Croatia vs Montenegro – Best Country to Work, Live, do Business and Retire?

00:00 Intro
02:13 Job Market
03:18 Cost of Living
04:13 Real Estate
05:16 Visa and Residence Permits
07:12 Taxes
07:53 Weather
08:48 Infrastructure
09:34 Language
Verdict

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-Both countries are in the Southern part of Central or Eastern Europe, Montenegro is a bit more to the east, Croatia is more leaning towards Central Europe. Both have a huge part of their territory on the coast of the Adriatic sea.
-Croatia is a much larger country both in terms of area and population. While Croatia has slightly more than 4 million inhabitants, Montenegro has less than 1 million inhabitants.
-Only Croatia is a member of the European Union.
-Croatia and Montenegro used to be in the same country, Yugoslavia.

Job Market

-Croatia clearly has an advantage.
-Salaries in Croatia are the first aspect of the job market in which Croatia has an edge. The average net salary in Croatia is roughly 900 euros per month. In Montenegro the average salary is somewhere around 450 euros per month. Both in net figures.
-Croatia also has a lower unemployment rate than Montenegro.
-If you are looking for a job Croatia is definitely the best choice.

Cost of Living

-In terms of cost of living, Croatia is clearly more expensive than Montenegro. However, that does not necessarily apply to all aspects of your monthly expenses.
-Since salaries are significantly higher in Croatia, you can expect to pay more for everything related to any kind of services.
-Taxi rides, taking care of your pets, restaurants, all of this will definitely be more expensive in Croatia.
-Groceries however do not have a significant price difference in Croatia and Montenegro.

Real Estate

-Croatia is also more expensive than Montenegro in terms of real estate, but there are other important differences regarding properties in both countries.
-Both in Croatia and in Montenegro, the capital cities, Zagreb and Podgorica are more affordable than most towns and cities at the seaside. Podgorica is cheaper than Zagreb, with prices for sq meter around 1500 euros, while in Zagreb, many properties are around the 2 to 3k euros range.
-At the seaside things are definitely more expensive.
-Rental yields and growth potential are similar in Montenegro and Croatia.

Visa and Residence Permits

-In terms of visa and residence permits is where Montenegro is much, but really, much more appealing than Croatia.
-If you are an EU citizen you can move to Croatia even without a reason, as long as you have funds to cover your stay. But if you are not an EU citizen, the options are really poor in Croatia.
There are a few options like a 1 year residence permit as a person without an economic activity, and also a 1 year visa for digital nomads. The problem is that both of them are not renewable.
-In Montenegro on the other hand, everything is a breeze if you are a remote worker, entrepreneur or retiree.
-You can get a residence permit in Montenegro by opening a company or buying real estate. There is no minimum requirement in terms of how much the real estate should cost or how much you have to invest in the company to be able to apply for a residence permit.

Taxes

-Taxes are another aspect in which Montenegro has an edge over Croatia.
-Montenegro uses a flat tax system but for companies as well as for individuals. Currently the rate is 9%.
-That said, Croatia still has not too high taxes considering it is an European Union member.

Weather and Climate

-The weather and climate are similar in Montenegro and Croatia.
-The coastal areas in both countries have a Mediterranean climate, with warm summers. The beauty of living at the seaside is that it rarely gets too cold, in both countries.
-If you like mountains Montenegro is probably a better choice. It has higher mountains than Croatia, and in fact it has plenty of them.
-If we compare the capitals, Podgorica is slightly less cold than Zagreb during winter, however, it gets more days of extreme heat in summer.

Transport Infrastructure

-In terms of infrastructure, Croatia has an edge over Montenegro.
-Since Croatia joined the European Union, EU funds were poured into various infrastructure projects in the country.
-Since Croatia is more populated than Montenegro, it also reflects in terms of transport infrastructure. While Croatia has several airports with international flights, Montenegro has just two, one in Tivat and one in Podgorica.

Language

-The Croatian, the Montenegrin and the Serbian language are mutually intelligible, so you won’t have a harder time in any of these countries to learn the language. They are equally pretty difficult.

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