luna
New Member
Posts: 3
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Post by luna on Jan 17, 2017 1:31:55 GMT 1
Hi Everyone,
I've been searching for a forum about Croatia for a while and just finally found this one, though it is a bit terrifying! My husband has a job offer in Zagreb and we have been in discussion about whether or not to move from US to Zagreb. He spent a week there, visiting the company and getting to know the people there and exploring the city. He really liked it. He also really liked the people he would be working with. We recently got the details of the job offer, and the salary is very, very good by Croatian standards. In fact, it is just about the same as two other offers he has in other European countries with much higher cost of living.
We have 2 children, 11 and 5 who will be moving with us, our oldest child is about to start college, most likely in the states so she won't be moving with us. Schooling is a huge issue for us. I would most like to put them in the American School, but the fees are outrageous! We haven't asked if the company is up to contributing towards the schooling, so that may be an option.
It seems a lot of the people who are upset on here are upset due to issues with running businesses...? We wouldn't be in that position at all, and the job is very stable with a successful company. Is there anyone here who has any advice about moving to Zagreb? Raising america kids in Zagreb? My husband felt that the biggest turn off was all the smoking. He said it seemed like practically a religion. People are very passionate about their cigarettes I guess. We live in an area where almost no one smokes so it is a bit shocking to the system...
My husband was only there a short time but he felt most of the people he met were really kind, is that not the case? Any input would be welcome!
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Post by justapixel on Jan 17, 2017 10:03:06 GMT 1
Most of the foreigners who came to work in Zagreb, stayed in Zagreb and liked it here, unless their career path took them elsewhere. Even the ones that left usually bought a house on the coast and they keep returning in summer. Of course, they were all working in managerial positions, but you don't come to Croatia from USA to work a blue collar job.
Croatia is a terrible place to find work and a terrible place to keep a private business afloat, but if you have a steady job and a nice salary, it's a very pleasant place.
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Post by crojoe on Jan 18, 2017 1:15:12 GMT 1
Hi Everyone, I've been searching for a forum about Croatia for a while and just finally found this one, though it is a bit terrifying! My husband has a job offer in Zagreb and we have been in discussion about whether or not to move from US to Zagreb. He spent a week there, visiting the company and getting to know the people there and exploring the city. He really liked it. He also really liked the people he would be working with. We recently got the details of the job offer, and the salary is very, very good by Croatian standards. In fact, it is just about the same as two other offers he has in other European countries with much higher cost of living. We have 2 children, 11 and 5 who will be moving with us, our oldest child is about to start college, most likely in the states so she won't be moving with us. Schooling is a huge issue for us. I would most like to put them in the American School, but the fees are outrageous! We haven't asked if the company is up to contributing towards the schooling, so that may be an option. It seems a lot of the people who are upset on here are upset due to issues with running businesses...? We wouldn't be in that position at all, and the job is very stable with a successful company. Is there anyone here who has any advice about moving to Zagreb? Raising america kids in Zagreb? My husband felt that the biggest turn off was all the smoking. He said it seemed like practically a religion. People are very passionate about their cigarettes I guess. We live in an area where almost no one smokes so it is a bit shocking to the system... My husband was only there a short time but he felt most of the people he met were really kind, is that not the case? Any input would be welcome! There is an all English Croatian school (lessons are in English) that is much cheaper then the American school, and you also have two British schools in Zagreb. What I might suggest is you contact AMCHAM in Zagreb or the International woman's club and see if they can give you some pointers on where to send your kids. Yes, The American school is pricey, but they are a great bunch (mainly Embassy and then upper class Croats that send their kids to the school). As a foreigner you can also get away with doing home schooling if needed till maybe you settle yourself? One great thing about Croatian kids is many in Zagreb speak OK English, so I doubt it will take your kids long to adapt and integrated. I have 4 kids and all learned Croatian and went to Croatian school. We tossed them in at the deep end and they learned how to swim. Yes, running your own business in Croatia is a mine field.People are always owing money. If your husband is going to be working for a Croat company then make sure you have a water proof agreement in place, put in writing and official. They will also need to get your Husband a work permit then you and kids get a dependent visa. You will also need to setup health insurance etc. Oh, and bring a buffer of money with you just in case pay gets delayed (another common act by Croat companies). With all the above said, we have now left Croatia 6 months back as in all honesty, life's not always just about surviving or beautiful scenery (I am not near retirement age and saw no great future in Croatia at this present time ... got messed about one to many times). It was time for a break and are kids are now once again settled in UK school and doing pretty good (one benefit of living in a foreign land... your kids learn to grow up quicker, try new things & adapt). If your husband has a good paying job then you should be fine! They have the zoo, baseball for kids, basketball, soccer and many other sports stuff for kids. Plenty of shopping centers (1 for every 10,000 people I believe). International woman's club have get together and a weekly or monthly kids club and plenty of cheap eating out. BigMac and KFC are scattered about just in case. Also contact the Human resources of the USA Embassy as they too organize events for kids (Halloween and so forth).
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Post by crojoe on Jan 18, 2017 22:37:07 GMT 1
Ah, I did not know that you had gone back CJ, just noticed the lack of posts......but with all the upheaval over the next few years in the UK, do you think it will be any better ? If all else fails I can always move to the EU, but don't thing the UK will be on a down spiral for long. With all the gloom and doom you would think things would be bad, but shops are still full, plenty of jobs about, unemployment down and oddly enough exports and investments are up. Of course the Uk hasn't actually left the EU yet, nor will it for another two years. Most Brits just want to get on with it! As one that lived in Croatia prior to them joining the EU (and other parts of the world), I know all about work permits, tourism visa and see no problem with it. At least it won't be like a day out at MUP. And while some sectors of Croatia may be growing, many others are not. people are still broke, jobs hard to come by, late payments are all too common and the governments constant changing or laws and meddling in the affairs of small business gets to be a bit too much. Yes, I love Croatia but there are a lot more possibilities in the UK and easier to do business.
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luna
New Member
Posts: 3
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Post by luna on Jan 23, 2017 22:00:10 GMT 1
Thanks for the responses. What we are grappling with are 3 job offers in 3 countries, Croatia, Sweden (Stockholm), Germany (Munich). The pay is about the same for each of them, but the cost of living is much higher in Sweden and Germany...I think for the kids Germany offers a brighter future, that if we end up there for a long time they would be able to go to great universities etc. Croatia feels the riskiest but we would be able to afford a lot more in our free time etc...also my husband preferred the casual nature of the Croatian company to the other two.
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Post by crojoe on Jan 24, 2017 12:50:21 GMT 1
Thanks for the responses. What we are grappling with are 3 job offers in 3 countries, Croatia, Sweden (Stockholm), Germany (Munich). The pay is about the same for each of them, but the cost of living is much higher in Sweden and Germany...I think for the kids Germany offers a brighter future, that if we end up there for a long time they would be able to go to great universities etc. Croatia feels the riskiest but we would be able to afford a lot more in our free time etc...also my husband preferred the casual nature of the Croatian company to the other two. Yes, but also look at job safety. Croatia is up and down financially, you don't have to many workable rights in Croatia when working for a company... there are many cases where a company fires people and doesn't bother to pay. As a foreigner you will have even less rights. Guess a lot depends on the business type, size and success. On the other hand it is more relaxed and not a bad place to raise kids. Sweden is supposed to be a great place to live, but then I have never been there. Their education system is very good. I believe many also speak good English there? German would be my third option out of the list with kids.
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