Answering Canadian Lady's Questions about Serbia
Vložit
- čas přidán 10. 01. 2015
- a young lady from Canada and a guy from the USA asked me a few questions about moving to Serbia... I gave them my thoughts and input. The email she sent me is below ..
The most common banks in Serbia are :
**rol.raiffeisenbank.rs/Retail/...
**www.erstebank.rs/rs/
**www.kombank.com/
**www.voban.co.rs/
here is the lady's email:
"Hi Charles,
I just wanted to write you a message saying how much I love your youtube videos about life and the culture in Serbia. As a Canadian
( Alberta , Canada) girl who has been to Serbia before and I am actually returning back this May to spend 5 weeks there again this year, I cannot wait to return !
Your videos are so bang on !
I am actually considering moving to Serbia , I met a nice Serbian man and he wants me to move there with him This trip in May is to see if this is really what I want to do. As its not like its a short easy move as if I was going to move to the States or another part of Canada.
Watching your video blogs makes me miss Serbia , and miss the damn food !!!
I am just a little concerned about the cultural adjustment, Its one thing to go on Holidays and live there.
I know very little Serbian at this point and its a f'n hard language to learn.
Do you have any advice on this subject on living there ? Just trying to make myself feel less like a fish out of water.
I know for the most part the people are beyond wonderful, We already know the food is amazing.
Just so much to consider when moving from the Western world to a country like Serbia. Trying to find work , cultural adjustment , language barrier and so on.
We are all pretty spoiled living in North America , Is there anything you did to make your life transition easier?
Sorry if my note to you is long winded. Hope you get this and have the time to respond.
Keep up with the video blogs and SaySerbia , You are doing amazing work.
Hope to chat soon "
"Sorry to bug you with questions, This just popped in my head and I thought maybe you would have a answer. Were you able to open a bank account in Serbia or do you still do all your banking in the USA? I have been looking at Canadian Financial institutions and we dont really have good Euro accounts here. As a foreigner are you able to have a Serbian bank account?
I am just thinking the best way to be able to manage money if I do choose to live over there. Doing international money transfers from my Canadian account to my boyfriends account would get expensive quickly.
So much to think about before making the plunge.
Hope you had a nice Serbian Christmas - Zábava
I’m Serbian and I hate how everyone over there are smoking... I live in Australia where it’s much like in US so ppl aren’t aloud to drink outside or even smoke just outside the door of any place so I love that as it suits me just fine. It’s true, there’s more freedom in Serbia then US, UK, UN or Australia... enjoy that freedom whilst you can.... 👍🇷🇸👌😀
You are such a good guy , your videos deserve to have more attention !
TerierBull thank you, mate :)
Hi, Charles. I am a huge fan, I believe that I have seen all your videos here on YT and I see that you mentioned problems with banks and "compatibility" with American banks. I am working as freelance WEB designer and most of my clients are from UK and Ireland. I've been working for people from UAE, HK, Greece, Holland, even from USA few times... and I never had problems when it comes to payments.
If people who come here don't want to have so much cache with them and if they want to somehow get money transferred from their American accounts to account in Serbia, what they can do is to open a "savings account" in any foreign currency in almost any bank here and later they can transfer money from their American accounts to their account here in Serbia. It is that simple and banks will not charge their interest much at all, compared to high charges if you use Western Union or similar services.
I have "savings account" in € Euros here in Komercialna banka and my client only need my personal info and IBAN and he is able to make payments. For example, if the amount is €1.000 I will get €990 on my hands, only ~€10 of bank interest, that is 1%... And what is also important, the payment arrives on my account after only 1-3 working days upon payment.
What I don't know is how it goes for foreign people, are they allowed to open such accounts and what are charges, you should check this with banks. If it can be done, people would be able to get money from their family or even to make transfer from their own accounts which are not supported here.
Charles you completely changed my image of Serbia! Keep it up, you are a very inspirational person!
I love you channel!! Such a beautiful portrayal of my country! Thank you!
