Croatia FAQs

When will we go?
August/September 2012 - we don't have an exact date yet.


How long will we be gone? 
Approximately 2 years. 


What will we do with our house?
We're planning on renting it out while we're away - we recently floated an email out to a few different management companies that were recommended to us.  One gal came over last week to take a look at the house and discuss logistics.  We were impressed with her, the rate, the amount of details they take care of and her confidence in getting it rented.   They'll start adverstising in early summer and hopefully get a family started with a lease in the fall. 

Where is Croatia?

Croatia is in Eastern Europe, across the Adriatic Sea from Italy.  We will be living in Zagreb, the capital city.  As you can see from this map, Croatia has hundreds of miles of coastline and is often described as the "sleeper" travel destination in Europe.  Who knew? The coastal cities look amazing -Dubrovnik and Split are famous for their beautiful beaches and scenery.  There is also a park about 90 minutes south of Zagreb called Plitvice Lakes National Park that we can't wait to see.  It looks unbelievable - here is a teaser snapshot...

What language do they speak?
Croatian.  German and English are the most common second languages. 

What about the girls - what will they do?
Ava will attend 1st and 2nd grade at the American International School of Zagreb.  All classroom teachers are native English speakers.  Reese may attend Junior Kindergarten in lieu of daycare, we're not sure about that yet.  When we get back home after 2 years, Ava will be starting 3rd grade and Reese will be starting Kindergarten.  Crazy!


What about me?
So far, my boss and director have been supportive of me working remotely while we're away.  Working overseas involves some complicated logistics (mostly tax-related) so I don't have a green light yet, but we're all hopeful that it will work out.

What about the cats?
We're planning on taking the cats.  Though it will likely be a huge pain in the ass.  :-)

Where will we live?
We will be living in the city of Zagreb.  There is no military base.  The guy who is currently doing this job lives in a house with his wife and 3 kids.  We may move into his house or we will end up in one of the other Embassy-owned properties in the city.  Regardless of where we end up, it will be mostly furnished so we will bring our personal affects but put most of our furniture in storage.  At some point, we will have a list of what to take, what to store, and what to get rid of.  I'm working on the "get rid of" list already - I packed up 10 garbage bags of kids' clothes over the last week to donate.  Much more to purge, I'm sure.

Are we excited?
This type of move comes with all sorts of mixed emotions, but yes, we are mostly excited.  We really hope to make the most of this opportunity.  And we hope we get lots of visitors!