You Should Travel to Eastern Europe (Part 1 of 2)
Here are all the reasons to go.
This is the first of a two-part article about Eastern Europe. Be sure to check out the special offer at the end of Part 1 to make sure you don't miss Part 2.
When Michael and I began nomading in 2017, we never thought we’d end up living in Central and Eastern Europe. We’d planned on living in Europe, sure, but we assumed we’d be in countries we’d heard a lot about, places like France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and the Scandinavian countries — all of which are in Western Europe.
But we quickly discovered something called the “Schengen Area.” This is the 26-nation “open borders” region that covers almost all of Western Europe. Americans on tourist visas can only stay in this entire area for 90 days out of any 180-day period.
We also discovered that a lot of Western Europe is fairly expensive — and these days, the most famous cities and destinations are really crowded with tourists, especially in the summer high season.
So circumstances caused us to venture east — first stop, Bulgaria. To our surprise, we absolutely loved it.
Before long, we found ourselves living in other Eastern European countries such as Romania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Georgia — not to mention destinations more familiar to Westerners, like Hungary and the Czech Republic.
First, a word about definitions. Europe has been divided up a lot over the centuries, often involuntarily. So it’s probably not surprising that even today, people sometimes disagree on which countries are part of which region. For example, while living in Prague, I was pointedly corrected by a local who told me that the Czech Republic is part of Central Europe (along with Germany and Austria), not part of Eastern Europe.
Fair enough. But for the purpose of this series of articles — and for simplicity’s sake — I’m deeming “Eastern Europe” to mostly mean the countries and/or regions that used to be aligned with “the East” — the Soviet Union. I’m also including Turkey, which wasn’t, and which isn’t even entirely in Europe; Istanbul famously exists in both Europe and Asia, depending on which side of the Bosporus Strait you’re on.
A word about the war in Ukraine. It’s true that some of these countries are close to — or even border — Ukraine. I am a very cautious person, but we’ve spent almost the entire year in this area of the world, and while the war is mentioned a lot, it is definitely a world apart.
Still, you may feel differently, especially right now. And even we probably wouldn’t visit Georgia, Armenia, or Moldova this year— in part, because of the sudden exodus of Russians fleeing conscription into the war, but also because these countries are not part of NATO.
(For what it’s worth, a Georgian friend tells us that people there actually feel much safer now from the threat of invasion; because the war has gone so disastrously for Russia, the thinking is that the Russians can’t risk another military failure.)
All this said, here are the reasons why we think you should consider this part of the world for your future travel plans.
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I’ll be frank: I’ve been absolutely shocked by the hordes of people who now descend on the popular tourist destinations of Western Europe. If Covid forced people to stop traveling for a year or two, things are now worse than ever — and just about every travel expert predicts things are going to get even worse in the years ahead.
I love to travel, but at some point, there are so many tourists in a given place that it fundamentally changes whatever made that place special in the first place. The location becomes like a museum or theme park; the experience is ossified and unchanging, with essentially the same interchangeable experience for every visitor.
Sure, there are some destinations in Eastern Europe that suffer from overtourism too — notably, Prague and Budapest (both of which are admittedly fantastic cities).
But outside of the really well-known areas, even the larger cities of Eastern Europe don’t have Western Europe’s mad crush of tourists. As a result, the locals are not as jaded or wary about visitors, and it’s much easier to make genuine connections with the people who live there. In Ohrid, Macedonia, Michael struck up a conversation with a man sitting on a bench that led to him inviting us to his remote Macedonian village for a day. This kind of thing is less likely to happen in Venice or even Paris.
Meanwhile, the people who work in the hospitality industry are actually hospitable, even in the high season, and they often seem to enjoy their jobs more.
And the tourists who do exist? They usually come from non-Western parts of the world — Turkey, China, the Middle East, or Russia — which also tends to make the whole experience more interesting.
It’s really inexpensive.
Years ago, I saw a very bad movie called Eurotrip where the main characters go to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia in Central Europe. And they quickly discover their meager amount of cash goes a very long way.
Having spent so much time in this part of the world, I’ve come to understand the powerlessness and deep frustration that many people here feel about their economic situation. As a result, the scene now seems really thoughtless and insensitive to me.
But I still remember arriving in Bulgaria for the first time, and being shocked by how low the prices were: the monthly rent for a great two-bedroom apartment was $300 USD, and nice meals out were typically around $10 USD per person — often including alcohol, dessert, and tip.
Things in Bulgaria might be a bit more expensive now but not too much more.
As a general rule, the trendier and more well-known an area has become, the more expensive it will be. Places like Hungary, Czechia, and Croatia are more inexpensive than most of Western Europe — a bit more affordable in the big cities, and a lot more affordable in outlying areas. Meanwhile, less familiar places like Albania, Bulgaria, and Romania will be dramatically more affordable, one-half to one-quarter the cost of Western Europe (and maybe less).
And if all this talk of overtourism or affordability seems unseemly or exploitative to the locals, keep in mind that these are usually economically depressed countries, and they are currently very eager to welcome more tourists.
The history is amazing.
Sure, the history of Western Europe is fascinating, and it’s wonderful to see it come alive in the form of artifacts, ruins, castles, and churches.
But I’ve spent my whole life studying Western Civilization, and the fact is, it’s also fascinating to learn the history of an entirely different part of the world.
