Mention Albania to most people and they'll remember that the antagonists in the movie Taken were Albanian, or that they are a major source of drug trafficking in Europe.
Putting the gangster image aside, I found Tirana to be charming, the pace of life enjoyable, the people friendly and the girls worth getting to know.
I was in Tirana for a few days due to work, but I wished I had more time to spend to crack open its shell and find out what's inside.
I wasn't there long enough to be able to provide a comprehensive data sheet, but I will share what information I have as there has been nothing said about Albania yet on this forum.
Overview:
If you're looking for a cheap place in Europe to go on a flagging mission I would consider Tirana. It's a city that wants to be European, but is still recovering from it's communist past and has that developing country rough around the edges feel to it. Girls are very pretty and open to meeting foreigners.
I found the level of English here to be decent amongst younger people. Older Albanians speak Italian so if you speak a little of that language you can communicate. A few words of Albanian go a long way to impressing people here so study some basic words before you come.
There is a strong Turkish influence here. Although there are a lot of Muslims, I rarely saw women wearing burkas, and if you didn't tell me that 60% of the population is Muslim I wouldn't have guessed. It was not an openly religious country, and aside from a weak call to prayer in the afternoon I didn't sense Islam's presence. Not sure how this effects gaming here.
I never felt unsafe walking around at night. I found the place to be clean and organized despite it's history. Crossing the streets here is more chaotic than anywhere in South America. Medium income is around $450 a month, though I saw plenty of iPhones when I went out at night.
Logistics:
Budget: Tirana Backpacker's hostel is a nice option, close to the city center, nice staff and good breakfast. 10 Euros for a bunk.
Midrange: Hotel Europa is also in a good location near the center. 20 euros for a single room
Baller: Tirana International Hotel. Overlooking the Skanderberg square, which is the main square in town. Great location, the best hotel in Tirana. 63 euros per night.
Day game:
I didn't have a whole lot of time to run day game, but I dutifully put in my approaches when I could. I was received well by the girls, got a few numbers but didn't have enough time to follow up and seal the deal.
Nightlife:
The area that all the nightlife is centered in is called Blloku. You'll find many clubs, bars and places to eat here.
I went to Lizard on a Wednesday, which was supposed to be playing Salsa music. They did played some Latin music and people were dancing. I saw some impressive moves from some local guys who dominated the dance floor, then they approached the only lone girls in the club.
TAO seemed to be an upper class type of spot with really loud music and lots of tables. I went here with some local friends and was confused by the dynamic at this place. Everybody was sitting down in groups with their friends. I was told that Albanians don't approach at places like this. If you did you'd have to approach the guy first, befriend him and get him to introduce his girlfriends. I saw a lot of girls here, but they were all sitting in tables with guys and I didn't have the stamina to make approaches after a long day.
Online game: Badoo and OKcupid have maybe 20 girls between them. I went through every girl in Albania on Tinder after about 5 minutes of swiping. Got a few matches but couldn't get them to meet up while I was there.
Girls: Fair skinned girls, skinny, amble breasts, well dressed either in summer dresses or shorts and t-shirts showing tummy. Very seductive overall appearance.
This picture is representative of what I saw here.
![[Image: eralda-hitaj-pp.jpg]](http://www.beautiful-women-pedia.com/images/eralda-hitaj-pp.jpg)
Conclusion:
If you're looking for a place to spend a week or two in Europe with a low cost of living, interesting culture, friendly girls and decent coffee shop culture, check out Tirana.
Make an effort to make high value local friends to improve your nightlife opportunities. Plan on making lots of approaches during the day, don't expect too much from pipelining.
Putting the gangster image aside, I found Tirana to be charming, the pace of life enjoyable, the people friendly and the girls worth getting to know.
I was in Tirana for a few days due to work, but I wished I had more time to spend to crack open its shell and find out what's inside.
I wasn't there long enough to be able to provide a comprehensive data sheet, but I will share what information I have as there has been nothing said about Albania yet on this forum.
Overview:
If you're looking for a cheap place in Europe to go on a flagging mission I would consider Tirana. It's a city that wants to be European, but is still recovering from it's communist past and has that developing country rough around the edges feel to it. Girls are very pretty and open to meeting foreigners.
I found the level of English here to be decent amongst younger people. Older Albanians speak Italian so if you speak a little of that language you can communicate. A few words of Albanian go a long way to impressing people here so study some basic words before you come.
There is a strong Turkish influence here. Although there are a lot of Muslims, I rarely saw women wearing burkas, and if you didn't tell me that 60% of the population is Muslim I wouldn't have guessed. It was not an openly religious country, and aside from a weak call to prayer in the afternoon I didn't sense Islam's presence. Not sure how this effects gaming here.
I never felt unsafe walking around at night. I found the place to be clean and organized despite it's history. Crossing the streets here is more chaotic than anywhere in South America. Medium income is around $450 a month, though I saw plenty of iPhones when I went out at night.
Logistics:
Budget: Tirana Backpacker's hostel is a nice option, close to the city center, nice staff and good breakfast. 10 Euros for a bunk.
Midrange: Hotel Europa is also in a good location near the center. 20 euros for a single room
Baller: Tirana International Hotel. Overlooking the Skanderberg square, which is the main square in town. Great location, the best hotel in Tirana. 63 euros per night.
Day game:
I didn't have a whole lot of time to run day game, but I dutifully put in my approaches when I could. I was received well by the girls, got a few numbers but didn't have enough time to follow up and seal the deal.
Nightlife:
The area that all the nightlife is centered in is called Blloku. You'll find many clubs, bars and places to eat here.
I went to Lizard on a Wednesday, which was supposed to be playing Salsa music. They did played some Latin music and people were dancing. I saw some impressive moves from some local guys who dominated the dance floor, then they approached the only lone girls in the club.
TAO seemed to be an upper class type of spot with really loud music and lots of tables. I went here with some local friends and was confused by the dynamic at this place. Everybody was sitting down in groups with their friends. I was told that Albanians don't approach at places like this. If you did you'd have to approach the guy first, befriend him and get him to introduce his girlfriends. I saw a lot of girls here, but they were all sitting in tables with guys and I didn't have the stamina to make approaches after a long day.
Online game: Badoo and OKcupid have maybe 20 girls between them. I went through every girl in Albania on Tinder after about 5 minutes of swiping. Got a few matches but couldn't get them to meet up while I was there.
Girls: Fair skinned girls, skinny, amble breasts, well dressed either in summer dresses or shorts and t-shirts showing tummy. Very seductive overall appearance.
This picture is representative of what I saw here.
Conclusion:
If you're looking for a place to spend a week or two in Europe with a low cost of living, interesting culture, friendly girls and decent coffee shop culture, check out Tirana.
Make an effort to make high value local friends to improve your nightlife opportunities. Plan on making lots of approaches during the day, don't expect too much from pipelining.