Best Places to Retire: Southeast Europe

Sveti Stefan, Montenegro - a Mediterranean environment on the coast.

Mediterranean Europe was the most affordable region to retire in Western Europe. However, if cost is a major factor to you, one of the best places to retire might be Southeastern Europe. Southeastern Europe is an even more affordable region for retirement than Portugal – which was the lowest cost country in Western Europe.

For purposes of this article southeast Europe is considered to include the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. For the most part, these were countries that were part of or had ties with the Soviet Eastern bloc during the Cold War era. Many of these countries made up the former Yugoslavia.

In the late 1980’s the “Eastern bloc” countries began to separate from the Soviet Union and chose to follow the more democratic and market based economies of Western Europe. All indications suggested that this was the more successful to economic development than the communist model.

Today, that transformation is taking place, but progress has been more difficult than originally imagined. These countries had to slowly change the entire fabric of their society. Private ownership laws and institutions needed to be created to replace the collectivist ownership model. Industry needed to be reoriented away from heavy industries to light industries, a service based economy, and consumer goods. A centrally planned political model had to be replaced by democratic institutions and more market oriented institutions.  

The countries of southeast Europe are on a peninsula surrounded on three sides by the Adriatic, the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. Inland areas are mountainous and dominated by the Balkan Mountains. Historically, the mountains have made travel through the region difficult and have kept people separated in small ethnic groupings. The region is often called a shatter belt for this reason and is reflected in the many small countries in the peninsula that are very diverse ethnically.

Romania's more northerly location gives it a more continental type climate.

Southeast Europe Retirement: Physical Landscape

 In southern coastal regions, the climate is a typical Mediterranean type of climate – mild in temperature combined with a wet and dry season. As you move inland and further north, the climate becomes more continental. Continental climates experience pronounced variations in temperature from season to season. And of course, throughout the region, the climate becomes much cooler as you move up into the mountains.

Typical natural resources for a region like this are forests, minerals, and hydroelectric power. Good agricultural land is scarcer due to the mountainous terrain.

The region offers retirees with a range of climates and environments. However, the region is also geologically active and prone to earthquake activity due to the many tectonic plates in the region. Earthquakes combined with a mountainous region heavily impacted by man also create risks for landslides. 

Although the Balkan mountains make travel through the region difficult, Southeast Europe has always been a critical crossroads between Europe and Asia and has been shaped by the ebb and flow of various European and Asiatic empires throughout history.

An open market in Slovenia.

Southeast Europe Retirement: Cultural Landscape

 Today, the region is a shatterbelt with respect to religions, with the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Islamic religions being the dominant religions in the region. Croatia and Slovenia have majority Catholic populations. Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina are predominantly Islamic. The Eastern Orthodox religion is the major religion in Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

Ethnically, each country has a majority national ethnic group, but often with several major minority ethnic groups as defined by language, religion or national origin. While the diversity definitely makes the region a fascinating one, it has also greatly contributed to the political instability of the region. Even when under Soviet domination, Albania and the Yugoslavian countries managed to retain some degree of independence. Later, as the Soviet empire fell, Yugoslavia ultimately broke up into several smaller states around different ethnic groups.

As the Soviet empire dissolved, Southeast Europe experienced a number of growing pains as ethnic unrest and separatist movements lead to the breakup of Yugoslavia. However, today the region appears to have stabilized significantly and is making progress more in terms of economic development than internal conflict and seem to be good destinations for anyone who might want to retire abroad in this region.

Per capita incomes for the region are: Albania ($6,600), Bosnia and Herzegovina ($7,700), Bulgaria ($11,200), Croatia ($15,000), Macedonia ($8,500), Montenegro ($10,300), Romania ($11,000), Serbia ($10,200), and Slovenia ($26,600).

Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria - older part of the city reflecting a pre-market oriented past.

Southeast Europe Retirement: Economic Landscape

 In comparative terms, countries that are economically closer to Western Europe are Croatia and Slovenia. Portugal, for example has a per capita income of $20,900.

The remaining countries, have per capita incomes in the range of many Central American countries. Costa Rica, for example has a per capita income of $10,700.

The two countries that are the furthest behind economically are Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina. These compare to the more advanced developing nations in Southeast Asia. Thailand, for example has a per capita income of $7,900.

When looking at these countries from the perspective of their educational, medical and economic infrastructure, most of these countries rank as countries with a high human development index.

Southeast Europe Retirement: Summary

The fall of the Soviet empire has opened up Southeast Europe as potential retirement destinations. The collapse of the Soviet empire introduced two major challenges to the region. The first major challenge has been the restructuring of the socialist economy to a more market oriented economy. This has not been easy since it involved the revamping of the country’s political and legal systems, property ownership, and industries. For many people, the transition to a market economy has not been an easy one.

The second major challenge to the region has been the “devolution” of large states like Yugoslavia into a number of smaller states along ethnic lines. On some occasions, the devolution was marred by fighting and political unrest. Today, things seem to have stabilized a great deal and are less of a political risk than a decade ago.

The gradual development of the region provides the region with lower costs of living and make it one of the best places to retire in Europe. However, the infrastructure is not as strong as those in the Western Mediterranean countries. Most of these countries are gravitating towards becoming part of the European Union and access to advanced markets, healthcare and other amenities are not all that difficult since travel to Western Europe is relatively easy.

Although not on the radar of most retirees, Southeast Europe is definitely emerging as one of the best places to retire in Europe and giving the traditional retirement destinations in Western Europe more competition.

(Photos by: Szendrencs, Alesia17, EJBevan, Walker_M)

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