Lets be clear for one thing here.
The term " 3rd world" is a post WW2 invention.
It was about the countries that did not belong to the " western-atlantic-democratic" and Soviet Union and its satellites.
After the collapse of communism it became a synonym of poor countries.
You are living in the Balkans, that is not a 3rd world.
Maybe " 2nd world" but not 3rd world.
You need to go to Africa, Central America Latin countries, many parts of Colombia, Mexico and Brazil, some parts of south eastern Asia to see the real 3rd world.
In Albania where you are staying , there are big issues with corruption and nepotism but as long as you do not mess with the " tough guys" , you do not game after the wrong girl and you pay taxes you are very much ok as a foreigner ( of what I know at least, I might be wrong) and a safe haven as you said.
The big issue with the Balkans is the hate between nations ( Albanians vs Serbs , Serbs vs Albanians, Croats, Bosnians etc) but above all the mass migration of native people and the danger of being replaced by brown refugees.
How is the situation there with the refugees? Has the nr increased, do they harass local women etc?
It is interesting because while Albanians have as national hero a man who defeated 2 Ottoman Sultans, Albanians were also very important in the Ottoman Empire, like a warrior caste.
I really like the Balkan region.
Hello
I totally agree with what you said about the third world.
But in the case of Albania ; until 1995/1997 it was incredibly poor. Much poorer than many central American states .
There was a civil war in 1997.
Since then the country has improved greatly and faster than their neighbour ( unfortunately mostly due to foreign investment/diaspora and dirty money from drugs ).
So now it is second world for sure.
Regarding the refugees : there are more and more "Syrians* walking around. It s still not so noticeable but I think they will end up being accepted here by the government.
Most Muslims aren't actually very big Muslims and they hate jihadists or terrorists; in addition as they are white and consider themselves Europeans they tend to hate Arabs. A bit like Turks hate Arabs.
Albanians have a very strong identity and everything linked to their nation is treated with great care. They don't mind western foreigners like me ; we are not so many as it is not the EU and only people with residence permit can live here - which is impossible to get without connections from your work and if Albania believes that your presence is needed. Even more to come here with your wife and kids.
There is a bunch of Turks and a lot of Italians and the rest is very marginal.
No refugee will ever harm a woman here. I can tell you that if someone touches a woman here such as a rape in a park or something the entire hundreds/thousands of Syrians will be beaten up to death ( and I hope I will have the courage to be one of them )
Albania is 99.9% albanian ; only a few cities are populated by "Greeks" ( who speak Albanian etc )
As you said the big issue is that nations hate each other in the Balkans . Albanians hate Macedonians ; Serbs ; and Montenegro ( even if they will say the contrary because Montenegro is too small.to oppose them ). They kind of like croats but we all know why. The fantasy prestige of being Illyrian + hate of serbia. They also hate Bosnia because they did not recognize kosovo. There is no "Muslim" solidarity in the Balkans
In the Balkans only Albania is 100% safe. They have a belt of Albanians living at the borders ( in Macedonia ; in Kosovo ; in Montenegro ) . Basically nothing can happen to them unless they are divided like in 1997 between north and south "gangs" which triggered the civil war.
I exclude Slovenia from the Balkans as it s more Austria / central Europe to me.
Funnily enough quarantine is over here and my landlady is an old Albanian woman living in the USA ; she basically can't move out of her flat.
The country she lives in is full of riots and i am here in Albania enjoying a stroll in the park with nice food in a 99.99% white country )))
I never thought to say that ever in my life but the Albanian dream is more appealing than the American dream at the moment....