Moving to Croatia: Jenny's Fresh Start – No Language, a Kid, and a Job

4:06Dominka: Why Croatia? We have to admit quite openly: we were lucky that you found us after you had already moved here. We didn't somehow lure you here.

Jennifer: No.

4:16Dominka: Instead, you actually found us here. But why the first step? Why does someone move from Germany, Austria to Croatia without knowing the language and without, I don't know … You didn't even have family or a house or anything like that here. Nothing.

4:32Jennifer: It was completely new. Well, of course I knew it from holidays, but not the area I moved to. I used to spend a lot, a lot of time in Istria, in Pula. The people are nice there too, I can't say otherwise. But then for a while I was down in Dalmatia near Zadar, and I simply fell in love with the turquoise water, the good food, the super friendly people. I like old towns. I don't like too much hustle and bustle. Like I said, I'm a village kid. And I'm just totally a water person. For me it was clear: As a little kid I always told my mum, one day I'll live by the sea.

5:06Jennifer: And yes, we have Germany too, but it's cold and grey and not turquoise. And so for me it was always: Well, why not? I like a challenge and I decide a lot, a lot from the gut. I'm a gut person, and I said: not much can go wrong. And, like you say, with my child I always said: if he can't handle it, then of course we'll go back. But he's also … how do you say it? The phrase escapes me. He's all fired up too. All fired up for Croatia, for the people, for the language.

5:55Dominka: Crazy. It's been more than a year now since you moved here, right? In November 2024?

Jennifer: Right, yes. It was 2024.

6:06Dominka: Do you regret your decision?

Jennifer: No, definitely not.

Dominka: Do you want to go back?

Jennifer: No, definitely not.

6:12Dominka: Okay, what was the challenge, so to speak? I think there are 10,000 things that can go wrong. But did anything really go wrong with the move, where you'd say: wow, I really didn't see that coming, and I could really have done without it? Did you ever think at any point: hey, what am I doing here?

6:31Jennifer: No, thank God not. I had my Plan B. I always have a Plan A, I always have a Plan B. I always need my security. And so I had already pictured various situations: what if it doesn't work? Or what if the job doesn't go well? Or what if my child isn't happy? You don't know what's coming at you. And there weren't really many difficulties. And the difficulties there were, were easy to fix.

6:56Jennifer: It was simply like this: you come to Croatia, and first there was this thing: you need to register. It's not like in Germany, where you go there and say: okay, here I am. No, first you go to the police. Why would you go to the police as a German? If you have to report something or if something has happened. But otherwise you don't go to the police. And that was my first thought: why do I have to go to the police if I want to register here? And then of course the difficulty was …

7:21Dominka: Were you already afraid they'd deport you?

7:24Jennifer: … not knowing at all what's coming at you. Not a word, nothing in Croatian except what you speak on holiday, like hello and thank you. And that was it. And then you get there, your police officers are sitting there, and they talk to you in Croatian. And you stand there with your documents and first get questioned.

7:43Dominka: So how did that go? Did someone translate?

7:46Jennifer: No. The landlady came along, and she spoke Croatian with them. But the landlady only speaks English too, no German either. That's very often the case here, that many people don't speak German or very little German and more English. And she was there and then told me what I had to do. And that was okay. But you think to yourself: oh, what am I actually doing? But it was never the case that I'd say: wow, this is totally negative, I throw my hands up in despair and go back. So no.

8:17Dominka: Okay. But that's just your attitude and the way you are, right? If you weren't like that, you'd probably never have come.

Jennifer: No.

8:27Dominka: Because I do think, for someone from … okay, Germany is pretty complicated bureaucratically too. But I have the feeling Croatia is another step worse there. Not because the bureaucracy is even more complicated, but because people do it so slowly somehow, and it takes ages before you get anywhere.

8:53Jennifer: Yes, right. That was also a kind of foundation for me. First of all this easygoing pace, the slowness, the pomalo, that you learn a bit that everything is a bit slower. You already learn it on holiday: you say you'd like to pay, and then you wait an hour for the bill to come. On holiday, okay, you're on holiday. But when it's about official errands, or you need your card or some insurance, then it really drags on. They know: it'll come eventually, and that's fine. And especially for me as a German, who always had her structures and always said: okay, I have to be there 15 minutes early, that was the first foundation, where I say: okay, I have to start easing off the gas a bit.

