Albania as an alternative to Montenegro
Security is certainly an issue in Albania, however, my experience has been that the negative impressions rightly earned in 1997-8 are slow to change. In fact, the security situation in Albania has gotten better by an order of magnitude and continues to improve. Like any country where there is poverty and unemployment, Albania has a crime problem. Not as bad as areas of Naples, Marseilles, Rome, Manchester or several other European cities I have spent time in.
I've lived in the country for almost three years in total now and visited regularly when living elsewhere and have never had a problem, never felt threatened, and have travelled extensively throughout the cities and countryside. Care is needed and security as an issue should be examined before investing here, but don't let the outdated, inaccurate horror stories dissuade you from experiencing the country firsthand.