Do you actually enjoy living in the Balkans?

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Not really that's why I don't live there anymore. I would love to be able to live there, but I just can't drag my kids from from our calm, well regulated life in Austria to the unregulated madness of Prishtina.

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Afraid-Astronaut5721@reddit

My fellow Shqipe, I just left Warsaw to move back to Prishtina last month ( been living in Budapest for the last two and a half years for my master degree studies and in the meantime moved to Warsaw to live with my Polish girlfriend).

I realized I can't stay away from my parents, siblings and friends ( even tho I'm moving into my own apartment next month to live alone). Prishtina has endless flaws, but in the end of the day it's my hometown, I have two good paying jobs in the tech industry. Live is much cheaper down here compared to Austria/Switzerland. Nevertheless, respekte per diasporen tone te dashur gjithandej neper bote.

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Pinkninja11@reddit

Yes. I made that choice about the time I was 16 (currently 36) and my life experiences with foreign cultures and people have only reinforced my decision over the years. I simply prefer the people in my own country as well as the culture and wouldn't sacrifice that for money and misery in any Nordic country for example. Despite many Bulgarians habit to whine and complain about how bad our country is, it's actually fairly decent in terms of income, culture and landscape. I'd much rather raise my kids here rather than in any European country, that's more developed economically and that was true back in 2010 and even more so now when I see the state of places like London and Germany in general.

I have friends and acquaintance that went to England, Ireland, Belgium, Denmark and Germany in their 20s. From roughly 20 people, only 4 are still there. 1 in Germany and 1 in Denmark and 2 in the suburbs of London. Both the guys from Germany and Denmark are depressing af to be around compared to before but they have careers and and houses at this point.

The only positive exception I know is a couple with 2 kids that lives in Reading but they left in their 20s, own a house in the suburbs and guess what, there's a Bulgarian community around them.

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youngtorab@reddit

there is a saying which i will translate it word by word: It's best to be the first on your village rather than the last of the city.

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Hungry_Battery_Eater@reddit

It's a scary thought me and my friend had. We don't have to marry Turkish, but if we don't our culture ends with our children. And even if we do marry Turkish, eventually you get mixed up and you'll become like the Scottish and Italian immigrants of the past. When you live abroad, it's inevitable

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Archaeopteryx111@reddit

You can still teach your children about your culture and your language. Turkey will always exist as well.

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Hungry_Battery_Eater@reddit

Oh of course I will. But there's no guarantee their children will continue. The Turkish culture won't die out, but it will die out with you. Therefore, you go from last of the city to first through assimilation

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Archaeopteryx111@reddit

Well, we can’t have everything we want in this life, I guess.

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J0hnnyBlazer@reddit

The fukk that supposed to mean?

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nedamisesmisljatime@reddit

A horrible translation of "bolje biti prvi u selu, nego zadnji u gradu"

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J0hnnyBlazer@reddit

lol I still don’t get it, is that like the “big fish in small pond” kinda thing? He saying he rather be respected by his cows n chickens than being ignored by hot bitches?

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youngtorab@reddit

No johny, word by word.... Better to be "first" in your village than "last" in the city.

Which means based on your achievements,environment and progress stay in your country cuz you're kinda settled not the "last" rather than moving on a new country starting from zero which generally puts you "last" the first moment you arrive!!

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J0hnnyBlazer@reddit

Bro, you lost me, I now have mental image of you holding a speech in your village to bunch of confused chickens

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youngtorab@reddit

damn i wish i could afford to have a farm and talk with chickens one day hahaha

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J0hnnyBlazer@reddit

i was just having fun with you man, no offense. Btw that quote don't mean what you think it means, It's about caesar refusing to be subordinate to anyone, he rather rule a village than being 2nd in rome meaning taking orders from anyone

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casual_philosopher02@reddit

this wise saying exists in Greek too

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J0hnnyBlazer@reddit

Man it’s famous ceasar quote, it’s just funny asking them explain it

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Tiny-Mulberry-2114@reddit

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Fit-Valuable-1112@reddit

But everyday malakia!

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floare_salbatica@reddit

The only correct answer!

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Content-Type-4295@reddit

Life in Western and Northern Europe might be better economically, and there's less corruption, but family bonds and safety (two strongest points), slower pace of life and the weather keep me here for now. I don't want to move, unless life forces me.

I feel like the Balkans usually take last or at best middle places in Europe, but they're still better than 80% percent of the world. If life here was a pebble put into a bucket together with all other counties and I had to pull a random one to live a life in that country, I wouldn't take the chance.

In terms of safety, natural wonders, history and architecture, the climate, intangible heritage, connections between people and hospitality, I believe we "perform" even better than a big chunk of West Europe.

