@@thcmorello3979I’m Canadian and I can say the Canadians that are like this man have moved to other countries. In Serbia it’s like he can be himself. He lets his good nature be free. Like he says Canadians are much more uptight. He has a good mix of being “nice” and “proper” (which is Canadian) but also free to express and be direct (which is more Balkan )
What a great guy!!! As a born Serbian who left to US alone at age 17, and now moving back to Serbia after 30 years, I totally relate to all of his comments and things he is noticing!
Како год одлучиш, бићеш добродошла кући!❤ Људи се, поготово након ковида, враћају претежно из западне Европе и Канаде, и то у хиљадама. Пре су се чешће враћали људи који су у пензији, а у последње време све више младих људи са децом.
Very good interview I've been in Belgrade Serbia for about 4 years originally from the USA. The feeling of freedom from day to day and the humor of the people have kept me here.
Personally, I like it best when my country (Serbia) gets some love and respect from a serviceman. Thank you for your kind words and may you have a very pleasant stay! 🇷🇸🤝🇺🇸
As both Serbian and Canadian, I actually find this video and the whole conversation extremely balanced and unbiased, aligned with my own perception - which, I must admit, was not my expectation. I thought this would be more propaganda than an objective discussion. In hindsight, I should have given you both more credit as this person exemplifies honesty, integrity, levelheadedness and politeness I have grown to assume in Canadians. My only point of disagreement was the parking example. Belgrade is overrun by cars and it’s not that people are relaxed about stepping on parking lines, it is about recklessness and sheer disregard for laws and other drivers, that many individuals exhibit while parking or driving. This is just a symptom of the overall pervasive atmosphere of lawlessness and idea that I can choose to disregard laws and personal liberties of others whenever it suits me. It’s just a manifestation of a deeply rooted cultural problem. Still, as I said, very well done, nicely balanced and respectiful conversation. Good job and good luck to both of you!
exactly people here actually yearn for some order remember the line of people during corona? everyone praised that. people were like "oh see, we can also be orderly"
I found that as an oxymoron, the parking example he has given and that he enjoys not being watched all the time...but then misses the order and organisation in Canada. Order and organisation requires constant monitoring, correction and alertness, can't have both 😅
I am Greek and cant wait for the moment to leave this Canadian shithole. I love all people from all parts of the world, and that is not the problem with Canada. The problem is government overreach . The elected officials have now become entitled in Canada and believe they are elected to RULE over their constituents, not govern on behalf of their constituents. Good luck to you in your journey.
I also can't wait to leave Canada, I'm from Montenegro, but I'd live in Serbia or Montenegro doesn't matter to me. I find the culture in Canada has become VERY passive aggressive, mundane, and ignorant.
Haha you guys all in my boat. I am born in Canada with Italian heritage. Thinking to head to Romania, Serbia, or Greece. Idk where out of them though. Been tough to pick 😭
@@SpiritualmachinegunProcitaj malo istoriju i pogledaj malo agende koje se danas guraju i zapitaj se da li su srbija, hrvatska, bosna, crna gora i makedonija danas kolonije i zasto su kolonije. Skapiraces zasto je zapad odvajao isti narod na razlicite nacije.
This was a great & accurate chat, he has a good u understanding & respect of Serbian people & culture. I have visited Serbia 3 times, the most unique country. The people are so friendly, educated & strongly traditional. Belgrade, as most of Serbia is so beautiful, i would rate the food as among the best cuisine on the planet. Looking forward to moving to Belgrade from Australia
Mate, thank you soooo much, for giving this interview. I am a Serb, that migrated to Australia in 1989 with my parents when I was 12, and at the age of 34, migrated with my family to Canada - Montreal, for the sake of finding a greener pastures. . . Needless to say, I returned back to Australia five years afterwards! This is to say that the grass is greener where you feel more comfortable to graze, but again, there are NO PINKY ELEPHANTS flying in the sky anywhere on this earth! Some days, you will wake up with the smile on your face, some you wont, some will be pleasant and some not so. Huge respect to you for choosing to leave the Western world and come into a more exotic but challenging place to anchor your self! Za sve ostale, sve naj i svako dobro, iz daleke Australije! Ziveli
Speaking of humor, I can assure you that it is actually very similar to English sense of humor. My understanding is that, and I kind of did my own little research on a topic, asking my foreign friends if they ever heard of English TV series "Only fools and horses" and not a single one did, and I am talking about Germans, Austrians, Spaniards, Greeks, Portuguese people. Now, in Serbia, this TV series has an iconic status. The jokes from it are still around. I do not see any other reason why it is so popular here and nowhere else in Europe but the similar sense of humor. I am also 99% sure that the host of this conversation didn't know anything about this TV series too🙂 correct me if I am wrong
Only fools and horses,black adder, Monty python, father Ted,Dave Allen and many more old British comedy was my childhood and teens favourites during the Yugoslavia... heavy sarcasm and dark humour
There are many UK series on Yugoslavia TV. One English friend say to me that more or less all good series are emitted in YU. I read English writer Saki, (H. H Munro) which are considered as pioneer of English humor. His collection of stories "Sredni Vahstar" although written long ago still are fresh and funny. Very nice humor. All my friends which read his books love it.
