I binged watched the renovation series and loved it. My wife and I drive from Lincolnshire to Rabac every September. We love the balance of Old town Labin and cocktails by the sea in Rabac. Boat hire is cheap as well, €100 for all day. What's the salary like for Hgv drivers in Croatia.
A video well done, Dusane. Just to add my two cents worth, I took my Canadian born, and Montreal raised wife for a long vacation to Croatia one year. She liked it so much that she convinced me to move there. So, we sold the house, put a whole lot of things into the container, and moved into my cousins house that I had fixed up a few years before. Yeah, we were sitting in a outside cafe in Karlovac in middle of January drinking coffee. You are lucky to find an outside cafe anywhere in Canada, and if you did, the temps in January would be -20C with a windchill of -30C. Snowed the whole month of February, but it all melted away in the first week of March. Took her to a lot of places in Croatia...Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Opatija, Rovinj, places in between...even Budapest, and Klagenfurt in Austria. Came back to Canada due my wifes' family situation in Canada eight months later. One thing that I want to mention is that Croatians are a different lot than Canadians or Americans or Brits. They are far more social, they'll want to know everything about you, they'll talk to you, sometimes in perfect English, sometimes in pigeon English, sometimes only in Croatian. They will invite you over even if they don't speak a word of English. People out West are far more reserved; they don't talk while eating, don't wave their arms while talking, they sit straight in their chairs...different culture, different language, different behaviour, different people. Drove my wife crazy sometimes! "Why is she talking to me, and why does she want to know how I am doing? She doesn't know me", she would say to me. "Welcome to Croatia, Sweetie", I would reply. If you are not from there, you may find life in Croatia "weird". Cheers, Dusane, Nick
I live in Canada and everything you said it's true life in Canada is very lonely and depressing people are weird weather is terrible you are a lucky one life is too short enjoy it Canada is a most expensive Country in the western world .
You have to be born here into the winters to like them... or simply like solitude and experiencing the raw nature....bura will do that to you. :D It forms the mentality of the people as well. At least for Lika and Dalmatia... Inland is a different story.
@@HladniSjeverniVjetar I made a video trying to empower young Croatians by saying there is plenty of opportunity for them if they are willing to work for it or make a business, or work online. But 95% of them are in some kind of victim mindset where they think their only option is minimum wage and they can’t possibly do better. I can’t understand this probably the communist mindset passed down from generation.
@@TomIslav-o7l made a video trying to empower young Croatians by saying there is plenty of opportunity for them if they are willing to work for it or make a business, or work online. But 95% of them are in some kind of victim mindset where they think their only option is minimum wage and they can’t possibly do better. I can’t understand this probably the communist mindset passed down from generation.
Expecting the unexpected and having an open mind are crucial. Put all notions of similarities to your home country away. Some things are easier to accept than others. For example, I will never understand the smoking and dangerous driving but have come to accept the paperwork process. Things in Croatia can take twice the time they do in your home country (in our case that's Canada). They're not streamlined. So much work and effort BUT very, very worth sacrifices. We love living here year round but by law must return to Canada for 6 months after after our temporary residency is over (12-17 months). Though summers here are great, brutal winters on the Canadian prairies are hideous, so we always plan to miss them. We don't mind ghost towns in winter at all but don't enjoy peak summer tourist season. Maybe we're a bit odd. 😊We don't live in a tourist town. What you say is so true! We were also naive. We recommend people interested in moving here to live in the area at least a year. Research, research and research some more. Three to six months is not nearly enough. Being a tourist and being a resident are not remotely similar. Residency is much more enriching! People often wonder how and why we go through the work and apply for residency all the time (can't be renewed). We have no ancestry here. But the benefits would fill a thousand pages! Given the choice, it's Croatia over Canada, hands down. We are in a strong financial position and are thankful for that. Otherwise things may be different. Thank you so much for this!
I was in Croatia almost the whole month of May. It was a beautyfull and relax experience. Also went to Mostar in Bosnia as well. But from the experience I have got is that it's also important to add that the mentally of people differs greatly from city to city. For example Split aside from the history I did'nt really like the atmosphere around there. People where rude, a lot of drunken tourists, local girls completly ignore you. But then I went to both Sibenik and Mostar as well and it was totally the opposite story. Locals are really friendly, not that much tourists, and girls very open for aproaching and/or even approaching you. Zagreb was more in between. Also I found that if you have practiced some Croatian already and want to try speaking to locals then try on elderly people it seems that young people who speak English really could even seem to be harrased if you try talk Croatian to them while the elder ones really appreciate you trying. I"m definatly planning to do another trip in autum and visit other towns as well. And I already made friends in Zagreb btw.
Nice man, yes mentality is going to differ from place to place. I not sure about the harassed thing, Ive always found people are quite happt that you try and speak Croatian. But yes will quickly turn to English if they know it as they want to practice too :) Maybe it might be the way you approach these certain people?
@@Dusan.Grujic I think because they want to speak English also they don't expect a lot of tourist to try speaking the language. I think some young people feel like their intelligence is being underestimated. Especially these days of the social media age which make people more insecure about theirself.
That’s what I’m going to do when I’m (early) retired. Sell my house, rent one cheap one in any location in the Netherlands and live in Croatia for 7/8 months a year in the hinterland of Dalmatia (in the summertime). Go back to the Netherlands in the winter months for max 4 months from November till February. For the months of oktober and march I’m thinking about to go to Portugal, temps are good in those months.
That what I'm also thinking. I'm in a electrical engineering course right now just begun when I came from my Balkan trip. Already have had some knowledge of this field but I want to have official recognition. Especially when having plans for off grid living this is great too. But also I want to produce and sell off-grid energy systems such as axial flux generators for wind or water and help other people installling off grid home systems.
