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Post by Carol on Nov 20, 2015 18:46:21 GMT 1
The Austrian - Hungarian side of Croatia always seemed much more like northern europeans than the Dalmatian part. Dalmatians see themselves as Mediterranean people, with the accompanying "maƱana" attitude to work. "Sutra, sutra" was a very common thing to hear. They even say we are "Mediterranean people" - is the Adriatic part of the Med??
One of the girls who worked for us had her father suddenly become very ill (life or death situation). She loved the Dalmatian lifestyle but not when she needed something done. Then her whole focus was in working out how to get her father to Zagreb so that he could be treated by medical staff who wanted to do things today not tomorrow / whenever a bribe was paid. The thing that shocked us to the core was that the medical staff were actually prepared to let him die if they didn't receive the bribe quickly enough, and they left it a day or two before telling her who to pay and how much just so that she could get properly scared.
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Post by Ribaric on Nov 21, 2015 19:03:44 GMT 1
I have a step-son at Uni in Dubrovnik, it didn't take him long to become exasperated at what he calls "typical Dalmation". I believe it a truism that the north-south divide is bigger here than in the UK. I could theorise about why it should be I suppose but can't be bothered. I also like the north despite the severe winters. I'm not sure the sub-zero temperatures with bright blue sky days are any less comfortable than the dreary south and we have no Bura. The older step-son us at Uni in Graz and he views Varazdin with a similar contempt as his brother views Dalmatia. For good or bad reasons, we decided not to try to operate our business on the coast. We suffer from a smaller customer base but everything else is so much easier.
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Post by oaktreemill on Nov 21, 2015 20:41:47 GMT 1
Now we live in Surrey. We have no family connection in Surrey and we didn't know anyone when we moved here after leaving Croatia. We've made friends. The children get invited to other children's houses and we have their friends over here. If I had a problem, there were people I'd met since moving back who would help. My neighbours watch the house if we go away and we do the same for them. People stop to chat. We feel welcome and part fo things. You know, you could substitute 'Surrey' for 'Novaki' and your statement would run very true for our life here in Croatia. Every post you write is dripping in bitterness about how your life didn't work out here the way you would have liked. And it always seems to have been something or someone else's fault, be it the bureaucratic government, corrupt officials or the local people. This forum is supposed to, I assume, help people out who would like to to travel or emigrate to Croatia with informed views from those experienced in life here. Not to discourage them with totally out of date, ill informed views from someone who seems to regard this beautiful country and it's people with contempt. Just saying..............
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Post by crojoe on Nov 21, 2015 22:44:09 GMT 1
Now we live in Surrey. We have no family connection in Surrey and we didn't know anyone when we moved here after leaving Croatia. We've made friends. The children get invited to other children's houses and we have their friends over here. If I had a problem, there were people I'd met since moving back who would help. My neighbours watch the house if we go away and we do the same for them. People stop to chat. We feel welcome and part fo things. You know, you could substitute 'Surrey' for 'Novaki' and your statement would run very true for our life here in Croatia. Every post you write is dripping in bitterness about how your life didn't work out here the way you would have liked. And it always seems to have been something or someone else's fault, be it the bureaucratic government, corrupt officials or the local people. This forum is supposed to, I assume, help people out who would like to to travel or emigrate to Croatia with informed views from those experienced in life here. Not to discourage them with totally out of date, ill informed views from someone who seems to regard this beautiful country and it's people with contempt. Just saying.............. As someone that "actually" lives here, if you ain't into exports then business in Croatia is tough! I know several forign folks here who are doing OK, and all do "export" or "work from home" in Croatia (they don't sell anything in Croatia). The ones having a tough time try and setup local small businesses and that isn't easy. I've known a few who had shops and actually got harassed out of business by inspectors (who wanted money of the "rich" foreigner business owner). They would close them down for weeks at a time over tiny little things (try 5 times in a year for one small shop). If you don't have good local staff things can get tough and a good accountant is a must here. Thankfully wood is one item Croatia has an abundance off so you scored (no doubt you know the business well and have contacts back "home"?. If you have bought your house, paid for your workplace, have contacts back "home" and don't need much then not to much can go wrong living here (as pretty cheap). It's when you got to collect payment from some Croats (who delay payment or have no plan to pay in the first place), or had people swindle you then things can go pear shaped and you don't have much of a leg to stand on ... anything that is a court matter is a joke. I guess what it comes down to is any foreigner trying to do business in Croatia will stand out, due mainly to the fact that there are so few. It's not like in the UK where British people are accustomed to seeing foreigners in local business (with different coloured skin and languages) and they are pretty much left alone. True, any foreigner in any land should try to adapt and "become one" in some ways, but guess it's that initial stage that is most trying! All I know is the forign community in Zagreb has shrunk a lot... surf, sun and sea might not always be enough?