Yes but in Serbian case you can leave out the rascist underline that you can often find in English humour,as imperialist colonial country they will always have that note of humor that will somehow drag itself...
Canadian here, who moved and settled in Serbia last January... The slippers thing had me in hysterics 😂 The most relatable freaking thing, even Kurir mentioned it in the tabloid article they did when my husband and I were married. It's the biggest culture shock, and I can't explain why 😂
Depends from which city in Canada this guy is from. Also he said he moved to Serbia maybe 12 years ago. This means he moved to Serbia when Canada was still a good country. I am Bulgarian, I lived in Toronto from 2010 to 2021. Before 2015 Canada was a much better country. In 2021 my family returned to Bulgaria.
More and more Canadians are struggling as well….cost of living has skyrocketed and unlike Serbia where you can scrape by, in Canada with most people in debt and necessity to own a car, insurance etc, to have a normal life you NEED to bring in a much higher level of income than in Serbia.
This is the first time I hear a foreigner (ex) interview, and feel that they actually lived here, and actually understand things about the country and the people. And his testimony, and experiences ring real and true. No useless platitudes, and no saying things just because 'that's what you say'. Treading lightly around certain topics did not feel patronizing, it felt honest. Thanks for sharing.
It's been left to understand that he chose to live in Serbia but disappointingly enough later on he reveals that he is married to a Serbian lady, so he was pretty much forced to follow his fate.
@@irondasgr First of all, your comment does make some sense in a way, however not as a response to my comment. I did not mention or talk about his motivation to come here, or to stay. I simply said that my subjective feeling is that he actually tried to understand the country, and the people to a little bit of a deeper level, and succeeded. Second of all, I do not get the feeling from him that he feels forced, or trapped. And judging by the numerous comments below, it seems no one got that feeling. He comes across as honest and content (as in, he is happy about who he is, and where he is, all things considered).
@@irondasgr But it appears he met and married the Serbian girl after he had lived in other places and had lived in Serbia for a few years. He has lived in Serbia for 14 years but it seems his kids are small - he talks about his kids on the playground and seeing Russians with their own kids not mixing with others. So his kids are still small - less than 7 years old at least. So he likely married less than 8-10 years ago, meaning he lived in Serbia at least 4-6 years before marrying. So he lived in Serbia a few years on his own, then met and married a Serbian girl. He had already decided to live in Serbia before he married.
Serb born in Vancouver, living in Belgrade since I was 2…can confidently say I feel safer here, prices compared to Vancouver are totally reasonable, and the weather is amazing (something Vancouver wishes to have)
Wow, it’s a young channel but the concept is great and very well done: human perspective, great interviews with intelligent, eloquent expat in Belgrade! I’m looking forward to more videos they get me nostalgic
There are clear boundaries about roles in the house. The woman is in charge. There is a set of rules and you just can't violate them, it is not even up for discussion. Wear your slippers. What a true statement.
I love hearing him in the beginning that we were resisting the modernization and kept a lot of our customs but he is just one of few foreigners who thinks like that. I remember getting banned from a group called Belgrade Foreigners Visitor Club on FB just for saying that people should chill when the (e.g.) see a lot of locals smoking because it's a part of our tradition and although a lot of people are smoking, young generations do so less and less. And that "quirks" like that just add up to the exotics of this place, so if people come here because it's different and then start complaining about the differences, wouldn't it just kill the whole vibe and make it as any other place? I was as polite as one can be and was really really trying not to insult anyone. Got banned and what I said back then (around 10 years ago) is exactly what Sean is saying.
