When communist regimes in Eastern Europe collapsed roughly 10 years ago, a prominent leader of the democratic movement in Albania was quoted to say: We don't need to go westward, because geographically our country is situated more westward than most of the Eastern European states . If we consider this country not by its geography, but by its social standards, then it will become the easternmost among all the former communist states in Europe.

Forget everything you have learned about Eastern Europe when you are planning to go to Albania. Don't think you can understand its people by simply transfering your own experience from other poor countries you have already visited. Albania is something unique and it will remain unique in Europe for a long time ahead.

If you plan to settle in Albania as a foreign specialist, don't rely too much on internet as a source of information. Most real estate companies in the country don't even have an idea what the Internet is about. In a society with only 20 000 phone lines, the communications are made by word of mouth. When you are an Albanian businessman and want to check the market situation in the near town, you simply get on the car and go there. (Warning: The roads in Albania haven't been repaired for decades so it will take you a whole day for simply going to and returning from a town which is situated at 90 miles from your home).

To get an even more finely-tuned picture, note that the majority of the population doesn't have running water; that almost half of it hasn't electricity; and that even in the capital of Tirane the rubbish is not collected by a local service but simply are amassed on the streets and burned.

This doesn't sound very promising but that isn't a whole story. There is absolutely no way to find anything like a street, or house number, or even a town. There are no indications whether you are going to the south or to the north. You need a local person to show you everything, but remember, every service has its price. When you arrive for the first time at the Tirane airport (now it looks much more personable than 3 years ago thanks to the American military presence since 1999), never accept taxi services without knowing the exact price. Usually when it comes to service a foreigner, the price for going from the airport to Tirane starts at $100 (for 20 miles). If you refuse such legal form of robbery, the taxi driver can reduce its greediness to as low as $20-$30.

Like the most highlanders, Albanians put the family values and links above all. If you want to establish your business in the country, the state approval is one thing but the strong-man approval in the given region is also vital. Frankly speakung, it is far more important than any state authority regulation. Closer relations with the local strong-men mean access to many services at cheaper rates.

Without good relations with the local elite, you will never achieve your business goals and will soon return home. When returning, don't forget to pay your visa because the entry visa tax in Albania is paid when you are leaving the country.

But let's imagine that everything goes smoothly and you are charmed by the natural beauties of the country. You will have to settle, to rent a house or apartment, and in this case good relations with the regional elite are very important. A good and big house in the capital can be rented for $1200 a month. If you want something special, the rent can reach $3000. When we say good or special, we don't mean that the house looks good. From outside Albanian real estate properties look ugly, rude and unfinished. This reflects the Albanian understanding that if you make a house beautiful (westerners like to have beautiful houses), this will be an invitation to robbers. Thus, from the outside the house has to look ugly. You will have to accept this fact if you don't want to be a black sheep. Inside the house you can put everything you want, to mix different styles (Albanians like this very much), but from outside your property will look like it wasn't completed yet.

Real estate prices in the capital seem very high considering that the average salary in the country doesn't exceed $100 a month. Most apartments vary between $300 and $650 per sq.meter (1 sq.meter=10 sq.feet). If you want to rent something, rents for 2-room (not 2BR) apartments go between $200 and $400. 3-room apartment rents can reach $800 and 4-room condos - $1200 a month.

Office rents vary between $5 and $10 per sq.meter a month but they can reach as high as $40 a month in Tirane downtown. Rents for commercial properties are similar. The land, which usually can be purchased for $5-$10 per sq.meter, may reach $100 for the lots to be expropriated around the high-speed interstate road under construction from the Albanian port of Durres to Bulgarian port of Bourgas via Macedonia.

The relatively high prices on the Albanian real estate market can be explained by the fact that more than half of the Albanian males in the active age range (700,000) work abroad, mostly in Italy and Greece. According to the unwritten family code they are obliged to send home part of their salaries, usually $200-$300 a month. These $150-200 million are distributed among the relatives and later are literally thrown on the market which explains the relatively high prices.