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Post by fidobsa on Nov 22, 2015 15:35:10 GMT 1
But the sun and the sea are all you've got, Jan. Cheap coffee, cheap beer and pretty woman. What more does a man want when he is happily married? Ha! Good beer would be nice! I eventually want to make my own beer but not to save money!
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Post by crojoe on Nov 22, 2015 18:20:04 GMT 1
Cheap coffee, cheap beer and pretty woman. What more does a man want when he is happily married? Ha! Good beer would be nice! I eventually want to make my own beer but not to save money! Doubt making your own beer is that cheap. A bit like making your own bread... after buying all the ingredients, oven use, time involved, it seems to come in around the same price or more ... but then one did make it themselves, it's super fresh and maybe healthier?
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Post by fidobsa on Nov 23, 2015 9:09:55 GMT 1
I actually want to grow my own ingredients so it will probably take more time than money once everything is set up.
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Post by crojoe on Nov 23, 2015 11:27:31 GMT 1
I actually want to grow my own ingredients so it will probably take more time than money once everything is set up. So true! My wife says this about chicken. She can go buy a raw chicken for 29 Kuna or get a cooked on for the same price. I had to think long and hard about that one till I said yes. I once raised chickens for our own consumption and they cost more to produce/grow. Just I knew what was in them!
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Post by Carol on Nov 23, 2015 14:19:30 GMT 1
oaktreemill.. I still have a business in Croatia. Its open today, trading away. I see things changing, but slowly.
Sure, you have a different experience, but its no less current than mine (and its over what 2 years? 3 years?) not 10. Let's speak when you've done 10, except I'll have done 17 or 18 by then.
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Post by oaktreemill on Nov 23, 2015 20:25:47 GMT 1
oaktreemill.. I still have a business in Croatia. Its open today, trading away. I see things changing, but slowly. Sure, you have a different experience, but its no less current than mine (and its over what 2 years? 3 years?) not 10. Let's speak when you've done 10, except I'll have done 17 or 18 by then. Thanks for the reply and glad your business is doing well. Forgive me if I am wrong, which I may well be, but did you not leave 7 years ago? So you do not actually have any current experience of living here? Yes, we've been here 3 years and have packed a lot in (starting a business, a family, building a home, learning the language and making lots of great friends)....we have found the life we wanted. But none of that is the point. My post related to your negative comments regarding this country and it's people. Croatia needs foreign investment, it needs people to come here bringing money, diversity and new ideas. Your comments do not encourage any of that, they simply serve to cast a dim light on what is a beautiful and emerging country. Yes it needs a helping hand but it is what it is and that's the charm of the place. And Yeh sure we can chat when I have lived here 10 years, but I guess your count will still be only 3.
