As an Englishman I lived in Slovakia from Sep 1992 to March 1995 and I loved every minute of it and I became completely native and learnt the language fine. They are the kindest people I have ever met. I still have not forgotten the language almost 30 years later and this summer I hope to go back to Zilina and rediscover this beautiful country and the people there. I am glad I am still in contact with all the people I knew there. Majte sa Slovaci!
That's impressive that you learned the language so fast, I'm ashamed to say that we are in our third year here and I'm still useless at speaking fluently. The people are the best here, I agree. Enjoy your trip back here
Oh, it's a very different place now from what it was in 1995. I mean the difference is much greater than how much eg England changed in that time span. It's mostly a change to the better but of course not in all aspects.
As Slovak I totally agree with the “freshness” of food. I remember hating mangoes until I tried it abroad. It tastes totally different! And with most of the exotic fruits it’s the same. Here it’s better to buy Slovak fruits and veggies like apples, pears, carrots, etc. if you want to enjoy it.
Yeah, and seasonal. I grew up with mangro trees etc in our garden and to this day have never enjoyed a mango quite as much as I did those. We harvested our first cherries today and some strawberries and they were delicious.
The thing with fresh produce in Slovakia, you need to buy it when it's "in season" like tomatoes/cucumber/strawberries/watermelon during summer then apples, cabbage/carrots in autumn etc. If you want tomatoes in winter/spring, they will be imported from Africa or Spain so the quality goes down by the time it gets to Slovakia. You mentioned that fresh produce in the UK looks much better...I moved from Slovakia to UK and I find UK produce very artificial. It looks amazing but it usually doesn't tastes like what it supposed to. People in the UK will buy it because it looks amazing...but I wouldn't say their fresh produce is necessarily better quality 😊 (I work in food industry in the UK)
@@premkarthick912 Liptovsky Mikulas is small town so propably not. If You take hour and 1/2 by car, you will have all the indian food you might want in Banská Bystrica or Poprad, or Zilina.
we have lots of freshwater beaches and our weather is quite rough here, we have loads of tropical days in the Summer, meanwhile it's freezing in the winter - not too much but the temperature do drop below 0°C. The good thing is, the nearest coastal cities abroad (Croatia, Slovenia, Northern Italy, etc.) are just few hours of car drive (about 6 from Bratislava, which is the same amount of time you travel to Eastern Slovakia from the capital) and because of the good relations with the neighbouring countries, crossing the borders is very easy and very common here. There are also lots of cheap flights to Italy, Spain, Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Bulgaria - all of these destinations are just 2 to 3 hours maximum flight, you can take Ryanair or Wizzair tickets for a few bucks. We go to the sea every year. Actually we have a traditional hat (for men) as a part of our traditional costumes, the band around the hat is made of seashells. That's because our ancestors used to sail the rivers all the way down to the sea and bring specific species of shells as a status symbol of how much the person travelled. We also have local recipes that require marine fish to make. The sea is pretty much a part of our lives despite of us not having a coast of our own. We have friendly nations that we consider our cousins where "our sea" is. I live more in the Southern areas compared to Ružomberok - which is pretty close to the moutnains and has higher altitude than my town and I don't ever wear gloves or hat in the winter. Slovakia spans west-to-east. Not much north-to-south. That's why one would expect the climate to be the same everywhere but it's not. And a lot of foreigners are surprised. If you travel just an hour and half to the north or to the south, the climate changes. And sometimes even by 10 °C. That's because of the altitude change.
"Actually we have a traditional hat (for men) as a part of our traditional costumes, the band around the hat is made of seashells. That's because our ancestors used to sail the rivers all the way down to the sea and bring specific species of shells as a status symbol of how much the person travelled. " Wow, thats cool. I did no known that. Very informative comment. Thank You.
I'm a new subscriber and find your videos very interesting. I appreciate your efforts as I'm very much interested in Slovakian living, culture and history. All four of my deceased grandparents immigrated from Tvrdosin, Slovakia to the United States sometime around 1920. They all lived good lives and left their descendants with a thirst to know more about where they came from and the culture of Slovakia. I hope you can film Tvrdosin if you should ever pass through that area. Keep up the good work and thanks again for sharing your videos. My wife and I enjoy them very much.