Ugljesa Radulovic hvala ti puno!! :) you are so kind! :)
Great video! You mentioned bureacratic red tape at one point - that was always my biggest uncertainty about moving to Serbia. How is it to get all set up in full compliance with the law vis-a-vis work permit, tax registration and registering your own business as a self-employed entreprenuer? (I do all my work online as a freelancer). All my money is paid via direct bank transfers from my customers, so being absolutely 100% allowed to work and pay taxes is mandatory. I now live in Germany, where this process is relatively straight-forward if you're from the US. But I used to live in the Czech Republic, which is a pretty "normal" country, but the bureacracy was a long, drawn-out and tricky process.They made it excrutiatingly hard to get set up as a freelancer when all you want to do is work legally and pay your fucking taxes. You had to provide a lot of proof that you had a good reason to work there and weren't gonna take jobs away from the Czechs (which is a non-starter in my business. This was one of the main deterrents for me to live in that country (even though I spent years to learn the language). I figured the situation in Serbia might be similar, even though it's clear you're bringing money into the country and paying into the tax and insurance system. One Serb friend of mine told me it's incredibly easy to start a d.o.o. in Serbia, but I still am not sure how many hoops they make you jump through to get set up legit as a self-employed freelancer. What was it like for you? Are you a salary man or are you registered as a self-employed entrepreneur?
Sorry for the long post, it's just that I'm real interested in this 'cause I might move to Serbia one day.
I must say that I agree with all of your points in regards to the living conditions in Serbia. I can relate to all of the aspects that you outlined in the video. I am living in Australia and it is worlds apart from Serbia. Money is great, I have all that I ever wanted in terms of material objects BUT the social aspect of Serbia is far superior in my opinion. In first world countries, talking from experience in Australia, very rarely do neighbours talk to each other and call each other over for dinner. In Serbia, this is a regular occurrence, especially during slava periods. Also walking down the streets, NO ONE says hello or good day in Australia. It is a very serious and lonely place to be. In Serbia you can start up a great conversation with a random person on the street and even make friendships. I really miss that aspect of Serbia. Only having immediate family in Aus is also a bummer.
I would just like to add that you can live a good life if you do not rely on material things such as high end clothing brands and expensive electronic devices. These things are way to expensive in Serbia and are really not necessary. Some of my friends back in Serbia dress in expensive clothing, have the newest devices and go to clubs on a regular basis. No wonder they are broke and depressed. I liked your point about convenience and how you can't be bothered to cook and when you buy food it can be expensive. If you rely on "bakas" cooking, this is all home made and it does not cost much money. You just got to know how to live. One big problem with Serbia is the lack of work in the country as you mentioned Charles. I tell ya there is work out there if you are ready to work for it and put in some effort. There is a serious shortage of workers in the agriculture sector. Most people are lazy and do not want to work early hours and would rather sit around and do nothing.
I apologise for the large write up but I wanted to comment on your video with my views to contrast your views as well.
PS. I can tell you have a bit of ADHD as you were fidgeting with the cards that you were holding. Perhaps this is not ADHD, you are just like to be occupied with something all the time.
Branko N hi Branko... nice to hear from you... thank you for your input.. i have always had issues ... many Serbs are always saying "ADHD doesn't exist" I am a believer because I struggle with it
The social aspect is very attractive to me too. I started out with a few friends in Kragujevac and Nis, and I make dozens more every time I go back to visit them.
Hey Charles, just a tip: don't play with your credit cards in front of a HD camera and post it on the internet, it may seem silly but i know some shit could happen :P (The numbers are not visible from that distance, don't worry just don't do it next time lol)
The best option (when we talk about ATM cards) is to open Skrill or Neteller account, link your card to Skrill/Neteller account and upload funds. Then, you get Skrill/Neteller MasterCard and you can use it in any shop in Serbia and you can withdraw money from any ATM. Fees are about $4 per withdrawal via Neteller and about $2 per withdrawal via Skrill card. Regards.
Milan you are full of good info, Milane.. thank you.. i hadn't heard of Neteller.. I will look it up ASAP! :) i owe you a beer! :)
Charles Cather
You're welcome, Charles. ;) Both companies are from UK, both give you a MasterCard when you open account. There are small fees to receive your MasterCard (about $10, delivery included). But, both work on 90% ATM's in Serbia (used both at Reiffeisen & Intesa today, the biggest banks here and their ATM's are everywhere). Hope I helped someone. Cheers!
You can use Visa debit card that works on atm and internet. My friend got one from Komercijalna bank. I have internet card from Intesa bank but it's not the same.
c'mon man, moving is easy ... look at Assange and Snowden...LOL and TY Charlie for all you said here.
Would really like more of these honest reviews of the life in Serbia, even though I lived there for the most of my life, its nice to hear an objective opinion from someone.
Hi Charles, just discovered your channel last night and watched quite a few of your videos :)
As a Serbian girl who's been living between Canada and Serbia for the last 10 years or so, you're pretty much right about everything you've said.
