Living Conditions in North Macedonia

General considerations

To learn more about living and working in North Macedonia, applicants are encouraged to connect with a recruiter to discuss any specific considerations that could affect their service. In addition, please visit the U.S. Department of State's North Macedonia travel information pages for the latest on travel advisories, local laws, and special circumstances.

Applicants who undergo an interview will have additional opportunities to raise questions or concerns. If, upon learning more information, an applicant would like to be considered for a different assignment from the one they have been assigned to serve in, the Peace Corps can often find an alternate option that may be a better fit.

Communications

Mail

During pre-service training, all mail should be sent to the Peace Corps North Macedonia office at the following address:

[Peace Corps Trainee name]

Miroven korpus Severna Makedonija
Osma Udarna Brigada, 2
1000 Skopje
Republic of North Macedonia

Mail takes a minimum of ten days to arrive in North Macedonia. As soon as you know your mailing address at your site, incoming packages and letters must be mailed directly to your site (not to the Peace Corps office). Please check with your local post office branch to open a post office box or determine another way to get your packages. You will be responsible for arranging forwarding of any packages delivered to Skopje after you have arrived at your site.

The post office charges package pick-up fees (for administrative processing). The fee depends on the weight and the contents of the package (usually $2-$5 per package). Please consult your local post office before you receive any large packages. You are responsible for paying all fees/taxes associated with your packages.

Packages should not contain alcohol, liquids that contain alcohol (such as perfume), tobacco, or tobacco products. Incoming packages are subject to customs regulations and import duties may be assessed.

Packages sent by an individual are free of import taxes and VAT only if the value of the package content is not over 45 EUR. If valued over 45 EUR, all packages are subject to additional fees. Please advise your friends/family of this limit when they state the value of the item. Customs may inspect packages that appear to contain valuable items or are large/heavy.

For more detailed information regarding packages sent from abroad and the charges around them, please visit the following website: https://www.customs.gov.mk/mali-pratki.nspx

Telephones

Peace Corps North Macedonia will provide Trainees an allowance for cell phone data/minutes on a SIM card during the first month in country. You will need to bring your own “unlocked” phone (meaning, you can use any SIM card from any provider) or purchase a device in country. Your living allowance will include sufficient funds to cover reasonable cellphone usage. Many Volunteers make international and local calls by using Internet calling programs, such as WhatsApp and Google Voice.

Internet

Internet service is available throughout North Macedonia. Most host families will have Wi-Fi. You are strongly encouraged to bring a laptop or tablet with you. If you are unable to bring one, a tablet can be temporarily provided to you for the pre-service training period. Some of the pre-service training will be done online and you will be required to submit online reports and monitor e-mail throughout your service. Insurance is recommended, but not required, for your computer and other electronic gear.

Housing and site location

You will live with a host family during the 11 weeks of pre-service training, and during your two years of service. Living with a host family will help Volunteers learn the customs and cultures of the host country nationals, making it easier for Volunteers to integrate into the community as well as stay healthy and safe.

Peace Corps Volunteers are expected to adjust to the daily habits, customs, and lifestyle of their host families to learn about the similarities and differences in host country culture and American family behavior, as well as share American culture and traditions with their host family. Volunteers will participate in host family events and daily chores like cleaning and cooking. Volunteers are expected to respect the individual rules of each household as explained to them by host family members and through observation of local religion, customs, habits, etc. This includes appearance, behavior, and attitude. Volunteers may cook and eat together with their host families. Depending on the situation, Volunteers may negotiate with their host families to cook for themselves and eat meals on a different schedule.

Volunteers are expected to be frugal in their use of utilities because of the extremely high cost of electricity. Electrical sockets in North Macedonia fit standard European plugs, so if you bring an adapter shaped like a square, it may not fit into the socket. It is better to buy 220-volt appliances when you arrive in North Macedonia.

Volunteers should be mindful that smoking is widespread and common in North Macedonia. Secondhand smoke indoors is largely unavoidable, and it is considered rude to ask someone to refrain from smoking.

Living allowance and money management

Volunteers receive a monthly living allowance and housing/utility allowances designed to enable you to maintain a modest lifestyle. These allowances are deposited in your Macedonian bank account in denars every month and are intended to cover housing/utilities, food, household supplies, local transportation, toiletries, recreation, entertainment, and incidental expenses.

Lifestyles are different here than in the States, but most Volunteers who adopt a Macedonian lifestyle find their living allowance to be sufficient for their needs. In other words, the lifestyle you adopt while serving in North Macedonia will largely determine the adequacy of the living allowance. If you adopt a typical Macedonian lifestyle, your living allowance will be adequate.

Credit cards can be used in some locations in Skopje, particularly those that cater to tourists. ATMs are available throughout the country. Volunteers must retain an active bank account in the United States for the duration of their service, and post staff will assist Trainees in setting up a Macedonian bank account. Currency should only be exchanged at banks and legal change bureaus; changing money on the street is illegal.

