We're from Holland, the "wooden shoe country" (that nobody uses these days).

Holland however is history to us, not forgotten, but history, since we now live in Croatia, just 1800 kilometers south.

Holland (the Netherlands), is where my wife and I where born, raised, went to school, had a working life, met each other and finally left for a second life in Croatia, about half an hour south of Split,  a couple of minutes behind the coastal mountainrig.

There are a thousand reasons to have made this move, the pure silence of our "hidden valley" is just one of the many.

Being 63 today, and after a very busy life in a fine company, the company was sold twice, and with the mergers came the changes, changes I could not cope with, being a true professional in a very specific area.

Looking back I understand why dinosaurs disappeared, but me, being one of the dinosaurs in a rapidly changing busines, one day in Croatia felt strongly that surviving was more important than making more money.

Since there are family ties with Croatia (mother in law), and fantastic friends living around us in our hidden valley, the choise to start a new (retired) life in Croatia was easy, the paper mountain to climb was tough, but as all mountains, the view from the top makes it all worth while.

DON'T come to Croatia if you're looking for a job, there are no jobs, not even for all young people that are well educated, except jobs in the tourist sector, except badly payed "silly" jobs with hardly a carreer in it.

DON'T come to Croatia if you have no relatives or good friends to help you out with both the language and bureaucracy, or when you are just a "bag of money" looking for a romantic little house overlooking the Adriatic, as you're gonna find out that buying that house in Croatia is gonna cost you a lot more than just your money.

If however you accept the previous words, and want to live like a Croat between Croats, you'll be as happy as we are, growing our own vegetables, keeping our own chickens and maybe more soon,  helping neighbours like they help you, drinking your own wine (if not your neighbour's).

Croatia has a modern infrastructure, excellent highways, many airports, a lot of ports, and of course, a splendid climate, a beautiful coast and soon will be member of the European Union, making import and export to all other member states as easy as possible.

If looking for busines opportunities, DO COME IN, labor is cheap, the government welcomes new intiatives, and there are many places where "old" companies disappeared, leaving space and chances for clever investors.

For us however, it's great to live in a lovely and pure valley, overlooking some of the many mountains around us, away from stress, noise and crowds, with still all today's people need or think to need (cellphones, internet, tapwater, electricity and a decent asphalt road into our valley).

Within five minutes we're down the mountain, at the borders of the beautifull Cetina river canyon (check that out on internet), and another five minutes to Omis, a coast town with all shops one needs, and the Adriatic Sea as a bonus.

Dalmatia, our region, also has magnificant old towns like Dubrovnik, Split, Trogir and many more within reach, and "crazy" people like me, can start the day with a cup of espresso between palmtrees at the Adriatic, drive two hours to go skiing in Bosnia, drive back and put some good meat or fresh fish on the grill, as other than many other country, all of that is possible, in reach, ready to enjoy, and that's just what we do.

Enjoy life, pamper your dreams, and never be afraid to step out of your comfort zone into a new world !!! 

We did, and we love it !!!!