Italy, Serbia and Real Estate: Why do Balkans choose apartments on the Adriatic coast?

Over the past eight years, Anja B*. (last name withheld) from Belgrade and her family moved to Trieste after her husband got a job in this Italian city in northern Italy, formerly a popular shopping destination for Yugoslavs. They lived in the city center for the first year before moving to the luxurious suburb of Duino, home to the World Union College of the Adriatic. Anja says, "This neighborhood can be compared to the upscale Belgrade neighborhood of Dedinje. Villas are mostly built here, and rich people live here." There are also apartment buildings here, in one of which my husband and I recently bought an apartment because we had a favorable opportunity. However, for the price we paid here, we would never have been able to buy such an apartment in Dedinje."

Trieste, a city in the far east of Italy near the border with Slovenia, is 621 kilometers from Belgrade, or about six and a half hours by car.

Anja's family is one of about 4,000 Serbian citizens currently living in the city of Trieste, and in the wider environment, Italian authorities have registered 18,000 such citizens, according to the Italian tax office (Agenzia dell'Entrate).

Mirjana Bubčić, owner of real estateagency CasArte Immobiliare, says she sells 15 to 20 apartments in Trieste every year to Serbian citizens, mostly from Belgrade and Novi Sad.

Besides education for children and job opportunities, some people from Serbia and the Balkan region are also attracted by the real estate prices in Trieste. For the price of a studio apartment in Belgrade, you can buy a one or two bedroom apartment in Trieste. Approximately fifty apartments in the city center are currently offered on the website of the leading real estateagency Immobiliare.it. The average price for one or two bedroom apartments is between 50,000 and 70,000 euros. Most of the apartments on offer require renovation, but there are also some in good condition.