June 2, 2021 - One TCN intern spoke to three people from different regions in Spain about their expat experience in Split.

Croatia is an easy county to adapt to Spaniards because they don't really need to adapt a lot. The climate is similar on the Mediterranean coast and the culture has a common Catholic base. Meanwhile, it's not the same thing and they value their experience from living in Dalmatia.

My Croatian boss told me about his mate, a Split journalist, who once wrote that the best city in the world was... not Split, but San Sebastian located in the Basque Country, Spain. It represents a flagrant case, but in general, as I can see, many Split citizens have the positive impression of Spain - either through business trips, or holidays there, or the Camino - and wouldn't mind moving there for some period of time. I spoke with my Spanish colleagues in Split who have done the opposite move and asked them to compare their life in Spain and in Croatia. They came from different regions of Spain: Estela (28) is from the north-west region of Galicia, Pablo (24) is from the Saragosa, the capital of the north-east region of Aragon, and Jorge (25) is from the south-east region of Murcia.

Jamon or pršut?

"In the cuisine, there are many similarities because of common ingredients of Mediterranian cuisine," Pablo starts and enumerates some of it as olive oil, cheese, vegetables. Some foodstuff is more popular for one region than for others. For example, a homemade meal in Saragosa usually contains dishes with green beans, while in Split, it's difficult to find fresh green beans to cook with at home. In Galicia, people traditionally eat more liquid food or soups, while Dalmatians prefer solid foods like pašticada. 'Ajvar' sauce from red pepper is popular in the Balkans and would probably never become a part of Spaniards’ nutrition if they had not moved to Croatia.

Some differences in nutrition arise from the geographical circumstances, for instance, seafood is more typical for coastal sides of Spain as well as Croatia. Dorada fish is bigger in Galicia in the cold waters of the Atlantic than in Dalmatia in the Mediterranean Sea. Other distinctions stem mostly from the generational gap and personal circumstances. Young generations try to keep healthy nutrition with less meat and more fish in spite of the geographical region they live in. Estela feels closer to this generation than to the older one that cannot imagine the main dish without meat, either in Spain or in Croatia. 

Jorge was surprised by the level of prices in the supermarkets here. It's more or less the same as in Spain, whereas the level of salaries is certainly lower in Croatia. He also misses big chain supermarkets in Croatia like 'Merkadona' in Spain, because it produces some foodstuff under its own brand. Things like 'guacamole' or 'hummus' have a good quality there. However, in Split, there are a lot of products imported from Spain, like 'Lidl' supermarkets with its 'Spanish week', etc. Maybe, you won't find some small local brands of cheese or beer that you're used to in Spain, but you will find an adequate substitution. Looking closer, ‘pršut' is similar to 'jamon', 'kulen' is similar to 'chorizo’, and the like. 

Coffee or beer?

Choosing between coffee and beer depends on the time and day schedule for Spaniards. They feel more streamlined in this matter. Breakfast should be before you go to work. A lunch is between 2:00 and 3:00 pm, and dinner is served between 9:00 and 10:00 pm. "In Croatia, people eat when they want!" Pablo and Estela wonder. "Here, people drink more coffee", Estela continues. In Spain, it's normal to have coffee first with your breakfast, to drink one more in the afternoon, and perhaps to have one more coffee after lunch. People usually drink their last coffee at lunchtime, but not at 8:00 pm as people do in Split. Of course, there are some people in Spain who have to work in the evening or have other reasons to drink coffee so late, but most Spaniards prefer beer in the evening.

The culture around having coffee or beer in some public places does not differentiate much. You can enjoy one cup of coffee in a cafe for hours if you're not in a hurry. You can drink coffee quickly and go to work as well. It's typical to have a beer in the evening as people usually finish work, but it's ok to have it even at 1:00 pm as you've already finished your business. Coffee in cafes is a little more expensive than in Spain. Prices for beer in Split bar are also higher, as Jorge and Pablo guess. Estela makes adjustments. A mug of beer is bigger here, and accordingly, the price is higher. In sum, we have more or less the same level of prices in Croatia and in Spain. Also, Split is the second-largest city in Croatia and a tourist city, namely the ‘Croatian Barcelona’. Certainly, in the historic center of Barcelona, a glass of beer costs more money than in some towns in Galicia.

