Croatian Learning Community and Resources

Exploring Croatia's Appeal: A Conversation With Two International Residents, Lauren Simmonds and Paul Bradbury

Today, we have the pleasure of sitting down with two remarkable foreigners, Lauren and Paul,  who have chosen to call Croatia their home. From different corners of the world, they have embraced the allure of our country and created lives into its society.

In this interesting interview, we delve into their personal journeys, discovering the reasons behind their decision to uproot their lives and relocate to Croatia. Join us in the following conversationm as we gain insight into their experiences, challenges, and triumphs while adapting to a new culture, making friends, and building careers in this small European country. Let's hear firsthand from these international residents as they unveil their valuable perspectives on life in an Adriatic nation.

Hello Lauren and Paul! Please, could you present yourselves to the international Erasmus students and ESC volunteers in a few words? 

I’m Lauren and have been in Croatia for almost a decade. I grew up in Nottingham in the UK and moved to Croatia after getting a job offer in early 2014. I lived in Dubrovnik for several years before moving to Zagreb. I work in the media, have worked with the EU, and as a writer, translator and interpreter. I am currently the editor of Total Croatia News and have been for several years now. Paul is originally from Manchester, and has been in the country for twenty years after a long spate outside of the UK, living in multiple countries from Russia to Rwanda. He is Total Croatia News’ CEO and has recently turned his hand to more and more public speaking and to video content about Croatia. 

 
You have a recent book out, can you tell us what was the inspiration behind it? 

Lauren - Well, it was published back in October 2022. The inspiration was purely and simply the fact that regardless of how many generic guide books there are talking about Croatia’s surface level beauty and natural wonders (which are of course worth talking about, don’t get me wrong!). There was no definitive guide for living here. It’s all well and good to talk about what sort of lifestyle Croatia can offer someone, but how does one get it? Life here is very nuanced, and there is an enormous amount of red tape involved, and Croatia is infamous for its bizarre love of bureaucracy and paperwork. Paul’s section of the book is all about what sort of life this country can offer a person, and the details of his experiences over the last twenty years, from family life to running a business in Dalmatia, while my half tackles the less appealing (but necessary) parts. I discuss everything from language learning to accessing healthcare, to getting an OIB to applying for residence, being granted citizenship and much more - even touching on subjects like accessing an abortion and LGBT+ rights. I personally think that it is important that the world sees Croatia as more than a tourist country and it doesn’t need yet another basic guidebook.  

 
 
So, we are interested, why Croatia? Why did you decide to live here? 

Lauren - For myself, it was a job offer and a calling. I had no idea I’d end up staying permanently and building a life here. Almost a decade later and here I still am.   

Paul - I came here in the early 2000’s after purchasing a house on the island of Hvar, and 20 years later, well, I’m still here, too.  

Lauren - There is an enormous amount of negativity expressed by Croats about this country, and while you definitely get to understand it once you have immersed yourself into a regular life here, and you get to see the darker side of things when working in the media, this negativity is often (not always) spouted by people who have fallen for the ‘’grass is always greener’’ phenomenon. They tend to be people who haven’t lived or spent a decent chunk of time abroad. Croatia has a lot of improving to do across a great many areas, but changes, however gradual, are becoming more and more visible as time goes on, and Eurozone and Schengen entry will only propel that side of things. Every country has issues, some of them tremendous, and it is very naive to think otherwise. 

 
How would you describe Croatia to someone who's never been here? 

Lauren - As I wrote in the book - it’s an onion. It has very many layers. This is quite a vague question and the answer I would give to a tourist would be quite different to the one I’d give to someone hoping to move here, and that one would be very different again to the one I’d give to a would-be investor or businessperson hoping to settle here. 

What do you fancy about life here and what are the aspects you don't like or maybe miss in comparison with your home country? 

Lauren - Life is what you make it. It’s cliche but it is very true. The grass is also only green where you water it. One of the only things which as a Western European I’ve never been able to adapt to is the paperwork and the need to flash ID cards and other such documents to do the most absolutely basic of things. Croatia would benefit enormously from slashing over 50% (and I’m being generous at that) of its bureaucracy. The clerks often don’t know the law, that law alters every other week, and standing in lines for ages only to be told you’re missing some document nobody has ever heard of does nobody, anywhere, any favours. Literally nobody is benefiting from this at all and it is a case of keeping people in jobs and holding onto a rapidly decaying status quo reminiscent of another time.  

I go to England several times per year, so although there are things that make me very nostalgic at times, I don’t get the chance to miss it that much, and that’s something I’m very grateful to the new plane connections for.  

Paul - I can’t say I miss the UK that much, less and less to be honest. I go once every 5 years or so. 
 

Would you recommend moving here? 

Lauren - This is quite vague again. It really depends what you’re looking for, what you have to lose, whether you have a support system or not, and how much time and effort you’re willing to give it. It also depends on the type of society you’ve grown up in. I have known people come here and succeed, and I’ve known the absolute opposite. I always tell people that Croatia is a country in which everything is impossible and possible at the same time. It’s a country full of paradoxes and you have to be willing to bend and adapt, a lot. I’d always recommend giving it a shot. 

We fancy Paul's videos about Croatia. Can you tell us more about it and which videos are the most viewed? 

Paul - Haha, thanks for watching. It is called Paul Bradbury Croatia Expert, and it is a mixture of my journey, my take on destinations, a few opinions and observations on daily life here. We have done 40 videos so far, 2 a week, and already have over 10,000 organic subscribers, so a solid start. The most viral video so far with almost 2 million organic hits is 10 Things Croatia Does Better than Any Other Country, followed by

Do you speak Croatian? Can you describe to us your language learning process? 

