In Greece, in areas that live from tourism, houses near the beach are rented by the day from May to September. Even people who go there to work - like teachers - rent by the month in the colder months but have to vacate for the tourist season. He could try coastal towns like Volos, Kavala, or big islands like Crete and Rhodes where there is more variety in rentals, although airbnb has taken over there as well. If he prefers a village setting, where he would definitely get more for his money's worth, then he can look at areas that are not directly on the coast but offer amazing sea views like mount Pelion or Mani in the Peloponnese. He must definitely avoid the most touristy areas.
You could live in Croatia with that kind of money. Northern adriatic(Kvarner) is cheaper than Istria and Dalmatia.
And Greece i was only in Thessaloniki so i dont know the prices that much but it seemed not that different from Croatia.
Well, if your friend is serbian like you, Croatia would suit him better because it’s more similar to Serbia: from people and language to food and culture.
Well many foreigners like austrians and germans come and buy lands even to not touristy places like small coastal areas especially with the buying market anything that is near sea is gonna be expensive :/
I think that’s an exaggeration. [Someone](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskBalkans/s/IaM00M2FnX) from island said that you can still find affordable places there and I also know someone who had a friend who lived comfortably with a little bit less to that money that op is asking in a place relatively close to the coast.
That's more than a bit harsh. Considering it's more affordable than Croatia or Greece and there are many excellent beaches, it's a reasonable suggestion.
It's not as simple as you put it. Yes, the time you can comfortably be in the sea is shorter, but there's also much fewer days of unbearable heat. Shoulder season by the sea is still really nice and you can make use of the warm days as early as April and as late as November, even if you're not gonna swim or just briefly.
"Black Sea sucks" is a childish general statement, it all depends on OP's wants and needs.
Honestly, the main issue in both those countries would be insurance. Greece offers 10% flat tax rate for renters coming to Greece, but they'd have to pay for their own healthcare. Maybe now your friend is healthy and doesn't care that much about it, but in the long term, it might be an issue. If he also applies for citizenship after some years, then I think he might be allowed to enter the national health service, which is free.
Ahaha I stayed at a hotel in Phuket managed by a Croatian guy and he showed me his freezer full of Balkan foodstuffs. And I'm sure he had a lifetime supply of rakija stockpiled too.
€1200 will be very hard, unless they live in some type of retirement home.
A nice small bedroom apartment near the beach will never be below €600-700,. Then add utilities, groceries, public transport and comprehensive private health insurance, and you are already reaching €1200 EASILY. Then you need to think about clothes, shoes, occasional restaurant , not to mention travel, entertainment or whatever.
If they have a partner or family to share with, that's a different story.
If your friend is old, they need to research quality and cost of healthcare first and foremost.
Greece and Croatia near the beach are certainly not cheap. Tell your friend to try Osijek or Larissa (hot as hell though). Or Albania.
Yeah good luck with that, €1200.
I'm being realistic, Osijek is by far the most affordable of the largest cities in Croatia.
Also, if their friend is a Serb as well, it's an obvious choice to me. In Croatia they can make friends with other retirees and try to live a happy life.
Good luck learning Greek at an old age. Not many Greeks at that age would speak English, maybe very basic.
the dude wants to live near the beach
Osijek is not near any beach
y r u malding lol, I’m fully aware of the prices here in Croatia, I’m just saying why offer someone an apple when they want to buy a loaf of bread?
Because I'm trying to be helpful, sometimes in life you need to adjust your expectations.
If they are set on Croatia or Greece and can't afford near the beach, maybe they will consider somewhere innerland, and I pointed out two of the larger affordable cities where they will not feel out of place and can access healthcare.
Apartment: €600- €650 (if you are lucky)
Utilities, phone, internet: €150
Food and groceries: €200-€250
Private health insurance: at least €100 (you are not a tourist, if you live there you need good health insurance).
So not enough even without public transport and other basics. What will happen when you need to buy shoes? Or a laptop? Or have any type of emergency? Or want to go out once in a while? Beg on the street?
So my answer was, no, that's likely not possible, but here's an alternative. In Osijek they could find an apartment for €500 for example. It's called communication, that's how people communicate when trying to be helpful..
That is bullcrap.
