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Post by Jerry on Jun 12, 2004 7:02:09 GMT 1
Greetings all -- I will be moving to Zagreb in a few months from California. Here are my special and worrisome situations -- 1. I will be landing in Heathrow in November on a one-way ticket. Someone mentioned that one needs to present an exit ticket before they let you out of the airport. Sounds like bunk to me, but one can never be too sure... 2. I will be arriving in Zagreb in the beginning of December. I hear tell it will be roughly 0 degrees centigrade when I arrive. I may or may not have accommodation with a friend of the family.. assuming not, how much and how plentiful are hostels in December, or where else can I find a bed for cheap? 3. What does it take to get a bank account? Would I be best advised to convert all my money to kunas or should I use a wire account from the US? 4. How difficult would it be as a foreigner with limited Croatian language to find work (doing _anything_, washing dishes etc.)? 5. How cheap can one find a flat in Zagreb? 6. Where is the nearest decent skiing to Zagreb and how difficult is it to get there without a car? 7. Should I apply for a visa before going or should I wait on the off chance that I find employment? According to the consulate website American citizens can stay for 6 months without a visa.. does this reset each time you re-enter the country or is it only good for one shot? 8. How is the attitude towards America / Americans there? With George W. in the White House one can never be too sure... Fortunately my lineage is both Croat and Canadian...  I'd appreciate any information anyone has, I'd love to connect with other expats in the area as well, get together and chat over a slivovic... ;D THANKS |
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Post by Anja on Jun 12, 2004 11:23:54 GMT 1
Hello Jerry!
Very brave steps you are taking.
Is it possible you tell us your reasons for choosing Croatia?
Please contact me by email if you could..
My hotmail account is about to die from the heavy weight so please email webmaster@thisiscroatia.com
Also, I would like to make contacts with all people who moved to Croatia, especially to Brac and Dubrovnik area and who curretly live there..
Best Wishes,
Anja
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Post by alsdoubles on Jun 12, 2004 23:48:10 GMT 1
I don't know all the answers. But I know some. Zagreb in December. Cold maybe. (With a one way ticket you should sail through Heathrow unless you stray out through customs).It takes money to open an bank account. Nothing more. Getting work. Not easy. Depends on your attitude and how you come across. washing dishes. Maybe. It's pretty cheap to live here, by anywhere else (in the west) standards. IF you have money. Flat in Zagreb. No idea. Maybe $1000-$2000 a month. Skiing. Get work first eh. Then go skiing. Unless you have unlimited money. Then why all the questions. Americans...well most Croats speak American English, so they say. You'll be okay, maybe. You may have tgo back off a little (know what I mean?)
As far as I know you have three months, in which time you have to supply a whole load of information, in both languages. A whole load. And keep repeating this at regular intervals, IF you plan to stay. And then you have the problem, eventually, everything gets six months old and becomes unacceptable. Then you have to get new papers. Mighty complicated, from the new country. Do it, and learn the score. If you don't do it you'll never have the experience. Thinking about it is no good. Do it!
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Post by alsdoubles on Jun 12, 2004 23:50:32 GMT 1
Correction...Flat rental.....$200-$600 a month. I'm thinking English GBP. £110 GBP for a luxury flat, by the Adriatic, or less.......................
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Post by Janet on Jun 15, 2004 15:33:48 GMT 1
1. I will be landing in Heathrow in November on a one-way ticket. Someone mentioned that one needs to present an exit ticket before they let you out of the airport. Sounds like bunk to me, but one can never be too sure... NEVER HEARD OF THAT BEFORE, SOUNDS RUBBISH. 2. I will be arriving in Zagreb in the beginning of December. I hear tell it will be roughly 0 degrees centigrade when I arrive. I may or may not have accommodation with a friend of the family.. assuming not, how much and how plentiful are hostels in December, or where else can I find a bed for cheap? EASY. THERE IS ONE CHEAP HOTEL ON ILICA IF ANYONE CAN REMEMBER THE NAME? 3. What does it take to get a bank account? Would I be best advised to convert all my money to kunas or should I use a wire account from the US? IT'S NOT SO EASY. AS A FOREIGNER YOU SOMETIMES NEED TO PROVE REGULAR INCOME BEFORE THEY LET YOU OPEN AN ACCOUNT. I'D CONVERT A BIT AND WIRE SOME, BUT IT DEPENDS HOW LONG YOU ARE STAYING. 4. How difficult would it be as a foreigner with limited Croatian language to find work (doing _anything_, washing dishes etc.)? DIFFICULT. MAYBE LANGUAGE SCHOOL. BUT YOU CAN PUT UP ADS TO DO ENGLISH TEACHING AND SEE WHO REPLIES (APOLOGIES TO TOEFL TEACHERS!) 5. How cheap can one find a flat in Zagreb?  6. Where is the nearest decent skiing to Zagreb and how difficult is it to get there without a car? SLOVENIA. EASY 7. Should I apply for a visa before going or should I wait on the off chance that I find employment? According to the consulate website American citizens can stay for 6 months without a visa.. does this reset each time you re-enter the country or is it only good for one shot? FOR BRITS I KNOW IT'S 3 MONTHS AND IT CAN BE RENEWED A COUPLE OF TIMES BY GOING OVER THE BORDER. IMPOSSIBLE TO GET WORK PERMIT BEFORE GETTING HERE REALLY. VISA YES, WORK PERMIT (DIFFERENT) NO. 8. How is the attitude towards America / Americans there? With George W. in the White House one can never be too sure... Fortunately my lineage is both Croat and Canadian... SAY YOU'RE CANADIAN! |
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Post by Mark Cognevich on Jun 15, 2004 15:57:21 GMT 1
You can say that you are an American and be proud of it. I go to Croatia every summer and have never had any problems with being American.