Just a few things I'd like to add if you don't mind :)
1. Depending on which bank she's with, she might be able to use her cards. I'm with RBC, and I have a debit card and a Visa with them, and I have a MasterCard with PC Financial. The debit card doesn't work for direct purchases, as in paying with it, even though I was told it would. This is mainly because our lovely SAs keep processing it as Visa and handing me slips that say "rejected" on them, and it also says Visa on them. Of course it got rejected! Tried to explain, no go....
However, you can use it at ATMs, and I use it often, to withdraw cash which you get in dinars. Also, a little secret, if you go to the Raiffeisen Bank next to the Terazije McDonalds, you can go to a teller and ask them to give you cash from your RBC debit card, and you don't pay any fees to either bank! At least I wasn't ever charged any. Visa and MasterCard work no problem, as long you warn your bank about every country you'll be visiting and for how long. Both RBC and PC Financial had convenient little online forms to do this.
2. The PIN can't start with a zero, I had to change mine at an RBC branch before coming here.
3. Here I'm with Banca Intesa, and they've given me 2 cards. One for dinars, and one for foreign currency. The one for dinars is a debit and a Visa card, so it works at ATMs, it works to pay with at stores, works online, and I even use it to for my Pay Pal account to pay for Ebay purchases. The money gets converted automatically to whatever currency is required. Pay Pal wouldn't allow me to use my Canadian cards for things getting shipped to Serbia, but this works great.
3. No Timmies! Big downer :P But there are other places to make up for it.
4. She will be able to feel her face here, even in the winter time! Yay! :D
5. SAs aren't as professional as what she's used to, it will bug her, but you do get over it due to many other benefits which you've mentioned in your videos as well.
6. As for jobs, embassies, cultural representative organizations, etc. are great for people who are still learning the language, and they also pay well. I've met a few Americans who only speak English at the Belgrade International Academic Center while preparing with them for TOEFL and the SATs. You're right, though, own business is by far the best option. I do consulting work for foreign companies, and there's definitely business to be done.
So many other things, but I'll stop rambling now. Hope you don't mind me adding a few things. Love your videos! :)
Nicole Gray
Hi Nicole :)
Yeah, it's the Belgrade location. The thing is I'm sure it would be the same at other locations, but when I was visiting with an American friend we both kept going to that one because we just knew they'd know what they are doing, you know? Don't hold me to the fee thing, though, I've just never noticed any charges at all when I've done that. and neither has she :)
Oh sorry, SAs = Sales Associates :) Sometimes, not always, but sometimes they are just not at the professional level here that I'm sure you're used to overthere. Although, I've only been to AB for a month (Calgary) so I'm not too sure how it compares to Halifax and the Maritimes. I'm sure you know the Atlantic provinces have the reputation for being super friendly :)
No worries about the tips at all, and please, if you want to ask me anything else at all, or just message me, or just want someone else to know here, or whatever, please feel free to say hi. I'm in Belgrade for a while, and I miss Canadians :)
Um, yeah, the Timmies missing pains don't go away :P
Nicole Gray
Oh yes, please! The first coffee I ever had in my life was a double double (trying to stay awake for exams)! Do not remind me of poutine! :D
Sent you a message, but just one last public note to anyone who hasn't been there, Canada is equally as welcoming as Serbia. The first time I went there I met a girl on my university residence forum page, and she invited me to spend Thanksgiving with her family (before even seeing me in person), when I didn't know where to buy things people walked me to the places, and whenever I landed in Canada I got greeted with "welcome back home" by an immigration officer. It almost makes you cry every time! :)
Talk to you soon :)
dude you realy are craze, I ve got VISA from Banca Intesa, it work everywhere, on ATM and on internet, I ve got only one and it work :)
Hey Charles. I just wanted to say you can make more money than you are now.You can do private lessons for high school and college students, you can make ALLOT of money. My brothers friend from high school went to some guy who was teaching math and two years ago he made his first milion. He's teaching for about 10 years, it's crazy how people get rich. You can open school of english just like school of rock lol. Rent some work space and get it started, when people hear that American teaching english, they're sure coming :D !
LamboFanatic that is why the whole point of my entire video was "you gotta do it yourself" you can't work for a school or for another business owner because the pay is crap.. :) thanks for the input :)
Charles Cather But isn't it real complicated to start your own business if you're a foreigner?
