Foreign citizens living in Bar are delighted with the sea, the Mediterranean climate, and the hospitality, and they cite the lack of public transportation, lack of facilities for children, unkindness of employees in the state administration, and bureaucracy as disadvantages of the city under Rumija.
In recent years, Bar has become one of the most attractive destinations in Montenegro, chosen by foreigners for life and long-term stays, and they also like the fact that the city is "alive" throughout the year and that they feel safe.
It has long been an everyday occurrence for people from Bar to hear different languages spoken in markets, on the promenade and in parks, schools and other places. Some employees in cafes are just learning Montenegrin, so coffee is often ordered in English or Russian.
According to the results of the 2023 census, 7.534 residents of Bar have foreign citizenship, most of them Russian - 2.853, Serbian - 1.861 and Ukrainian - 941.
A one-way ticket
As some of the immigrants told "Vijesti", they came to Bar because it has a good reputation, although some of them had never visited any city in Montenegro before.
Olga Lukomčenko was born in Odessa, Ukraine. Before moving to Montenegro, she lived in Russia for ten years due to business obligations. She moved to Bar with her husband and two sons in June 2022. The children were five and two years old at the time, respectively, and now attend school and kindergarten in Bar.
"We came to Montenegro with the intention of staying here forever. Our arrival was not temporary or an experiment - we bought a one-way ticket and made a firm decision to start a new life here," Lukomčenko told "Vijesti".
Choosing a city to live in was challenging because, as they say, they had never visited Montenegro before. Although they had traveled extensively in Europe, Montenegro was unknown to them. They relied on information from the Internet, other people's experiences, and what they could learn from afar.
The bar attracted them for several reasons, says Lukomčenko. It is a city that "lives" all year round, which was very important to them - they did not want a place that only functions during the summer season. What impressed them the most, he points out, was the hospitality of the people, and they already have friends, acquaintances, and workers in supermarkets who are happy to welcome them...
"Also, there is good infrastructure for families here, lots of schools, kindergartens, playgrounds and activities for children. Safety was another key factor, Bar has proven to be a peaceful and safe place to raise children," she said.
She says that she likes nature the most, especially the sea, which she adores because she was born by the sea, but also the mountains, which her husband loves because he comes from the Caucasus. She says that they spend most of their time in nature, by the sea, in the forests, and exploring Old Bar.
"Today, after more than two and a half years of living here, we can safely say that we did not make a mistake in our choice. On the contrary, we feel at home and Bar delights us every day."
In love with the city, my wife came along too
Twenty-two-year-old Aljanur Masoničić moved to Bar last year from the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan, and says that from the first day she fell in love with her new city, where she also found her husband.
What she likes most is that everything is close by - shops, cafes, the beach, playgrounds. She points out that she doesn't have to travel far, everything is within reach, which is especially important to her because she has a small child. What she likes most is walking along the promenade with her family, enjoying the sea air and atmosphere.
The biggest difference between Bar and her hometown is the sea, which makes the city under Rumija special to her.
"The other thing is the people. They are much kinder and more attentive here, especially towards pregnant women, mothers with children, the elderly and people with disabilities. You can feel that at every step, and I really enjoy living in such an atmosphere."
Masoničić says she feels very comfortable, especially since she married Baranin and Bar has become her true home.
"People here are very warm. They accepted me with warmth, and that makes my life here comfortable and happy."
The opposite of cold and huge Moscow
A 37-year-old interviewee from Moscow, who wished to remain anonymous, said that he moved to Bar last summer from Turkey. They decided on Bar because it has an international school and is located on the coast. They wanted, as they point out, a spacious city with lots of places to walk and relax, and Bar offered just that.
The promenade is a favorite place for him and his family, and he says they also like to regularly visit some of the local cafes and restaurants.
It is difficult for him to compare Bar with Moscow, which has 20 million inhabitants, thirty times more than the entire Montenegro.
“If we look at Bar solely as a city, it differs from Moscow in that it does not have public transport, skyscrapers and a wide range of products in stores. Also, there are few additional educational activities for children, apart from football and basketball. Maybe there was not enough information, so we did not find anything else. However, we found a solution in an international school, which allows the child to do something other than regular classes.”
He says that Bar is very sparsely populated, but he considers that a big plus.
He states that there are almost no traffic jams on the roads compared to Moscow, because there, as he says, the average trip from home to work takes up to two hours, and if you go outside the city - up to seven hours.
"The climate in Bar is much more pleasant than in Moscow; in winter, temperatures in Moscow can drop below -30 degrees..."
Unkindness of civil servants
When asked what they lacked or were not satisfied with in Bar, the interviewees of "Vijesti" mostly said the same things - the lack of adequate public transportation, a shopping center with a larger selection of clothing and footwear, and the unkindness of employees in the state administration.
This was confirmed by other foreigners living in Bar, whom the journalist contacted via Telegram groups that serve as their means of communication in Montenegro.
Some of them also said that there is a shortage of fresh fruit and vegetables, and that they are often already spoiled in stores, and significantly more expensive at the market.
"There is a lack of local language courses that could be organized by the municipality or the state. We attended such courses while we lived in Turkey and they helped us a lot, both in learning the language and in getting to know the culture," said one of the interviewees.
Coastal infrastructure and beaches have long required maintenance and renovation, he believes.
They also encountered bureaucratic challenges, dissatisfaction, and unkindness from civil servants and store employees.
"So far, that's the only negative experience we've had - the administration workers."
One interviewee said that she would like to see the possibility of renting bicycles in Bar, as she believes that it would make getting around more practical and diverse. She also misses a good ice rink, for rollerblading in the summer and ice skating in the winter.
Several of them pointed out that the biggest problem they noticed was the large amounts of waste that tourists leave behind on the beaches, which spoils the atmosphere even for those who now see themselves as "locals".
They also see room for improvement during the tourist season in the arrangement of parking lots.
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