The variety of coffee is broader in Spain. For example, 'cortado' most likely won’t be found in any cafe in Split. Spaniards agree that the quality of coffee is good. Meanwhile, they prefer coffee from the machine or an Italian drip kettle. "Turkish coffee is kind of disgusting to everybody who gets used to Italian coffee," Jorge supposes. A beer in Croatia is less strong than in Spain, however as mentioned, a normal glass or a bottle is 0,5 l instead of 0,33 l. You get less alcohol with a bigger amount. At will, you can get the same thing in Spain. There, if a beer is too strong, people dilute it with sparkling water or lemon juice. In Croatia, nobody does that. But Croatians often dilute wine with sparkling water or ice that seems weird to Spaniards. "If wine is really bad, we do 'sangria' or 'calimontxo' (namely Croatian 'bambus') from it. If wine is good, we never mix it. People would ask why?!” Estela explains to me.

Inside or outside?

Estela and Pablo arrived in Split in late November 2020, a week before the second anti-Covid lockdown. Jorge came in March 2021, a week after cafes and terraces started to re-open after winter quarantine. One might think that Jorge was luckier to come later, but in fact, the Covid restrictions were stronger in Spain than in Croatia. In any case, their experience in leisure time had objective limits because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It's difficult to compare entertainment in your home town and in Split, they say because they haven't seen that touristic crowded loud Split as it was before the quarantine. However, nobody really suffered from the lack of activities here.

Pablo says that when you come for a year, you're more concentrated on the communication with new people you meet here. He was not striving to go to a gym or wherever for any organised leisure time. "I'm not bored now. If I lived here for a longer period of time and had a routine every day, I would probably try. I mean there are some museums, etc." Pablo speculates. Indeed, in this sphere of communication, we were lucky in Split. There are some typical public places for drinking in the afternoon or evening time in every town of Spain, but this kind of social activity is prohibited and the police usually come. Otherwise, Matejuška pier situated on the edge of the Split Riva is open 24h and rarely visited by the police. You can go there almost any time to drink in a company and meet amazing people from all over the world.

We met people on Matejuška even on the coldest evenings in winter. As a whole, there are fewer activities during the winter and more in summer. Leisure time options in Split are similar to Ferrol, Estela says. As well she prefers to spend leisure time outside. You can go hiking in the mountains or swimming in the sea - fortunately, both options are close to the city. If you fancy it, it doesn't take much time to come by foot to some beautiful nature place in the surrounding area. Split is situated on the hills, nevertheless, the Riva promenade is straight enough for roller-skating and skateboarding. With her friend, Estela found a good place for skating behind the ferry port of Split. Besides roller skates, she also took a slackline and was pleasantly surprised to find another group of slackliners in the city park Sustipan. 

They went once to the cinema and theater. In the cinema, it was an American movie - an original version with Croatian subtitles. The fact that cinemas usually show original versions is for sure appreciated by Spaniards. In Spain, movies are mostly dubbed, thus foreigners have little chance to understand the plot. What is even more pleasant, as Estela's local friend shared with her, the summer cinema on Bačvice beach will be showed with double - Croatian and English - subtitles, so foreigners will have all the options. 

To speak or not to speak?

My Spanish colleagues as well as I came to Croatia through an international program that affected our community. Almost from the first month, we joined the Facebook group 'Expats meet Split' and it also affected the international diversity of our social circle. Estela speculates: "If I had an ordinary work here, in a public school, for example, perhaps I would have more Croatian friends, and it would be easier to do at the workplace". But anyway, she considers Croats are very open to communication and their way of socialising similar to Spaniards. Croatians are open to suggestions to have coffee together, to go to the beach, to drink a beer in a bar.

Pablo has a more skeptical view of making friends with Croatians. He agrees that Croatians are open people, however, his experience of watching football in the company of Croats suggests that he needed to speak Croatian to have a true Croatian friend. They are nice, they invite you to watch a match together, but finally, they start speaking Croatian to each other and you're out of it, Pablo explains. Estela objects to him. "People of our generation, they speak good English. Of course, if you're in a big company, it'd be better to speak Croatian. If you're in a small company or one-on-one, you would not have problems socialising. You can communicate, speak, explain..."

Learning Croatian is a challenge for people from Spain. The grammar is complicated. There is just a little intersection with Latin, therefore you need to learn totally new vocabulary. There are some words without vocals ('krv' blood, 'prst' finger, etc.) which is difficult to spell, some words with sounds missing in the Spanish language which is also difficult to spell ('ljubav' love, 'izviđači' scouts). Some usual words in Croatian sound funny to Spaniards, because it sounds similar to obscene words (‘koliko puta..." how many times...). Certainly, it would take years to learn Croatian properly. So far, my Spanish colleagues in Split speak mostly English and use a dozen of Croatian phrases on occasion.

