The internet
| Where | Typical fixed line | Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Podgorica | 100 – 500 Mbps | Strong 4G/5G |
| Kotor, Tivat, Budva | 50 – 300 Mbps | Strong |
| Herceg Novi, Bar, Ulcinj | 50 – 200 Mbps | Good |
| Kolašin, Žabljak | 20 – 100 Mbps | Variable |
| Villages and katuns | Unreliable or none | Patchy to none |
Fixed connections in the cities are genuinely good. The failure mode is not speed — it is power cuts and summer load, which take out an apartment's router for an hour at a time on the coast in August.
What a month costs
| Podgorica | Kotor / Budva, off-season | Coast in August | |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-bed apartment, monthly | €350 – €550 | €450 – €700 | €1,500 – €3,000 |
| Coworking desk | €80 – €150 | €100 – €180 | Same |
| Utilities and internet | €60 – €110 | €60 – €120 | Higher, aircon |
| Eating, mixed | €250 – €400 | €300 – €450 | €400 – €600 |
| Rough monthly total | €750 – €1,100 | €900 – €1,400 | €2,000+ |
The two months not to do it
July and August on the coast. Rent triples because every apartment goes to holiday lets, the towns are full, the cafés are loud, and air conditioning runs constantly. Anyone working through the summer either books a long lease in spring or moves inland.
Podgorica in August is the opposite problem — 40 degrees and an empty city, because everyone left for the sea. Quiet, cheap and extremely hot.
Where to base
- Podgorica — best internet, cheapest rent, the airport, the railway, and everything in the country within 90 minutes. Ugly and functional and nobody picks it.
- Kotor / Dobrota — the nicest place to live, workable internet, expensive and crowded in summer
- Tivat — modern, quiet, the airport, good connectivity, dull
- Bar — cheap, real town, on the railway, underrated
- Kolašin — mountains, cool in summer, weaker connectivity
The residence permit
Montenegro operates a temporary residence route for remote workers employed or contracted outside the country. Broadly it wants proof of employment or contracts abroad, proof of income, health insurance, a clean record and an address here.
It is applied for inside the country, takes weeks rather than days, and the requirements change. Check the current position with the Ministry of Interior or a local lawyer rather than with a blog — including this one.
Without it, the ordinary visa-free allowance is 90 days in any 180 for most nationalities, and the 24-hour registration rule applies from the first day.
Coworking
There are spaces in Podgorica, Kotor, Tivat and Budva. The scene is small — a few dozen people rather than a few hundred — which means it is easy to meet everybody and there is not much choice. Monthly desks run €80 to €180.
Cafés work as offices here in a way they do not everywhere: a coffee buys the table for as long as you want it, and nobody will ask you to leave.
