Foreigners Self-Isolating in Croatia: Do You Feel Safer? Kathy from UK in Dubrovnik

Firstly, how are you? Are you alone/with someone? Tell us a little about your situation and sanity levels.

I’m fine. In fact, better than I thought I’d be after 2 weeks of hardly seeing anyone. It’s just me and my ageing Border Terrier, Chester (he was 14 in September). We moved here in September 2017 from England. I have 2 apartments here in Dubrovnik, one that Chester and I live in, and a small studio apartment immediately below my one which I rent out to tourists all year round. Last year was my first full year of renting out (I opened halfway through 2018) and I had a lot of bookings. My apartment is fairly cheap to rent so most of my guests are young couples/friends in their 20’s and 30’s, or people travelling around Europe from Australia, NZ, the States etc, so they want somewhere fairly inexpensive to stay. I enjoy meeting my guests and talking about their travels. The majority of them are very friendly and happy to chat. I’ve even stayed in contact with some of them!

As far as keeping sane is concerned I have a number of ways of doing this. Before all of this, I would see my neighbours who live in the apartment above me maybe once or twice a week, and I would also try to meet with a friend (whoever was available) once a week. Also, especially during the winter, I would try to go out about once a month to see local bands playing (we have excellent bands & musicians here in Dubrovnik!). So, I do miss all of that, but I know everyone is in the same boat as me, which makes it a lot easier. I’ve been messaging with friends a lot more recently. Obviously it’s times like this when you want to check up on your family and friends to make sure that they’re OK, especially when you know you’re not going to be able to see them for some time. I often Facetime with my son, and also with my mum (they both live in England) so it’s nice to actually talk to them and see them, rather than just sending them messages.

I’m very lucky with where I live. I’ve got a nice view from my apartment so I can sit on my settee looking over to the hills, and within a couple of minutes walk I can look out over the sea, and also up the coast. I often walk Chester there just to look at the views.

As mentioned above, I like to see local bands playing. Music has always been very important to me and it has helped me through some difficult times in the past, helping me escape from whatever is going on in the real world. I have a Facebook page, Ageing Rock Chick in Dubrovnik, which I started a couple of years ago just as a fun thing for me. Recently I’ve been posting a bit more on there, so, while I’m checking out what I want to post I can escape from the craziness that is COVID-19 and lose myself in the world of music. Having said that, I have recently started a series of coronavirus related songs, starting of course with The Knack and My Sharona.    

What do you think about the economic measures the government is taking, are they helping your business?

I don’t think I am eligible for most of the measures from the government because I don’t have a company or employees, and I haven’t lost my job so I’m not unemployed. It seems that most of the measures are for 3 months (well, at the moment anyway) but those of us who rely on tourism will be affected for much longer than that. Even if travel restrictions etc are lifted by the summer, it will take a lot longer for tourists to have the confidence to return, and especially in the numbers required for people to make a living from. I don’t have any other income, and I’m having to use my savings (yes, I know I’m lucky I have savings. There are an awful lot of people who don’t have any), which I was hoping to keep to see me through next winter.

When did you realise that corona was going to be a big issue? 

I always listen to BBC Radio 4 every morning anyway, so I was aware of the situation in China from the start. I think I realised it could be a problem when it started spreading across China, and especially when it got to Europe, and Italy in particular. I had a booking for my apartment for the middle of February. About 10 days before the guests were due to arrive I saw on his Airbnb profile that the person booking had a review from a visit to China in January. I contacted Airbnb for advice and they cancelled the booking.

I’ve got a Facebook page and Instagram account for my apartment (Apartment Leona Dubrovnik). Initially I didn’t post anything about coronavirus because I didn’t want to post anything negative, but by March I realised I couldn’t avoid it any longer, however I always try to put a positive spin on the posts (I shared the TCN article ’10 Things Which Await You After Corona Crisis‘).

What is your impression of the way Croatia is dealing with the crisis? How safe do you feel?

I’m very happy with the way it is being dealt with here. I had a guest who had booked to arrive on 14^th March. He was travelling from Mostar. I messaged him the day before to warn him about the new restrictions regarding entry into Croatia, especially if he’d been in certain other European countries within the previous 14 days (he was French and travelling by motorbike so there was a good chance he had been in at least one of the countries within that time). He messaged me about an hour before he was due to arrive saying that he hadn’t been granted entry into Croatia. Although I had lost the booking I was happy that the Croatian authorities were taking these measures to try to reduce the risk, so yes, I certainly feel safe. Well, as safe as you can be with something like this.

Now compare that to your home country and how they are handling it. What is Croatia doing better/worse?

Croatia is doing a much better job of handling the situation than the UK. They brought in measures a lot sooner than the UK government did, who appear to have let things get out of hand before acting, and the measures here are a lot stricter as well. In the UK they don’t appear to be thinking things through properly before issuing advice/restrictions. Initially Boris Johnson wanted to achieve a ‘herd immunity’ within the population against the virus, until he was advised that this would have a catastrophic effect. There also seems to be a lot of confusion in the UK about what you can and can’t do, particularly in regards to things such as being allowed out. They are encouraging people to go out once a day to exercise, so people were driving out to the countryside to go for a walk, then the police were saying they shouldn’t be there because it was unnecessary travel, which isn’t allowed. Also, Boris and a few other cabinet members have recently tested positive for COVID-19 so it would appear that they haven’t been practicing what they’re preaching.

What about official communications from the authorities, compared to your home country?

I think it’s very good here. We are getting daily updates from officials, both nationally and locally, which is great because otherwise there’s a chance that incorrect information could be spread. Obviously I read the updates on TCN every day, but I also follow various local news portals to get more detailed reports of what is happening down here (thank goodness for Google Translate!). 

What’s the one thing you wish you had taken with you into self-isolation?

I’m a fairly well-organised person, so I have everything here that I need. I went shopping the day before the restrictions were brought in so I had plenty of things in my cupboards, fridge and freezer. I went again yesterday for the first time in 2 weeks! I often just make meals up anyway depending on what’s in the fridge or needs using up. As it’s just me here I can cut back on food if I need to, and if I cook something that tastes really bland or awful I don’t have to worry about a husband/partner/child complaining about my cooking!

One thing you have learned about yourself, and one thing you have learned about others during this crisis. 

As I live alone I’m used to spending a lot of time on my own anyway. I don’t always like it so I thought I would really struggle now that I HAVE to be alone and not able to meet up with friends. However, I’ve actually quite enjoyed it, especially when you hear about couples and families who are cooped up together and are having arguments etc. 

I can’t speak for other towns but I’m very impressed with how people here are taking notice of the instructions given, especially as far as staying indoors is concerned. Yes, there are a few people out and about, but they do tend to keep their distance. I have found the majority of Croatians to be very friendly. I’ve been very fortunate with the people in my street, as they have all been very friendly and made me feel welcome right from the start. Luckily I have Chester so we are able to get out of the apartment every day for walks. What I have found is that, even though there are less people out and about, those who we do see, even strangers, are more likely to chat (at a safe distance of course!) or even just smile and say ‘Hello.’. This is particularly important for someone like me who lives alone, and who, without that interaction, could go for several days without speaking to another human.