It is getting more expensive. I moved to Croatia in 2018 and the state health insurance monthly bills have doubled in that time but my income has not gone up. The big benefit for me is that there is effectively no equivalent of the UK Council Tax.
You say cost of living has gone up and you'd need 2 incomes to live well. Could you elaborate a bit, ie. What sort of net salary around Zagreb would be needed for a couple to have a good standard of living? Comparable to your standard English level as a house owner etc.
Dont know what the salary is in zagreb but for a family of four i need at least 2,5k euro a month to have a decent life in Zadar. the average wage is 1000 euro
When you say "Britain's culture has been slowly erased", I'm guessing you're referring to England? Things are much different in Scotland and are not as bad as you're saiyng. Britain =/= England only.
I reckon it’s a battle everywhere… at least inland and not in Zagreb. Especially if anything is unique or different (aka car import or documentation 😅) Trades… oh lordy, we’ve had some shoddy work done in our house while we were away for 6 months. I’m a lady and not a tradesman, but my work is a lot better than the “professionals” my parents in law hired. Though I grew up in a family that diy’d all house renos, so I do know my way around tools! Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not being ungrateful for the intentions as the in-laws surprised us and it was very sweet. However, honestly it would have been better not to have had the “professionals” We now have to redo 80% of what was done. Everyone we’ve spoken with haven’t been surprised.
That is interesting. I mostly do everything myself but I did get a local guy to make new hardwood windows. The workmanship was OK but he didn't do what I asked for. I do find it difficult to get materials, especially if they need to be delivered.
@@Phiyedough I agree with materials. I thought Ireland was tough compared to North America where I spent a bit of time. We used Pevex & Bauhaus here… they’re okay but not massive selection. Though recently, through friends of friends, my husband found materials for a project that was close by/cost effective/etc. So I’m starting to think it’s knowing where to find things. The workmanship… well let’s just say the silicone around the sink did not hold up, neither has the plastering around the doorways. Don’t get me started on the shotty laminate installation nor the skirting boards. Those were just the easy jobs and they were all done a few months ago.
@@hc9582 Obviously, you came across some shoddy contractors. I had all the luck in the World while renovating there, and knew where to go to buy the materials. I did a lot of research before I went there, and it helped that I'm a retired architect. So, the contractors couldn't BS me, and none tried. Renovation in Croatia went a million times better than the one I did on my house in Canada. I found the Croatian contractors knew their trade, and did it exceptionally well compared to the shysters in Canada. I had to kick two contractors off the job in Canada, but the guys in Croatia came in on times, usually 7am, and only went home at 10pm. As I said to Dusan when he was renovating his house, you need to find a local architect who has trade or contractor contacts when doing work, not just in Croatia, but anywhere for that matter.
@@Phiyedough Delivery in Croatia is a bit rough. If you live in Zagreb, no problem, but if you live anywhere else in the country, look out! Croatia is Zagreb-centric; like as if there is nobody else else but Zagreb. Would get me mad sometimes when I had to get stuff delivered to Slunj. Just look at the drivers in Croatia; if you see ZG registration plates, you can count on that driver to be an asshole. Check collision on highway D1 from Zagreb to the coast - most collisions are caused by Zagreb drivers. They have swelled heads, and think the whole country belongs to them.
@@hc9582 Skirting board is one of the things I can't get, I need some 10 cm tall to cover over where I channeled out the plaster for central heating pipes. I did get some from Bauhaus but it was only 2 m lengths and it makes extra work, having to try and join them neatly. Two rooms are still waiting for skirting board but I want 4 m lengths.
I went there again, and more I go…. I see things I don’t like… I just wanna go there for weather … and vacation and that’s all…. I think for now, they are so sure, they will have tourist always!!!! No matter what!!!skyrocketing prices and no quality what so ever, I don’t know what to say Dusan… it’s not easy
No we don't think that. Tourism is not safe, especially in these uncertain times. In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, Croatian GDP decreased by almost 9%. This demonstrates how fragile this sector of the economy can be and we are aware of it. Prices are too high for us too and we have much smaller salaries than you who come here to enjoy the sea while we have to live with those prices whole year. Look at the gas, food, services prices we pay for. It's like you people think inflation somehow bypassed us, it was even worse than in other EU countries. You know who's to blame for that inflation. Most Croats do not want 20+ million tourists season and tourism as an economy is not a priority for us while those from outside see our coast as cash cow, so they invest in real estates, build hotels, apartments, luxury houses for rent, each year this trend contribute to price rise and it's getting worse.
@@kriswujko Yes, it's tough, you can see stats of your capital city compared to our coastal city of Split, and capital city Zagreb. :( Cost of Living in Warsaw is 5.1% lower than in Split (without rent) Cost of Living Including Rent in Warsaw is 6.0% higher than in Split Rent Prices in Warsaw are 42.3% higher than in Split Restaurant Prices in Warsaw are 14.7% lower than in Split Groceries Prices in Warsaw are 15.4% lower than in Split Local Purchasing Power in Warsaw is 44.6% higher than in Split Cost of Living in Warsaw is 0.1% lower than in Zagreb (without rent) Cost of Living Including Rent in Warsaw is 12.3% higher than in Zagreb Rent Prices in Warsaw are 54.2% higher than in Zagreb Restaurant Prices in Warsaw are 4.1% higher than in Zagreb Groceries Prices in Warsaw are 13.1% lower than in Zagreb Local Purchasing Power in Warsaw is 10.8% higher than in Zagreb Pozdrav za bratsku Poljsku! ❤
