Dobar dan!
A whole month ago now, I left Minnesota and “moved” to Croatia.
First of all, I need to say how incredibly grateful I am to be here, as an American, during a global pandemic. It feels very special and I’m trying to enjoy it fully for everyone who wishes they were here as well. I’m being careful – wearing my mask, taking my temperature, and avoiding crowds of people and almost all public transportation.
Second of all, I need to set my current scene:
I’m sitting in the white and windowed alcove in my apartment in Zagreb that looks over the square and church.
I’m drinking great Croatian wine that my host brought me and listening to moody Axel Flóvent music.
I’ve been wearing my sweatpants all day, except for my morning walk to get a spinach and feta quiche from a bakery by the park.
What is life. I like it.
Unexpectedly becoming a digital nomad…
My COVID experience has been interesting, as it has for most people. I quit my job last February and flew to the UK to start a long-term trip working on farms around Europe….but an emergency trip to Switzerland and a stressful week and a half later, I was back home jobless and plan-less….
Since I didn’t know how long I would be at home, I wanted to make the most of it and see what I could do with all my time now that I wasn’t working. I created a tiny community garden on the side of my yard for the neighbors who walk by, and I decided to enroll in a course on ecosystem restoration through the same organization that put on the restoration camp I went to in Mexico. But the thing I’m most thankful for was deciding to dedicate my time to figuring out how to make money online so when the time came to travel again, I would be able to support myself and travel until I got tired of it.
Since college when I first heard the terms “location independent” and “digital nomad”, I knew that’s what I wanted for my life. I wanted to have the ability to travel when I needed so I could spend time with my friends and family around the country and world. I wanted to be able to experience other cultures and, if you haven’t guessed by now, be able to work on farms and help with restoration projects. And all the other things I don’t even know I want to do yet.
But I barely told anyone – about this website and about my dreams of being able to make money online as a business owner – because I didn’t know anyone else who felt the same way and my dreams felt a little silly and unrealistic. Even so, I still felt it deep in my bones that someday I would be sitting somewhere in Europe, drinking wine and able to support myself…
Less than a year ago, I was working long hours at a cafe and catering events trying to save for my trip. I was exhausted, but still trying to work as much as possible to save every ounce of money for travels, because I thought I would need to live off of savings for the foreseeable future.
At the end of March, I decided to join a wonderful community of entrepreneurs focused on being location independent. It’s because of their support that I’m now self-employed by providing marketing services for entrepreneurs, living in Croatia, and wondering how all of this happened.
For anybody who also dreams of traveling long-term and still being able to support yourself, please know it’s totally possible and I believe in you.
So…what have I been doing? Good question.
I’ve been laying low in Zagreb, appreciating the live cello, guitar, hip hop, and violin music in the square outside my apartment every day, hanging with kind people, and spending too many hours playing this baby guitar I just got for travel.
Co-Working / Working
I found a French travel agency that was offering a couple extra co-working spots. So, several times per week, I take a leisurely 40 minute walk to the office and work several hours in my own adorable room.
I’ve spent the majority of my time working on lots of projects – client work, another business thing with a friend, potential business things, Squashbucklers….sorta…., and trying to quell all the ideas I have. Can someone tell me which thing to focus on so I chill a bit, please? Thanks.
Grocery Shopping (see also: taste testing every brand of chocolate)
My favorite grocery store is just around the corner. It’s organic, and has a “no plastic” pledge, meaning all the packaging for products under its own label is home-compostable (pretty impressive, no?).
They also have bins of discounted food that they can’t sell at full price for some reason…maybe it’s “too ripe” or “too ugly”. Those are in quotes because it’s still good enough for me 🙂
Playing Guitar
I bought a baby guitar on a semi-whim after my French friend brought me to a music store at the end of a tour of Zagreb. I kept talking about getting a guitar and never doing it so she took matters into her own hands, haha. Thanks Salomé! I’m finally learning some picking patterns after more than a decade of owning a guitar.