9:36Dominka: Cool. And your child? Kindergarten, day care and so on: was that complicated? Really damn complicated?

9:46Jennifer: Well, okay. There are few kindergarten places, in the public kindergartens, that is. But there are always, let me call them, day-care centers. That's like kindergarten, and that works really well. The settling in, too, was perfect. My child didn't cry once. That really, really surprised me, because he's actually very sensitive, and he went along with it wonderfully. That was really great. A few things work differently, where I simply say: okay, I find that quite nice. Preschool is a bit split here. In Austria he was in kindergarten too, and he already had preschool there, because he would have had to start school this year.

Dominka: Ah, okay.

10:28Jennifer: There he had preschool integrated into kindergarten. And that exists in the public kindergartens in Croatia too, but it's really, really hard to get a place there. No matter whether you're a foreigner, a newcomer that is, or a local. Nobody goes and says: hey, you're a foreigner, you don't get a place. The locals have exactly the same problems getting a place. But then you do get a place, somewhere, it may take a while sometimes, and then everything actually goes well.

10:56Dominka: For kids it's actually always easier to find their way, and they learn the language much faster too. They just play, and then it comes. How's your son doing? How does he speak Croatian now?

11:08Jennifer: He's like a local, yes. He really speaks a lot, a lot of Croatian. At home, of course, I always speak German. I always try to get a few words out of him. It's great, of course. He learns it all day, he doesn't hear anything else. Even at the beginning, lots of words that he then said to me, and I was like: what's that? What are you saying? That was totally cool. He found friends there relatively quickly. It was funny then, because there was also a German boy there, who had also lived in Germany for a while. He spoke German, of course, and helped a bit too. And yes, it works great. It used to be all about football, he still does that, and now fishing has been added.

11:48Dominka: Okay, so it's just important for the viewers: you live by the sea, you're not in a big city now, you're right by the sea, and that's also what drew you here. Jenny, you don't necessarily need the language for work. But to go to the supermarket, sit down in a café and maybe meet a few new friends, it would be better if it also worked a bit in Croatian. How far along are you now?

12:19Jennifer: I'd say I already understand very, very much. I do speak already, but at the moment it's a kind of German-English-Croatian mix. And with the people I always speak a lot of German with, why should I start speaking Croatian with them? That's just a bit of an adjustment somehow. But I do try to speak a lot, a lot of Croatian. And what I find so good in Croatia: However you pronounce it, you don't get laughed at, you get kindly corrected. It's not like: hey, you pronounced that wrong, but rather: better say it like this, because it's better. And what I find so nice: people are happy when you try. I always find that totally great. I made mistakes at the beginning, I laugh about them now. But I always simply wanted to learn this language, because I said: okay, if I go to another country, I want to adapt there, I want to learn the language, and I also want to belong. Sure, everyone knows: okay, I'm the German. But I know the language, I can make myself understood, I know what's important, I know what I need to watch out for.

13:17Dominka: Do you feel you've really arrived here as a German?

Jennifer: Definitely.

Dominka: Yes? Do you feel you're a bit excluded by people somehow, or do you feel they fully accept you?

13:29Jennifer: No, the opposite, really. They fully accept me, and they're all totally curious: why would anyone leave Germany? For many that's still a bit of a question mark.

13:38Dominka: Especially as a young person. With people who are retiring, it's logical: okay, here they can maybe do a bit more with their pension. Although, to be honest, we can report quite openly now that prices in Germany and Croatia or Austria are the same, or that some things here are even much more expensive, things you get cheaper there. Especially buying a flat and things like that really isn't something you can get very easily, right?

14:05Jennifer: Yes. Especially house hunting in season: there's something everywhere, for your short stay, for the holidays, for a vacation they practically throw it at you. And prices in season are of course super expensive. And then you have the problem with long-term rentals, you first have to find something. And if you find something, you have to keep a close eye that everything actually works.

14:28Jennifer: But most of the time you really have really lovely people. I've moved twice in that time now, and the first one was a really lovely family too, I can't say otherwise. They had an elderly grandma, they all had a family house, totally lovely. And the grandma was, let's say, 80. And she was so young and fit, she went into the garden every day, dug over her garden every day and everything. When I sometimes look at how it is in Germany: most people just sit at home and do nothing. That's what I find so nice: no matter where you go in Croatia, people are mostly outside, except when the bura blows. Then everyone's in their houses. But you always see people, and it's always a good mood. I've never met anyone in Croatia who was in a really bad mood. Well, they swear …

Dominka: Oh, come on.

