Portonian profile - Peter Milkin

Peter Milkin lives, works and enjoys a life less ordinary in Porto Montenegro at its best. His first visit to Montenegro was in July 2009, when he and his spouse came to Budva as tourists. Wanting to explore the surroundings, they hoped on a rent-a-car, drove towards Kotor and by a mistake took the old road towards the hills above Kotor. While sitting there for a while, speechless, they were contemplating the panoramic views of the bay. The couple then decided to come back and rent a house in Dobrota for an entire year. After 3 weeks of autumn in Dobrota, they changed their mind and moved back to Moscow.

Meanwhile, the family lived in Holland and Belgium but was coming to Montenegro, particularly to the inner part of the Boka Bay, still impressed by the dramatic landscape and warm sunny days spent here.

Peter wanted to give it another try and decided to explore other regions to live in Montenegro. He Googled international schools, set up an appointment to visit the Knightsbridge Schools International where he was completely blown away with the fact that there was an IB school (A school at that time, gained IB certificate shortly after Peter’s visit) in Tivat, a few steps away from a marina village that also wowed Peter. That is when Peter decided he would definitely move to Montenegro.

In 2017 Milkin family moved officially to Porto Montenegro, became a homeowner and KSI parent.

 

To bring you Peter’s full experience we did a short interview with him:

Why did you choose to move to Montenegro?

Peter Milkin: I have lived in several European countries. None of them had offered me such a convenient and comfortable family life. I live in a waterfront marina residence, 5 minutes away from my office and my daughter’s school and 7 minutes away from the airport.

My daughter attends a great school, is very happy, has made many friends here. My wife can work from home (she is an Interior designer), is inspired by the beauty of the country and the people she is surrounded with. We have made great friends through the Knightsbridge School.

 

Where do you work?

Peter Milkin: I am Managing Partner at Crown Spirits Group, an international alcoholic beverages producer and distributor. We are managing a range of our own trademarks and we are distributing well-known alcoholic brands.

Most of my work happens online since 2014 and I can do my job from any part of the world. Montenegro is convenient because it is somehow centrally positioned and during my workday, I can manage meetings with European markets, South Korea but also the US. The time difference is perfect, the internet connection is strong – that’s all I need. If I need to travel to a meeting, the airport is 10 min drive from home (not 1h30 like it was in Amsterdam) and in 2-3 hours I reach any major European city.

My office use to be my home. When Porto Montenegro introduced the first co-working space, the Innovation Center, I have moved my ‘office’ there. When the new Arsenal Business Club came to life, I rented an office there and now I have it all.

 

What is your favourite part of Porto Montenegro?

Peter Milkin: Arena and Blue Room definitely. Coming from a big city, you always look for a piece of green land or a park to spend some time in and reset. I now have it at literally 2 minutes away from my office. I can have a business call or meeting while walking through Tivat large Captain’s park or sitting on a bench and overlooking the Arena – 17000 m2 of green lawn where I also love to a picnic with my family.

What do you like to do in your time off?

Peter Milkin: I love sports and exercise has always been the integral part of my day and my life. When we moved to Porto Montenegro, we discovered so many interesting activities that we haven’t had the opportunity to try before. We started learning sailing with Jenny, the Sailing Squadron Manager. She is a great teacher! I started doing rowing sessions in the morning – what a discovery that was. In spring and summer, I like playing tennis in the evening. Porto had both outdoor and indoor courts and they are 5 min walk from my apartment.

I like running and I do that all year round, always by the sea. I can start in the marina and finish in any of the little picturesque villages in the bay.

On weekends I do hiking with a friend. There are so many beautiful trails that are so close to Porto. We are exploring them now and we are training to do the Coastal Transversal that stretches from the Croatian to the Albanian borders with Montenegro – a total of 180km.

 

What would you say to someone considering relocating their business affairs to PM?

Peter Milkin: Why spend 2h in transport to and from work, spend the entire working day in a concrete building in a grey and polluted city and having to schedule your time with friends and family a month in advance if you can have it all every day?

I spoke to many of my friends and business partners about it. They all know how great life is here. Many of them visited and got the feel for the life and work we have. Some of them are seriously considering relocating.

The work style changed so much over the past year, we have all witnessed that. We have all seen that working from the office is not the only possible way. Having your morning coffee with sea view, joining a meeting with London at 11am and with New York at 4pm, having a lunch break at home, and enjoying after-work drinks or dinner with your friends – it makes all the difference.