you wrote about Albania is true about nearby Bosnia where we spent two months last year. And also Ohrid, Macedonia, right next door.
The food in both those places was absolutely delicious and very affordable.
And the consumer thing is so spot on.
While living in Sarajevo, I was amazed by all of the beautiful cars, many parked in front of some pretty rundown looking places. When I asked our hosts about it, they told me the following joke.
A German, an American, and a Bosnian are waiting to enter heaven. While they wait, they start to talk.
How did you die? the American asks the German.
I was on the autobahn driving my BMW very fast when I crashed my car. How did you die? the German asks the American.
I was driving my Ferrari very fast down the Pacific Coast Highway when I crashed my car.
The American and German turn to the Bosnian and say And how did you die?
I used all of my money to buy a LandRover, says the Bosnian. And then I starved to death.
Which pretty well sums up exactly what you were talking about, as sad as that is.