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throw-awewe-iy@reddit

Generally kind of, but the country is too corrupt. Absolute shitshow

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abandonedtulpa@reddit (OP)

If Slovenia is too corrupt, then the rest of the Balkans might as well pack it up

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throw-awewe-iy@reddit

There are levels to it. The concepts of corruption perception and actual corruption are two completely different things. Slovenia is a known "Small haven for white-collar crime" with ties to the rest of the Balkans.

Countries operate on different corruption planes. Ours is mostly white-collar behind the scenes dealings and Slovenia being a transition point for different criminal groups. Politicans were held to a pretty high standard by the general public yes, but that didn't stop everyone from being in cohoots with background players - as our elections just showed. Like I said, an absolute shitshow.

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Esdoorn-Acer@reddit

What ties to the rest of the Balkans? What ties does Slovenia really have with Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Turkey? Only “ties” that are still present in some certain layers of society are with ex yu countries.

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throw-awewe-iy@reddit

Crime? A lot.

Ocindex, Slovenian police reports, IJ4 have good data sources on this.

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Esdoorn-Acer@reddit

What kind of crime? And caused by who?

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throw-awewe-iy@reddit

Ocindex, Slovenian police reports, IJ4 have good data sources on this.

Public procurement, political appointments, weak enforcement of economic crime and institutional independence issues are some of the main points. Most of these stemming from outside sources.

The mayor of Ljubljana has ties to Serbian mafia, global anti corruption initiative says that Slovenia is a "dangerous nexus between political, business and criminal elites". Which means what, exactly? High corruption, that is what. There are quotes from mafia members talking about Slovenia as exactly this.

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Esdoorn-Acer@reddit

The mayor of Ljubljana is literally Serbian…and higher corruption is not a result of an average Janez Novak, that’s for sure. Slovenian level of corruption is still not comparable to Balkan countries but to Czech Republic, Latvia, Portugal…

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Esdoorn-Acer@reddit

That’s balkanization

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AdFinancial5954@reddit

Somtimes I enjoy it, sometimes I hate it, however I'm not leaving due to the fact that if you move to another country you're always going to be an outsider, no matter how extroverted you might be as a person.
The Root is stronger and is keeping me here regardgless.

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Envinyatar123@reddit

Pff, if I ever find a job that sponsors a visa, I would get out of here. Running.

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floare_salbatica@reddit

True, they will rarely accept you as one of their own. And probably you won't want it anyway.

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Lazy-Relationship-34@reddit

Why wouldn’t one want it? Who doesn’t want to be accepted and loved by their mother country?

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Lazy-Relationship-34@reddit

…unless you’re an ethnic minority in the Balkans, which means that you’re considered an outsider by idiots even though your family has been here for centuries! 😃

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Adorable_Self1622@reddit

YES

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Dull_Cucumber_3908@reddit

I don't live in Greece any more and I didn't enjoyed it in the past that I had to work. However I'm sure I'll enjoy living there when I retire at the end of this year (ie I don't have to work anymore).

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ImamTrump@reddit

Why waste my energy when you don’t even have a flair.

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elixxirumoflife@reddit

Tbh mixed feelings. I do love the balkans,but I hate it at the same time,super hard to explain. mostly friends and my job are keeping me here,otherwise I would’ve left it long time agoo.

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Hungry_Battery_Eater@reddit

Turkey isn't a nightmare. I'd say that the lifestyle, food, weather, and a lot of the people were very good when I lived there for a year (since a lot of diaspora are ignorant and they hate when you mention any flaw of the country). But there are disadvantages, like opportunities you can't find in Canada, schooling (before post-secondary) being much more difficult whereas in Canada you have the option to choose all your classes, and obviously government issues. I'd say if you earn a foreign income, Turkey is good. But since I was born and grew up in Canada, I miss it more, and I can't guarantee I'll go for another year.

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InterestingHand4182@reddit

Best place to live in Europe at themoment. And it's only getting better.

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DragonflyOwn5617@reddit

The highs are extremely high but the lows are also very low ( or maybe I'm just bipolar or something and it's not the country )

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TheFennecFx@reddit

I totally do. Taxes are low, so my net salary is on par with Western Europe (if not higher). I have all the nature around me- for an hour I am in the ski resort, there are few more in 3-hours driving time , 3-4 hours to the seaside (2 seas), mountain start when the city ends. I have access to a variety of quality food, all my friends and family are nearby.

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merdeauxfraises@reddit

I used to enjoy my personal life a lot there before I moved away, but enjoyment of your personal time isn't possible when your job treats you like shit and you don't make enough to survive. If I had stayed, I think the overall answer would be no.

