Montenegro or Serbia: which country should I choose to move to? I compare the features of the countries after living in both

Montenegro or Serbia: Which country should I choose to move to and live in? The answer to this question could be closed with the phrase “there is no sea in Serbia,” but not for everyone the presence of the coast is the main criterion when choosing a country for immigration. I will give my subjective opinion about life in both countries and share the nuances of moving. And it’s up to you to decide which country is better. And I advise you to do this not only on the basis of articles on the Internet, but to come and see both countries, compare your feelings from each, and then choose.

Which country should I choose for relocation: Montenegro or Serbia?

Montenegro is the embodiment of the dream of “living by the sea”. It is, without exaggeration, fabulously beautiful here. Mountains and sea, sea and mountains, rushing sky and frozen time. In Montenegro, you stop rushing and start appreciating the moment.

The bell tower looks at the Strait of Verige

Serbia is also a beautiful country, but it’s about fields, forests and rivers. There is no sea here, but there are more than 300 wineries, good Internet and delicious inexpensive food.

One of the main attractions of Subotica is the gingerbread house of the architect Ferenc Reichl

I see Thai Cheo Lan in this photo

One of the Serbian postcard views

For me, Serbia is a mix of nature, plowed hills, red Balkan roofs and gray brutal Yugoslav architecture. All this is flavored with Serbian cuisine and boundless Serbian hospitality

St. George’s Church with the tomb of the Karageorgeviches

Both countries have a loyal visa regime (here’s about Serbian, here’s about Montenegrin), which allows you to live for a while without legalization. The only difference is that in Montenegro you will have to pay a tour tax for your stay — 1 euro for every day in the country.

Both countries speak Serbian, which is similar to Russian and Ukrainian.

Both countries are Orthodox.

In both countries, both Russians and Ukrainians are treated normally. Although there is an opinion that Serbia is a pro—Russian country, I have heard many words of support from the Serbs towards Ukraine. And there are fools everywhere, you know.

So which country should I choose? It’s up to you. I will only give my subjective opinion about both countries after the experience of living there and there.

• Montenegro is a small (in a very literal sense) country. Both in terms of area and population: 600 thousand people against 6 million in Serbia. This affects everything: both the assortment in stores and the social structure.
• Montenegro has a better ecology. Especially if we compare the ecology in Primorye and in large cities, for example, Belgrade. The air quality is a problem there. And it gets worse every year. And in the ambrosia season, all citizens are on pills.
• Montenegro has a milder climate, but there is no heating. Yes, it rarely snows in Primorye in winter, but the apartments are still cold and damp without heating. And electricity bills in winter are almost twice as high as in summer. I talked in detail about the peculiarities of the Montenegrin winter in this article. In Serbia, houses have central heating or stove heating (the main sponsor of dirty air in Serbia, by the way).

• There is more work in Serbia. Plus, many Russian-speaking IT companies have now relocated to Serbia. It is better to go to Montenegro with your job.
• Serbia has a better education. Many Montenegrins participate in Serbian universities. This point is especially important for those who are going to move with children.
• Serbia has better medicine. Private clinics with modern equipment and good specialists. There is a problem with this in Montenegro. Even if we compare Belgrade/Podgorica (two capitals), then, you know, who wins. I will write about medical services and examples of prices in clinics at the end of the article.
• It is cheaper to live in Serbia. Products are cheaper here, because there are a lot of things of their own. For example, the same milk is imported to Montenegro from Serbia and Croatia, and according to market laws it will be more expensive than in the producing country.
• There are more events in Serbia. Montenegro also hosts international festivals, but life freezes with the end of summer. Yes, there are some festivals, but in Serbia there are an order of magnitude more. Cultural events, sports, international shows, etc. Let’s add to this Belgrade, which is considered one of the club capitals of Europe, and Novi Sad, which became the cultural capital of Europe this year.

The performance of the Dortmund Symphony Orchestra in Novi Sad as part of the Beethoven Marathon was free of charge

Ben Bohmer is one of my favorite DJs

Monolink’s performance is one of the few I wanted to hear.