Spanish people are everywhere. If you want to find them, you'll find them. However, my Spanish colleagues don't really try to find their countrymen. Jorge shies away from the Erasmus students' society that is kinda well-staffed by Spanish students in the University of Split. Pablo's first preference was an international party, but now he doesn't care whether he will join an international or Spanish party the next evening. Estela said that she tried to avoid Spanish society. "If they start talking with me, of course, I talk... If we are in a big company, I try to move to an international circle... I have enough Spanish friends in Spain."

Pomalo or even more pomalo 

As we seek to describe the culture of a region by one word, we likely use 'pomalo' for Dalmatia. In the Dalmatian dialect it means 'take it easy', 'relax', 'slow down', 'put it off until tomorrow, 'we will do it tomorrow, 'we can do it tomorrow... or later'. The Spanish word 'mañana' (tomorrow) has quite a similar context to it. In Europe, these concepts are traditionally associated with southern sloths and laziness. "Europe has a stereotype of us that we are really pomalo, but here there's even more pomalo," Estela shares her impression. Pablo echos her: "Here everybody is so relaxed. It doesn't matter whether you come on Monday morning, or Tuesday morning, the Riva is full of people. And these people are not only tourists!" It looks like nobody works in this city!

Joking aside, some manifestations of this pomalo mentality at times frustrates my Spanish team. Estela chooses her words to be merciful with our lovely Dalmatia - flexible, not disorganised. Notwithstanding, she would like to see fewer last-minute moves and more long-term plans. Maybe, slowly, but it should come to its objective. The illustrative example is local services. Croatian Post works really slow. Sending something from Spain takes about a month, but in the end, reaches the consignee. One of the bottles was broken, but when they contacted the Croatian Post service, they promised to manage it. Meanwhile, postcards that Estela's mom had sent her via post never came to Split.

Another story has happened with my colleagues during the use of the 'e-bike' service in Split. They bought an annual Croatia subscription in Zadar and should not be charged more. But the bike company began to charge them more for rentals in Split. After e-mailing, the Spanish expats learned that Split (a big tourist city, for economical reasons) and Jastrebarsko (a small town, for a random reason) are excluded from the whole-country subscription. The company returned the money and they changed the subscription to Split only. So, services work, although slowly, whereas you should make contacts and push them, and remind them, but finally, a responsible person helps you, and you get a result. So, you can manage. But, it'd be better to feel more secure from the beginning, wouldn't it?

For more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Lidl Croatia is without a doubt one of the most popular shops from which you can purchase food and other items at a more than fair price. Since the company's arrival in Croatia, Lidl has become the place to go for many people's weekly shops.

Owing to Lidl Croatia's continually rising levels of popularity, yet another shop has been opened in the Croatian capital, and on one of its busiest streets. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 25th of May, 2020, the opening hours of the new store are Monday to Saturday from 08:00 to 09:00, with a disinfection break from 13:30 to 14:30.

With this latest move, Lidl Croatia is continuing to expand its already impressive sales network. The brand new modern store has been opened on one of Zagreb's most famous streets, more precisely at Ilica 201, meaning that Lidl can now boast of having 102 stores operating across the Republic of Croatia.

This modern store in the wider centre of the City of Zagreb has been built according to a new concept of construction and design, which implies an even more pleasant purchase experience for customers and greater energy efficiency levels overall. The new store is located on the ground floor of a residential and commercial building, and parking spaces for Lidl's customers are located on floor -1.

The opening of this new Lidl store on one of Zagreb's most famous and heavily frequented streets has delighted many of Zagreb's residents who were in need of a store like Lidl located in the very heart of the city, as the large stores are usually located a little further out. The team working for the newly opened store, led by the new manager Liduška Veseli, welcomed their first customers with smiles on their faces.

In addition to its modern conceptual design, the new store in the wider centre of Zagreb is located near the tram station on Ilica, which makes it even more accessible to many Lidl customers.

As stated, the opening hours of the new Lidl Croatia store are Monday t0 Saturday from 08:00 to 09:00, with a disinfection break from 13:30 to 14:30. The store will be closed on Sundays and on public holidays.

For more, follow our lifestyle page.