Update: It took a slight tumble from the chair to the floor and has been awarded a small dent. Character, right?
Update: Hit me up if you want a lullably.
Museum-ing
Did you know Zagreb has approximately a bajillion museums?
The most well-known is the Museum of Broken Relationships. I spent a Sunday afternoon observing all the objects representing a broken relationship from someone around the world, and reading the stories that went along. They include friendships, romantic relationships and familial relationships.
Some were funny, some made your heart sink. Together, it was healing.
Drinking Coffee and Watching People Ski at Medvednica Mountain
Saturday morning, 30 minute drive outside of the city up a windy mountain road in the beautiful forest.
Two espressos, watching cute children learn to ski and other people fall down.
4 nice Croatians, fun conversations, one random fall from a standing position while not moving. Muddy boots.
Getting scolded (probably) in Croatian for crossing the ski hill in front of people (took longer than estimated cause it was slippery, y’all).
Getting Lost
I have a talent for making a supposed 5 minute walk to a restaurant (for takeout) turn into a 25 minute end-up-on-the-other-side-of-the-city-without-ever-arriving-at-the-restaurant walk. What can I say? It’s a gift.
BTW, the restaurant in question was Zrno, an organic, vegan restaurant that was born out of the large organic farm outside of Zagreb of the same name. The bread and sandwiches I occasionally buy at the grocery store are handmade and delivered fresh from the farm :).
My Struggles
Up until today, I’ve had the compost from 4 weeks of vegetables, coffee and whatnot sitting in my freezer because according to my host, they don’t compost in the building. Or recycle. Knowing what I do about food waste – how bad it is to put it in the trash and how beneficial it can be as compost – I was determined to find a suitable compost bin. It just took me a while to figure it out. Finally, I learned you can put them in the brown bins that say “Biootpad” (meaning “food waste”) that are placed all around the city. At least that’s what I gathered from the internet, watching people from my window and not getting yelled at when I did so myself.
My real struggle at the moment is trying to combine the “traveling” mindset with the “living in a pandemic” mindset with the “I still need to work” mindset.
I’ve never traveled like this before – where my mind isn’t fully immersed in where I am and who I’m with. I spend a lot of time on my computer when I’d rather be exploring one of the many museums or parks. I’m trying to remember it’s okay to stay in my apartment and appreciate the life below. And I don’t need to feel guilty for not exploring more. There are places I would go around here, but I’m wary of using too much public transportation. So, here I sit. And I’m thankful for even being here. COVID will dissipate enough soon enough and I can get back to exploring. (Now I’m just affirming myself :)).
I want to WWOOF, but there are only a few farms here with internet and most require many working hours that don’t really fit with having a remote job…anybody have any ideas?
What I Miss:
Hugs and a piano.
Especially after hearing this song:
What I’ve Learned:
Many things.
I love living in the city. I have a great view; I can people watch all day and night if I want; I can listen to live music all day; I can walk out my door and have my pick of bakeries, cafes, grocery stores, museums and parks, even during COVID. There are always people and something happening.
I think I like the countryside a bit more. On the short drive to the ski hill, I got to see a tiny bit of the beautiful countryside I know Croatia has. I forgot it existed while being here in the city, and it reminded me how much I love being in nature and quiet.
I like living alone, but I don’t need it. Going from a full house with my parents, two siblings, a cat and a needy dog, it was a strange experience suddenly having a large and beautiful space all to myself. For the first few weeks I was all about it. I can sing whenever I want (the neighbors still haven’t complained?), I can use the TV to watch Netflix and take up the whole couch (just kidding the couch is giganto), I can fill the fridge with only my food…it’s always quiet, well, unless you count the rotation of music outside from the musicians and impressively in-sync choruses of drunk people, or the garbage trucks that come almost every night at midnight and beep. I think I’m at the part where I want at least one other person here to laugh with. Any takers?