Hi there. Tvrdošín is only an hour away from where I live so I will definitely look into it and go for a mission there, I'm nearly done with our local area now so will be heading into towns etc soon.
Nice video! As a Slovak, I can only say, that you’re right. So many maniac on the roads, the food is not that fresh as it could be. But you know the real reason? It’s the fact that stores like Billa, Kaufland, Lidl and so on are trying to buy as cheap food as possible, cause (unfortunatelly) majority of Slovaks want to buy cheap food. It’s sad. But we tend to go to the farms and harvest fruits and veggies by our hand. It’s cheap, fresh and eco friendly 😊 Good job, keep doing videos like that! 😊 🎉
Hi, I came across your videos accidentally and was immediately drawned by the video telling 5 things you like about Slovakia.Aftetr accounting them I was literally crying how nicely you appreciated our country and nation.We often don' t think much of our pros.Thank you for that. Regading your video about how you struggle and consider some things difficult is also educative.I absolutely share your opinion and I don' t feel offended because as you said, we ourselves often criticize agricultural policy of the EU which is not fair and equal to new member states .The sea problem of course is unmanageable by us but yes it would be nice to have it. Local roads of 2nd class are really very often in a bad state. Some drivers really drive fast and irresponsibly, unfortunately. Good luck in your life here.I admire your effort and all enthusiasm that sooner or later definitely bring you satisfaction. All support and hug 👍
Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad I wasn't speaking out of turn,like I say,these are small problems and there are far more positives than negatives for me here in Slovakia.
Hi Jono! Have you seen the castles in Slovakia? Orava Castle near Ruzomberok for example? And Strbske Pleso Lake in High Tatra Montains? Lot of love to your family!
Hi... I am from Ruzomberok... I lived there my whole childhood and my parents still live there. But this city struggles from missing motorway that should be "soon" finished and all the main traffic would be diverted out of the city. And that is the main problem these days. And yeah... the winter is no more what is supposed to be 30 years before. But I like that you are trying to learn my language... and your struggles with that are pretty normal... because slovak language is pretty hard to learn, especially for an english speaking person.
Yeah the motorway is taking forever, the roads in and out of Ruzomberok are really busy at the moment, but still nothing compared to London so I can't complain really.
Hey Jono, i am very glad, that you live here in Slovakia. I know, that it had must been big culture shock for you. Currently i am writing my Master thesis about adapting foreigners into slovak job market, so this is very interesting for me! Take care and i wish you all the best!
@@JonoGraham Sorry i am responding late, but i had some stuff to do and then i forgot. Findings are interesting so far, but i am specialized for citizens from EU, so its little harder, as most foreigners in Slovakia are from outside the EU. Neverthless, it is a very interesting topic.
Markets turned in 90's into bazaars, where was Polish and Chinese crap, later the died out almost. I am living next to everyday market and I hoped, when I was moving her, that I will roaming there take some fresh products and do breakfast. I realized that each morning merchants unload same boxes as I was unloading from truck in Tesco where I used to work.
Im Slovak but i spent all my youth in England. My family decided to move to Slovakia and at first i had alot of problems with communication ( i always spoke with my parents slovak but it was never perfect as i spoke english much more and was exposed to english people much more). A few years later i can now speak decent slovak, though i still have a thick english accent, sometimes i still struggle pronoucing many words, its a very hard language to master.
The driving issues have become apparent more in the last decade. We have not developed a car culture historically. It is in last 10-15 years that people started to buy a lot of cars. It is normal now to have 2 cars in a household. I remember that it was possible to drive from Cadca to Zilina, cca 30 km, in 25 minutes. Impossible feat nowadays. It also bears a heavy toll on infrastructure.
Interesting point about the weather. The weather is one of the reasons I want to move there. Its so much better than the UK and Isle of man where I currently live. Its much less windy in Slovakia than UK and especially Isle of man and far less wet. Give me all the cold but its a lot drier.
