Hello all, I've decided to leave the States and have been researching a move to New Zealand. Lots of pluses and a few minuses too, several peoppe offering to house me while I look for a job/home after I get there - but the toughest thing is the points system they have. It seems that New Zealand only wants college grads to staff it's cabs (yes, many educated migrants end up driving cabs, cooking, etc.) and the points needed changes sometimes daily! I found a website called EscapeArtist.com and accidently found myself reading stories of Prague and Slovenia and Croatia and thought I'd take a look. My family have had long-time friends from Hungary, so I'm a bit more familiar with Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Croatia than some, but I want to know more. I'm Italian, so having Italy close by would be great! Do any of the Eastern European countries ACTIVELY encourage expats/migrants to live, work and/or invest there? How hard is permanent residency? Etc. TheSaint
First, welcome to MyCzechRepublic ! As far as I know, pretty much every ex-communist country in Central/Eastern Europe has an expat policy. How those policies work in everyday life, I wouldn’t know... Now. Slovenia is a lovely little country, very clean and everything, plus Italy is round the corner. It’s like Austria, only smaller... OK, it’s a bit boring. But that doesn’t have to be bad – I’m considering spending my New Years hols in Ljubljana this Year. Croatia... Italy is across the Adriatic see, the country itself is stunningly beautiful, and it offers allot if you’re a tourist, rich, or both. But if you’re planning to live there on an average Croatian salary, I’d recommend re-thinking your plans. I should know, I live in Croatia... Hungary: the capital is beautiful – lots to see and stuff, but the rest of the country is far from the EU standard. Believe me, I’ve seen toilets in the Hungarian province... Plus, that language is a nightmare. Czech Republic: by my opinion, it offers the most. If I were you, from two top candidates: Slovenia and Czech Republic, I’d choose the Czech Republic. The other three countries are definitely worth seeing, and if you get a chance, you should spend a week or two in each of them, but if you’re looking for a place to live, choose the Czech Republic.
