You’re interested in moving to Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Or for all you digital nomads out there, you might be interested in being a mini retired person in Bosnia and Herzegovina or you have a job offer that you can,t refuse?

BiH (“i” = “and” in the Bosnian language) has beautiful history, incredible world heritage sites and is cheap. So I completely understand why you’re searching for the cost of living in Bosnia and Herzegovina and opportunities to live there.

How much money do you need to survive in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

In order to help you answer that, I have pint out 7 areas where your money will consistently go each month to examine how much money you need when you are a move to Bosnia.

These numbers reflect the costs of living alone in the more prominent cities, like the capital Sarajevo and tourist hotspot Mostar, or Banja Luka in the north.  If you are coming as a couple or a family, you can do the necessary multiplications to figure out how much money you need for your needs. Also, keep in mind that smaller and less touristy towns will have a lower Bosnian cost of living. This rule pretty much goes for all the other countries in the Balkans as well.

Rent

For a studio apartment or a one bedroom, the price should be around 200 euros per month in Sarajevo. Depending on what you find, it could be 50 euros more than that, or 50 euros less. Naturally, cheaper apartments under 200 euros will be smaller, not as renovated or outside of the main towns and city centres. Also let me remind you that if you live in the centre of town, apartments will be pricier than those further away from the city centre.  As for Mostar, you can find even cheaper apartments there than you will find in Sarajevo. That rule also applied in Banja Luka.

Utilities 

Basic utilities (electricity, heating, water) are of course cheaper in the summer and more expensive in the winter. If you are paying for the phone, internet, and TV (which will be about 15 euros), as well as heating in the winter months, and you don’t have central heating, utilities could be 60-90 euros for a studio or 1 bedroom apartment. If you have central heating, it could be more, especially if you are also paying for trash, parking and any other building facilities. The summer’s utility bill total is usually about half of the winter’s or much less.

Transportation

For a month-long bus pass, you can expect to pay about 15-20 euros depending on which town you are living in. A one-way bus ticket will be less than 1 euro. So wish you a safe trip

Going Out

Social life varies from person-to-person of course. In Sarajevo and all the big cities nightlife is rich a tasteful during the whole year A nice club in Sarajevo might cost you 15-20 euros by the end of the night. If you stick to a small bar, you could spend 10-15 euros for the whole night. You have a variety of restaurants. If you go to the trendy restaurants in the city centre, you could spend 15-20 euros for some sort of main dish and a couple of drinks. In places like Mostar though, you will be pleasantly surprised to see you can have a nice meal and some drinks for 10 euros or under. So you will be glad to move to Bosnia!

Healthcare 

As an expat, you can’t receive free public healthcare. Be prepared to pay 10-25 euros to see a doctor privately. General physicians will be cheaper than a doctor who specializes in specific or advanced treatments for certain disorders and diseases. In regards to pharmacies, most antibiotics should be less than 5 euros. Other prescription medications for disorders and diseases could be 15-25 euros.

Groceries

Groceries will be pretty cheap in Bosnia by western standards.  If you are just shopping for one or two people, expect to spend about 20-30 euros a week every week and a half. This is where the cost of living in Bosnia and Herzegovina is just awesome and will be worthwhile to move there! 

Total monthly costs

You can get by on as low as 600-650 euros a month in Bosnia.  But to live more comfortably as a one-person expat, ideally, you want at least 700-750 euros a month.

I hope this was helpful and also good luck to you.