Montenegro: now after Russians and Ukrainians there will be Germans

The Oberender family from Coburg, Bavaria province, visited Montenegro for the first time last June. Two months later they bought a house in the village of Utieja, near Bar. After a brief return to Germany, they finally moved to Montenegro in November. "We were interested in different countries such as Bulgaria, Hungary and even Mexico. When we were kids, we vacationed several times in Yugoslavia, in Dubrovnik. "We have long liked the mentality of the people here, especially when they say, 'You work in Germany and we live in Montenegro,'" say Anja and Ralf Oberendera. Both are IT professionals and Ralph is an electrical engineer. Their daughters Hannah and Ella are already in elementary school in Ulcinj and learning Montenegrin, and their younger brother Max will soon follow. They have put their house in Germany up for sale and are waiting for a buyer.

The Oberender family is just one of the German families who have moved to Montenegro over the past year. According to Montenegro's Interior Ministry, there are currently more than 700 German citizens living in the country, which has a population of about 600,000. The increased interest of Germans in Montenegro is also confirmed by the fact that last year German citizens and German companies invested the most money of all foreigners in the purchase of real estate in Montenegro. Foreigners bought real estate worth 370 million euros in the first 10 months of 2022, according to the Central Bank of Montenegro. In first place are the Germans with 57 million euros, followed by the Russians, who invested 50 million euros. It is not doubtful that this was also influenced by the program of economic citizenship and obtaining a Montenegrin passport in exchange for investment.

"This is not a surprise for us, because we have heard from many people that they have bought houses in Montenegro or moved here," the Oberenders say, but they also stress that Montenegro is not exactly a "paradise country" - some Germans have complained that they overpaid for their properties relative to their actual quality. Germans in Montenegro are mostly concentrated in Bar, and they are already called "Bar Germans". The most famous of them is Michael Bader, who has been living in the village of Utjeja for 15 years and helps many compatriots when they come to Montenegro. He helped the Oberlanders, too. Bader used to live in Germany near Koblenz, and after Montenegro's independence referendum in 2006, he bought one apartment here, just for vacation. "Back then, I wasn't thinking about tourism or any other business. However, soon I happened to rent this apartment and the first tourists came to me. The next year, more of them came. Then I realized what a developing opportunity it was and gradually replaced Germany with Montenegro," says Bader.