02.21.26
We all talk about and wonder about the “affordability” of different countries, and as full time travelers, that (plus weather) is one of the factors that determines where we go. After spending 7 mo in Albania we were overall very happy with the prices of most things, even though they WERE higher than our prior stay there in 2022-23. But, compared to “western prices,” still, a bargain.
We’ve been in Bali about 5 weeks and I’ve been tracking prices and how they compare to other places we’ve been, and like Albania, it’s still “affordable,” but notably higher than the last two years since we’ve been coming. One of the biggest laments I hear from others about Bali is, “It’s not cheap anymore,” but I would argue that point, and think it’s all relative. I visited a dentist a few days ago and ordered a new night guard, you know, one of those plastic things that stops you from grinding your teeth, so I thought I’d share some of the cost differences between these two very popular nomadic stops, and you can compare them to YOUR home country!
- ~ Cappuccino coffee: Albania and Bali are generally both about $2 USD, which is common in many places we’ve been, but can run higher, up to 3.00.
- ~ raisin roll: One of my favorite pastries, and Albania had one of the best I’ve ever had, and that was $1.20 vs Bail, which is about $3. Still a great value compared to California! pix
- ~ spaghetti ($6.00) This, along with coffee and beer, was my benchmark since we started traveling in 2019. Comparing those three items was a good indicator of overall food prices, and seven years later I can STILL find spaghetti for $6 or less. I had some recently here in Bali and it was delicious and priced under $4.
- ~ bottled water: bottled water overall is cheap, but we get the large sizes and refill them into the smaller bottles. In Tirana I regularly got 7 litre bottles and they were about $1.20 everywhere, and they may have had price controls since I never saw them higher or lower. But this morning in Bali I got 12.5 litres for all of $1.30.
- ~ dental visits are pretty close, and we get cleaning every six months in different places. In Tirana I got what I call a mediocre job without great bedside manor for $45, and I just returned for the third year to the same dentist in Sanur. The price: $30, and two hygienists taking care of me along with the doctor. Their base price has not changed in three years, but our currency conversion has; two years ago that cleaning was $32.
- ~ My new mouthguard was $99 here in Bali, and my last one was from Albania three years ago, for about $120. pix
- ~ Rent: the biggie. Rent prices can be all over the board, but during our seven months in Tirana we paid (approx) $915 mo, which was high for us, but we were in the City Center, the SOHO of the city. Rents can be had there for about half that, and in Bali (so far) we paid $711 for our first month at an island resort (including breakfast), and in Sanur we’ll be paying $689.
Oh, two more things to add about personal services:
- In Tirana Kat paid about $50 for a message, and I just got on in Bali for just shy of $10.
- And my 30-day gym membership here in Sanur is $18, which I admit is really cheap; in Tirana I was just under $70.
So there you have it.