15:15Jennifer: Yes, okay, they swear a lot. But not because they're having a bad day, it's like with us when we say "shit". The way of expressing things is a bit different here.

Dominka: A bit harsher.

15:27Jennifer: Yes, a bit harsher, yes. If you don't know the expressions or don't translate them, it's okay. But once you start to figure it out a bit … That's just how it is, you learn to deal with it. It's nothing personal. That's simply something where I said: it takes getting used to, but it's nice.

15:46Dominka: Very cool. Jenny, how do you go from one country to a new country without having a job?

15:54Jennifer: Well, I did that differently. I always need my security.

Dominka: Aha, okay.

15:58Jennifer: That means I did my research beforehand. If I hadn't had a job beforehand, I wouldn't have gone. I always need the security. For me it was like this: I had a new job, then quit my old, good job in Austria and said: listen, I've got something new, I'm doing it, I'm going down this path now, I want to give it a try. And then I did it. I liked being out on the boat, so I was in yacht charter. It was totally interesting. The problem was that it's simply not doable with a child, because a lot in Croatia is 24/7. Unfortunately it was also communicated a bit differently, but it was a totally good experience, I can't say otherwise. Then you look for what really suits you.

16:42Dominka: Good. How did you end up with us?

16:45Jennifer: Well, how did I end up with you? Good question.

Dominka: You don't even remember anymore.

16:54Jennifer: Through some job ad, I think. Or …

16:59Dominka: Did you get a referral to us or something?

17:01Jennifer: Yes, that's right. The colleague, Marijana. I talked to a friend, and she told me about her friend: hey, they do a really awesome job, give it a listen. I hadn't thought about it before. It was like: Is that a call center? Call centers don't interest me at all. I don't want to have to sell anything or push people. That's not for me at all. And then I talked a lot with Marijana. Thank you, Marijana.

Dominka: A heartfelt thank you for that once again.

17:35Jennifer: It went well, yes. And she actually explained to me that it isn't a call center at all. And that was already like: okay, interesting, tell me more. Then I talked more and more with Marijana and decided to apply to you.

17:49Dominka: Tell me, okay, you'd already ruled out call centers and knew: it's not for me, and this isn't a call center either. What was your first impression when you found out more about OB2B?

18:00Jennifer: Interesting, but I didn't really know what to make of it yet. Of course you look at the website, you look at everything Marijana told you about. I couldn't picture anything. It was like: okay, how does it work? I don't really get it. And then when I had my first conversations with you, it was like: okay, I find it really interesting, I find it really good. Then there was also this advantage of the mother tongue: I can speak German.

18:22Dominka: Cool. Did you have any sales experience up to then?

18:31Jennifer: I worked in field sales, so of course I was in sales, but in a completely different way. I did have to call a customer now and then, but it was more like: do you have time? I'll come by and present something to you. Because I worked in field sales for years, successfully, it was like this for me: I definitely want to do something in this field again. But I just couldn't picture yet what it's like on the phone.

18:58Dominka: And sales is something you'd like to stay in, right? It suits you, too, you have to say that quite openly. I still remember that back then, in the conversation with me, I was, I think, your first contact person here after Marijana, you said: hey, I actually really love doing this. And I thought: okay, let's take a look. But you can really tell that you really love the work and that sales really suits you. And yes, okay, the mother tongue is of course very important. For everyone who works here, it's important that they master the language. I find it really interesting. I think it's always easier to do something in your mother tongue.

19:42Dominka: Because we really do depend on language. It's the only tool we really have here, the one we can, may and must play with. If we can't master it, we're at its mercy. My mother tongue is actually Croatian. Yes, it's certainly my mother tongue, although German is actually my first language, the first language I really mastered or learned as a child. Because, you know, you actually spend more time at the playground and at school and at kindergarten and out with other kids than with your parents who talk to you.

20:24Dominka: But sometimes, and I always find this really fascinating about the phenomenon of language, I somehow have the feeling I couldn't do sales in Croatian nearly as well.

Jennifer: Really?

20:37Dominka: Yes, I don't know. I somehow have the feeling it's something different. With the people it's something completely different. Sales in Croatia and in Germany don't work the same way. You know what it's like in Croatia? Eating, drinking, and over dinner you somehow do deals.

Jennifer: Yes, right.