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Post by No Kerry on Jul 1, 2004 6:00:36 GMT 1
With Bush in the White House I wouldn't hide that fact at all. It's only if Scary Kerry and his merry band of s gain power that I would hide that fact. Then I'd say I was anything but French. Of course I'd also avoid the inevitable recession. But the less liberals in America, the better!
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Post by Jackeen on Jul 2, 2004 1:03:38 GMT 1
No Kerry,
Very open minded? I see by your mail and I'm sure you are peace loving too!
Regards
Jackeen,
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Post by Sharkie on Jul 2, 2004 20:10:34 GMT 1
wow, trying to get away from the U.S. and find out some stuff about Croatia and what do i find? American politics on Croatian info website... what a laugh.
If you are American, be proud to be an American. d**n, i sure in the hell wouldnt claim Canadian. (no offense but why is being citizen of the one of the greatest nation on earth a burden or an embarressment? Last i checked, U.S. donated the most medical,food, relief and monetary aid to other countries than all the european countries combined. And we did the people of Iraq a favor by getting rid of that dictator.)
i know i will catch some flame for this but I am d**n proud to be an American. And some of the attitude that i got from other Croatian is strange as well. I have not moved there yet (but will be there at the middle of this month) but some I have spoke to thinks that i will hate Croatia since i wont have all the nice things i had in the States... Well, since i am moving there, i am fully prepared to give up my way of life in America... otherwise, i would have stayed in the U.S. I am also planning on learning the language since i am in a country where english is not spoken as a primary language.
bottom line: be proud of who you are... your action will speak for you, not your nationality.
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Post by Nora on Jul 10, 2004 12:06:36 GMT 1
Hi Jerry,
I unfortunately am too oblivious to answer most of your questions but as for work - definately look into foreign language schools - private ones. They ONLY employ native speakers of English (which I'm assuming you are).
Some good schools (recommended in this order) are:
1. lingua plus, address: Voncinina 10
2. inlingua, address: Bogoviceva 1
3. berlitz, Amruseva not sure what number
there are TONS of other schools but these are the best (the first focuses on teaching with children plus offers individual lessons with adults). As they're the best they might be hard to get into so also try Applo and Octopus, those are two I can think of off the top of my head.
DON'T wash dishes or you'll be living on a park-bench.
Try contacting the American and Canadian embassies here as well for advice and possible work.
Apartment prices are all over the place, don't expect anything too nice if you're not willing to dish out the cash (in Zagreb "too nice" sometimes means "livable").
Again, try Plavi oglasnik, and word of mouth. Try finding a roommate and up your chances of getting a nicer place (automatically bigger plus price cut).
You can always rent just a room with a family, I konw that's very cheap. Don't expect to find an apartment for just yourself under 200 EUR. Don't let anyone rip you off either though.
Good luck!
I HIGHLY doubt any of these schools will give a d**n if you have a visa or not (they certainly won't bother to get you one as you'll only be freelancing).
Like someone mentioned in one of their replies, you can also post an ad in "plavi oglasnik" (want-ads) offering your service as a language teacher and plaster the city with ads, but the work isn't as regular.
As for living here, turn to "Hrvatska Matica Iseljenika" and see if they can give you advice in finding a place. You can also try the Cultural Information Center (Kic)
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Post by Jerry on Jul 23, 2004 9:46:59 GMT 1
Nora --- Thank you very much for the info! Much appreciated....
And yes, America is one of the greatest nations in the world. but our leaders have always misused our power in order to profit and destroy, and the current regime more than almost all that has preceded it. i am proud of my nation and it's people, but i can no longer be proud of a government that lies through its teeth in order to convince it's people to send their sons & daughters to die and kill innocents on the other side of the world, that cheats the well-being of it's own people and robs the nation of an educated culture so that huge companies may profit, or that irresponsibly arms nations (like we did Iraq for 30 years!) in order to have other nations fight it's enemies for it.
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Post by Me on Aug 11, 2004 0:32:59 GMT 1
I don't know much about croatia... but about needing and exit from uk....
well ...it can be true ... if you are a US citizen with a US passport it does not apply to you .... but ..if you do not and come from a country that requires a visa to visit the uk... then you will need a visa for the uk even though you are only passing through.... you can get one on arrival but it is a lot less trouble if you get one in advance .... good luck with your travels
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