So, let’s start from the beginning!

I’m a former naval officer. I first came to Croatia in the early 90s (1993 and 1994) during the War. Back then I worked for UNPROFOR and was stationed here, in Croatia, for a year and a half. This was when I met my wife. At that time, she was working as a translator so our paths crossed.

After meeting we decided to live together, and she moved to France to be with me and to finish her studies there. But, after some time, we decided to move back to Croatia. Even though we lived at that time in a very beautiful place – French Provence – my wife missed her friends and family a lot.

Also, because of the nature of my job, I was accustomed to traveling a lot and moving to new places, so that was not a problem for me. Originally, I was born in Tunisia as a part of the French community there. My father was also born there, but because of instability in the country, we had to move to France in 1964. 

Why do you like living in Zagreb?

It’s all about the style of life. For us, to live in Zagreb and Croatia is better than living in France. We have a better circle of close friends here. Even the French community in Zagreb is pretty big and well connected.

Many people say – oh, how come you decided to live here? South of France is so beautiful and Provence is so pretty. But for to me, Zagreb is perfect. It’s not too big and especially because we live in the center, I don’t really need a car. Everything is near, and if I need anything a bit further, I go with a tram. Also, there are so many events here in the center, festivals, something is always happening.

For example the Zagreb Film Festival (ZFF). I consider the cinema Europa as the key point of Zagreb. You must protect this cinema; it’s like a treasure. I often go there to watch films, and I love it. 

Also, another positive thing when talking about Zagreb is that there is no crime here, at least not a lot. In France, there are places which are very dangerous, and compared to there, Croatia is still a pretty safe place.

Living here I can still have a strong link to French people and French culture. I can watch French channels on TV at home or go to the cinema (Europa theatre) and watch French movies when I want to. So, it’s not like I’m isolated and far from everything French.

Image credit: Darija Ilić

What do you do in Zagreb? 

I love my job here, I work for a French school within Euro Campus here in Zagreb, where you also have a German school. It is located close to Mirogoj and Žar ptica theater. It’s essentially a school in French , with over 150 students. It covers education from kindergarten all the way to university degree. So, a whole education process in one place.

All subjects are in French with a focus on learning languages. Croatian is obligatory, and all other language professors in school are native speakers. I teach technology, everything related to informatics, robotics, etc.

I also work for the French Alliance in Zagreb where I lead a workshop for people who are higher level French speakers like B2, C1 and want to perfect their speaking. A lot of them are from different ministries and want to invest in their French speaking skills.

Was it hard to fit in Croatian society when you moved?

When we first came here, I was still traveling a lot. When our daughter was born, my wife was away a lot back then, so we couldn’t both be on a move all the time. We mutually agreed on me staying at home because my wife has a small company and it made more sense that she continued to develop her business for the future. Also, I had a good military pension, so it made more sense that I stay at home and take care of our daughter when she was little.

At that time, I studied Croatian at Croaticum, and I was also active in Association called Zagreb Welcome. These kinds of organizations are present everywhere in the world, and for some time I was even its president. It is mostly for expats who came to live in Zagreb, but there are also some Croatian people. So from the start, I had quite a few activities, and I never felt isolated.

Image credit: M. Mehulić, TZGZ

And, to learn the language?

While I was here the first time, during the war, I learned just a few words. Later, when my wife moved to France, I tried to learn a bit more, but it was too hard. So, as soon as we moved to Zagreb, I started taking private lessons, but it wasn’t enough. As I was already in my forties then, it was hard to learn a new language. But Croaticum class at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb really helped me a lot. It was fantastic, and I learned Croatian there for three semesters. Croatian grammar was the hardest for me, by far. But the great thing is that you write as you speak not like in French where the writing is completely different to speaking.

Positives and negatives

Croatian culture is in general pretty similar to French. There aren’t huge differences. I’d say people here are friendlier than in France. It’s easy to have contact with people on the street and communicate.

As far as the negative points, I’d say, there are more poor people begging on the streets now. Twelve years ago, there weren’t that many. That’s what I noticed. Also, now, for me, there are too many tourists in the city. As I live in the city center, I notice this a lot. But on the other hand, it's good for business and the economy that tourism is developing. Also, we noticed that because of tourism, a lot of people moved away from the center and rent their flats, so for us the spirit of the center is a little bit lost in that sense.

The positive thing is that the city is starting to care about recycling waste in recent years. It is an important topic for me as I also teach about this in school. Of course, it is very important for everyone’s future and I hope that Croatia will progress in that way, too. Especially, as a tourist destination, it is very important that the sea and nature stay clean. For example, in France, there are no plastic bags in the shops and I can really see the difference this change makes.

Lastly, what I love about Zagreb is its great position. If you want to walk or hike you have Medvednica mountain , and in the summer the sea is just a two-hour drive away, which is perfect if you ask me. Now, the infrastructure is also good, and there’s a great connection with the highways, and the new airport offers more flights.

In the end, I can say, we are here to stay. There are not any plans to move back to France except if some big change happens in our lives.

Header image credit: I. Nobilo, TZGZ

Author: Darija Ilić