Top five reasons to move to Split, aside from the obvious ones in the photo featured above: the sea, the sun, the relaxed atmosphere, the lovely cities, and the blue skies. According to our internationals, while still important and wonderful, these are not the best benefits of living here, not in the least. Well then, let’s hear what they have to say about the top five reasons to move to Croatia!

Living environment

If you have never lived in a big city and had to settle for hourly commutes every day, you would not be able to appreciate fully all the benefits the size of most Croatian cities brings to day-to-day life. While Zagreb can require longer commutes because of its size, other larger cities in Croatia like Split, Rijeka, Dubrovnik, Osijek, Šibenik, Zadar, Varaždin, Pula, Slavonski Brod, etc. are moderately sized.

“I find Split to be a city that offers an excellent combination of work and professional activities, free time, raising a family, and living in harmony close to beautiful nature. Life in Split is very social, so it is very easy to connect and share experiences with other people. People here are genuinely open and easy to talk to.”

Cristiano, Italy (Embedded Electronic Design Engineer at Include)

We often hear people say about Split that it is “just right”. It means the city is neither too big, nor too small, but tailored to man. You can get around easily enough without sitting in a car or public transport for hours every day. This leaves you with extra free time to spend with family and friends or enjoying your hobbies. Even if you prefer more peaceful suburban surroundings to live in, it is possible to live in an area like that, while still being close to Split.

Natural environment

Split has another great benefit in its geographical position. It gives our city excellent potential for connectivity with the rest of Croatia and the world, as well. And makes it truly easy to work globally and live locally.

The mild Mediterranean climate is another benefit we hear about often. Living here gives you an opportunity to enjoy summers by the sea and all the joys they bring, while also having winters that are not harsh and still leave you with enough sunny days to enjoy outdoor activities.

In addition to these life essentials, the natural beauty that surrounds us is absolutely wonderful to visit and enjoy on days off. Most of our international tech professionals often mention it as a great way to relax and enjoy themselves, and also gather energy for work, making it a great benefit to maintain the work-life balance they get from living here.

“In Split you basically have everything, but the city still does not feel big. Everything here is easy-going. I like the fact that you have so many great and beautiful places nearby which you can visit on a short day trip.”

Morten, Denmark (CEO and one of the co-founders of Split’s startup company GetByBus)

Work-life balance

People here are used to living a well-paced and balanced lifestyle. It seems to be a universally Mediterranean thing. And while it might take some time to get used to it, soon every new arrival starts to appreciate the “pomalo” (translation: slowly) way of life.

That is not to say people here just rest and do not work hard. The fact that, despite all possible obstacles, the tech and startup ecosystems in Split are growing, should be a clear indicator of how hard the people here work.

“For me, it’s the sea, mountains, people, food, and quality of life here that I love the most.”

Alexandre, France (Market Area Manager at Include)

However, we do appreciate the other things in life, as well. This work-life balance is brought on firstly by the cultural heritage of nurturing familial bonds and friendships and considering them an important aspect of life, and secondly by the abovementioned living environment tailored for such a lifestyle.

When you have a city that is built to tailor connections between people and not hinder them, then it is only expected that people will use those benefits to connect with others. We should recognize that Split’s “just right” size is what gives us enough time to enjoy ourselves with family, friends, or even on our own.

Safety

Overall safety is something many of the internationals we have spoken with mention as a great benefit of their life here. It is true that crime rates are not high as in some of the well-known cities. Something that greatly contributes to this fact is the “tailored to man” size of the city.

In areas like that, everyone is familiar with one another, so it is no wonder that children are allowed to play outside, something many internationals mentioned as an important aspect to consider when moving somewhere with your family.

“Croatia is, by far, the nicest place I have lived in, and we intend to stay here.”

Luke, United Kingdom (Customer Support Manager at Typeqast)

Every person should feel safe where they live and we are happy to hear that people who have come to Split from abroad feel like that in our city. Safety is definitely one thing about life in Split that we sometimes take for granted and forget to appreciate fully.

People

We often hear from internationals living here and digital nomads alike that Croatians are friendly, kind, generous, and helpful. We guess we have that hospitality gene. But on top of that, we shouldn’t forget that, when it comes to working, we are also high-skilled and well-educated.

“People, nature, food, safety, and again people! You can always ask if you do not understand something, Croatians are always ready to help.”

Dana, Kazakhstan (Market Area Manager at Include)

English is widely spoken, so it is no wonder that internationals who arrive here do not find it so shocking and alienating, but quickly manage to find someone to spend time with who makes them feel at home. This benefits work as well because it does not hinder any possible international business partnerships from developing – no need to hire a translator when your team is more than capable of speaking English well.

Quality of life

As we’ve seen, these top five reasons for moving to Croatia that our internationals have so helpfully pointed out are interwoven together and cumulatively boost the most important benefit of all: overall quality of life.

“Quality of life is just great here! The climate is perfect, people are friendly, and there are lots of opportunities, so it kind of feels like an ongoing holiday.”

Morten, Denmark (CEO and one of the co-founders of Split’s startup company GetByBus)

This is something we don’t consciously appreciate on a daily basis, but when someone points it out and makes us stop and think about it, it truly is worth noting as a benefit of living in Split and Croatia in general.

That’s not to say that Croatia as a country doesn’t have room for improvement – all of us have it – as long as we exist, we can improve. But other countries, the ones we perceive as “better and more perfect” than ours, have things to improve, too.

It is on us to acknowledge all the positives many internationals recognize in our country, use them to our advantage, and improve everyone’s quality of life even more. Day by day, one step at a time, and using what we have at our disposal. And what we have at our disposal in our city of Split and Croatia as our country is truly remarkable.