Shoutouts:
- Can’t be more grateful for my parents’ support and believing that the million zoom calls and hours I spent in my room would turn into something.
- The random guy who came out of nowhere and tried to help me find my AirBnB
- Dominick for fixing my dishwasher
- Salomé for all the things 🙂
- My AirBnB host for the surprise Croatian wine
- All the nice cashiers I’ve met who are very friendly when I tell them I only speak English
Questions I’ve been asked:
I didn’t realize Americans were allowed into Croatia. How did you get in?
When I booked everything in October, “tourism” was still a valid reason for entry into Croatia. The restrictions changed in December to exclude tourism. When this happened, I thought I would have to cancel everything. However, after some internet sleuthing, I learned I still had a good chance of entering under “economic interest” since I had a accommodation booked for a while and was planning to spend money in the country.
I had a huge stack of papers with me – invitation letters from my AirBnB host and co-working space, a letter from the Croatian border police affirming I would be allowed into Croatia, copies of my accommodation, the Enter Croatia form, the entry rules to Croatia, passenger locator forms for all my flights, and several copies of my negative COVID PCR test. I had heard people had the most issues with the airlines in America refusing to let them get on the plane, even though Croatia was letting most people in if they qualified. So, I was a little nervous and just hoped for the best. In the end, everything went very smoothly for me. The only thing they ever looked at was the negative COVID PCR test. This was checked several times to make sure it was within 48 hours of arriving in Croatia and that it said it was a PCR test.
In Minnesota, everyone has access to free and unlimited COVID testing, including the saliva test, which is what mine was.
Why did you choose Croatia?
Several reasons. I wasn’t originally planning to leave the country, but I wanted to move out and everywhere in the US was either too expensive, too cold, or too politically leaning not in the direction that I like. My long-term goal is always Europe, but since almost all of it is blocked off to US citizens at the moment, I figured if I had any chance of getting to Switzerland to see my family, I would need to get to another European country that was allowing US citizens first.
I’ve also wanted to go to Croatia for a long time, and they were one of the few countries allowing Americans. And it came down to the fact that I can afford to live here. Which is huge.
How’s the COVID situation there and do people wear masks?
The cases here are pretty low and keep declining, which is great. Many things are closed, including all indoor and outdoor dining, though takeout is open and widely used. Every store that’s open has signs on their doors indicating the number of people allowed in at one time, so often, there is a line of people waiting outside. Most people wear masks inside buildings, and many people wear them in the busy areas of town. However, I have seen several instances of people not wearing them correctly or inside stores. I can’t compare the compliance to other cities though, since I have barely been anywhere else during the pandemic.
What language do they speak? Do they speak English?
Croatian. Everyone I’ve talked to has spoken English as well, at varying levels. When I’ve gone to the grocery store and always end up apologizing for speaking English, they smile and immediately switch! However, I’m in a large city and I’m sure in areas with fewer foreigners it may be a different story.
What is Croatian food like?
I don’t know! I haven’t tried it. Because the restaurants are mostly closed, I’ve mostly made my own food and gotten takeout only a few times. From what I’ve heard, it’s very meat-heavy though :).
Are there vegetarian and organic options?
Plenty! I’m in Zagreb, the capital and largest city, so that might play a role. However, there are tons of options for vegetarian and vegan food with serveral specifically vegan restaurants. The grocery store I go to, Bio&Bio, is organic and all vegetarian. Zrno is an all organic and vegan restaurant nearby that sources it’s food from its farm outside of Zagreb.
How long are you allowed to stay in Croatia?
As a US Citizen, I can stay for 90 days here within a 180 day period. Because Croatia isn’t part of the “Schengen Zone” like most other European countries, it doesn’t affect the time you can spend in those countries. They’re separate, which is pretty nice.
Is it safe?
I feel very safe where I am. The streets are all lit up at night and there are always people around. I have no problem walking around at night, although I still stay aware of what’s happening around me and stay in populated areas.
Got questions? Comments? Let me know! I’d love to hear from you.
