| ACountryLife Articles > Readers Experiences > Croatia the secret garden of Europe- Part 2 The life and times of British smallholders in Croatia |
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Submitted by : Croatia Keith |
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Croatia the secret garden of Europe- Part 2 The life and times of British smallholders in Croatia Just as so many have done before, Michele and I could not get the dream of running our own smallholding out of our heads. Sitting in suburban London and conforming to the daily cycle of comuting, the realisation that there had to be more to life was a constant nagging thought that would not go away. Just buying "eco friendly" products, changing a few light bulbs and recycling at the weekend was never going to be enough. We had spent two years talking about what we would like to do and another in looking into where we might do it, quickly realising that staying the UK would not be within our budget. Having finaly decided to change our lifestyle, the prospect of having to move abroad to realise our dream quickly became an exciting adventure. Naturaly, most of our friends and family thought we were completely mad! Having taken several months off work and traveling around Europe, central Croatia was the place which appealed to us the most and which ticked all the important boxes. A lush, beautiful country, cheap property and easily driveable from the UK all scoring a high marks on our list of critera. Add to this what appeared to be a genuinely friendly and welcoming people, many of whom spoke English and the decesion became even easier. Work contracts were completed, the house was sold and we had bought a caravan, there now really was no going back. In October 2004, both nudging 40, we left the UK behind and set off on the adventure of our lives with our two faithfull German Sheperds in tow. We camped up for the winter at the coast enjoying the milder weather, and travelled the few hundred km to view suitable properties in our chosen region on a regular basis. Finding and buying a property was a relatively easy and straight forward process all completed inside a couple of months with the help of a good English speaking lawyer. Michele and I, both coming from design and construction industry backgrounds, had very close ideas on the type of property we wanted and which would be within our abilities as far as renovation work was concerned. We found an idylic brick farmhouse, complete with five acres of fertile land, good water, electricity and lovely views in just the right village location for ?18,000euros, which was about 12,000GBP back in those good old days! We wanted to be within easy reach of a main town and not too far from a major airport, the comfort and safety of civilisation needed to be fairly close by! Having a local hospital, doctor, dentist and vet within easy reach were other items on our priority check list. We set ourselves the target of 12 months to complete the farmhouse renovation, another year to set up and establish the smallholding and another to set up a business. Suprise, suprise, things did not go according to plan and we ran over by almost year, and looking back we had set out timetable far to tight. But now at least all the three main aspects of our life, house, smallholding and business, are all up and running successfully. Our main buisness now, apart from running the smallholding, is selling real estate and project managing building contracts for other "Mad Brits" looking to do the same. (www.inlandcroatia.com) There are now a few of us here making much of the heavier jobs that bit easier, everyone mucks in to help with whatever experience, trade or help they can. Several people are now running their own rural holiday businesses, while others generate their income from internet based work, each to their own. For anyone considering relocating to another country, we would certainly recommend it. The practical side of things such as buying property, learning a new language and so forth can all be acheived quite easily. It is certainly not for the feint hearted however and there will be various traumas along the way, but it can be done by most "average" people just like us. We are often asked what advice we would offer anyone thinking about making such a move, our top five answers would probably be; Thouroughly investigate your chosen country, get it wrong and it can be an expensive mistake. Make sure you know what you want! Make sure that it is the dream of you BOTH. If one of you is just along for the ride, you are doomed to failure in the end. Loose your watch. Life in many countries is run by the height of the sun and the moon or the wake up call of the cockrel and time is a different concept. Leave your old attitudes behind. Things will be culturaly very different and it will be you that needs to change and adapt, not your hosts. And finaly, but perhaps most importantly, take an honest look at your relationship. If you are already close and used to being together 24/7, things will only get better. If not, the then inevitable strain and pressure can lead to some very unhappy times and possibly worse. Good luck to you all. Keith Pierce. www.inlandcroatia.com keith@inlandcroatia.com |
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