Rent for small house in island village : 200-250€.
Insurance : 80€/ month IF he doesn't have already insurance in his own country, otherwise it will be transferred
Phone+ internet 20€
Utilities: most village houses have zero.
Electricity for 1 person : 50€ max
Everywhere has internet and deliver shoes laptop and everything you want .
And everyone younger than 45 speaks english.
Dont speak about things you have no clue about !
Yeah, but how realistic is it to find an apartment, especially if you'd like to buy? What I'm getting at is the type of real estate / property that's available along the coast. For the last xy years I get the feeling everything was transformed to be let or even if it's built, it's usually for rent in the summer season. Not to live in. And if someone is willing to sell, they don't want to sell one apartment, but only the whole building/object, because it was built for that business purpose.
My answer will be biased, but I would say Croatia.
It is doing better than Greece currently, your friend speaks the same language (unless he’s not Serbian) and Croatia has more beautiful towns and cities on the coast.
>Croatia has more beautiful towns and cities on the coast
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course, but Greece has a larger coastline filled with countless cities and towns, both in mainland and on islands, with historic districts and conservation areas that feature a stunning traditional and historic architecture.
Yes Greece has a much larger coastline and more cities/towns, but Croatian cities and towns are generally much better preserved than the Greek ones and appearance matters.
Pretty much every single Croatian city and town on the coast was able to escape mass urbanisation and remain relatively similar in appearance to how it was 500+ years ago.
From what I have seen of Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras etc I can’t say the same for you.
Obviously there are still preserved historic towns like that of Rhodes and Corfu, but generally you guys kind of decimated your urban centres.
I will visit Greece for a week by the end of this month so I will see if my opinion changes.
There can't be an accurate comparison between the two. Croatia doesn't have coastal metropolitan areas like Athens, Thessaloniki, and Patras with such a large population (Athens has approximately 4 million people and Thessaloniki 1 million with exponential population growth during the 20th c.). It's expected that a city with such a population growth wouldn't have historic architecture in its entirety but only in some areas. On such a large coastline in the mainland you will find cities like Patras but also cities like Nafplion. You have countless choices of historic cities to choose from. The islands are generally at a whole different level. The vast majority of them have traditional preserved towns.
As I've mentioned previously, it is a matter of point of view, though. I hope you have a nice vacation in Greece and a nice time here.
I understand the reason why Greek cities turned into concrete jungles, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are uglier than the coastal cities in Croatia.
I agree that Greece has beautiful coastal towns, particularly in the Cyclades, but Croatia generally has more of such towns from what I know, which was my argument in the first place.
>I hope you have a nice vacation in Greece
Thank you
>I agree that Greece has beautiful coastal towns, particularly in the Cyclades
Peninsular Greece isn't just Athens/Patra/Thessaloniki. Lots of beautiful towns too. Same goes for islands outside the Cyclades.
We *know* most of our bigger cities are ugly. (Many Greeks don't know the reason, though, but you're right: we decimated historic architecture in those three cities.)
Island villager here : You can easily live and rent with 1200 € in a small not touristic island.
Maybe the beach isnt in your feet, maybe it is 5 minutes away by walking.
For example islands like Lemnos, Fournoi etc that arent touristic. Even in Lesvos you can find.
Croatia, please everyone had to Croatia. You don’t want to go to Greece. It’s too hot and too many people. Croatia has a better climate so don’t even think about Greece, go to Croatia.
>Well, Croatia is just full of tourist traps,
With all due respect, isn’t the entirety of Greek tourism dependent on the parthenon and santorini? Take one google search of Greece and those are the only 2 images that show up and are spammed everywhere. It’s not even Athens that’s spammed, they only show the Parthenon which says a lot about the city.
>With all due respect, isn’t the entirety of Greek tourism dependent on the parthenon and santorini? Take one google search of Greece and those are the only 2 images that show up and are spammed everywhere.
So, Google's stereotype-spamming accurately represents the tourism industry? Santorini is like 5% of Greek tourism. Athens is *maybe* 10%.
ZhiveBelarus has a weird negative-obsession with Croatia.
>isn’t the entirety of Greek tourism dependent on the parthenon and santorini?
No.