Speaking of the climate, I can’t help but mention the “sandstorms” in Montenegro, which sometimes reach Serbia. Sandstorms are rains with sand that are brought by strong winds from Africa. They happen most often in spring and autumn. During such rains, the weather is usually very gloomy, and everything seems to be covered with some kind of haze. Everything is dirty after the rain, especially the cars.

I have written 2 very detailed articles about my experience of moving and living in Montenegro:

1. Immigration to Montenegro — is it worth it? Tips for those who are going here for permanent residence
2. The year in Montenegro: expectations vs reality

And about Serbia in my telegram channel there is a note “10 conclusions about Serbia as a country for relocation” from a friend who is considering moving to the country with his family.

Where is it easier to legalize and get a residence permit, permanent residence and passport?

One of the most important criteria when choosing a country for relocation is the ease of legalization. Both Serbia and Montenegro have approximately the same list of options for obtaining a residence permit:

In Montenegro, there was also an option like a “Golden Passport”, but now it has been closed. In Serbia, obtaining citizenship through investment is not provided.

Important details:

• There are many nuances with obtaining a residence permit through an individual entrepreneur in Montenegro, and taxes may be higher than for an LLC. It is profitable to open an individual entrepreneur only if the income is less than 18,000 euros per year. Therefore, in Montenegro, foreigners almost always open an LLC to obtain a residence permit.
• In Serbia, when obtaining a residence permit through employment and real estate, boravok is given immediately for 3 years.

If we talk about money:

• an accountant costs about the same in both countries. In Serbia I pay 52 euros, in Montenegro I paid 60 euros;
• monthly payments in 2023 (minimum salary + taxes): in Montenegro 225 + 55 = 280 euros, in Serbia 114 + 72 = 186 euros. The minimum wage remains on the account, only taxes go to the state;
• in Serbia, to withdraw money from an individual entrepreneur to an individual account. A person is required to pay 10% income tax or a fix. tax. In Montenegro, 9% (income tax) + 15% (tax on income from dividends). I have painted Serbian taxes for entrepreneurs here.
• the extension of a residence permit costs: ~180 euros in Serbia, ~80 euros in Montenegro.

According to the paperwork: fewer documents are needed in Serbia. For example, you do not need to nostrify a diploma and get a certificate of non-conviction.

The main differences in terms of obtaining permanent residence and citizenship:

• In Montenegro, it takes at least 10 years to obtain a passport. The scheme is as follows: 5 years residence permit (borovok time limits) → 5 years permanent residence (borovok steel) → passport. To obtain permanent residence, you need to have a continuous temporary residence permit for 5 years. After 5 years of permanent residence, an application for a passport is submitted. To do this, you need to take an exam. The probability of obtaining Montenegrin citizenship is extremely low, because part of the temporary borovok is interrupted by local governments.
• In Serbia, you can apply for citizenship after 3 years of residence permit. In 2023, a law was passed according to which 3 years of residence permit (privremeni boravok) are required for permanent residence (stalni boravok). Moreover, a residence permit is already issued immediately for 3 years for a number of reasons (family reunification, real estate, work with a long-term contract). According to the current laws of Serbia, you can apply for citizenship immediately after obtaining permanent residence.

If we talk about the difficulty of obtaining a residence permit, then in both countries it is now difficult to open a bank account, and nowhere without it. In Montenegro, it was difficult to do this even before the events of February 2022, and after February, existing accounts began to be closed altogether. In Serbia, things are easier, although after the influx of migrants, some banks stopped opening accounts.

In general, if you want to legally receive money to the account of an entrepreneur or your LLC, then in Serbia, in my experience, this is much easier. Here, banks are aware of freelancers and do not block transfers.

💸 My experience in Montenegro:

Banks do not open an account without a residence permit. Visa/MasterCard cards are issued without the possibility of accepting foreign transfers. You can pay with cards outside Montenegro and on the Internet.

Innovation of 2023: foreigners can no longer work part-time, only full-time. To extend a residence permit and obtain permanent residence, you need to pay additional taxes for the entire period in which the foreigner did not work full-time.

