Note that the information in this article pertains mostly to Americans or citizens of the United States and no other nationality.
Contents
Living in Europe for 6 months legally, is it possible?
There are two possible ways that you can experience living in Europe for six months legally.
The first way is by staying in a Schengen Zone country for up to 3 months, then moving to another country or a few countries that are outside the Schengen Zone for an additional 3 months, but are still located in Europe. All for a total of 6 months.
The interesting thing about Europe is that many European countries are in the Schengen Zone which is a common visa zone.
With that in mind, Americans are allowed to stay legally in the Schengen Zone as a “tourist” for up to 3 months without a visa.
However, you must also leave after 3 months and cannot return for an additional 3 months.
Basically, it’s 90 days out of every 180 days that you can legally stay in the Schengen Zone.
So what does that leave us for the other three months? Well, there are several countries that are in Europe that are not in the Schengen Zone.
Each country outside the Schengen Zone has their own visa policy. In general, Americans can stay in each of these countries for up to 3 months out of 180 days as well.
So for example, let’s say you decide to stay in Poland, France or Italy for 3 months. Then you decide to go over to Croatia, which is still as of the writing of this article, outside of the Schengen Zone. You could stay in Croatia for up to 3 months as well. This would total 6 months of living in Europe legally.
However, Croatia isn’t the only European country outside of the Schengen Zone. There’s also Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Cypress, Romania and Bulgaria. Let’s not forget countries further east, for example, Ukraine, Moldova, even Georgia. Some might not consider Georgia a part of Europe but, close enough.
Actually, many people do consider Georgia as a part of Europe, though it’s actually in the South Caucasus. In fact, Americans can stay in Georgia for up to one year visa free. If you want to stay an extra year all you need to do is cross the border and return. There are no 90/180 day limits, no waiting periods.
So that’s how you can live in Europe for 6 months legally without visas and residency permits. This does not mean however, that you’re allowed to work, because you’re not.
These are all perfectly legal though, for a tourist. However, if you want to stay in one country in Europe for 6 months legally, you will need to apply for a visa.
Different countries have their own visa rules and types of visas. So you will have to check a particular country’s website.
However, there are other possible visas you can get, like a retirement visa, an education visa, where you would study the language for a year. You can also get an entrepreneur/artist visa in some countries, like Germany or Czechia.
More countries are starting their own “Digital Nomad Visa, for those who work solely online. I would check the French, Italian, Dutch, German, Estonian, Spanish and Czech embassies for these types of visas.
Other countries also may have similar types of visas, but the above are the most common as far as longer term visas for living in Europe legally for six months.
How much money do you need to live in Europe for 6 months?
Of course, how much money you need to live in Europe for 6 months depends on your taste, your budget and why you plan on living for 6 months in Europe.
Europe is also quite a big place and you have expensive countries to the north and west and cheaper countries in the south and east.
A general rule of thumb is, the further east you go the cheaper Europe becomes.
So for example, let’s say you’re going to be backpacking and spending some time in Poland, which is part of the Schengen Zone. You may need $15 to $20 more or less for a hostel bed per night.
You multiply that times 30 and you get about $450 to $600 a month just on your accommodation. Let’s factor in some food and even if you shop at supermarkets for most of your nutritional needs, you may need another $75 to $100 a week.
Plus you want to factor in public transportation, which can run you another $100 a month. You could also pick up a local cell phone package for about 25 to $30 a month, maximum.
So budget at least $1,000 a month more or less this is for Eastern Europe. Western Europe will be a little more expensive.
However, if you go to Western Europe during the off season, meaning the Fall and Winter months to early Spring, you may be able to live on $1,000 a month as well, since hostel prices will be lower.
The best place to live in europe for 6 months.
In my opinion, at least currently, the best place to live in Europe for 6 months would be the Republic of Georgia.
Granted, the Republic of Georgia is on the very outskirts of Europe. Some might not even consider Georgia as a part of Europe.
However, as an American, Georgia allows visa free stays for up to one year. If you like to stay longer than a year, all you need to do is leave and come right back and you get another year.
You also don’t need to wait 3 months in order to return to get that extra year. You could simply hop across the border and come back the same day and get an extra year.
How long the Republic of Georgia will continue this policy, I have no idea.
The world is changing, countries change as well as their visa and immigration policies. But as of the writing of this post and my opinion, Georgia would be the best place in Europe to live for six months.
In addition, to the generous visa policy, the local cuisine is unbelievably good.
Sometimes less can be said for the service at times, but the food is awesome. The wine is not bad at either, although you will need to acquire a taste for it. It’s also very cheap.
Rents can range anywhere from $150 to $1,000 a month for an apartment. Tbilisi, the capital, is quite small and you can easily get around most places you need to go on foot.
Tbilisi also has a decent subway system and it’s very cheap. One subway token to anywhere will cost about $0.10 USD.
Taxis are quite affordable as well. You can go out, have a night on the town, even have a few too many (although I don’t recommend it) and still get a taxi home with one of many taxi apps for as little as $2-$3.
Georgia also has decent internet connections and speeds.
Their cell phone plans are quite affordable as well. I pay on average about $5 a month for mine and it includes data.
Of course, you could pay more and increase your data size.
There are other benefits of living in Georgia too, but for me those are the main attractions.
Living in europe for 6 months, Conclusions.
There you have it. The legal ways of living in Europe for six months. You can take advantage of the generous three-month tourist visa policies of the Schengen Zone as well as other countries within Europe or you can apply for a longer-term visa if you prefer living in one country in Europe for six months or more.
Please note that the three month visa free tourist visa technically does require you to leave the country after 3 months and does not allow you to work.