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Business Consultant
Country: France
This article was developed within the program Venture an Idea funded by the USAID.
TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR WORK
I’m a travel and travel technology professional. I have been working in this industry for the past 20 years in various positions, for different companies and from countries. I have mainly worked in rail and airline travel, around distribution and reservation topics. Partly for very large corporation, partly for very small entities – but always with an international scope. I currently mainly work for “Open Destinations” – a UK based travel tech
HOW DID U END UP IN BELGRADE?
My partner and mother of my child is Serbian. So I am real Srpski zet (Serbian son-in-law)
WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE WORKING FROM BELGRADE?
I have been based here close to 5 years now and Belgrade is a very easy place for digital nomads for several reasons. In terms of infrastructure, there are a lot of co-working spaces which are very affordable, offer great service, comfortable conditions and excellent internet service. I was lucky to immediately find a fantastic one from day 1 with ideal work conditions (comfortable, great wifi, screens, meeting rooms, good seating…) and more than that with a real community of people who all interact socially but also share professionally.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE PLACES IN BELGRADE?
There are quite a few! Very simply, I love Kalemegdan park for the atmosphere with people from all ages walking around and the dominating view on the 2 rivers meeting. I really enjoy the Ada Ciganlija – having a lake where you can bike ride, jump in the water and chill on the pebble beach in one of the many restaurants so close to a big city centre is really unique.
Being a lover of good food, Belgrade is a great place for me with many restaurants and wine bars to choose from. Some of my favorites are:
Na Ćošku in Vračar for unpretentious but very well prepared Serbian or European dishes; Homa in donji Dorćol for more avant-gardiste cuisine; Istok when I feel like eating Asian food; The upscale and exquisite Langouste when I have something to celebrate (in what is probably my favorite street in the city : Kosančićev venac). The view there is also fantastic; Čubura restaurant in Neimar for some traditional Serbian barbecue (roštilj)
WHAT IS THE PERFECT WEEKEND IN BELGRADE FOR YOU LOOKS LIKE?
Perfect weekend is either in Ada Ciganlija biking around and chilling on the beach with my son or in one of the many “Salaš” farms within an hour’s drive outside the city. Usually it involves a bunch of friends, kids running around and us sitting and eating & talking for several hours enjoying a nice atmosphere in a green place where we can breathe fresh air. That is usually a spring or fall weekend.
In the winter, as much as possible go to the nearby Kopaonik mountains for skiing (around 4 hours drive from Belgrade)
In the summer – if I’m here I would say head for a Splav (boat restaurants) for cooler temperatures. But I try not to be in Belgrade too much in July and August – it gets really hot!
WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CULTURAL CONTRAST YOU NOTICED WHEN YOU MOVED HERE
I would say the most obvious one is the “Carpe Diem” approach to life that people have here. Enjoy the good times while they are here, who knows what tomorrow will bring.
Serbia has been occupied, invaded or under authoritarian rule for the largest part of the last 6-7 centuries. As a result, people here are very spontaneous, live in the present and every occasion is a cause (or good pretext) for celebration. It’s mostly very refreshing – sometimes can be a bit unsettling for people who like to organise and plan things in advance.
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND BELGRADE AS THE PLACE TO WORK FROM?
Hands down YES! Belgrade is welcoming, dynamic, has great infrastructure to work remotely, is very affordable and people are eager to meet foreigners and easy to communicate with… it’s a great place to work from!
This article was made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this article are the responsibility of Nova Iskra and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.