We make decisions every day – whether to drink coffee or tea, what clothes to wear or whether to go for a walk. But the decisions that affect our whole life? Many of us find them difficult. Now we were faced with just such a decision – and we had to make it.

 

Giving Up or Moving Forward?

As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, things didn’t go smoothly for us in the Croatian real estate market. Agents shook their heads, computers said “no,” and our village tours yielded no results. Instead of making progress, we felt like we were going in circles.

The situation was frustrating, especially knowing that even after buying, many challenges would await us. On top of that, our budget was slowly depleting – a problem only a lottery win could fix, if we played the lottery at all. So, we had to ask ourselves: What’s next?

Sure, we briefly thought about giving up everything and returning to Germany. It would have been the easiest option and might have even garnered approval from some in our circle. But we didn’t want to make the decision lightly.

◉ Mediterranean climate
◉ A more positive outlook on life
◉ Proximity to the sea
◉ A home with a large plot of land

 

After months in Croatia, we had to admit that one key item on this list was no longer feasible: a home of our own. At least, not within our budget.

Croatia? Yes, but not at any cost.

 

Perseverance and Vision for a New Life

After extensive research and discussions, it became clear: we didn’t want to return to Germany, but staying in Croatia was no longer an option. So, we turned our attention to other Mediterranean countries – and remembered an old dream: Spain.

Years ago, we had vacationed there and secretly dreamed of living there one day. Later, Croatia became a sort of “smaller Spain” for us – also on the Mediterranean, with its pleasant climate and delicious food, but closer to Germany. The advantage? Lower moving costs and easier visits from family and friends.

 

A Look at Real Estate Prices: Spain vs. Croatia

The real estate prices quickly opened our eyes: while the average price per square meter in Croatia was €3,090 in 2022, it was significantly lower in Spain at €1,944. This meant that with our budget, we could achieve much more in Spain. And ultimately, we only needed one house to start our new life.

Our initial searches on the Spanish real estate market were promising. We found numerous interesting properties – at first just on paper or, rather, on the screen. However, the selection was surprisingly large, and the prices seemed realistic from our perspective.

What does this mean concretely? Spain offers us a much greater chance of finding a home that fits our budget. This glimmer of hope in an otherwise cloudy Croatian real estate sky reignited our determination to pursue our dream.

 

Spanish Openness: A Breath of Fresh Air

With renewed hope, we turned to the Spanish real estate market. The differences from Croatia were striking:

◉ In Spain, the seller pays the broker’s fee, making the process more transparent..

◉ Brokers and sellers responded quickly and openly, often providing additional information such as land registry extracts or neighborhood photos.

 

A private Spanish seller, who only spoke Spanish, wrote us: “We’ll just use a translator – we’ll figure it out.” This mindset was refreshing and showed us genuine interest in selling the property.

 

Culture Shock in Spain

TOf course, moving to Spain will bring its challenges – a new language, new culture, and new rules. But isn’t that part of the excitement of this journey?

 

🌸 Our First Impressions 🌸

 

In Spain, many things are more efficient and customer-oriented. While we often faced secrecy in Croatia, the working style in Spain was significantly more transparent.

🎉 Wow, they genuinely want to sell something to foreigners here. 🎉

From Croatia, we were used to a tough and secretive process, so we were pleasantly surprised when some Spanish brokers sent us extra photos and property registry documents directly. With the address in hand, we could check out the surroundings online through mapping services and decide if the property was worth visiting. In Croatia, property addresses were often only revealed an hour before the viewing.

 

Different countries, different working methods.

Now it’s official – we’ve made our decision. We’re moving to Spain. For this reason, there will be no further blog posts about Croatia.

 

Croatia: A Tough Decision and a Clear Break

To summarize, with our budget and without the right connections, it was impossible to buy a property in Croatia that met even our modest expectations. Sure, we could have cut our renovation budget or living budget to increase our property budget. But the risk of owning a house but having little financial freedom for daily life was too great.

Renting a house or apartment would have been another option, but the high rents made this unappealing as well. We had to let go of the idea of finding a bargain in Croatia, at least in the popular coastal regions.

 

Challenges in Croatia: Prejudices and Obstacles

Another major issue was the prejudices of many locals. Hearing people loudly discuss our nationality, just because we, as Germans, were served first, was unsettling. At property viewings, we often encountered unexpected hurdles: once they asked where we were from, properties were suddenly “reserved.” Phrases like “We’ll get back to you if the interested party backs out” were common, though we never heard back.

Perhaps we were just unlucky and dealt with the wrong people. Of course, this doesn’t mean it’s like this everywhere in Croatia. But conversations with other foreigners who had similar experiences confirmed our impressions.

 

A Farewell with Mixed Feelings

It’s a shame we have to turn our backs on such a beautiful country. Croatia has so much to offer – from its breathtaking coastline to its rich culture. But life moves on, and our resources are not unlimited.

Our experiences in Croatia taught us that sometimes you have to make tough decisions to realize your dream of owning a home. So, we say:

Doviđenja Hrvatska – Hola España! 😊

This was just a small insight into our adventure. If you’d like to learn more about our journey, check out our post about the Croatian healthcare system. We look forward to having you with us as there’s so much more to discover!