paulmon07

Would love to hear from any Expats who have relocated to Slovakia for whatever reasons. My wife is Slovak and myself British and we live in London but are considering moving there for a cleaner, slower and safer lifestyle, but of course have the usual concerns. Any feedback would be of great help.

Many Thanks

fatbrit

Whereabouts are you planning to live. Blava is another boring western capital these days (or "head village" might be a better description!) with a great atmosphere and plenty of opportunity, while the further east you go, the better the scenery but the slower the clock! Also, what are you planning to do for income?

YYZlover

I know one. He lives in Poprad, settled with apartment, local girlfriend and local job in a sector that makes him a bit of a celebrity out there.

Been there myself and would love to go back again. If I wasn't planning on moving to Canada I could consider Poprad. Food is great! Nature is great. they have proper 4 seasons!

Good luck

tonywye

Im planning to move from the UK to Senec (20km East of Bratislava) in April with my Slovak Wife (& new babies). Just working out the tax and things.

take a look at www.tonywye.com for pics of our new flat.

Tony

Big Pete

Well thats something you dont see everyday , someone going out there

I use a hand car valet place , speak to one of the guys from Slovakia regular hes a nice guy actually ,he was moaning about the cost of things here in Uk , But told me that for £10,000 he can buy a 2 bedroomed house nothing special but a full house is that right ? Says when hes got a bit more money hes going home to buy 1 but no jobs there he said ...Hence why he came here ...

YYZlover

I'm out in Slovakia right now. have temporarily set up office in a radio station in Poprad. I do like it here. My british friend was telling me last night that the only slovak person living in the apartment block he's in (and what an apartment!) is his girlfriend.

Germans, Italians, Brits et are moving out here.

It is pushing house prices up so if you want to grab a bargain now is it.

Artho

Me and my wife (Slovakian) bought a place out in Kosice, Eastern Slovakia and looking to move there in 2-3 years time. It's just the income part the bothers me. I have an investment property out in South Africa that is throwing off enough to pay the bills and food but we would like to start a family and would obviously need a bit more money. I'd look at starting a business out there as the language barrier for employment would obviously be an issue

But anyway, back to the OP question. Yes, there are quite a few of us out there. Would be nice to keep in touch with expats and maybe meet up now and again.

Btw Tony, you have a beautiful place. We're still rebuilding. Will post pics sometime in April.

Vivipoo

We are just looking at buying a place out there as an investment/holiday home. We have found a place in a mountain village in Low Tatras. Its true you can get a bargain out there but it is a gamble....just depends on whether the property market is going to rise as much and as fast as 'those that know' say it will!! We are currently deciding if we are brave enough to do it!!

STEWART07

Hello,

Just seen your request for info on relocating to Slovakia. It was posted back in Dec, which, funnily enough, is the month myself and my family moved out here. My wife is also Slovakian and I'm English. So let me know if you are still interested in my experience/thoughts about living over here?
Best regards,
Stewart

paulmon07

Thanks to everyone who responded to my first question posted some time ago about Brits who have relocated to Slovakia and sorry I didn't respond sooner, the reason being that the idea of moving back then started to look unlikely after finding out we were expecting out first child. We are however here again with the same idea about a possible move but with 3 of us instead of 2. I think the most important question i'd like to ask is about making a living, anything I search on the web for a Brit involves teaching English which i'd like to stay clear of. Has anyone started a successful B&B/Hotel?, is knowing the language a must to land a job there?, what possible business opportunities are there for a foreigner to make a proper income?
Again any feedback would be greatly appreciated

Kind Regards

paulmon07

Hi Stewart,
Yes I would very much like to hear anything & everything you have to offer about your new life in Slovakia with your family. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks Paul

STEWART07

Hi Paul,

Myself and my wife, who is Slovakian, moved out here in December last year. We decided to make the move as I was totally disallusioned with life in the UK and the ridiculous "pc" cutlure. We also have an 18 month old daughter and wanted to bring her up in a safer, and in some ways, more "innocent" culture.
We started off living in Bratislava in a rented flat while we looked at a property to buy (Look at the site www.reality.sk - its by far the best site for all Slovak property. All the estate agents in Slovakia use it). Now Bratislava, apart from the v. small central area, has to be one of the most depressing and horrible capital cities in all of Europe, and I've been to many! But dont let that put you off because there are so many other beautiful areas.
We finally bought a house in Jacovce which is v. close to a town called Topolcany. Its a nice area with lots of forests and lakes nearby.
Since I've been here I've found Slovakia to be everything I imagined. Much safer generally (no Islamic terrorists!), neighbours much friendlier than in the south of England, kids still play out in the street and have respect for people,
cheaper to live (around £600 a month for us a family of 3) etc etc.
You can still see the signs of the old communist regime..some run down towns, old eastern block architecture and a way of doings things (tons of paperwork for everything!!). But things are changing slowly. Everything you need is here, ok sometimes have to search hard for it, but its here. My parents, who were recently here, compared it to Spain in the early 1980's. I'd say its definately behind Western Europe..which in my book is a damn good thing.
The other big bonus is of course the price of property! The house I bought would have cost 500-600k back in Camberley and its got a huge garden. Because of the prices in England, I was able to pay off my mortgage and buy for cash and still have money over to hopefully (in near future) start a business. I now have zero debt to my name! That is a nice feeling. Of course property prices are slowly rising and will do so much more when they change over to the Euro in the next couple of years.
If you are going to buy a property...you must must get a solicitor/lawyer to advise you! Its a complicated business here and the people selling generally let the estate agent do everything for them, so you must get advice. We nearly had a bad experience because we were too quick, too eager.
What I would also say is that understanding the language is very important. And that is from the point of view of someone who hasnt tried so hard! It has put a lot of pressure on my wife as she has to arrange everything.
So all in all, Slovakia so far has been a great move for us and, after all, old Blighty (even with all its faults) is still only 2 hrs away on a plane at a cost of approx 60 quid!
Let me know if you want any more info.
Regards,
Stewart

paulmon07

Stewart,
Thanks for taking the time to reply so quickly and in such detail and I will take on board what you've said. Our biggest concern still lies in the fact of how I (not so much my wife) will find regular work with a reasonable salary, which in Slovakia is nearly always low. You say £600pm to live on which is about 30,000skk but the average monthly wage is about half that, so it's going to be tough. We are also thinking of starting a business, which is risky at the best of times and would also leave us with little to no money for a possible home and her family don't have the space for us. I suppose these are the kind of obstacles that people regularly encounter when trying this sort of venture. Who knows maybe we can knock our heads together and come up with a business idea we can both prosper in.

Thanks Paul

STEWART07

Hi Paul,

Drop me an email on <snip, not a good idea to post email address`s on an open forum unless you collect spam.click on user names for contacts> and we'll chat further...
Regards,
Stewart

bluntyboy

this is probably a bit late but how did you guys get on with regards to banging your heads together on a business venture. I have almost completed on a property near Poprad and interested in relocating and have similar plans and just wondering whether 3 is better then 2 or 6 if you include our partners.