Smoking is very harmful for your health, so Serbs need to curb this, if not quit it. I read that during the NATO bombing that more Serbs took up smoking due to the stress. And that after Serbia was overthrown for a western puppet government, that the first place British and US invested in was the tobacco companies. That is likely the reason the Serbian government doesn't make laws restricting smoking (or doesn't enforce them), they want to please the west over Serbians' health! And tobacco smoking originates from the Native Americans. As someone who genuinely cares strongly for Serbs, I say please try to discourage smoking.
I am a local and I absolutely hate the smoking culture. Zero tolerance for smokers cause they have no care for others. Its not something to exoticise, it actively kills people through lung cancer. However, getting banned for an opinion is stupid.
How does the guy make money for living? I mean it's always a bit easier to love the life in Eastern Europe when you work remotely for a western salary and/or rent out an apartment somewhere in Canada/US.
I am also curious. Unless you are earning a CAD or US income and can work remotely, cost of living is not low when you'rr earning minimum wage in Belgrade.
My kind of man:)Thats exactly my thoughts - globalization killing uniqueness of places and ppl in generally.Serbia& Belgrade was small unique pocket of Europe to come and enjoy small kafana to drink with kamiondije... unfortinatly becoming diferent as loosing that old vibe ...
As a Belgrade native, I'd say that it's nice that it became so popular. On the downside, sure, prices became worse and business try to appease to a wider public thus impacting a bit of the culture (even though it's on us, the natives to keep such places active and popular and not groan and moan about others for bringing their own piece of home, but thats a different, much longer story), but it brings different cultures, different ideas, different music etc to the town. Been dancing bachata for 2 years now. Before that, apart from a black family which I was neighbors with (who by the way have better Serbian accent than myself, still salty about that lol), I saw my first black person who came as a tourist IRL at around 18 years old. Now, at 25 and after those 2 years of dancing I've spoken with hundreds if not over a thousand people from all across the world, of all colors, cultures, ethnicities etc and I do believe that that's great! And they all have more or less the same experience as Shawn/Sean from this video, which is even better and proves more or less all of his points even further.
if its of any consolation to you, it's a worldwide range phenomenon, Europe is falling down fast. Education and higher living levels are resources that need prudent handling and obviously Europeans have never been ready for them so far.
uvek je zanimljivo videti sopstvenu kulturu ocima stranca. a ovaj srpski zet je jedno divno mudro bice. bas je lepo videti kako mu Balkan, Srbija dobro cine i istovrmeno on njima. Sjajna i topla prica, nasli se oni koji su se trazili. Na mnogaja ljeta...!
Alex- really like your channel. It’s a great idea as more and more people from other parts of the world take up residence in Serbia. Would like to see some interviews with ex-pats living outside Beograd too. 👍😊
Ne moze Rusi i Finci izadju iz saune i kupaju se u ledenu vodu i covek ne razboli . Ja sam jednom u Kipru spavao ispod klima uredjaja zato sto su ga stavili u sobi kod kreveta i to je gore od promaje ali nista mi nije bilo.
and then straight onto the bed they are sleeping in... i really can't understand what this is with the so called despise for sleepers, it's common sense after all...
I literally can't recall Asian or black people having any kind of trouble with locals in Belgrade, or anywhere else. On the contrary, if you're a black guy, I guess you wish to be left alone because people always try to offer you some food and rakija, show you some special place, make you listen to Serbian hip hop and, of course, make you learn some bad language.
The only non-colonial African Museum in Europe is located in Belgrade. All of the cultural artifacts from West Africa come from Ambassadorial friendships during Yugoslav period. Yugoslavia helped many African countries gain independence and build their infrastructures during Non-aligned period. To this day many African students study in Belgrade University, with some deciding to say and live in the country. Annual African festival are held and many African music genres have a solid footing in Serbian music sphere.
Great video and spot on. We have lived in the balkans for 7 months and most of what is said is true of all the countries. One of the greatest regions in the world to live. Refreshing after leaving 🇨🇦 Canada.
