Any one know the costs for renting a villa (monthly)?

What is the best and quite living area in Tirana (new houses, villas with garden)?

Rent: (nice 87 sq meter, one bedroom, with A/C, heat, all furnishings, washing machine, balcony, and central location) approx 300Euros/month. Rent here is low, especially in older and non air-conditioned units. Expect to pay more in the "Block" district, and get less room. Look for the post-Communism buildings, usually evidenced by the presence of an elevator. These were built in the last 15 years or so, and as such are in nicer condition. Most Albanians own their apartments, so be respectful of their property. ***Be sure and test the water pressure! Albania doesn't have good water pressure, and services are usually not available all day. Make sure the building has a pump and reserve tank***

Utilities: Electric (I like my a/c and I cook a lot, so yours will likely be less) is about 5,000 per month. Water about 275 per month.

Food: Food here is CHEAP! Fast food is usually Greek, with a Gyro or Doner costing around 100 to 200 lek at the most.

Eating out at a restaurant: There are many places to eat, and even what seems like just a cafe will have a decent menu of soups and pasta, salads, etc. Expect to pay around 500 to 1000 per person for food and bottled water, with beer usually on the 250 to 350 range, and soft drinks (canned) in the 100 range. Pizza (carryout) can be as little as 250 lek for a Pizza Sallam. Toppings are the usual veggies, meats, etc. A number of places deliver by motorbike.

Coffee: Forget the American style coffee. Espresso and Turkish style is the norm. Either will set you back not more than 100 lek, but usually 50 or 70 lek. I have yet to have a bad cup of Espresso outside my own kitchen.

Alcohol: Beers: Heineken and Amstel prevail, almost always bottled only. Usually 200 or 250 lek (330ml), but nearing 400 lek in the trendier places. New Castle, Stela, and yes even Corona are often found, in the same price ranges. A few places have draft, and when you can find it the quality is very good. Local beers: Less, but only in price! Birra Tirana is my favorite, Korca (pronounced KOR-cha) is more widely available throughout the nation. Both are high quality and usually less than the aforementioned imports (150 to 250 lek; 70 to 100 in the grocery store). Mixed drinks are of the prices found at your neighborhood bar back home, sorry, no deals there.

Basics:

Bread: 40 leke per loaf in a bakery. Ask for "buke integrale" and you will get a nice wheatberry bread that can't be beat for 43 cents US. Don't buy at the grocery store; there's a bakery every 20m here.

Eggs: about 75 lek for a half dozen. Organic. Also not refrigerated in the store. Don't be alarmed, I haven't been sick yet (but I would skip the homemade egg nog and mayo recipes).

Milk: 90 lek for 1.5 liters. Again, not refrigerated but in a large juice box. Taste is not great (being raised on US fresh skim milk) but that is personal. FastMilk is your best bet. Do NOT buy fresh milk in the market; TB may be present. Unless you're making your own cheese or something.

Cheese: Local cheeses can be had at cheese/dairy shops for around 750 to 900 lek per kilogram, but they will be happy to cut off a hunk in any amount you wish. They are locally made from local milk and the taste runs the range from sharp to smooth and mild. Very good stuff. No cheddar cheese or American faves, but I haven't needed them so badly as to hunt around the specialty shops.

Meat: Again, locally grown and organic. Ground beef will set you back around 500 lek per kilo. Other cuts will be more accordingly. Lamb, goat, chicken, and pork are all widely available. A whole frozen chicken is around 350 lek (1.5 to 2 kilo).

Fruit and Vegetables: Organic, fresh, and widely available when in season. Apples around 80 lek per kilo, 40 lek for potatoes. Fresh carrots, celery, lemons, oranges, pears, figs, garlic, parsley, dill, turnips, and onions are on every other street corner.

Flour, 70 lek/kg. Olive oil, 180 to 1000 lek per 500ml, depending on quality. Sugar, 70 lek/kg.

Cigarettes: Marlboros are 200 lek per pack, Dunhill 220 lek. These are supermarket prices, on the street they can be slightly higher. Avoid buying them late at night near the bars and clubs from young children, unless you think 300 to 400 is a good price. Also try not to have them make change, they often pretend not to have change (until you give the pack back to them, which is when the suddenly have it). All other times cigarettes, lighters, and chewing gum can be purchased just about anywhere from street vendors who are very polite, friendly, and thank you for your business.

Cell phones: The phones can be 40 or 50 Euros for a basic model. If you're coming from somewhere in Europe or the UK, bring yours along. US people, unless you have one that takes a SIM card, you're outta luck. The SIM cards cost only about 100 lek. The phones are recharged with scratch off cards purchased again from the local sidewalk vendors in amounts of 1000 (but sometimes 250) lek. Street vendors will usually charge 1050 for a 1000 lek card, not a bad deal. Currently the competiton is forcing the prices down, WAY down, to around 1 lek per minute between users of the same company. Vodafone, AMC, and Tring are the big ones. I think. So far as I know, there aren't any contract plans. This is pretty much a cash economy.

Taxis: Usually charge a flat fee. Getting 3km will cost around 400 lek. Super cheap. Telling the driver where to go is another story, as they don't use addresses so much as they use landmarks and "the yellow building that is next to where the old party offices were, across from the fish market" style directions. Good luck. Best to have a local with you!

Trains: Don't you even think about it. They are horribly slow, and could be outpaced on foot. However, they are very cheap, about 50 lek for a Tirana to Durres run (45km).

Busses: 20 lek or so. Slow but inexpensive. If you go to Skanderbeg there are free shuttles to the malls every 20 minutes or so.

Minivans (furgons): This is how Albanians without cars get from town to town. Fares are cheap, 200 lek from Tirana to Durres, 600 lek to Pogradec (fares are each way). Though the distances aren't great, the region is mountainous and the roads suck, so it takes a while. Busses leave from central locations in towns, and the best time to catch is early morning (7am) and afternoon (3 or 4pm). Look for either a sign in the windshield, or the license plate to see where they're going. Busses leave when they're full. These are private minivans driven by the owners, and are licensed by the gov't. A good way to meet some locals.

High speed Internet: 10,000 installation, 3,000 per month for the base bandwith based on a 6 month contract. No phone service necessary. Another 40,000 to 80,000 for a wireless router, so if you have one bring it with you!

There are several internet cafes that charge about 100 lek per hour at the most. Usually they are staffed with English speaking university aged folk, who are helpful and polite. They usually have scanners and printers available, with printing being about 10 lek for a black and white page.

In Tirana there are a few cafes that have free Wifi, Cuo Valdis in the Block, Bar Izi (aka Black and White), and Play (behind Big Market on Muslim Shar) to name a few. Come in, have a drink and a smoke, and stay as long as you like.

Shopping: If you're looking for a bargain, ask about the Turkish Market. This open air bazaar usually folds up shop around 2pm, so it is not for the late risers. Everything from clothes, luggage, cooking utensils, cell phones, you name it. Often very nice quality, and for a LOT less than the malls and shops. Watch you wallet; this is one of the few places where pickpockets operate.

Tailors, Cobblers, Barbers: All very very cheap. Labor in general is very inexpensive. I got a pair of shoes completely resoled for just 1000 lek. A new suit can cost about 12,000 lek, a steal by Western standards. Haircut for a man is about 300 lek.