And man, what a history! The Ottoman Empire is at least as interesting as the Greek, Roman, and British ones — and, to my surprise, the empire didn’t completely collapse until 1922. Meanwhile, I’m currently engrossed in the complicated, turbulent history of Yugoslavia, which has now been divided into seven different countries — although not all the countries recognize each other.
Living in this part of the world, the history has also been so much more accessible than I imagined. I studied the Soviet Union in college, and loved it, but that was nothing compared to the first dinner I had, in Romania, with someone who remembered the fall of the USSR from the point of view of the Soviets.
As for the museums, castles, ruins, and other attractions, the bad news is that the tourism industry is generally much less sophisticated, so signage can be somewhat primitive (and isn’t always in English). But the good news is that because everything hasn’t always been Instagrammed and profiled to death, you’re much more likely to find delightful and unexpected travel “discoveries.”
And — this is both a pro and a con — because things are less regulated, it’s usually possible to get closer and more personal with ruins and other historical sites. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, for example, we were able to walk through and climb on the ruins of the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics.
It’s generally really safe.
This part of the world isn’t familiar to most Westerners, and much of what we see on the news involves war and conflict. As a result, I think a lot of people assume these countries must be dangerous.
That hasn’t been our experience at all.
There is some theft everywhere, but for there to be a big problem with pickpockets and other tourist scams, there first have to be a lot of tourists.
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Also, keep in mind that many of these countries are predominantly Muslim. Things I didn’t know about Islam include its strong prohibition against theft — and also how it places such very strong value on hospitality. I also didn’t know just how seriously these decrees are still taken by most of Islam’s practitioners.
We found the same things to be almost as true for the rest of the people in this part of the world, most of whom happen to be Orthodox Christians.
These differing groups don’t always treat each other very well, but in our experience, they treat tourists wonderfully.
The natural beauty is incredible.
Since one recurring theme in this article is how many stereotypes and misconceptions I had about Eastern Europe, I’ll admit to one more: based on pictures I’d seen of the Soviet Union, I assumed most former Eastern Bloc countries would be spoiled by industry and heavy development.
Once again, pretty much the exact opposite is true. Romania’s forests are so dense and wild that we once heard wolves howling in the distance. And we were warned to be on the lookout for grizzly bears, which number in the thousands and still occasionally kill people.
It’s true that some of Eastern Europe was exploited and developed during the Soviet era, but much of that industry has since been abandoned, and the wreckage and remnants of that development can be just as interesting as the ruins from medieval and Roman times.
Meanwhile, many of the forests and lakes were never developed at all and now seem downright pristine — or at least as pristine as possible given that humans have lived in this area for thousands of years.
Nutshell? For Westerners, Eastern Europe can be a surprisingly “easy” travel destination.
Michael and I have traveled all over the world — to Europe, Australia, Asia, and Central and South America. And the truth is, some countries have been a bit challenging for us as Westerners.
I expected Eastern Europe to be challenging too, but it really hasn’t been. Not all cities and countries are equally developed, of course, but many areas are almost as developed and comfortable as Western Europe — with much lower prices and many fewer tourists.
Meanwhile, English is widely spoken in most of the major cities — especially by people under the age of thirty. And even in more remote areas, there will usually be someone nearby who speaks English, and if there isn’t, there is always Google Translate.
Like what you hear? Then Eastern Europe is a place you definitely consider as a future travel destination.
This article continues in You Should Travel to Eastern Europe, Part 2, a comprehensive article that includes the drawbacks to travel to Eastern Europe, and also the pros and cons of specific countries. This article is paid-subscriber-only.
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Brent Hartinger is a screenwriter and author. For more about Brent, visit him at BrentHartinger.com.
Please offer some advice. Let's suppose a traditionally masculine Gay couple in their mid-60's (older than you two Gents), want to follow in your travel footsteps. They're traveling in a predominantly Muslim region in Eastern Europe, or maybe in the Middle East. These two men are friendly, polite and respectful travelers and strike up a conversation with men in a mosque or other obvious environment that frowns upon or prohibits homosexuality. A local asks if the two men are related. Do they - SHOULD THEY - pretend to be brothers or cousins, so as not to offend anyone or endanger themselves? Or do they proclaim they are married to one another, are "Friends of Dorothy" and turn this simple, harmless inquiry about their relationship into a potentially explosive situation or even a "teachable moment?" I can appreciate you want to live with personal dignity. In this situation, one of the Gay men wants to fib the details to keep things, simple, light and safe. The other Gay man in this couple, feels he must speak his truth when asked. And that's when the fireworks will begin. As the internets seem to have very few normal, grounded Gay couples such as yourselves, please take a moment and share how you would handle this situation. One of the men in this couple wants to skip his way through this merry encounter and the other believes they will be confronted with being taken into custody, imprisoned, in which case, things go badly -- and not in a Gay sex fantasy way. Thank you! We found you from the Nomad Capitalist and look forward to following along with you. And BTW, determining how best to handle this is shockingly in 2023, one of our top concerns! (Thought we and the world were way past this!)
I second all of this! Eastern Europe is amazing and so different from the usual places.
Being near a war zone is a strange, surreal thing. I lived in Vienna when the war in Yugoslavia was happening, and you never would have known it and they're only a train ride apart.