ZAGREB, March 2, 2020 - AD Plastik, the Croatian Air Traffic Control, and Lidl Croatia have won the Deloitte Green Frog awards for the best sustainability report, progress in reporting, and originality in reporting in 2019, Deloitte Croatia announced.

The AD Plastik Group won the Green Frog Award 2019, awarded by Deloitte Croatia for the best sustainability report, and this year the Croatian Employers Association (HUP) and Global Compact Network Croatia joined the jury as full members.

The award for progress in reporting was also presented, and it was won by the Croatian Air Traffic Control. Also, the award for originality in reporting was given for the first time, and it was won by Lidl Croatia.

The awards ceremony was held at the "Employment with impact" conference, organised by Deloitte, HUP, and Global Compact Network Croatia.

The Deloitte audit director and head of the Green Frog Initiative Ivana Turjak Čebohin pointed out that the social accountability, environmental and human rights awareness was increasing.

"These trends on the contemporary market have caused positive changes in Croatia, and the number of companies publishing non-financial reports is growing every year. Non-financial reporting is beneficial both to those companies which are legally obliged to do it, and to those who are not," emphasised Čebohin.

The advisor for sustainable development and socially responsible business in HUP and Global Compact Network Croatia Executive Director Vali Marszalek said that companies were becoming more aware of the fact that, in order to maximise benefits and create long-term value for their business, they had to take into account not only shareholders' expectations, but also the expectations of suppliers, employees, buyers, consumers, and local communities.

"The subject of this year's conference, the employment of disabled persons, is extremely important for the business sector, especially as we are talking about the enormous potential of billions of people across the globe who, due to their circumstances, have to develop skills such as persistence, problem solving, innovative thinking, and readiness to experiment in order to adapt to the world around them," emphasised Marszalek.

On behalf of the AD Plastik Group, the award was accepted by the chair of the board for socially responsible business, Zoja Crnecki, who said that socially responsible business was a part of the company's business model and one of the most important components of its development policy.

More business news can be found in the dedicated section.

The wildly popular and typically cheaper retailer Lidl opened its 98th store in the Republic of Croatia yesterday, proving that it is continuing the intensive expansion of its sales network, a statement from the company said.

As Novac writes on the 14th of October, 2019, the brand new Lidl store in the Gajnice area of the Croatian capital of Zagreb has been made and designed according to a new concept of construction and design, and has a larger retail space, more spacious parking spaces, of which there are a comfortable 88, there is more natural light, higher energy efficiency and a much more attractive, modern appearance to the store.

Customers at Zagreb's brand new Lidl outlet will have the opportunity to enjoy special deals and discounts on both the edible and non-edible range in the new store of one of the leading and most popular retail chains in the entire country.

The new Lidl store in Gajnice, in the western part of Zagreb was officially opened by store manager Ivan Marić and the regional sales manager Renata Hrvojević, and numerous customers and visitors were delighted with the modern design of the newly opened shop, according to a statement from the company, which has been operating in Croatia since 2006 and employs over 2,300 workers.

Otherwise, Lidl is part of the Schwartz retail group and is one of the leading food and retail companies present in Europe. Lidl is represented in 32 countries worldwide, it employs a massive 287,000 people and currently has approximately 10,800 stores and more than 160 distribution centres across as many as 29 countries worldwide.

According to LZ Retailytics, the Schwarz Group is the largest grocery retailer in the whole of Europe and generated revenue of 104.3 billion euros in the fiscal year of 2018.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more on shopping in Zagreb and beyond. Follow Total Zagreb or check out Zagreb in a Page for all you need to know about the bustling Croatian capital.

Croatia's infamous VAT is throwing prices around much more than one might expect at first when shopping in Lidl or Spar. Just how does your weekly shop in Croatia compare to a weekly shop in neighbouring Slovenia?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 5th of March, 2019, when taking a walk through six Slovenian and Croatian shops, it didn't take long to realise that retailers are struggling with their own branded goods, which are already sold at relatively low prices, and they could actually save well on them.

The popular Italian retail chain Eurospin, known for its discount prices, hasn't yet opened its doors in Croatia, but it can be revealed that the retail companty is indeed looking for locations for its stores across the country. It also has its own website in Croatian language on which the following has been published: "Still a little more patience ... We're coming."

A group of 24sata journalists from Croatia visited their store in Laško in neighbouring Slovenia to check if their prices really are lower than their competitors, and what prices were in comparison to the Croatian market.

