My name is Rudolf, and I'm from a town called Pforzheim in Germany, but I was actually born in Kyrgyzstan when it was still a part of Soviet Union. It's a long and interesting story, but in short, my family was actually a part of a German community living there for generations. When I was three years old we had to move to Germany, so I don’t remember much from that time, but I do speak Russian fluently which also helped me to understand Croatian since they are both Slavic languages.

Image credit: Rudolf Schonberg

How did you end up in Croatia and Zagreb?

Well, that’s an interesting story in itself.  A few months ago I was working in Germany. It was an OK job in a hospital IT service, but it was pretty boring with no advancement possibilities, and it wasn't fulfilling at all. So one day I asked myself what I'm doing here. Why am I working here if I don’t like this? Soon after that, I ended up selling everything I own to get enough money for a long journey. At that time, my sister wanted to travel to the Philippines on vacation with her husband. So I said, OK, let’s go there together, and after that, I’ll figure out where to go next. We went, and we didn’t really like it there. It was completely a different world to us. So I started thinking about where I could go next, where it is warm and by the sea. And my sister said, why don’t you go to Zadar, Croatia. We actually vacationed in Zadar many times, and we loved it there. And since it was October and it was still warm in Croatia at the time, I said why not. I bought a plane ticket, and after a long and exhausting journey, I came to Zadar. 

While I was staying in Zadar, I also worked on some projects. Since I’m a web developer by profession, I can work from anywhere in the world as long as I have my laptop with me and a Wi-Fi code.  So, through an app online I’ve met a guy from Zagreb who is also in a software development business, and we arranged a meeting in Zagreb to talk about the possibility of developing a game. So, this is why I came to Zagreb. And when I came here, I actually really loved it at first! I arrived at Kaptol where my first Airbnb apartment was, and I was so surprised at how beautiful it was. I didn’t know anything about Zagreb before so it was all amazing to me. So then I decided to stay here for a longer time and potentially live here. My first host was this amazing guy who actually showed me everything in Zagreb and introduced me to his friends. And I'm still in contact with him even though I now live in a different apartment.

That’s the reason actually why I love Croatia so much. I didn’t feel like a stranger here. It felt more like family and home. The same was in Zadar, where the people who rented me the apartment basically took me in as their child and showed me around. That’s something I’m not used to growing up in Germany. People here are much warmer and open and also focused on family and friends around them. In Germany, generally speaking, people are more focused on their jobs and careers and free time with your close ones is not valued as much as in Croatia. For example, in Germany, the main question when meeting someone is: ''What do you do? What is your profession?'' Let’s talk about work. And here, I didn’t get that vibe. 

Image credit: S. Kaštelan, TZGZ

What are your plans for the future? Staying in Zagreb?

Well for New Year’s Eve I’m going to Split. I rented a house there, and my sister and friends will come from Germany to celebrate there with me. Then after that, I will be actually heading back to Germany for some time which I really don’t look forward to. I’ve got a job offer which I can’t refuse, but they told me I can come for a month or so to introduce myself to everyone and to get to know the company and then after that initial learning period I can work from anywhere I want. So my plan is to come back to Zagreb and then hopefully stay here, this time long term. I really don’t even want to leave Zagreb now, but this job offer is too good to pass up. Right now, I have everything I need in Zagreb. I love it here, and next time I come back, I’m staying here for sure. My plan is to actually build a company here, but I’m still missing some experience. So I want to work for the next few years and then when I have enough knowledge, use it to build something on my own.

In the end, I want to say, somehow I only had good experiences in Croatia. Maybe I’m just lucky, but I’ve met a lot of amazing people who really welcomed me like family.

Header image credit: M. Vrdoljak, TZGZ

Author:Darija Ilić