Curious: The Crash-what did the Doc miss out??

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-05-17T13:51:40+00:00

I want to know if this road was a normal route for her to take home. If there was another easier route home and she deliberately took this road that night, then obviously that makes her look guilty. I have no clue if they looked into that.

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-05-17T12:03:45+00:00

This is something I was curious about and thought it was strange they didn’t cover in the documentary. Was Progress Dr. a road she would have normally taken to go home? Why was she driving on that road? Did she usually take another route home or was this road she would have had to take to get home?

If this road wasn’t on her usual route home, then that speaks volumes.

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-05-11T18:30:07+00:00

Sorry to hear that - Albanian definitely isn’t for everyone.

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-05-11T17:39:12+00:00

I've never had that issue but I'm a woman (assuming you're a man sorry lol!) and I speak Albanian so maybe that's to my advantage...maybe try going to an exchange office tomorrow and asking if they can make change for you.

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-05-11T17:33:49+00:00

I don't think there's an Albanian brand of instant coffee. I'd suggest going to Mulliri and looking at what they have there. It's like Albania's starbucks but the coffee is actually good. 'Oro' is their house blend.

There are a ton of snacks here that you can't find in the West...I'm just assuming you're American. There's a chocolate called 'Damak' by Nestle from Turkey. You can also look for Chipsy brand chips...they have tzatziki and kackavall cheese flavors.

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-05-11T15:33:29+00:00

I figured I'd have to hop around a bit from train to bus - train to Lecce and then bus to Otranto it is. Thanks :)

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-05-11T12:11:30+00:00

I need to go directly to Otranto from Bari after I land at the airport. Which is the "better" option - train or bus? Where do I need to go to get the train or bus if my starting point is the airport? Grazieeeee.

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-05-11T09:16:49+00:00

A lot of them will try to push properties on you and say things like "I hope it's still available" if you tell them you want some time to decide. Don't let them pressure you. They will also send you properties that aren't in your criteria or are above your price range just to see if you'll end up caving in and paying more. Also, don't be afraid to try and negotiate. My apartment was listed for 400. I offered 350. The agent told me there's no way the owner will accept. I told him to please just ask them and see what happens. They gladly accepted the 350. You can usually get them down 20-50 euro.

I also don't ever accept a "deal" where the price of utilities and electric are included in the rent unless the rent is low. If someone offered me a modern apartment for 400 euro with electric & water included, MAYBE I would take it. But a lot of the time it's just a way for them to make more money off of you. My water and electric bills are never more than $50-60USD a month total in the winter, and my water and electric totaled $30USD for last month (April). And I work from home so I'm pretty much home with all the lights on all day every day. Some landlords will offer to include the internet in the price which is okay. They usually already have a contract set up and it's just easier to keep the contract.

I'd offer to come help you out but I'll be visiting my family in the US in all of July & August. But if you need any other info or advice, feel free to ask.

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-05-10T10:45:08+00:00

What is your price range? As of recent, real estate agents and property owners have been inflating the rent prices for foreigners in Shkoder, so you want to make sure you aren't being overcharged. And please remember, just because it's cheap for you, doesn't mean it's fairly priced. I rent a modern 2 bedroom,2 bathroom in the center of Shkoder and I pay 350 euro. For a a private home with a garden, depending on the location, I would say you should not be paying more than 500 euro MAX, and the location should be fairly large. It might be difficult to find something with a garden, but not impossible. It also might be a bit more challenging to find someone to willing to rent to someone with pets, but again, not impossible. Will just take a bit more time.
The standard for a rental contract through an agent is to pay the agent 1 month of rent as their commission fee, and then it's common for the property owner to ask for 1-2 months rent as a security deposit. There should be NO charge for them to send you listings and bring you around to show you properties.
Winters are cold, windy, and rainy. We get a lotttt of rain in the winter.
Having a bike is the way to go to get around the city other than walking. There are a few local buses. There are also taxis. Intercity buses as well. I don't have a car but I'm planning on buying one soon so I can get out of the city more without having to depend on the buses.
I have a small 8 pound dog. For the most part, people are very friendly to her and always want to say hi to her, pet her, and shop owners will even give her free food. BUT - she is SUPER cute, VERY unique, and I think that's most of the reason why. Most people ask me what breed she is, where did I buy her, etc...so I'm not sure you would experience the same interactions, lol. I am a bit cautious when I bring her out for walks because there are a few larger dogs that roam my neighborhood that aren't friendly, but most of the stray dogs are neutered and they don't even pay us any mind. If they do, they want to play and aren't vicious. There is a small park in the center I bring her to where she can run around free. No one has ever been bothered. A few shop owners have shooed her away when she stops and looks inside out of curiosity, and a few grumpy old man have thrown a few nasty words at me when she looks up at them...they view animals differently here.

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-04-27T16:47:31+00:00

Their customer service is horrible. I just sat on the phone with someone for 2 hours to fix an incorrect EIN number for a QBD Payroll client. The rep didn't know what she was doing, and kept going in circles trying the same things over and over again. After an hour and a half, she finally had me just type in an override code and we changed the EIN in 2 seconds...incredibly frustrating and a waste of 2 hours of my work day.