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Post by crojoe on Nov 23, 2015 22:08:45 GMT 1
oaktreemill.. I still have a business in Croatia. Its open today, trading away. I see things changing, but slowly. Sure, you have a different experience, but its no less current than mine (and its over what 2 years? 3 years?) not 10. Let's speak when you've done 10, except I'll have done 17 or 18 by then. Thanks for the reply and glad your business is doing well. Forgive me if I am wrong, which I may well be, but did you not leave 7 years ago? So you do not actually have any current experience of living here? Yes, we've been here 3 years and have packed a lot in (starting a business, a family, building a home, learning the language and making lots of great friends)....we have found the life we wanted. But none of that is the point. My post related to your negative comments regarding this country and it's people. Croatia needs foreign investment, it needs people to come here bringing money, diversity and new ideas. Your comments do not encourage any of that, they simply serve to cast a dim light on what is a beautiful and emerging country. Yes it needs a helping hand but it is what it is and that's the charm of the place. And Yeh sure we can chat when I have lived here 10 years, but I guess your count will still be only 3. Just interested Oakteemill to know if your partner is Croatian or if you have any Croatian heritage? Most of us here are either married to a Croat or have Croatian family connections. It's pretty cool if you have neither and doing so well ... a rare success story. The only others I know that are doing OK are those that arrived with cash in hand or money in the bank or semi-retired and have a monthly pension.
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Post by Carol on Nov 24, 2015 0:00:06 GMT 1
Oaktreemill
Would but I was so influential that anyone would make an investment decision or a lifestyle decision based on what I said! What puts large investors off is not anything written on this forum. It is that investors are not stupid. Word has got out about what sort of ROI Croatia offers. What puts small investors off is quite simply that there are better opportunities elsewhere. Some small investors do come though, and then most of them pack up and go again. Track some of the larger posters on this forum from the last 10 years and you will see why.
Its great to hear that things are working out for you. Lovely that you started a family (although apart from qualifying you to describe the delivery suite at the local hospital, I am not sure what difference it makes). However, it doesn't describe all of Croatia. It describes one man and three years of his life. Its wonderful that you appear to be having a positive experience, its just a shame that you are in a minority.
I think the two big differences between you and me aren't 2005-2009 versus 2013-2015, its Zagreb versus Dalmatia and mainstream versus self-sufficiency lifestyle. I'm glad its working for you though (its about time that it did for someone!)
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Post by Carol on Nov 24, 2015 0:03:59 GMT 1
Wow 2992 posts!
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Post by crojoe on Nov 24, 2015 8:50:03 GMT 1
To each his/her own really. I think much depends on what type of business one gets into, language skills, goals in life and what you are looking for. I have never cut off work opportunity in the UK, and it saw us through some tough times in Croatia when local business took a hit for a few years. At least I had a back-up plan (and still do). Haven't burned all my bridges. If truth be told, as soon as my other half says "enough", I would be out of here in a flash. I have the option to work in a few other locations and all of them offer better pay but a different life style. The biggest draw-back I see in Croatia is consistency in business... things are very seasonal (a couple months of the year nothing happens in Zagreb), might as well go on holiday for 3 months out of the year (if that's your thing in life). The other draw-back is the legal system (or lack of it) and good communication (Croats are very lazy when it comes to replying to emails or timely matters (just love the way they want info from me yesterday, but then they take weeks to reply), and then there is payment on time issues (a very bad ingrained habit in Croatia). So, in many respects to do business here is a bit of a cultural experience in itself... many hours sitting drinking coffee, waiting and more waiting and sadly not much honor among business friends. It's almost a badge of honor if you can screw your business partner (some pride trip). While some things are changing in the business sector, just seems some old habits remain that undermine progress. Short of breaking some bones, not much one can do when owed money here (going the court route is often too costly and time consuming). I firmly believe the best business to be in here is export!
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Post by tackleberry on Nov 24, 2015 10:07:27 GMT 1
Ok, I'll bite... tell us why you love living in Croatia? Oh, and do you try to run a business in Croatia, or in any way earn a living? Sorry for the late reply. Croatia is stunning and has some of the best roads I've ever ridden on .the people we have met are open and honest to a fault.the crime is non existent . I'm fortunate to have a pension I can live on which I could not have done in the uk.
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