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ImamTrump@reddit

Not so much in youth but it’s a good place to age out.

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Ok-Skill-265@reddit

How is cyprus balkans?

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King_Alf@reddit

The only 2 things can be enjoyed about the Balkans, that if you have friends in the Nordics, and you see their Instagram stories, that even in April its still winter looking weather at them, then you can be happy for being in the south. The women are A++ so that's also a big benefit.

Apart from that this is the third world, and a big piece of shit.

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floare_salbatica@reddit

They might have bad weather in April, but they have good enough salaries to spend that time in the Maldives, Mallorca or Zanzibar. 😅 Also, can we please stop mentioning women as if they were some sort of touristic attraction?

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Full-Rice-9287@reddit

I am in a rather privileged position which will not be sustainable long term, where I live in a great area in Tirana, with very low rent for the market, work from home, and quite few hours, so I don’t have to deal with many of the elements that make Albania stressful on the daily. So I do enjoy it enough to make me unwilling to sacrifice moving abroad for more money, but potentially a lower life quality.

However, future prospects are not good, and I do have plans to leave, if that makes sense.

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floare_salbatica@reddit

Similar situation here ( only that I work lots of hours), that's probably why my love-hate relationship with Bucharest leans more towards love. Dunno if the feelings would stay the same if I had to commute. The idea of commuting during cold, grey winter days or extremely hot summer days makes me depressed. 😅

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JufffoWup@reddit

Yes I do.

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floare_salbatica@reddit

Dunno, Bulgarians are probably the cutest I came across even in this sub. 😅

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Suspicious_Regret995@reddit

I hate it here unfortunately but my degree isn’t recognized abroad, so I’m kind of stuck here until I can retrain.

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Extra_Loquat_5599@reddit

It's pretty nice to be honest. Breathtaking nature, good food, people are the perfect amount of degenerat.

Money is enough to live a normal life here and to go on vacation once or twice a year.

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Rumba669@reddit

I voted your comment, as I tend to think the same. I live in RO but I like all Balkan countries as I see a lot of similitudes, enough income for almost everything, food is great and nature as well. I would vote for a Great Balkan country as I feel like home most everywhere I go in this region.

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SwimmingHelicopter15@reddit

I do not. I travelled a few countries and I would pick a western country over my country everyday. Corruption is on rampage and the future looks awful.

Unfortunately for me I come from a poor background. I did not had any family who went working abroad so if I were to go I would have been on my own. At least in my country I had scholarship and cheap dormitory, worked hard to get a job and managed to have a decent living. I know I would have not reached the same living if I went abroad and started from 0. A lot of my friends had at least some help.

And if any romanian tries to say Ooh but the immigrants in the West don't forget that in our country we had more Gypsies attacking immigrants than immigrants attacking Romanians, and the crime rate is really low with them. I come from a neighbourhood with Gypsies, I had seen from a young age how they could do steal and beat and the police did nothing.

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chaotebg@reddit

Yes. There is a lot to improve and it's great to strive for better. But I think we are complaining a little bit too much. There are places that are doing far worse.

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jaunmilijej@reddit

Hell yes. Greece is awesome 🇬🇷❤️

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BardhyliX@reddit

Of course i enjoy living in my hometown, everyone speaks my language, they more or less share the same culture, we have the same experiences, I know it like the back of my hand.

Would I like it to be better? Hell yes, I hope it gets better, but I'd die here happy there's nothing I want to have that I can't have here.

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MechoThePuh@reddit

It’s far from perfect but if you go abroad you see that other countries have their problems too. I can surely say that i do enjoy living here and don’t plan on moving unless I have a very good reason.

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1stFunestist@reddit

Things here, where I live are vastly better then like 20y ago. I would've emigrated away at that time if I had the ability, maybe in US, Canada or Australia...

What error of judgement that would have been if I did, especially if I went with US...

Im pretty good with my lot at the moment in my little Balkan corner. Thank you.

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wifesboobs42@reddit

Immigrant life is not for everybody, certainly not for me. Life here is not bad, we're not middle class, but we're not struggling.

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_Caligulean_@reddit

I'd enjoy it if I had more money

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Striking-Doughnut-36@reddit

I love living here, but I hate the corruption. The Croatian Democratic Union's (HDZ) tentacles are entangled everywhere.

If you want any kind of job in the state sector, you have to have some kind of link to HDZ.

If you want to break the law, just join HDZ and you'll probably be fine if the EU doesn't step in or the media catches on too firmly. The former minister of defence Banožić (HDZ) literally killed a man while drunk driving and the trial just keeps getting paused, delayed, etc.

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