They selected a basket of fourteen different products and compared then - Eurospin was cheaper than the first competitor in Slovenia by just a few lipa.

They also compared the prices in Slovenian stores with those in Croatia - some shopping baskets are very much the same, and the difference between the cheapest Slovenian product and the most expensive Croatian one is 22 kuna. However, it should be borne in mind that Slovenians have two tax rates applied when it comes to retail - 22 and 9.5 percent, and they also have a lower VAT rate (surprise, surprise) than is applied in Croatia, of 25 and 13 percent.

Eurospin appears very similar to the already popular Lidl.

When comparing the cheapest Slovenian and cheapest Croatian basket, the difference is 10.82 kuna. There were, as stated, forteen different products in the basket. When looking around on February the 25th of this year, the group of Croatian journalists visited the popular Slovenian shops including Eurospin, Lidl, Spar, and Mercator, the majority owner of which is Croatia's formerly ailing Agrokor.

They tried to find the cheapest products (flour, oil, butter...). When comparing detergents and softeners, they looked for products that were cheaper per litre, regardless of the size of the packaging, ie, whether the product volume is one, two, four litres...

Their cart showed that Eurospin was actually slightly more expensive than Croatia's beloved Lidl, at least on that day - by 2.30 kuna, Spar was cheaper by 3.60 kuna, and Mercator was cheaper by a not so insignificant 21.53 kuna.

Eurospin and Lidl have been shown to have relatively similar prices, and according to their trade concept, each reminds one of the other. Spar, which had the biggest store in Laško, had similar and sometimes identical prices as those in Eurospin. Only Mercator was considerably more expensive than the others, but their overall offer, just like at Spar, was much richer than that of Lidl and Eurospin.

The Italian discount store, just like Lidl, often only offers its own brands on it shelves, or products made by only one manufacturer - for example, only one type of oil, one type of sugar, one type of flour, etc.

The 24sata journalists compared the products purchased over in Slovenia to those in Lidl and Spar in Zagreb the following day, once again searching for the cheapest of all.

The most expensive shopping basket in Zagreb was from Lidl and it was 13.67 kuna more expensive than Eurospin in Slovenia. Let's remember, it should be taken into account that VAT in Croatia is higher certainly has a big influence over Croatian prices. The cheapest basket was from Spar in Zagreb, but when compared to Eurospin in Slovenia, it was still more expensive - by 8.52 kuna.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated business page.

Click here for the original article by Ivancica Ladisic and Katarina Dimitrijevic Hrnjkas for 24sata

Velika Gorica lies just outside of the Croatian capital of Zagreb, and while you might think very little of this town when passing through, which is the only thing most people actually do, things aren't always as they seem, economically speaking, anyway.

While it's true that most people from Velika Gorica earning their money in nearby Zagreb, it would appears that net salaries are, on average, higher than they are in the heart of the capital city.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 8th of November, 2018, over recent months, Velika Gorica has been mentioned in the media mostly because of the brilliant results of their football team, but after some likely surprising data published by the Financial Agency (FINA) there are more reasons for satisfaction in that otherwise all but entirely overlooked town.

Namely, Velika Gorica comes first in the whole of the Republic of Croatia when it comes to the average salaries of workers and their respective productivity. Net salaries are on average higher than the average salaries in both Zagreb and Rijeka, two large cities, reports RTL.

As previously stated, most people living in Velika Gorica earn their wages in Zagreb, but the close proximity of the country's capital city, the close proximity of Zagreb's Franjo Tudjman International Airport, and the apparently quick administration are some huge advantages for this town, which boasts more than sixty thousand permanent inhabitants. The Lidl chain, which is recording enviable traffic in billions of kuna, also has its headquarters here, and the arrival of the well-respected and very powerful Atlantic Group has also been recently announced.

In addition, as RTL reports, Croatian Post (Hrvatska Pošta) will also have its headquarters and logistics center in Velika Gorica. Croatian Post justified this move with the fact that this location is a strategically important place for the continued development and the improving of shipment processes, as Velika Gorica is very close to the Franjo Tudjman Airport, not far from the Zagreb - Sisak motorway, and the Zagreb - Velika Gorica fast road.

Make sure to keep up to date with our business page for more information like this.

Retail chains have been pointing out the more than promising growth of Croatian products.

Good news for Lidl!

What will the competition do?

With about 12,500 employees, Konzum is one of the largest employers in Croatia.