Meeting Other Expats
Lake Ohrid, Pogradec, Albania
When we were researching whether Albania would be appropriate for us, we discovered two YouTube channels created by American expats who had already made the move: Retire Overseas With Patrick and New Life Albania. Patrick and his wife, April, are retirees, like ourselves, and Andrea from New Life Albania is a single mom with a 17 year old son. She is a digital nomad. In other words, she can do her American job from anywhere in the world, because it’s remote work.
It was so helpful to see the daily accounts of these real people making this major change in their lives (as opposed to travel vloggers). Watching them, and corresponding through comments, helped us cement our decision to focus on Albania.
Interestingly, Patrick and April became acquainted with Andrea online before either of them made the move, and then they arrived within a few months of each other. Both families, initially stayed in the capital city of Tiranë. But wanting a smaller city and a somewhat cooler climate, they both moved to Pogradec.
Realizing our rental car lease was nearly up, we decided to go meet them the last weekend in July. We spent both evenings having drinks near the lake and getting to know each other.
Besides, Patrick, April, and Andrea, we also met Andrea’s new beau, Craig. The two of them now share a channel: Andrea and Craig’s Odyssey. All of them are remarkable people.
Andrea with Valentino - everyone loves Valentino.
Vistas of Lake Ohrid
The view of Lake Ohrid from our AirBnB
Unfortunately, the skies were pretty hazy when we there due to wildfires in Greece. Still, the area is incredible.
Lake Ohrid straddles the border between Albania and North Macedonia. It is one of the oldest and deepest lakes in Europe.
Quick Stats
Maximum length: 36 km / 22 miles
Maximum width: 17 km / 10 miles
Surface area: 358 sq. km / 138 sq. miles
Average depth: 155 m / 509 ft
Maximum depth: 288 m / 945 ft
Satellite photo courtesy of NASA - public domain
Recently, the oldest European settlement was located along its shore. The site is over 8,500 years old.
Quick Jaunt
Pogradec is 3.5 hours from us. This trip was just a quick jaunt to spend time with people who psychologically helped us make this life-changing move. We enjoyed them and Pogradec itself. We will be back.