20:56Dominka: After six beers and so on, right? It's not really my … well, it is my style. I like going out and I like having a drink, but it's just not something where I'd say I want to do business there. I want to have fun with people I know well and not pretend somehow, right? Yes, so that's a small difference. But yes, you got lucky, didn't you?

21:25Jennifer: Yes, I got really lucky. I definitely couldn't be luckier in this situation. It fits perfectly. Especially with a child, of course, it's a job you can do really well. Like I said, he goes to kindergarten. But you don't just have the kid topic. And you have something every day, well, actually it's not every day that's different, but every call, every lead is just completely different, or every project.

21:54Dominka: Tell me, okay, you've already said that you don't regret your decision, that you'll stay here too. You'll probably soon be Croatian too, right? Would you have a very special tip or piece of advice for people who are thinking about moving to Croatia or abroad, but maybe Croatia specifically? What should they really keep in mind? And who wouldn't it be for, would you say?

22:24Jennifer: Those who don't dare, it wouldn't be for them. And those who overthink, or, let's say, whose plan is to become a millionaire.

Dominka: Aha. That works too, of course.

22:36Jennifer: But you just have, like you said yourself, many things in Croatia that are more expensive, for example flat prices, rents. Depends on where. But exactly where I am now, there are some places where you just pay 850 euros for a one-room flat. And that's just one room. I mean, what is it? 25 square meters.

22:55Dominka: And you also have to say it very, very openly: infrastructure in Croatia and Germany, you can't compare them, right?

Jennifer: No.

23:02Dominka: A big city, yes, maybe it's okay. But even a big city in Croatia can't be compared with a big city in Germany.

Jennifer: No.

23:10Dominka: And you pay the same as, I don't know, in Cologne maybe, for the flat.

23:23Jennifer: Yes, that's true. Especially when the bura blows. The bura is the wind in winter, mostly down in Dalmatia. And when the wind blows there, that's really something. You don't see a soul outside then. Really nobody's outside, everything's dark. Everyone's just inside doing nothing, really nobody goes out. And you should keep that in mind too, depending on where you go: especially in winter it can get chillier. But it's still something different. Especially when you're by the sea, it's beautiful. And you can still switch off. I love going to the sea, and lots of people will probably do the same: just switch off by the sea. Just this view of the waves. Whether it's storming like crazy right now or not, it's always totally fascinating, totally beautiful, and it always really helps me unwind.

24:03Dominka: Is it hard to make new friends in Croatia?

24:07Jennifer: No, I wouldn't say so. It always depends. For me the advantage is my child: you go to the playground, you stand outside the kindergarten, everyone talks to you. But I'm a very open person anyway, very outgoing, and I'm always the person who talks to someone. If I see something I find really cool, I just ask: Hey, where did you buy that? But also in general: you go somewhere, of course you're not the center of attention, but if you're nice and smile, then it works out. Then you always somehow get talking with someone. I don't find it hard to make friends. And there are still lots of Germans too, that adds to it. I always said I want a kind of mix. When I'm abroad, of course I still want to have my Germans too. But for me it was very, very important that I also have my Croatian friends.

24:57Dominka: Yes, sure. Especially for things that simply have to do with the culture and the country itself. You can't cut yourself off. Then it would actually be silly, then you should have moved to Mallorca.

25:10Jennifer: Oh no, I don't want that. I like the food here.

25:15Dominka: Great. Jenny, I'm really happy that you're still here, and I hope you stay for a long, long time. I'd say, to everyone who hasn't dared so far because of things like: oh, what do I do with my child? Are there decent kindergartens? What about finding a flat? Where do I work if I move to Croatia? There are options.

Jennifer: Yes, definitely.

25:48Dominka: Great. Then simply to everyone: Hello Croatia!

Jennifer: Yes, definitely.

25:59Dominka: Jenny, thank you so much for being the first to sit in this chair this year, and also for the first time. You're very warmly invited to come again next time. Then we'll probably talk a bit more about internal things.

Jennifer: Gladly.

26:17Dominka: But as a little introduction, I think it turned into a really exciting topic today. Well, dear viewers, listeners, watchers, however you'd like to identify: thank you so much for tuning in. That was, I think, the 44th episode overall of Dialing Out, the OB2B Podcast. Our guest today: Jennifer. You can find us on LinkedIn, feel free to reach out to us, leave comments under the episode and subscribe to our channel. And tune in again next week. Thanks so much.

27:01Jennifer: Yes, thank you too.