Of those Balkan bases ,skopje is one of the better...it's polluted in the winter mainly...so yes in the winter but not in the other periods more than other cities like Bucharest etc. People ****ting in the streets are most likely called gipsies which you can find in every European city, in some cities they are just not so visible and more sofisticated. Last time I visited the city it had improved a lot with nice statues etc, not like 10 years ago...