Moving to Hvar?

[banjanti]

Hello!

I'm Marcin and I'm from Poland.
I've spend last 2 years in South America, long story short I'm on my way back to Europe
I'll really like to settle somewhere in Mediterranean, I was thinking of Spain but I remember spending time on Hvar and loving it
Island has exactly everything I need and I like the slower pace
I'll have around $75k for relocation and starting a business, I'll need to rent long term for a start, I'll prefer a house in some small village, beach proximity is not important nor holiday amenities like swimming pool
I just want piece and quiet and a nice view ;-)
I understand business wise island is half year dead, but my business idea is microbrewery, distribute kegs and sell on the island in season, and sell bottles on mainland whole year
I'm not sure if my financial resources will be sufficient, but I may as well look for a business partner
Anyway I was wondering if anybody know what are the costs of life currently as a resident, e.g.rent, food etc As I said I don't need luxuries and I'm comfortable in rural setting
And if everything goes well what are the property prices in similar setting? What are the mortgage requirements?
I don't speak Croatian yet, but being a native Polish speaker I'm confident I can be fluent in half year time, communication was no problem when I was there with locals speaking slowly
All opinions and suggestions appreciated!

[gmh]

Oh boy, Micro breweries are only just now in the last few years gaining popularity in Zagreb. Obviously Zagreb has the largest population to support such a niche market. Croatia in general is not a place to invest money in a niche market, even if there are a lot of tourists in the summer. Most tourists are still coming here because it's a cheap destination compared to similar places within driving distance of the place they live.
There is a boom in the "party festival scene" but to be honest, most of them just want to get as drunk as possible for the cheapest price.
As it so happens, today I created what I think is the cheapest good tasting beer in Croatia. It required very little investment but tastes at least twice as good as the most popular local beer, and doesn't cost much more to produce.
Send me a pm and we can discuss your situation.
Zajebisty !

[totalcroatia]

Well if you do move to Hvar, you would only be the second Polish micro-brewery on the island.

www.total-hvar.com/index.php/hvar-blog/item/discovery-of-the-year-award-winning-beer-made-on-hvar-meet-vunetovo

Am sure Anna can give you lots of advice in Polish about Hvar and micro-breweries

[banjanti]

Now that's a complete surprise! When I was there there was no microbrewery! Maybe that's my joint venture opportunity!
I'll contact her for sure!

[fidobsa]

Interesting, I also have long term plans to start a microbrewery but just as a hobby, not as a business. I would not be selling beer but might be able to do swaps with other villagers for wine, fruit, veg, logs or whatever. In my case I want to grow my own barley and hops and make English style real ale. I'm hoping to do the malting just in the hot weather in the loft area.

[banjanti]

You'll find it hard to grow most of hops in Hvar, some California hybrids and east Oregon / Washington may do, but as you look at the map most hops like a cold and moist climate
You'll be better off just buying them enjoying EU single market ;-)
One difficulty I run into researching brewing in South America was lack of resources
Malting is not extremely difficult, but some malt like crystal requisites some technique
I don't know how much important to you is to grow your own supplies, but on homebrewing level it will be just so much easier and better to order
I don't know what English ale style you refer to, but in general it's not really complicated and doesn't require a lot of ingredients
If I go ahead with my protect I'll have a homebrew supply on site as extra business and local homebrew support, so you'll be welcome to pop by and buy whatever you need ;-)
If you decide to grow I'll be very interested to see how it works. I guess land pieces wise (I refer to the island) it's not really economical for barley that grows in extend on Europe mainland

[Deleted]

good luck

if you have any Hvar questions feel free to drop me a nots I would be happy to help you

villages on Hvar as long as you stay out of Hvar Town are fairly reasonable to rent

opening a business is a whole different story lol

but is good place to live

again good luck

[banjanti]

Thanks! I'll stay in touch