Sara Dyson, a Texas native and founder of Expat in Croatia, has been living in Split long enough to be considered a local. On a sunny morning in Split, we sat down for a Split Tech City podcast chat with her, to find out more about her life here, her work, and many other interesting things.

We will go over some of Sara’s story in this article but deliberately won’t offer any major spoilers.

You’ll just have to watch our podcast interview with her to find out everything else!

Back in 2012, Sara’s move to Split was somewhat unplanned. Before Split, she lived in New York, Amsterdam, Florida, and California. When her visa expired while she was in Amsterdam, Sara’s plan was to visit Italy.

But a blog post about Croatia caught her attention. It praised the beauty of the country and the welcoming spirit of the locals, which was enough of a draw to detour Sara from Italy to Split.

She visited and she stayed. A true lover of this city, her favorite place in Split is something most people wouldn’t expect.

The only thing we’ll say is that – it’s not the Diocletian’s Palace. 😉

When Sara moved here, there were no groups on Facebook or many websites in English that provided any information to the newcomers from other countries who decided to settle down in Croatia. Especially when it comes to bureaucracy. And we all know what bureaucracy can be like!

“I relied on the advice and help of good people. Then I started writing down and sharing my experiences so that it would be easier for every person who comes after me,” Sara said. This was the start of Expat in Croatia.

It all started as a hobby, and then it grew into a very successful business.

“I realized that I like to talk about Croatia all day and thought about whether I can turn my love into a business and hire more people. First I wrote about what I was going through. Later posts became about what I don’t know, but I’d love to learn.”

Nowadays, Expat in Croatia is helping a lot of internationals who have decided to call Croatia their home and, aside from Sara and the rest of the team, they also enlist local experts to help foreigners with taxes, healthcare insurance, legal matters, etc.

We’re thankful Sara took the time from her busy schedule to share her story with us, and invite you all to watch the entire interview to find out more about, not only her life and work but also about some of her favorite spots in Split and Croatia, as well as interesting advice she shared! 😀

Photos by: Ivan Gracin