“You make a house a home, wherever you are,” says Dejan. He was born in Zagreb, Croatia, but has been living in Rotterdam with his family for ten years now.
Dejan was born in Croatia in the 1970s, when it was still part of Yugoslavia. His parents were originally from Macedonia and worked in Croatia. Around 1990, the family moved back to Macedonia. Dejan started working and started a family of his own. In 2015, he came to the Netherlands for work. “I work for an international consulting firm, and they needed someone who could represent this part of Europe. That’s how we ended up in Rotterdam.”
Although he had been to the Netherlands before—including Amsterdam and Rotterdam—it was different when he actually came to live here. Only then, he says, can you really feel the city. What immediately struck Dejan in Rotterdam was the enormous diversity. “You can eat something different every day, from every corner of the world. That gives the city flavor.”
Adapting
The transition was not always easy. “When you move to a new country in your thirties, it’s harder to adapt.” Zagreb and Rotterdam are also very different. “The weather in the Netherlands is milder, but also more changeable. “In one day, it can rain five times and be sunny five times. That’s why Dutch people often stay indoors. In the Balkans, people live much more outdoors, especially from April to October,” he says. “Rotterdam is flat and has no hills, which makes cycling much easier than in Croatia. It’s almost self-evident here. So that’s why I’m doing it now.” Family life is also different here. “You have more time for yourself and your family here. In the Balkans, you meet friends spontaneously, but here you sometimes have to make plans weeks in advance.”
And then there’s the language, of course. Although Dejan speaks a little Dutch, he finds it difficult to learn the language properly. “Because everyone in Rotterdam speaks English well. In ten years, I’ve met maybe two people who didn’t speak English.” Fortunately, he is learning more and more through his children, because they go to a Dutch school.
Well organized and people and food from the Balkans
Dejan felt at home after just three or four months. He thinks this is because everything is so well organized in Rotterdam: from public transport to the city’s facilities. Everything is there to make your life run smoothly. The diversity of nationalities in the city also helps, which means that many Rotterdam residents come from the Balkans. He plays basketball with them. When he misses the food from home, he can simply go to a restaurant or shop that sells products from his region. Together with his family, he also cooks traditional meals and watches TV programs from Macedonia or Croatia. This helps him maintain ties with his homeland.
A home
“You can have a house anywhere, but you make it a home yourself.” And for him, that is Rotterdam. “In the Netherlands, I wouldn’t want to live in any other city but Rotterdam.” He is therefore happy to advise other newcomers. “Go with the flow. Rotterdam offers everyone opportunities to build a life. It is an easy place to live, with good infrastructure, facilities, and a unique atmosphere.”