Charles, I've watched a lot of your videos and most of the time you put out some pretty good stuff. But today I believe you are missing a really big point that is very common for Americans moving to a country overseas thinking of living inexpensively. If you move to a country like Serbia and want to live like you're in the US it is VERY expensive to live. If you are high maintenance and NEED all the things easily found in the US you'll need a lot of money. The allure of a country like Serbia is living in the culture and and economy like a Serbian. Not trying to change Serbia to be like the US. Moving to Serbia to live like an American is a little ridiculous. I tell people Serbia is like the US I grew up in 50 years ago. Slower and calmer than the US of today. Walking/bicycling to the village center for shopping, greeting neighbors or having a café along the way is more a social exercise than choosing between 100 different cans of corn at Wal-Mart.
I lived in another European country for almost 10 years before moving here a few months ago. Most things here are less expensive than in my former home. Gas, diesel, butane and rent are all cheaper. When in Rome, my friend, when in Rome.
Dear Charles,
I always look to your video, s particularly if you gives advice to other about serbia who like to want to come and live there. You speak often about the salary in Serbia. I am a serbian Born in the Netherlands, since a couple of years living in Romania and here for in Bulgaria. What struck me is that the salary in Serbia is better than in these 2 countries if you are workinhin a company . even though the 2 other countries in the eu, and Serbia is not. Serbia is more expensive when you consider what you need to fixed costs per month. But if I want to ask here in Romania and then in Bulgria they'd rather be there than here.
It is also true that they are all what you say they in all friendly serbian.de roads better and believe me I can confirm that. For anyone who want to live in Serbia will have to look for when buying stuff all seems quite cheap but if you carefully think it is sometimes more expensive than in the Eu countries and sometimes it's much cheaper then the eu. I share miin experience what I've encountered.
How come? My American card always works.
a guy from here wants to move to Canada and wondering if it's a good idea.
Charles be careful displaying your credit card like that in a video.
Dejanoz :O could you read the numbers :O :O
Charles Cather Balkan countries are well known by identity steal attempts, watch yourself :)
we love Canadian...girls :)
The money problem is the same with Macedonia. I hope they fix that if we ever get in EU. But EU doesn't always fix financial problems. I went to Hungary once and people told me the pay was horrible. Here in Macedonia I don't know how anyone sustains themselfs. Some people even make 150 euros per month. How the fuck can they live with that kind of pay. Atleast cigarettes are cheaper here. Electronics and video games are overpriced. A 3 year old video game will cost like 70 euros, what the fuck. Can't even buy a PS3 because its too damn expensive, let alone a PS4. The only good thing i like here are the places where you can go out. Drinks and coffee are cheaper. When I went to Czech Republic, the only thing I didn't like was the Starbuckyness. You need a code to enter a bathroom, writing names on the coffee mugs and shit, i don't know, it just didnt feel natural to me.
Great video mate. Though I might add you should be careful with generalisations when you claim that every Serbian expat would return in a second should the financial situation be better. I honestly believe that not every expat would agree with you. There are simply people in this world who basically choose to live elsewhere not because of the money issues in their home country. As much as I love the place where I was born, I wouldn't want to return there even if they offered me a well-paid job and a decent place to live in. But again, that's me, as I'm sure there are lots of others who would return the second the oportunity arose. Moreover, I can't agree that, apart from money problems, everything else is peachy there. Let's not forget that basic human rights are still being constantly violated there and that the level of corruption is higher than ever- to mention but a few striking examples.
However, I sincerely applaud your spunk. ;)
Cheers!
milancelisac very well said... you know... i tend to talk very fast and not plan my videos out.... it can make me sound foolish on occasions ...
Charles Cather No biggy!
you know?
u understand us man,if we had just enough money to sustain ourselfs and to save some....i cryed just now,dont believe i dont care.
Will Ferrell lives in Serbia?
2 points: I love how you always say Munze Konza for town called Zemun :D Obviously some Zemun gangsta told you to say it like that... smart move to listen to people from Zemun :D
If you are only seeing 1 type of hair gel and shampoo, trust me CHANGE SHOP :D I always go to shop and can't decide between like 5 brands :D
MUNZE KONZA HAHAHHAHA , nice one :D
maybe we are too free,i saw,it was about 1 o'clock at night in the club,a 15 year old girl I MEAN WTF HOW THEY LET HER IN :D
lol, you really lived in Kotez?
xdjolel hahaha.. yup :) the Red Star hood :)
Charles always drink but he's never drunk.
Kataricu ti si CAR !!!