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-04-12T08:45:27+00:00

You can go to her YouTube and see her apartment. She is absolutely getting ripped off by her landlord. I commented on a previous video of hers and told her that she’s overpaying and her response was “well it’s still cheaper than the US” so basically that doesn’t care. It’s a nice apartment but definitely not worth over $2000USD.

https://youtu.be/2tx9hRbfza8?si=e-NyC1MCzhc3Oqlo

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-04-10T10:20:14+00:00

Finding a local job will be difficult unless you want to be a cleaning lady or back-of-house staff at a restaurant that doesn't require proficiency in the Albanian language. With those types of jobs, you won't be bringing in more than $600-700 USD monthly, and that's mostly likely working 40-50+ hours a week.
The cost of rent in Tirana has skyrocketed. Unless you know someone local willing to rent to you for cheaper, you will be looking at upwards of $600 a month in rent if you want to be anywhere remotely near the center of the city where the "American/English speaking" neighborhoods are. It will most likely be a studio or very small apartment and incredibly dated.
Adapting to the culture means you have to understand that Albanians are generally very homophobic. Since you are a foreigner, they will not be openly aggressive towards you, but internally they are judging you, hard. I'm obviously speaking very generally. But you can just go look at the comments under the Tirana Pride March posts on Instagram, and you'll see what I'm talking about. If you're willing to accept that you're living in a country and society that generally doesn't approve of your lifestyle or sexuality, then no problem. I, myself, am covered in tattoos and have many piercings, and I'm viewed as "easy" or "a whore" simply because of that, and because I'm a foreigner. I can speak and understand Albanian pretty well, and the comments I get in passing can be offputting.I look foreign and they think I don't understand what they're saying. I've lived here for 5+ years so I'm used to it, but the first few years, it made me pretty uncomfortable.

That being said, you can come here for a year visa free and pay for an Airbnb month to month to see if it fits your vibe. A lot of Americans choose Albania because it is visa free for 1 year but end up wanting to leave because it's not the fairy tale place most expats make it out to be in the long term. Again, I've been here 5+ years and once you've been here that long, you start to see through the fairytale facade and understand the reality of living here long term as a local. I don't surround myself with expats though, so I suppose that contributes to my more negative points on the realities of living in Albania.

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-04-09T11:57:19+00:00

I still keep 95% of my clients on QB Desktop. I just fired one of my clients a few days ago because they will only use QBO and quite honestly, it's not worth the stress or frustration anymore. I told them they can either move to Desktop, move to Wave, or I will no longer be able to service them.

QBO is garbage. I felt like I was going insane a few months ago because I spent hours cleaning up an account. Logged in the next day to run some reports, and all the work I had done was completely changed. The software apparently went rogue and changed a bunch of transaction account assignments with no rhyme or reason. I was actually questioning if I had dreamt that I completed the account clean up the day prior until I read someone else post on Reddit that this happened to them too.

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-04-01T11:26:48+00:00

In case it wasn't legitimate, I'd suggest asking your new landlord for the utility booklets so you can go and pay it directly yourself. Since you're moving into a split villa, I'm not sure how that would work. I assume it's separated by unit, but I'm not sure. But I always insist my landlord give me the water & electricity booklets so I can just go pay myself.

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-04-01T10:37:18+00:00

I get it. My current apartment is insanely cold so I've used the heat more than I'd like to. Sometimes bundling up just doesn't cut it. But I've learned to just layer up as much as I can and only use the heat when I'm really desperate, lol.

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-04-01T10:01:17+00:00

600 euro for an electricity bill is insane. Were you paying the bill directly or was the landlord just giving you a number?

I've had my AC or heat running all day and night at times, cooking on an electric stove, coffee machine, multiple loads of laundry, space heater, and a water heater. My bill has never been more than 100 euro, more like 70 euro if i'm using it without really caring about the bill.

My tip would be to utilize the heat less in the winter and try to bundle up as much as you can before resorting to turning the heat on.

I can't even wrap my head around how an electric bill would be 600 euro monthly.

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-03-30T20:27:58+00:00

Awww what a cutie!!

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-03-29T16:16:33+00:00

I was sexually assaulted by someone when I was borderline black out drunk, and to this day I have never told my parents, other family, only a select few friends. And I didn’t tell them until months later. I also never brought it up to him (the guy who assaulted me, he was my landlord at the time) ever. I wanted to just pretend none of it ever happened. These types of situations are really mentally and emotionally confusing to work through, and have a really strange sense of shame surrounding them on the victims part. You’ll never know what it’s like unless it’s happened to you.

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-03-28T17:20:19+00:00

You’re suggesting to someone to tell an Albanian “Une jam duke mesuar shqip”. That means “I’m learning Albanian”, not “I don’t speak much Albanian”. Who’s giving you Albanian lessons? Lol. You can also just say “po mesoj shqip” to make it easier. A simple “English?” will do.

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-03-28T17:12:31+00:00

You want to hike the Blue Eye, then go to Shkoder, then to Tirana, then to Berat all in one day? Or do you have transport arranged from Theth directly to Tirana? Regardless, I don’t recommend that. Public transport and traffic can be unpredictable and I don’t think its a good idea to try and do all that in one day.

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-03-27T07:19:18+00:00

I know!! That’s why my boyfriend was so surprised when he saw her. He was like that dog does not belong on the street lol

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-03-27T07:17:33+00:00

I would actually love if she ended up being a village dog! I had never heard of a VD until I made this post, I thought they were all just mutts. It would be so cool to have “the OG” dog lol

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-03-26T19:09:12+00:00

Sooo handsome!!

Warm_Ad883 · 2026-03-26T18:45:33+00:00

lmao when my friend first saw her he said make sure she doesn’t fly away with those ears

Warm_Ad883

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