One of the things I have never understood about living in Croatia is why everything shuts down over winter on the coast. As we learned in this very revealing interview with a UK tour rep based in former Yugoslavia in 1990, Croatia was very much Full of Life before the Kingdom of Accidental Tourism took over.
And it can be again.
These are very early days in the digital nomad story for Croatia, but the early signs are very encouraging indeed. Each week seems to bring a new event or announcement, and the community is slowly building. Events are being organised all over the country, and they are proving popular. Having lived full-time through 13 Dalmatian winters, I have some experiece of what life is like with little happening. But with just a bit of effort, communities can come to life in these quieter months – with benefits for tourists and locals alike.
The recent announcement of the Zadar Digital Nomad Valley project brought over 200 applications in the first 10 days. Meetups in other cities are also attracting interest, and the more of these events that are available, the more attractive it is to come and work and stay through the winter months.
One great example of this was a lunchtime event in Split yesterday, as Charlie Brown, one of the Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence earlier this year, together with husband Sam hosted a talk on life on the road and the digital nomad lifestyle with lunch and winetasting at Zinfandel in the centre.
Lunchtime on Wednesday in mid-October is hardly peak season, but the event was a sellout, with diners from a number of countries: New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, France, Germany, UK, USA, Cananda and Croatia.
The event, part of European Freelancer Week, was streamed live by Nick Hathaway from Hashtag Content Agency, and you watch thee Browns in action, above.
As an ice-breaker, guests were asked what was the highest mountain peak they had scaled in their lives. With the highest number somewhere around 3,000 metres, up stepped Croatian legend, Stipe Bozic, with 8,848.46 metres – Bozic was only the second European to scale Mount Everest twice.
The Browns are great examples of the type of spending digital nomads who are falling in love with Croatia, spending more time here than they originally envisaged, and telling their own family and friends all about it.
As as more events are planned, and as the community grows, more will come.
The Zinfandel event was organised by Saltwater Nomads, who will be restarting its popular Nomad Table next Friday, a weekly gathering of nomads at Zinfandel.
Meanwhile, in an alternate reality – Gourmet Croatia: 35% Off Popcorn the Only Offer in Kingdom of Accidental Tourism.
For more news and features on digital nomads in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section.