So Proud To Be 1/2 Macedonian 1/2 Serbian,And Jewish,Parent’s Left Former Yugoslavia In The Early 50’s ,Both Doctors And America Needed Doctors,I Married A Montenegrin ,Son Has Home On Adriatic Coast,His Permanent Home Is New York + Jersey !Other Son Lives In My State ,THKU I 💝🤲Serbia
@@GGTanguera Poor in the head I would say... I've travelled around the entire region and trust me Serbia is much richer with natural resources, industry etc. than any other country in the region. For comparison, Croatia and Montenegro have nothing without the coastline(Montenegro even lost part of it already to the Chinese creditors), Bosnia has nothing all year round, N. Macedonia as well, Albania and Kosovo are importing everything from Serbia including everyday items like milk and meat(I've bought Serbian milk in Vlore-Albania because there was no domestic brand just Serbian and Italian). The problem is, people are willing to work for just enough to survive and they're willing to suffer all kinds of harassment from low and middle management, plus they're getting ripped off every day by politicians, police, public servants... Talking about "Inat"
@@bnast6849 Meanwhile Serbian supermarkets are filled with Croatian dairy, snacks and fish products. But okay. Serbia is the center of the universe, I get it
@@ddddzzzz5426 Oh, that's because we love some Croatian products they're usually of much higher quality, for example I love Kolumbo chocolates but they're not sold in Serbia or Vojvodina so I go from Novi Sad to Vukovar or Osijek to buy them, my kids like only Kraš Express which is much better then Nesquick etc. Even Romanians come over the border to us to buy Eurocrem and some other stuff they like and that's called having choice, you're not forced to buy foreign products because your country has no food industry. And then comes the "poor in the head" Serbian side because Diesel in Croatia costs 1.41/l and in Serbia it's 1.80 so I fill up my tank because I'm not getting ripped off by Serbian government. Don't tell me you don't like Jaffa or Munchmellow I'll think you're a weirdo... 😁
@@ddddzzzz5426They are not "filled" with croatian products. They have some croatian products who are best in their country. Even if you go to IDEA market 90% of things are made in Serbia, 5% imported, and 5% from Croatia. So saying they are "filled with Croatian products" is just not true.
About English humor i always thought the same. The reason why you feel safe in Serbia is because random people are happy to help stranger just because there is high moral standard and expectation from males to save and protect. So if someone attacks a woman in some alley in the middle of the day, bro at least 5 random dudes would hunt him down. I am just amazed tho how many Canadians coming to Serbia, i have probably seen at least couple of hundred people only from YT.
@@jasmins203 not sure what you are talking about considering Kosova 1st president was top 10 most wanted criminal by FBI list, his criminal activity well known and documented as one of the worst world had seen in the area of human organ trafficking and political executions. He even going to jail, but Hag court obviously because of NATO connections with him hid the most of his crimes as he was valuable ally. Should i start about the rest of the world or maybe USA "democracy" that is causing (including Kosovo conflict) at least 300 civil wars across the world. Brah... Serbian president is just another criminal in a suite, like in almost every single country in the world, but regular people shouldnt be part of this very limited understanding of society.
@@jasmins203 Look i must assume you are Albanian and therefore educated very little, but instead fed up with 100% propaganda doze. So i will be gentle with you and remind you your first president was in 2000s top 10 most wanted criminal according to USA themselves. Not to mention USA causing wars all across the globe 24/7. Also dont simplify society from only 1 single filter called politics. It shows how little understanding you got about how the world works.
Ali i dalje istocna Evropa :) Ja ne mogu da verujem kako ne znaju geografski polozaj i sta je istok, sta je zapad :) Doduse sve od Grinica je istok, taj rad :) But it's still Eastern Europe :) I can't believe they don't know the geographical location and what is east and what is west :) Although, everything from Greenwich is east, that's how it works :)
Dobri su razgovori i super ti je koncept samo pokusaj manje da telefon vrtis po rukama gosti kad ti pricaju bas se oseti ponekad a i vidi da nisi tu mentalno vec kucas poruke itd. Cisto iz postovanja prema njima a i iskreno vidi se prosto vizuelno nije lepo ,neko prica ti kucas , na mnogim snimcima. Sem toga kidanje, samo napred sa ovim! ❤
Best thing when I come to Belgrade, stresses out if Germany and the correctness on every step(!), sitting in a Kafana and everyone say: "Ma opusteno" ❤ I understand you 100%
Serbia became very expensive country in last couple years thanks to huge influx of rich Russians that raised the prices considerably. Country has no jobs and if you can’t bring it with you or earn it remotely Serbia is very hard to survive in.
