Living abroad has been a dream of mine for quite a long time. After a few years of traveling to different countries, slowing down for a bit felt like a good idea. During a few brainstorms, counting pros and cons, we picked Montenegro. It was the country we dreamed of since we first visited it for our honeymoon back in 2015. We decided to settle down and live there only for a year and see how it will go.
So 2019 was the year for the experience of a lifetime. We’ve already been to Montenegro 3 times before that, a total amount of 7 months in different seasons, so we knew what we’ll have to encounter.
Being a digital nomad gives the freedom in so many aspects that I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. Living in different countries, working in the desired environment, and not depending on anyone except myself, expanding my knowledge, self-improving — that’s what I’ve always dreamed of.
Yes, sometimes it is quite difficult to get used to a new place, to play by the new rules, to learn everything from scratches about the country and the city that you choose to be your new home. However, at the same time, all the unknown is very exciting and I’m always eager to go through all those difficulties over and over again. It is in my blood. But moving to Montenegro wasn't that hard for us.
Why Montenegro?
The gorgeous mountains, the Adriatic Sea, and the warm coastal climate — sounds like a dream place, right? Because this wasn't our first rodeo, we already spoke the language and had some locals we befriended. That’s why wasn’t adjusting to the new lifestyle wasn't that difficult.
The idea was to live in a quiet place, a house with a backyard and a small garden between the sea and mountains, but at the same time to be able to walk to the city center.
Which city\town and why?
Bar was the city we stayed in during our first visit to Montenegro. It’s a quiet, modern, and comfortable place, perfect for a relaxed and pleasant living. And it’s tucked between the Adriatic Sea and the mountain massif of Rumija. A perfect spot I'd say.
We have found a beautiful house to rent that had a backyard and a delicious garden with orange, persimmon, and fig trees. Montenegrins built houses with a few floors - they live on the first one, and the rest are for rent. And we did live in such a place, had the possibility to get to know the culture firsthand.
How to get the residence permit?
In order to stay in the country for the whole year, one needs a temporary and a permanent permit. We needed a temporary, one-year residence permit. There are a few ways to obtain it - by purchasing a property, studying in Montenegro, finding an official full-time job, marrying a Montenegrin (obviously not my case lol), and registering a company\business.
The permit can be extended every year if you'd like to prolong your stay. We chose the latter because is not too complicated and doesn’t require a long time to be approved by the government, and it was the only possible method for us. The procedure took us about 6 weeks to receive the permit. I'll tell you more about the whole process in my next blog post.
I'm starting this series of posts about our year in the country of black mountains. If there is something you'd like to read about or have any questions - ask them in the comments.
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