June the 30th, 2022 - For many foreigners coming to spend time on the glorious Adriatic coast, it's difficult to understand what there isn't to love about the Croatian lifestyle. While spending hours over a coffee in the sun in an ancient city next to the crystal clear sea before heading home for some fresh fish and homegrown salad might seem like the lifestyle jackpot, Croatia doesn't have a raging demographic crisis without a reason.

The disparity between the Adriatic coast and Eastern Croatian regions such as Slavonia and Baranja is only increasing, and while jobs might be plentiful during the summer months, seasonal work doesn't put food on the table throughout the year and it certainly doesn't provide much in the way of economic stability. Eastern Croatia, the country's former breadbasket, has been gradually emptying out for years now, with Croatia's accession to the European Union back in July 2013 only speeding it up even more. 

While this country of paradoxes sees the gap between middle class and poor steadily grow, just which of its inhabitants are the most satisfied of all with the Croatian lifestyle? It seems that the family-oriented Dalmatians are the happiest of all.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, almost 70 percent of this country's residents are fairly or even extremely satisfied with their personal lives and the Croatian lifestyle, while dissatisfaction prevails among less than 12 percent of respondents, according to a poll the Promocija plus agency conducted for RTL. There is no significant difference between men and women, but the difference in life satisfaction is noticeable in regard to education, and satisfaction seems to decrease with age. Satisfaction is the highest among Croats aged 18 to 30 (81 percent), least among those older than 70 (59 percent).

Dalmatians are the most satisfied with the Croatian lifestyle, with almost 75 percent of them saying so, Zagreb and its surroundings are also on average, it's similar in other parts of the country, and the inhabitants of Slavonia are rather unsurprisingly the least satisfied of all with life, but 62 percent are more or less satisfied there as well.

When it comes to life priorities, family reigns strong for almost 70 percent of residents.

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