April 28, 2023 – In the last decade, young people mostly traveled in one direction from Slavonian railway stations and airport terminals. After a wave of emigration to Ireland and Germany and a period spent working abroad, more and more people are returning to the east of Croatia. How do Slavonia returnees feel?
The HRT team, writes Poslovni, spoke to them about what the Croatian labor market can learn from Western Europe, what Croatia’s advantages are, and how to navigate in a new country and culture.
“The number of returnees is relatively small. These are mainly people who are overqualified for the jobs they do abroad. Nevertheless, there are success stories, where people learn something, earn some money and bring it all back here,” said associate professor, Ph.D., Željko Pavić, Department of Sociology, University of Osijek.
One of such is Branko’s story. He went to Ireland 20 years ago and returned ten years ago – around the time of the first big wave of emigration. Now a businessman, he worked in restaurants and became a chef. He is opening his own restaurant soon.
“I learned languages, I learned a lot of other recipes, and I think now is the time to apply a little bit of that in our area here,” said Branko Grozdanić from Osijek.
All returnees agree on one thing: when it comes to work culture, Croatia cannot compete with the West.
“Attitude towards the worker, progressing at work, which I think is the most important aspect. You can start as a kitchen porter today and become a manager in 2 years. It’s just that they appreciate the work”, emphasizes Igor Vukadinović from Osijek.
Zen went to Ireland primarily because of love. But after half a year, he realized neither the girl nor the country was the one. He had difficulty coming to terms with cultural differences and bad weather.
“The start there is quite difficult, primarily because of real estate; rents are expensive. Your first job probably won’t bring you a fabulous salary,” said Zen Špehar from Osijek.
Research shows that most Croatian emigrants do not plan to return to their homeland, though. Those who do not rule it out will only do it if a number of conditions are met.
“Everyone has to weigh out what is more important in life,” says Igor.
“We live in the perfect position. In terms of weather, food, quality of life, everything”, emphasizes Igor.
Those who strive for stability, a slower and more relaxed lifestyle that largely does not involve money, think more about returning. Unfortunately, this will only somewhat mitigate the significant damage done to Croatia by the loss of its youth.
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