Food and diet

“Homemade” is the best word to describe the fare on a Macedonian dining table. Peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbages, onions, garlic, meat (chicken, beef), and sunflower oil are staples in Macedonian cooking. Olive oil is available, but typically more expensive. The meat most often found in restaurants and shops is mutton, beef, chicken, or pork (in Macedonian-owned establishments only), though fresh fish is occasionally also available. White and yellow cheese, eggs, milk, and yogurt are also a regular part of the Macedonian diet.

While it is usually possible to eat a vegetarian diet, it is not common in North Macedonia and requires a level of responsibility on the part of the Volunteer to communicate with their host family and flexibility/adjustment to the Macedonian diet. Even after communicating that you are vegetarian/vegan, your family may cook food with meat/dairy and remove it from your portion or state, for instance, that poultry is not meat and still want to serve it to you. Lentils, beans, and rice are widely available, as are peanuts and other kinds of nuts. Certain fruits and vegetables are considered exotic (avocado, asparagus, mango), are quite expensive, and very rarely consumed in an average family.

Typically, host families will cook with the produce that is in season, which means a more monotonous diet during winter (cabbage, potatoes, carrots, rice) and more variety in spring and summer. Availability of various fresh produce is different in different sites. With the rise of the living expenses, it is very common for families to reduce the meat in the meals and stick to vegetable stews and homemade dough of any kind, which makes the homestay diet heavy in carbohydrates and fats.

Eating out at restaurants may be a little more difficult for vegetarians, as most menus consist of meat dishes. You will never go wrong ordering a salad and bread. Along with a wide variety of vegetables, fruits are plentiful in season. North Macedonia is widely known for the production of fruits and vegetables. You can make your own juice and jam from these or they may be available in local stores.

Transportation

North Macedonia has a network of bus routes, as well as some train service, which makes it possible to travel to practically all destinations by public transportation. Getting around is relatively inexpensive, with city bus rides costing less than one U.S. dollar. Most Volunteers utilize buses or shared vans/taxis to get around the country. As you would anywhere else, you should take care to protect your valuables while using public transportation. Traffic in North Macedonia can be hazardous—many vehicles are older, and the road conditions differ from those in the United States. Most major highways are in good repair, but many secondary urban and rural roads are not maintained and are poorly lit, and the mountain roads may be narrow, poorly marked, and lack guardrails. Pedestrians should be attentive when crossing the streets, even on crosswalks, because many drivers do not respect the given traffic rules. In winter, it is not uncommon for roads to become blocked due to snow and ice.

North Macedonia has an international airport with many flights leaving for numerous destinations in Europe every day and bus transportation to neighboring countries is affordable.

Social activities

You will find no shortage of entertainment opportunities in North Macedonia. There are museums, concerts, theaters, athletic events, hot springs, outdoor markets, historical and ethnographic centers, coffee shops, bars, discos, and cinemas for you to enjoy. Most recently released American films are shown in theaters in English with Macedonian subtitles.

North Macedonia boasts some of the most magnificent natural areas in Southeastern Europe, with a great diversity of flora and fauna. Opportunities for outdoor recreation include hiking, camping, rock climbing, and birdwatching. During the summer, locals flock to Lake Ohrid to enjoy its pristine waters and beautiful scenery. During the winter, North Macedonia’s several ski resorts attract skiers from all over Europe.

Professionalism, appearance, dress, and behavior

Professionalism in the Peace Corps requires an awareness of the host community workplace culture, community values, and your self-presentation. To maintain a positive, culturally appropriate professional standing within a host community or workplace, Volunteers may need to adjust their style of dress, hair style, make-up, piercings, manner of greeting others, etc., to demonstrate respect for local culture and customs. How you present yourself, in both informal and professional settings, is a reflection of you as an individual and of you as a representative of Peace Corps and the United States. In the U.S., dress (and other elements of personal appearance) may be seen as an expression of personal freedom and identity. In many host countries where Peace Corps Volunteers serve, the way you dress and present yourself may be interpreted as an expression of regard—or disregard—for those host community members around you.

Volunteers are encouraged to spend time in their communities, develop their language skills, and get to know individual members of their community to better understand their traditions, culture, and local norms. As mutual trust is established over time, there may be opportunities for Volunteers to adjust their personal appearance and dress outside of the more rigid local standards. Volunteers are encouraged to discuss these potential adjustments with staff and other cultural mentors.

One of the difficulties of finding your place as a Peace Corps Volunteer is fitting into the local culture while maintaining your own cultural identity and working as a professional. It is not an easy situation to resolve, and Peace Corps can provide you with guidance. While there are no hard and fast rules, a foreigner who wears ragged or dirty clothing is likely to be considered disrespectful and possibly unreliable. Improper attire creates difficulties in gaining the respect and acceptance of your Macedonian and Albanian colleagues. You will have occasions to dress up regularly, so bring some more formal attire in addition to professional clothes appropriate for everyday wear in the office or classroom. Think business casual.

Visible body piercings (other than earrings for women) and tattoos for both men and women are not generally accepted in a majority of professional settings.

Earrings are generally only accepted as appropriate for women and people who present as women. Men and individuals who do not present as a woman should avoid earrings and other visible body piercings to be culturally appropriate during service.

Beards are that are fairly short and neatly trimmed are generally accepted.