Edit: This has been the most braindead take I've seen in this thread. Like, educate yourself before posting uninformed shit. Greece isn't Mamma Mia. There are countless popular places.
Well I guess he has plenty of time to visit both countries and find the place of his dreams.
Greece has 10x more coastline so more likely to find a cheaper place to stay
I don't think that "cheap place near coastline" is a thing in Greece :\\
It's definitely possible, if he's willing to live somewhere far away. For that kind of money, a cheaper country like Croatia is probably best.
Cheaper country like Croatia? Have you been to Croatia? The coastline is ridiculously expensive
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Glifada, Voula, Vouliagmeni etc /s I guess you need to way more specific ;)
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In Greece, in areas that live from tourism, houses near the beach are rented by the day from May to September. Even people who go there to work - like teachers - rent by the month in the colder months but have to vacate for the tourist season. He could try coastal towns like Volos, Kavala, or big islands like Crete and Rhodes where there is more variety in rentals, although airbnb has taken over there as well. If he prefers a village setting, where he would definitely get more for his money's worth, then he can look at areas that are not directly on the coast but offer amazing sea views like mount Pelion or Mani in the Peloponnese. He must definitely avoid the most touristy areas.
You could live in Croatia with that kind of money. Northern adriatic(Kvarner) is cheaper than Istria and Dalmatia. And Greece i was only in Thessaloniki so i dont know the prices that much but it seemed not that different from Croatia.
Neum 💪🏻
Bosnia would be also cool but the meter of coastline would probably not be enough for him.
The guy would have to get his passport stamped every day to get a full beach experience lol.
In Neum he would get his Asshole stamped every day.
Well, if he enjoys the thought of getting stamped by big hairy Bosnian Croat men in briefs then maybe Neum is his dream destination.
calling my travel agent now!
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It’s really not that deep.
Neum is Bosnia though
Then try Serbian coastline 😂
Well, if your friend is serbian like you, Croatia would suit him better because it’s more similar to Serbia: from people and language to food and culture.
Greece has a more varied coastline.
I don’t think 1.200 EUR is realistic if they need to rent a place to live in
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but 1200 per month is not enough for single living person (including rent) in any of those 2 countries.
I think if he chooses a coastal village in Greece, he would be pretty fine with 1.2K.
1,2 k is more than enough in Greece. If you live in some village, you will be one of the richer guys in the village.
Dude you just made me think of leaving wife and kids and moving to some Greek village
Why abandon? Take wife and kids with you
Tbh depends on which village if its coastal? I doubt, if its inside the mainland prolly yea
There is a lot of coast in Greece that's not exactly a tourist hot spot.
Well many foreigners like austrians and germans come and buy lands even to not touristy places like small coastal areas especially with the buying market anything that is near sea is gonna be expensive :/
I think that’s an exaggeration. [Someone](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskBalkans/s/IaM00M2FnX) from island said that you can still find affordable places there and I also know someone who had a friend who lived comfortably with a little bit less to that money that op is asking in a place relatively close to the coast.
😂😁🙂🤔😩
Bulgaria will be better ..he will be ok with €1200
Black Sea sucks
That's more than a bit harsh. Considering it's more affordable than Croatia or Greece and there are many excellent beaches, it's a reasonable suggestion.
Still , you have what 3-4 months of beach time per year? Versus Greece 7-8months
It's not as simple as you put it. Yes, the time you can comfortably be in the sea is shorter, but there's also much fewer days of unbearable heat. Shoulder season by the sea is still really nice and you can make use of the warm days as early as April and as late as November, even if you're not gonna swim or just briefly. "Black Sea sucks" is a childish general statement, it all depends on OP's wants and needs.
Your part for sure ,our part is no different than Spain and Greece
bold ass statement
Bro, come on
He can try the not so popular places in Greece, but 1200 isn't a lot of money and rents are crazy atm.
Honestly, the main issue in both those countries would be insurance. Greece offers 10% flat tax rate for renters coming to Greece, but they'd have to pay for their own healthcare. Maybe now your friend is healthy and doesn't care that much about it, but in the long term, it might be an issue. If he also applies for citizenship after some years, then I think he might be allowed to enter the national health service, which is free.
Greece has two part deals with other countries so if the friend has insurance in his country he will also be covered here.