My experience in Serbia:

Intesa Bank opened an account for sole proprietors after filling out the questionnaire and interviews. The same Intesa, but a branch for physicists, did not want to open a physical account. the face. We agreed when we found out that my sole proprietor is serviced by their bank. The card (Visa / MasterCard) is issued to foreigners only a year later. Now I need to go to the bank to withdraw money from my account. But you can receive a transfer from abroad to the account (a motto account has been opened).

Who is the first in the EU — Montenegro or Serbia?

Montenegro is often advertised as a country on the verge of joining the EU. Like, that’s it, just a little bit more. And it goes on and on. Yes, Montenegro is taking certain steps in the right direction, but I would call it “on the threshold of joining the EU.”

It’s a little harder with Serbia. Serbia still has an unresolved territorial conflict — Kosovo. Plus, the Serbs remember the NATO bombing. Reminders of this at every step:

• the destroyed building of the Ministry of Defense in the center of Belgrade was decided to remain as an eloquent monument;
• there is still a destroyed TV tower in the Frushka Gora National Park (you can see the photo in this article);
• there is also a lake that was formed at the site of the quarry where the NATO shell hit (I told about it in my telegram).

Serbia seems to be in favor of cooperation with Europe, but the memories are still too fresh.

The main difference between Montenegro and Serbia

On Instagram, I was asked to tell you more about the differences between Montenegro and Serbia. In my opinion, there is one most important difference between the countries that defines everything: Serbia has reached the Eurovision final again, while Montenegro has not.

And now seriously.

The most important and the first difference between the countries is the sea. Montenegro has its own seashore, while Serbia has only rivers.

Perast is one of the most beautiful towns in Montenegro

The Morava River is like a snake in the gorge between the Ovchar and Kablar mountains

The sea regulates life and prices in Montenegro, dividing the year into season and off-season.

Out of season, prices are lower for everything: rent, groceries, even PARKING! When looking for a place to live, they will always ask “are you up to the season or for a year?” and before the season, the monthly price will be lower than for a year.

Prices rise indecently during the season. There are people in underpants on the streets, and traffic jams on the roads. Parking lots are packed, and there are queues in the shops just before the New Year.

There is no such thing in Serbia. Housing prices have been stable all year, as have traffic jams in Belgrade. In summer, however, there is an exodus of Serbs to the sea, and at this very time traffic jams are increasing in Montenegro.

Those who have been living in Montenegro for a long time know that in the summer you need to move to the north of the country: There are no traffic jams there, and it’s colder.

And the sea? And the sea and beaches are occupied by vacationers. High quality. United. Shoulder to shoulder. From morning to evening.

Those who live in Montenegro on a permanent basis, relax by the sea either in May (before the season) or in September-October (after the season).

P.S. About Eurovision. Serbia almost always reaches the Eurovision final. The Serbs have a half-joke about this: “We just have a big diaspora” For those who did not understand: those who will make it to the finals are determined by the audience by voting via SMS.

Comparison of prices for medical services in Montenegro and Serbia (prices at the end of 2023)

A small comparison of prices for medical services in Montenegro and Serbia.

I took the prices from the official websites of clinics and laboratories that I applied to myself. In Montenegro, this is the Milmedic laboratory, Gastromed clinic, Hipocrat. In Serbia, there is a Medilab laboratory, the Euromedic clinic. I converted all prices to euros at today’s exchange rate.

I think this is quite enough for comparison and conclusions.

At the expense of the quality of services. I’ll tell you a little story from my life. I donate blood regularly to control one hormone. He is very sensitive, therefore, before passing the day and on the day of delivery, you can neither be nervous, nor do sports and any kind of physical activity. activity, you can not drink alcohol.

In Montenegro, I came to the laboratory and took the analysis without any foreplay. There was often no queue, and the whole procedure took 5 minutes with payment.

In Serbia, I couldn’t just come and donate blood for this hormone. In all laboratories, I was first sent to “sit out” — because I came, and walking is physical. activity, and it affects the result. To say that I was surprised is to say nothing at all.

What else can I tell you? Ask in the comments!

Источник: life-thai.com