{"id":21256,"date":"2025-08-18T14:06:46","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T14:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/albaniancoasthomes.com\/\/i-left-los-angeles-closed-my-business-and-moved-to-albania-i-pay-under-500-a-month-in-rent-and-have-never-been-happier\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T10:22:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T10:22:26","slug":"i-left-los-angeles-closed-my-business-and-moved-to-albania-i-pay-under-500-a-month-in-rent-and-have-never-been-happier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/albaniancoasthomes.com\/de\/i-left-los-angeles-closed-my-business-and-moved-to-albania-i-pay-under-500-a-month-in-rent-and-have-never-been-happier\/","title":{"rendered":"I left Los Angeles, closed my business, and moved to Albania. I pay under $500 a month in rent and have never been happier."},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Cheryl Orlov, a 55-year-old from Los Angeles who moved to Albania in 2023. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. <\/p>

I spent 23 years living in the Los Angeles area, where my home was two miles from Redondo Beach. I owned a furniture company for 32 years, built from the ground up, and worked very hard to create a comfortable lifestyle for myself. <\/p>

I had a full life in Los Angeles. I built a good community of friends and was very active, especially in endurance sports. I’m a lover of traveling and experiencing different cultures, and I’ve always said that the city is a great place to live if you can’t travel the whole world. <\/p>

While I was happy living in Los Angeles, I still had an aching wanderlust.<\/p>

I used to travel abroad one to two times a year and was satisfied for a while. But back in 2016, I went to Africa for a charity trip. I visited Uganda, Morocco, and South Africa, and during my visit, something in me switched: I was ready to move abroad, I just had to figure out how. <\/p>

A few things stood in my way. I owned a couple of properties and had a full time business. But as the years passed \u2014 it took about seven \u2014 I started unloading my properties. I downsized my home, and I even began to dissolve my business, all for the dream of leaving the US. <\/p>

I found out about Albania on a podcast<\/h3>

In April 2022, I was listening to an expat podcast, and a blogger being interviewed said to check out Albania. I’ve been to all seven continents and almost 50 countries, and Albania wasn’t even on my radar back then. <\/p>

I started doing a lot of research. I watched videos on YouTube and even interviewed female solo travelers about their experiences in Albania. And in September 2022, my friend and I took a scouting trip there. <\/p>

During my scouting trip, I hired a driver who took us from city to city. We wound up in Tirana, the capital of Albania. Initially, I did not want to live there based on what I had read online, but when I was physically there, I knew right away that this was my place. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Albania's Southern Riviera. Courtesy of Cheryl Orlov <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Albania’s culture and history are so rich \u2014 it’s mind-blowing. Historically, it has strong influences from the Ottoman Empire. The country broke free from communism in the 1990s and is still developing. <\/p>

Albania is very similar to California topographically. Although it’s a small country, it features the Albanian Alps and coastlines along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. <\/p>

I love the people of Albania; their hospitality is unmatched. They make you feel like you’re right at home and like your family. <\/p>

I feel safe and comfortable where I live<\/h3>

After the scouting trip, I flew back to the US and started making arrangements to move. I sold almost everything I owned and continued dissolving my business. <\/p>

I didn’t need to apply for a visa to visit Albania because Americans are allowed to stay for up to one year without one. After that, if we leave the country for 90 days, the one-year period resets when we return. <\/p>

I found an apartment in Tirana, the capital city, by word of mouth on a Facebook group. An American had raved about the landlord, who had lived in America for six years. <\/p>

I was moving my whole life to an unfamiliar place, so it was important to be in a good and safe area, in a building where people spoke English, and where I liked the landlord.<\/p>

In September 2023, I moved to Tirana. I live in the city, but in a quiet neighborhood where a lot of Albanians live \u2014 immigrants and expats tend to live closer to the city center. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Tirana, Albania, town square. Fani Kurti\/Getty Images <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The building I live in is a five-unit villa where each level has its own apartment. I live on the ground level and have a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment. I have a good relationship with my landlord, and I wouldn’t say that’s the norm here, but I pay \u20ac400 ($466) a month. <\/p>

My other bills are pretty affordable, too. I usually spend \u20ac20 to \u20ac30 ($23-$35) a week on food at the local market, and going out to dinner typically costs between \u20ac15 and \u20ac20 ($17-$23). Taking the bus costs about $0.50, and taxis are usually around \u20ac5. <\/p>

I’ve never felt more like myself<\/h3>

Learning Albanian is tough, but one of the biggest challenges to living here is how often expats come and go. I’ve noticed that people usually stay for a year or two, then move on. <\/p>

The impermanence is difficult for me \u2014 it’s just hard to keep saying goodbye. When I was in California, I didn’t have to worry about that as much. So, it’s something I’ve had to adjust to. <\/p>

I don’t know if Albania will be my forever place, but still, I’m really happy here. I didn’t realize how stressed I was in America until I moved to Tirana. <\/p>

While living here, I’m traveling more. From Albania, I can easily fly anywhere in Europe, Africa, or Asia \u2014 right now, I’m in Malaysia. I’ve been experiencing so many different cultures, and while that’s not for everyone, I feel like a more complete person. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Cheryl Orlov, at the Kruj\u00eb Castle in Kruj\u00eb, Albania. Courtesy of Cheryl Orlov \n<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Earlier this year, I finished dissolving the business. I’m not worried about being unemployed abroad, because I’ve been saving and building up my retirement since my 30s. While I don’t want to retire, I’m financially in a position to do so if I choose. <\/p>

I do go back to the US from time to time to visit my friends and my family \u2014 my relationships are really important to me \u2014 but I don’t ever see myself moving back full-time.<\/p>

I definitely wanted to leave the US earlier, but I believe everything happens for a reason. I wouldn’t do anything differently. I believe it’s never too late to start traveling or move to somewhere new. <\/p>

To read the original article, please click on this link<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Cheryl Orlov, a 55-year-old from Los Angeles who moved to Albania in 2023. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. I spent 23 years living in the Los Angeles area, where my home was two miles from Redondo Beach. I owned a furniture company […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22241,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/albaniancoasthomes.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/albaniancoasthomes.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/albaniancoasthomes.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albaniancoasthomes.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albaniancoasthomes.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21256"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/albaniancoasthomes.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22243,"href":"https:\/\/albaniancoasthomes.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21256\/revisions\/22243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albaniancoasthomes.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/albaniancoasthomes.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albaniancoasthomes.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albaniancoasthomes.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}