I have the same feeling when i come back in my home country, where everyone studies you, how dress you’re…So, here nobody knows you, so you feel better. But Serbia 🇷🇸 is one in a kind! Food, pretty people, nature, rivers… In Malta 🇲🇹 people are so fat and not so nice😅
His moving to Serbia shows that money isn't the most important thing in his life as someone coming from Canada. His family in Serbia 🇷🇸 his wife and daughter, are the most important in his life.
Idk why ppl keep saying they don't know what promaja is, what is the word 'draft of wind' in English then?? And when Serb let you get away with some things it's not because they pity you, it's because they understand you come from different world and most of us will not expect from foreigners to fully emerge in Serbian life and customs.
At a certain point, they cant play the dumb foreigner card. If you live in a country for over a decade, you should assimilate, otherwise it becomes annoying seeing them constantly fumble as if they arrived yesterday.
Hahaha, stressed in Canada? Really? Its a big country with a lot of space, depends where you go. I found people in Canada very open and friendly. Keep in mind there are many Serbs in Canada. Different strokes for different folks :)
Outside of the large metropolitan cities, Canadians are incredibly positive, open, and friendly. In the cities, it can be a complete disaster with a collapsing fabric of society. It can be absolutely horrendous in the cities and inner-suburbs. The outer suburbs can be significantly better, but can also be very tainted with a collapsing fabric of society. Liberals damaged the country trenendously over the last 8 years.
@@nickmiller4430 Majority of big cities around the world have issues which has nothing to do with political tribal ideology. From NYC to Sydney to Shanghai to Sao Paolo to Cape Town etc etc...all different systems. This is how capitalism works...booms and busts, everything is cyclical. 'Collapsing fabric of society' is an overly dramatic and incorrect statement, smh
@@unlimitedcosmicspeed I agree with that, but that's not capitalism, it's liberalism and corporate cartel agenda to devide and conquer. That's why people are much more individuals and more lonely in the cities, their first goal is less people, much less people on the planet. Capitalism is just about economy, if you work more, you earn more, that's all.
Promaja, ice and wet hair are so realistic 😂😂 my mom used yo tell me I will get meningitis from promaja( draft) and if I leave my hair wet (rvem though I know it is not possible, I am still scared). Also you have to turn boiler off while taking shower otherwise you die😂
wow wow wow, asians or black? dude I hope u said that just to keep Belgrade as secrets for urself... we dont like rude people, we dont care for nationality or color of ur skin, as long as you are normal and want no harm to us, you are safe.
This is correct. Most of the time "racism" a non-white person might expect is of the innocent and/or casual kind - which is not nice on the receiving end, but it doesn't come from a place of malice, just ignorance due to our anti-colonial past.
@@squid11160 Allot of the times, it's just minorities that are grifters and/or want to keep up a victim mentality, which is quite comical cause they tend to be much more what they accuse others of.
It´s an old slavic tradition that if you have accepted a guest, you´re responsible for his safety. If something happens to him, you will punished. They were otherwise secluded in the woods and hostile towards foreigners in larger groups that could be invaders, but when they accepted you, you were kept like an endangered species.
Bravo , kako smo pametni, sad ce svaka susa da se doseli na ex YU teritoriju a sve mlade sa ovih prostora gurate u roblje po zapadu . Naivno , dovoljno je da neki vagabundo sa zapada dodje I da vam kaze par hvalospjeva I odmah vam je miliji od rodjenog tate. Pametno zaista. Nije rijec o desetini dosljaka samo se postarajte da vas jednog dana ne nadnase po brojnosti.
U Srbiji se govori ekavicom-nisi iz Srbije,sto znaci gledaj svoja posla.Takvi kao ti ste unistili Jugoslaviju pa posle Srbiju,jos imas pravo da komentarises.Sramota!
Even in Malta you say hello, good day! Even in Switzerland you say griezzi, so that’s very normal! If you don’t do the same thing in your country, something is wrong with you and your country 😅
