2023 Is the Year of Croatia – What Does It Mean for Digital Nomads?
According to a survey conducted by NomadList, Croatia has officially asserted its status as the ‘most liked’ Digital Nomad hub. This may be likely due to Croatia being the first country in Europe to introduce a Digital Nomad Visa (DNV).
There are other reasons why Croatia would come out on top of a survey like this. Essentially it is one of the fastest-recovering tourist destination in Europe post-COVID, leading to a 132% increase in overnight stays throughout 2022. Americans tourists are increasingly becoming aware of its beautiful landscape and man-made wonders.
Even with heavy competition from popular digital nomad destinations like Bali, Lisbon and Tallinn, Croatia Croatia is the ‘most liked’ country out of 15 entries, with a rating of 4.9 according to NomadList. It shares the honor with Japan, which has a rating of 4.9.
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Croatia has not merely acknowledged digital nomadism in law: it prepared its cities to welcome the new temporary residents, be it establishing digital nomad ‘villages’ in Zadar, where nomads could move to for a minimum of two weeks, and stay up to 6 months, or opening several co-working spaces in Zagreb, its capital and leading financial centre.
Total Croatia News reports, this is proof Hrvatski society has warmly embraced nomads and is incredibly receptive to slow travel: ‘every grandmother with a room to rent talks about the potential of digitalni nomadi.’ The visa was launched in March 2021, while Covid wreaked havoc in the European continent and many nations were still hesitant to reopen for tourists, let alone new residents.
Long-term home rentals have dominated the property across Croatia, a clear sign digital nomads are priority customers heading into 2023. They will be able to find entire rental units in Crikvenica or Opatija, two popular resort towns, for as cheap as USD $504 a month, directly facing the ocean and within walking distance of the main sights.
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Top cities and towns in Croatia to look out for:
- Zagreb, the Croatian capital, whose skyline is dominated by a 13th-century cathedral, skyscrapers and Neo-Renaissance buildings;
- Pula, in the Istrian Peninsula, home to an arena and other well-preserved Roman landmarks;
- Zadar, a coastal gem packed with historical monuments, including a one-of-a-kind, round Romanesque church and an imposing belfry;
- Split, a city that expanded out from the walls of a palace originally built for a Roman Emperor in the 4th century;
- Trogir, a small island-municipality well-supplied with Late Roman churches and cobblestone alleyways;
- Hvar, the main settlement on Hvar Island, easily recognized for its hilltop fort and traditional Dalmatian stone-built houses;
- Dubrovnik, a compact walled city straight out of a Chivalric romance, featuring drawbridges, impressive turrets and medieval piazzas.
Besides the beautiful weather and Adriatic beaches, it seems in general the Croatians are open to hosting nomads from a local scale to the government.
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