3:38 that's the exact reason for the potholes. RK has a lot of traffic around it simply becasue that part of D1 motorway is not done yet, thus everything needs to go through the town and few villages beyond till they can get back onto the motorway. Cars wouldn't be such problems to make potholes but heavy lorries are there 24/7 and that is not healthy for the kind of road used for town.
Hello Jono, very interesting you mentioned the lack of autumn aspect. This was not the case couple of years ago and I blame the global warming for this as everywhere its getting hotter and hotter. You are absolutely right, there is very little distinction as when the autumn/spring begins and ends, even though last autumn (2021) was one of the prettiest autumns in the last couple of years. In the area where I live (the west) we also face this problem with winter and especially snow, as a kid we used to go sledding on the hill or ice skating on the river (there was a thick layer of ice and the river flew underneath), nowadays if we get 5days of snow in the winter, it has been a good year. Same as in the summer when I was a kid, we barely got 5 days of above 30C temperatures, now it is a common thing to have 35-38C every summer. Also this is not like a long span, I am talking about 15-20 years of changes. Ofcourse it varies in which part of the country you live in.
As a Slovakian I can confirm that we drive like maniacs & our roads are destroid af 🤣 but with what you said about fresh produce I don't agree, It depends on the shop but Lidl is my fav for fruit and vegies (this depends on where you are like countryside or city tho)
Thanks for the video, it was interesting to hear things about Slovakia from a foreigner's perspective. Thank you for being diplomatic about the negatives since there are so many more things that could be added to the list, especially regarding the drinking, narrow-mindedness of some people, bureaucracy, many nonsense laws that the government is not willing or too slow to fix and extremely high crime rate for such a small country... but of course, this is not to say that these / similar problems do not exist in any other countries.
Agree with everything except for "extremely high crime rate". Slovakia is in fact a really very safe country... Unless you included the corruption on all levels of government into the crime rate.
Great reflection of Slovakia. You can't expect somthing fresh delivered from over 2-3k km. And market is more expensive, because its not mass produced, but should be more ecological and when you purchase, you sea people who made product you are buying, there is more trust of quality of product.
Thank you for sharing your experience and perspective as a foreigner, my mother and I (we are Americans) are looking into moving to Slovakia as a part of the newly passed law, granting citizenship by descent!
Sorry. I am not Slovakian , but you say, you would like to move to Slovakia from the States? May I ask you Why? I'm a Croatian background, born in Hungary, live in Ireland, and I want to know Why someone want to move from US to Slovakia. Just interesting.
@@BlaskovicsLaszlo I think they want to move to Europe, especially EU. Slovakia, same as Hungaria provide that. Very ratioanal way of thinking if You ask me.
@@ludovitstur9045 exactly. Slovak citizenship basically means european citizenship, so they can stay in SR, but also move to other countries inside the EU
Hi! I know this is an old video but with the freshness of food: unfortunately, we (Slovakia) sells OUR fresh food to other countries and we get only the second hands from other countries which are much worse quality and therefore cheaper (and same goes with medicine). Fresh food is found on stuff like small shops, Tržnica, or local food shops were (usually) grans sells their good from their gardeners :) Sometimes it's cheap, sometimes the prize comes with quality. Also the winters, don't worry, the global warming takes care of that. From where I live, there no longer is any snow. It hasn't snowed in few years now (it usually snowed few meters before easily), the winters are less cold and the summers are getting MUCH more heat. Example, the temperature for average summer went from 28 being the highest (around 2000) to 40 degrees 2014+. This and last year (2023) were 40° for the majority of July and August so...yeah, not nice. Anyways, that's my ranting/explaining! Have a nice day everyone!!
I just married a Slovakian woman who is 34 at 38. Great tips. I work from home so considering moving back to her homeland once she gets normalized in the US.
