5 Things I Advise New Arrivals Moving to Croatia

Croatia is a wonderful place to live, although it is certainly not easy. Having lived here for 20 years, I have made all the mistakes possible - and more - and have been very frustrated by a number of things.

In order to lessen the pain for those coming after more with plans of living in Croatia, here are 5 things I advise people to take into consideration when moving to Croatia, in order to have a better experience.

Video produced by Igor Vuk of Wolf Media.

[KnezBranimir]

You are so right about the complaining. Just the other day I was sitting in a cafe with a colleague of mine and realized we are complaining about how much our people like to complain. Now, no other nation can beat that level of complaining!

[apapapa]

Hi Paul, I love your channel. Iam from Hungary, Budapest. Last summer we bought a small flat in Island of Krk, Croatia. I smiled when I watched your video.:-) I tried to learn croatian it is very difficult. It is funny when I start to speak to my old local neigbours (Dobre Dan, kako ste? Danas imamo lijepo vrijeme! etc) They started to complain the prices and goverment and taxes and Prime Minister ! :-) I always agreed.. meanwhile we are in a beautiful country, hot sun shining, the Sea is blue and girls are very nice.. so funny!

[alenq]

These are good advices!
As a beer enthusiast and someone who works with lot of foreigners, one of my first advices for them when they visit here is to avoid Ožujsko.
Luckily, there is a lot of good beer to be found in Croatia, not only in the craft scene.

[L.u.x..]

Dear Paul. I will say I wanna give you a bigg huug and thank you for doing this. Aplauz. Za sve što radiš. And this warning about beer Ožujsko at the end is perfect ending. Cheers ane all the best in this New Year.

[mibict]

I have to thank you, once again, for your great effort of showing Croatia in real life, bu especially because you're doing this in very honest and 'real life' manner, not as some kind of advertising but straight look on the real situation.

[ShipwreckHR]

As a ZG native: Avoid Žuja! At all costs! This is (sadly) true. 30yrs ago those words would be an insult, but today it's a safety warning. Zagrebačka Pivovara sold the brewery long time ago so now it's a part of a foreign low end poison making facility. So, yes, don't drink it, it's really bad. Croatia has many other beer names and a lot of micro breweries, so enjoy exploring. Well done Paul! P.S.: VELEBITSKO by Ličanka. You can thank me later. Cheers/Živjeli!

[FrukiLuki]

Started following your channel recently and I am very impressed! I can see that Croatia has changed you and that you are not a typical westerner. I also love all of your ideas for tourism and making it not only focus on Dalmatia in June, July, August but the rest of Croatia in all 12 months of the year. I also wanted to ask you if you are familiar with the region Gorski Kotar in Croatia and if you have any ideas for improving tourism there, it is a shame that this region is not used for skiing in the winter and for it's beautiful nature during summer...

[HipHopCrusader]

As a born Croatian complaining from other Croatian people really tick me off, basically to the level of me leaving the room, also agree on Žuja, quality of it really went "south" since late 90s, maybe early 2000's, tnx for great videos about Croatia

[MrsKirk]

Oh, you got Niktitanik to illustrate your book!

[debelix]

You are absolutely right about Ožujsko pivo! It really suck. I never liked it. I always go for either Karlovačko, Velebitsko or Zlatni Pan. 😎

[tomislavkolundzic]

Žuja je zakon!!! Sve drugo on point mate!👍

[zoranmajstorovic]

If you like beer and want to try a good Croatian beer, much better than "Žuja" is Vukovarsko, Velebitsko or Zlatni medvjed beer. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with those three beers. When I'm a guest and someone offers me "Žuja", I reply: "Do you have any wine", because I know they don't have any good beer at their house if they offer me "Žuja".

[MelJandric]

Zagrebačka pivovara, the biggest brewery in the country is a part of Molson Coors Brewing Company since 2013, and I think that has something to do with quality. I remember Ozujsko being really good beer while I lived in Zagreb 30+ years ago :)

[DadoFrk]

Absolutely agree with you, the Žuja and Karlovačko worst beers ever, after second I have headache.

[MarioPetrinovich]

Once one guy (an Englishman), whose grandfather is a Serbian, and because of that he is so amazed with Serbia and Balkans, wrote how we have excellent brandy on Balkans (Sljivovica), excellent beer and excellent wine. I responded like this:

On Balkans the beer has to be very cold, otherwise it tastes like pee. They mix red wine with Coke, and white wine with sprinkled water. You cannot explain to some westerner why you would like to detroy the taste of wine with those things, but that way, actually, improve the taste of Balkan wines, or, at least, this waters it down (it is not that I didn't drink excellent wine in some obscure "konobas" on the coast, :) ). When I drink whisky I take a little sip and chew it for minutes in delight, the only thing that Balkan brandy has is its strength, it is not made for your enjoyment, but to make you drunk.

[AnnatarTheMaia]

Regarding beer, try Tomislav (named after the first Croatian king): it's a dark ale, thick, sweet and bitter, usually hard to find becase few stores carry it. Goes best with wood-grilled pork chop steaks, lettuce salad seasoned with vinegar and olive oil, and french fries.

[eleanorbastian]

I was born in Croatia but left at the age of four. My father is dead and I have inherited land left to him by his mother. The division of land/lands was overseen by my cousin and at first glance it is not an equal apportionment to the beneficiaries. It is my understanding that unraveling entitlements is a protracted and costly undertaking. Do you have some knowledge of such matters? Thank you. Greatly appreciate your segments. Fascinating and interesting to see the areas not normally covered by tourism agencies.

[slavenandric]

I watched a few videos from your channel and your opinions are spot on, couldnt better describe croatia myself. But the one i always tell my foreign friends is to avoid zuja, it is not the worst beer on earth but it is not really good either.

[hmerki]

There are great Croatian beers such as Walkow Blonde Ale, Walkow Pale Ale, all Grif beers, all San Servolo beers, etc.

You are right regarding Ozujsko. Zuja, Karlovacko and other lager mass production beers (I call it instant Cedevita production) will give you gases, stomach acid or headache.

[beppogiglio]

Ožujsko pivo could hardly be called a Croatian beer, because Zagrebačka pivovara is owned by Molson Coors, an American-Canadian multinational drink and brewing company incorporated under Delaware General Corporation Lawand headquartered in Golden, Colorado and Montreal, Quebec.
The company brews, markets and sells the Molson Coors portfolio of brands. Molson Coors operates breweries across the world, including the Molson Brewery in Montreal, Quebec, Blue Moon Brewing Company in Denver, Colorado, Borsodi Brewery in Bőcs, Hungary, Coors Brewery in Golden, Colorado, Creemore Springs Brewery in Creemore, Ontario, Fraser Valley Brewery in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Leinenkugel Brewery in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, Miller Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pardubice Brewery in Pardubice, Czech Republic, and the Staropramen Brewery in Prague, Czech Republic.