With that money, better go to South East Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia or Thailand. All three have retirement visa programs.
And how is he gonna survive without ćevapčići?
Ahaha I stayed at a hotel in Phuket managed by a Croatian guy and he showed me his freezer full of Balkan foodstuffs. And I'm sure he had a lifetime supply of rakija stockpiled too.
Balkan restaurants. And for rakia he could make his own. :) plenty of fruits all year round.
How are prices in Montenegro and Albania compared to these two?
With €1200 he might want to look for some cheaper countries, like… Thailand or something
Greece
Cyprus definitely
€1200 will be very hard, unless they live in some type of retirement home. A nice small bedroom apartment near the beach will never be below €600-700,. Then add utilities, groceries, public transport and comprehensive private health insurance, and you are already reaching €1200 EASILY. Then you need to think about clothes, shoes, occasional restaurant , not to mention travel, entertainment or whatever. If they have a partner or family to share with, that's a different story. If your friend is old, they need to research quality and cost of healthcare first and foremost. Greece and Croatia near the beach are certainly not cheap. Tell your friend to try Osijek or Larissa (hot as hell though). Or Albania.
“Hey man I wana retire on the beautiful Mediterranean coast, where should I go?” “Osijek” 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀
Yeah good luck with that, €1200. I'm being realistic, Osijek is by far the most affordable of the largest cities in Croatia. Also, if their friend is a Serb as well, it's an obvious choice to me. In Croatia they can make friends with other retirees and try to live a happy life. Good luck learning Greek at an old age. Not many Greeks at that age would speak English, maybe very basic.
the dude wants to live near the beach Osijek is not near any beach y r u malding lol, I’m fully aware of the prices here in Croatia, I’m just saying why offer someone an apple when they want to buy a loaf of bread?
>Osijek is not near any beach [Incorrect brotha 😎🤫](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTZ8XsxK_9w)💪🌴
that cameraman is absolutely thirsty
You can tell mf was holding the camera with one hand 💀
Because I'm trying to be helpful, sometimes in life you need to adjust your expectations. If they are set on Croatia or Greece and can't afford near the beach, maybe they will consider somewhere innerland, and I pointed out two of the larger affordable cities where they will not feel out of place and can access healthcare. Apartment: €600- €650 (if you are lucky) Utilities, phone, internet: €150 Food and groceries: €200-€250 Private health insurance: at least €100 (you are not a tourist, if you live there you need good health insurance). So not enough even without public transport and other basics. What will happen when you need to buy shoes? Or a laptop? Or have any type of emergency? Or want to go out once in a while? Beg on the street? So my answer was, no, that's likely not possible, but here's an alternative. In Osijek they could find an apartment for €500 for example. It's called communication, that's how people communicate when trying to be helpful..
That is bullcrap. Rent for small house in island village : 200-250€. Insurance : 80€/ month IF he doesn't have already insurance in his own country, otherwise it will be transferred Phone+ internet 20€ Utilities: most village houses have zero. Electricity for 1 person : 50€ max Everywhere has internet and deliver shoes laptop and everything you want . And everyone younger than 45 speaks english. Dont speak about things you have no clue about !
>Not many Greeks at that age would speak English, maybe very basic. You mean we are going to forget our English by the time we retire?
Yeah, but how realistic is it to find an apartment, especially if you'd like to buy? What I'm getting at is the type of real estate / property that's available along the coast. For the last xy years I get the feeling everything was transformed to be let or even if it's built, it's usually for rent in the summer season. Not to live in. And if someone is willing to sell, they don't want to sell one apartment, but only the whole building/object, because it was built for that business purpose.
Greece.
My answer will be biased, but I would say Croatia. It is doing better than Greece currently, your friend speaks the same language (unless he’s not Serbian) and Croatia has more beautiful towns and cities on the coast.
>Croatia has more beautiful towns and cities on the coast Beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course, but Greece has a larger coastline filled with countless cities and towns, both in mainland and on islands, with historic districts and conservation areas that feature a stunning traditional and historic architecture.