Lauren - Yes, I speak Croatian. I’m a passionate linguist and I work as a translator.  

Paul - Not fluently, and my accent is a crime against the Croatian language, but good enough for television interviews, etc. I spoke Russian before and so had the Slavic base, and the rest I picked up (for better or worse) in cafes. 
 

What are the things you have the most problems with, regarding Croatian language learning? 

Lauren - There aren’t really any issues with the language as such, but one thing Croats could do is exercise a little leniency towards the now very many foreigners, members of the diaspora and digital nomads who are moving here. Croatian is a very difficult language to learn if another Slavic language isn’t your first language. They absolutely should learn the language of the country they’re living in, but fluency shouldn’t be expected.  

Paul - The dialects! 

What are your studying tips for new Croatian learners? 

Lauren - Keep the TV/radio on, read it, consume it, listen to it. Don’t rush it, your brain doesn’t process things like a sponge after nine or ten years of age. Most people who are bi or multilingual are far better at understanding their second or third language than they are formulating speech themselves. It’s a perfectly normal part of the process to realiz you understand every word spoken but can’t seem to string a sentence together to respond instantly. It’s also normal for your lack of confidence to stifle your actual ability. On top of that, it’s worth noting that standard Croatian is made up of a huge number of dialects and subdialects, which as a linguist have always interested me and I’ve written many articles about (here’s a sample)  

A person from Zagorje will likely struggle to understand someone from Brac, and there are words used in different villages of the same island that someone a few miles away doesn’t know. If you don’t understand something, don’t beat yourself up! 

 
How could Croatia attract more foreigners, in your opinion? 

Lauren - There are many things one could say about this, but the top of the list would be to drop the red tape and look away from tourism. This country has a blossoming tech and IT industry, and it has gained the attention of large multinationals over more recent years. Action needs to be taken and reforms need to continue being made to attract investors who feel safe pumping their money into this country. Aside from that, the negative ‘Only in Croatia’ attitude needs a little bit of a rewiring. Nobody who has any experience of reality here could ever claim this country is perfect, it has a long list of problems, but if I had a euro for every time I heard ‘Only in Croatia’ said about a problem that occurs just about everywhere, I’d be very rich. Mindset is everything, action comes next. 

Paul - Quite simply by focusing on the positives. There is a default negative mindset here, when actually there are so many good things to celebrate. It is a sad truth that a Croat can forgive you anything except success. As a result, a lot of the successful and positive stories stay under the radar. The reality is that there are many great stories here, and an exciting eco-system is developing. We just need to bring them to the surface. My slogan would be Croatia, Your Safe, Authentic Lifestyle destination, as these are three of the most attractive things in this remote work revolution. But a lot of foreigners are already seeing the benefits of Croatia and are already here, as well as a growing number of returning diaspora. 

 
Tell us something about the Total Croatia News portal. Who are your reporters and journalists? 

We are the largest English language portal about Croatia, and we’ve had hundreds of writers over the years, from politicians to authors, and from members of the diaspora who have moved here to war veterans. During the pandemic, we created a chatbot and Viber community to aid tourists with their entry into Croatia which was praised by MUP and won 7 international awards, and Paul recently won a lawsuit against the Croatian National Tourist Board. We are currently a small team and we tackle news, politics, lifestyle, business and diaspora stories. We publish articles on entrepreneurs, business, startups and the investment scene, and take a deep dive into politics every week. We aren’t just writing fluffy tourism stories, but looking more deeply into what Croatia is, how it works, and how it can be improved. We have strong readership from around the world. 

 
One of the book sections is homesickness. Do you ever feel homesick? How do you handle it? 

Lauren - Of course. It’s only normal. I pay for a £40 flight and am there in two hours. 

 
What's your favorite Croatian dish? 
Lauren - Stuffed peppers (punjene paprike), and sarma is a close second. 

Paul - Sarma 

 
And your Croatian song? 
Lauren - Trag u beskraju by the late Oliver Dragojevic 

Paul - Being a Hvar boy, it is Oci Boje Lavande for me. 

 
Is there any Croatian expression or word you particularly like? 

Lauren - For me, the Dalmatian word Brombul - A mix of everything and anything! In Croatian, you'd probably just say 'mjesavina svega i svačega'. 

Paul – An exclamation 'Ajme meni' or 'uhljeb' (Lazy and incompetent timeservers appointed to positions in which they hold no qualifications or experience and kept there for little to no reason by the state.) 

 
Would you say the Croatian people are good at languages? What are the most common mistakes you noted? 

Lauren - Croats speak excellent English and have been praised for that internationally. It’s quite remarkable given the huge differences there are between Slavic and Germanic or Romance languages. There are several common mistakes, you can read them in this article 

 
As I've read, you are raising children here. Are you happy with the education here? 

Lauren: I don’t want children, but Paul has two teenagers who have lived in Jelsa (Hvar), Varazdin and in Zagreb. He can tell you more about that side of things. 

Paul - I think Hvar is one of the best places in the world to raise kids at an early age, for its safety, nature and community. I would prefer the education to be a lot less focused on religion and more on IT and skills for the modern world, but one thing kids have these days that we didn’t is YouTube. I am constantly stunned at how much they pick up outside of school on topics that interest them, far surpassing my knowledge in topics such as biology and chemistry. The internet has made education a global opportunity, it remains only to inspire the young minds.  

 
Are you planning to write more books? Any possible inspiration? 

Maybe! But that would be telling… 

 
Tell us please, where can we find your book? 

You can find it on international platforms in paperback and digital versions, and here in Croatia either online or on the shelves of Hocu knjigu, Skolska knjiga, Ljevak and Discover Croatia. 

Thank you Lauren and Paul! We wish you all the best and great success with your book!