Branislav Grbic thank ya, buddy.. :)
Charles my man, hope you changed that beer, clearly doesnt suit your stomach :D
If her boyfriend have a good paid job, then WELCOME TO SERBIA. Otherwise stay in Canada, in my opinion, dream land.
lol idk where people get the stereotype that Canadians say abut. I've never heard it before.
Milan Drapic canadians just talk weird :P czcams.com/video/oiIEPqMuzVc/video.html
oh true.
czcams.com/video/pFCd4ZOTVg4/video.html
All i know aBUT Canada is from tv shows
If i got a dinar for every time he said "You Know" i'd be Bill Gates by now
Reiffeisen bank is one of the biggest robbers in Serbia. Some interest can get up to 30% !!! And when you do some payments like paying bills or other thing commission fee is 100 dinara and in ordinary Post office (Yellow-blue POST sighs) is around 30 dinara.
Not to mention that this bank has NOTHING to do real western bank of the same name there - just a name of brand is the same. If you open your account and put money in German banks in Western Europe, you cant raise money from the same bank in Serbia.
Only one Russian Sber bank that is new here is fair by interest, fees...
Truth is, all westerns all here to take our money and ship them in EU anyhow they can and one day, when real and fair regulative comes they will just close their branches and never come back. Like: fuck you, suckers!
***** Hey Protiv Global (nice name, hehe)! Thanks for the straight shit on the bank situation here. A couple of my Serb friends had warned me about that. One of my friends said he never even had a bank account in Serbia until like 2 years ago, 'cause there was just no point in it. The whole bureacratic / institutional thing is the only thing that discourages me about Serbia, 'cause I've heard it's so easy to get fucked if you start your own business.
But seriously, with the banks:
what do you think the chances are of getting cheated? And how high are the fees just to maintain an account? I used to live in the Czech Republic, and the fees were ridiculous: they docked you 25 crowns (1 dollar) for ANY transaction where you had to go to a teller. 10 years ago, the Czechs had the highest bank fees in the EU and it took an injunction from the European Commission to put an end to it. Is there anything going on like that in Serbia?
*****
Thanks writing back. Yeah, that's the same thing my buddy Aleks R. from Kragujevac said - went his whole life without a bank account until he got a job at the university there. He said it was pretty normal, 'cause in the 90s things were so fucked up that it just didn't make sense. So, another question: salaries are normally paid via direct bank transfer now? Is that new? When I first went to Serbia in 2005, it seemed like a cash-only economy, but obviously a lot has changed since then. I'm interested in the banking situation for foreigners there 'cause all my income gets paid via direct bank transfer and I wonder how well that would work in Serbia. Some of my Serb bros have cautioned me that I'm too naive to do business in the Balkans and that I'd get fucked left and right. But how? I am not sure exactly what they meant. Bureacrats charging bribes for me to get a work permit? Or banks fucking around with my money? Or just people overcharging me in general? (getting overcharged by taxi drivers and for drinks at bars has been the *only* problem I've ever had in Serbia).
Драган Чикић You're probably right, that's what my buddy Marko Ž. from Kragujevac told me. It's just that my business is REALLY simple: I translate documents into English, and my customers wire money directly to my bank account. No office, no store, just me and my computer and an internet connection. So how am I gonna get fucked? I don't get it. No one can extort me for protection money 'cause I don't have a store. Only things I can think of is authorities trying to stick me for bribes to get a work/residence permint, or the bank screwing me over somehow.
Драган Чикић
I have one buddy Dušan from Niš who keeps telling me I should start a d.o.o. in Serbia to avoid paying crazy high taxes here in Germany, while my other buddy Marko told me pretty much what you said. "You gotta be real experienced to do business in the Balkans," were his exact words. And I have no experience with "real stuff" in Serbia 'cause I just go there to hang out with my friends and have fun. But I have this idea to move there someday, not sure when, but it's a possibility.
Thanks for writing, Dragan! I am not very worried about organized crime or corruption in Serbia, and it's not like I've got that much money, I'm just a humble freelance translator. My main concern was just that if I'm gonna get set up in Serbia, I want to do everything 100% right, legitimate and by-the-books, pay taxes and everything just like normal. But I have seen for myself how bureacracy can make it real complicated to do everything right. In the Czech Republic, it was fucking circus just to get a permit to do business - and all I wanted to do was be legitimate and PAY TAXES! In Germany, it was a lot simpler, but still a major pain in the ass.
Anyway, it might be a few years down the line, but I will probably get set up in Serbia some day. I've got a lot of friends there who can help me and I think I would be happy living in that country for all the reasons Charles Cather is talking about.
charles dont drink so much dude