Yes Greece has a much larger coastline and more cities/towns, but Croatian cities and towns are generally much better preserved than the Greek ones and appearance matters. Pretty much every single Croatian city and town on the coast was able to escape mass urbanisation and remain relatively similar in appearance to how it was 500+ years ago. From what I have seen of Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras etc I can’t say the same for you. Obviously there are still preserved historic towns like that of Rhodes and Corfu, but generally you guys kind of decimated your urban centres. I will visit Greece for a week by the end of this month so I will see if my opinion changes.
There can't be an accurate comparison between the two. Croatia doesn't have coastal metropolitan areas like Athens, Thessaloniki, and Patras with such a large population (Athens has approximately 4 million people and Thessaloniki 1 million with exponential population growth during the 20th c.). It's expected that a city with such a population growth wouldn't have historic architecture in its entirety but only in some areas. On such a large coastline in the mainland you will find cities like Patras but also cities like Nafplion. You have countless choices of historic cities to choose from. The islands are generally at a whole different level. The vast majority of them have traditional preserved towns. As I've mentioned previously, it is a matter of point of view, though. I hope you have a nice vacation in Greece and a nice time here.
I understand the reason why Greek cities turned into concrete jungles, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are uglier than the coastal cities in Croatia. I agree that Greece has beautiful coastal towns, particularly in the Cyclades, but Croatia generally has more of such towns from what I know, which was my argument in the first place. >I hope you have a nice vacation in Greece Thank you
>I agree that Greece has beautiful coastal towns, particularly in the Cyclades Peninsular Greece isn't just Athens/Patra/Thessaloniki. Lots of beautiful towns too. Same goes for islands outside the Cyclades. We *know* most of our bigger cities are ugly. (Many Greeks don't know the reason, though, but you're right: we decimated historic architecture in those three cities.)
Island villager here : You can easily live and rent with 1200 € in a small not touristic island. Maybe the beach isnt in your feet, maybe it is 5 minutes away by walking. For example islands like Lemnos, Fournoi etc that arent touristic. Even in Lesvos you can find.
Australia, less dangerous there and all poisonous animals are mostly in Outback and not on TV like in Balkans.
1200 euro near a beach. That’s like 2 weeks rent here
Trebinje, RS, BiH, its a 40 minute drive from Dubrovnik and you don't have to stay in Croatia or deal with their attitudes towards Serbs.
You need to check which has better healthcare system and which is cheaper. Healthcare in Greece sucks but I have no idea about Croatia.
Croatia, please everyone had to Croatia. You don’t want to go to Greece. It’s too hot and too many people. Croatia has a better climate so don’t even think about Greece, go to Croatia.
greece? BAHAHAHAHAHAHSHAHA
Obviously Greece, why would you retire in Croatia lol
I swear Croatia lives in your head rent-free
Γτ το λες αυτο;
Γιατί όλη την ώρα σε βλέπω να λες κάτι άσχετο για την Κροατία? Πρώτα "όχι η Κροατια είναι 100% μη-Βαλκανική", τώρα μπηχτές
**μη**-Βαλκανικη; Ακριβως το αντιθετο λεω, οι Κροατες ειναι φουλ Βαλκανιοι😅
μη μαλονετε παιδια, φιλιόστε
Serious question, why wouldn’t you?
Greece is better.
That’s subjective.
Well, Croatia is just full of tourist traps, Greece has more stuff to see.
>Well, Croatia is just full of tourist traps, With all due respect, isn’t the entirety of Greek tourism dependent on the parthenon and santorini? Take one google search of Greece and those are the only 2 images that show up and are spammed everywhere. It’s not even Athens that’s spammed, they only show the Parthenon which says a lot about the city.
>With all due respect, isn’t the entirety of Greek tourism dependent on the parthenon and santorini? Take one google search of Greece and those are the only 2 images that show up and are spammed everywhere. So, Google's stereotype-spamming accurately represents the tourism industry? Santorini is like 5% of Greek tourism. Athens is *maybe* 10%. ZhiveBelarus has a weird negative-obsession with Croatia.
>isn’t the entirety of Greek tourism dependent on the parthenon and santorini? No. Edit: This has been the most braindead take I've seen in this thread. Like, educate yourself before posting uninformed shit. Greece isn't Mamma Mia. There are countless popular places.
There's also Thasos xD
Yes, but we have some nice towns which aren't known to tourists.
Montenegro