I am a new subscriber, i just came across your videos, and just like them, i am a Nigerian my Mrs is Slovak we have lovely 2 kids, we just baught a property in presov area and planning to move someday.Slovaks are wonderful people. greetings from Germany
I live in Ireland and when back in Slovakia I usually buy same stuff in lidl as here in Ireland and can confirm that quality of same food in Slovakia is realy shity..same brand, same package but taste is terrible
I found your video and for the next month will take my PhD in KU Ruzomberok.. you mentioned Ruzomberok, I hope will be there soon.. btw, difficult for me to find long term apartment reservations in Ruzomberok.. they dont want long term reservations I don't know why or maybe I'm a foreigners..
I think produce is a problem in many European countries outside of warmer areas. I heard friend complaining about this in Germany too. I live now in New Zealand where produce is as fresh as it could get (however prices are also freshly scary lol) and I remember sad looking celery sticks or tomatoes back home in Slovakia. However for some reason (probably the price) I used to eat much more vegetables and fruits back there. Things we do have in Slovakia, like cabbage, green paprika, potatoes were ridiculously cheap.
Slovak who moved to Netherlands here: Upon my arrival I was so dissapointed with the quality and price of food here. We've been hearing our whole life that the food in the west is amazing. France and Italy are great, but Germany/Netherlands is no better than Slovakia.
Yeah, winter is no joke, but I like that it is a sunny winter. In the UK the sky is so often covered that it makes it quite miserable. I think the markets are more expensive because self-employed individuals get taxed more compared to for example the UK where you have a high personal tax allowance and a low tax rate after that. I wished Slovakia would implement a flat tax rate like Czech did in 2021 and become more small-business friendly but, they're going down a whole different road.
i didnt know you were from south africa im thinking of going there and mabye staying there but i dont really know so far about everything so thanks for all this info
Hi, I live in UK but I’m from Ruzomberok lol. I completely agree with your complain about produce. This town don’t have good shops with fresh produce unfortunately. I believe bigger cities like Zilina or Banska Bystrica have better choices and quality.
Hi there. I am Slovak living in England. hahah There is a lot of things I could not adjust to when I arrived to the UK...rain and damp. hahaha I miss cold snowy winters and skying. Going mountaineering. Visiting High Tatras. In Slovakia we have no sea....But we have water reservoirs and lakes and lovely rivers. You can even try windsurfing, canoeing ..most of water sports ..on those lakes ...etc. maybe even scuba diving....As you are from South Africa ...it must be more difficult for you to miss the sound of sea waves and sandy beaches. Saturday farmer markets exist in Slovakia and are selling fresh produce. I found, Tesco was the best supermarket for fresher produce in Slovakia...they even were selling English cheddar cheese and Heinz salad cream. In Slovakia the prices of food are more expensive than in England. I found it shocking.( this was before 2022 inflation) In Lind in England I could buy 4x Alpro soya yogurts for £1.49. And in Slovakia the same product was nearly 4 Euros...and when I bought it , it was OFF. ( Sell by date was fine, I checked). IN Slovakia you can not return this OFF product anywhere, In England Lidl would give you refund!!! and apology. Slovakia must have strange buying and selling food policies...I think something is drastically wrong with imported produce to Slovakia , how much Slovakia buy products for and how much are they selling them for in their own country.I think Slovaks pay far too much money for imports of veg and fruit, which are not as good quality as they could grow and produce themselves!!! Even farming Slovak industry can not compete with prices of Polish farmers. Slovak homemade products are top quality, but very expensive for health-conscious Slovak citizens.......unless they are politicians earning high wages. Something does not add up. Certain customer consumer rights for buyers are non existent in Slovakia , which I find very backward. The consumer/buyer can be ripped off faster in Slovakia than in England...The law in Slovakia is allowing it to happen. This law should be changed...and I am Slovak.... Somebody is making money on the misery of ripped off consumers.
Hey there and thank you for your comment. Where in the uk are you? I'm very lucky to have a beautiful river aswell as the Mara really close by so I get my water fix. The food prices are getting expensive,but it's all relative i guess, maybe the cheaper rent makes up for it 😅. Do you visit home often?
@@JonoGraham Hey Jono, I am situated in Midlands in Shakespeare birthplace county......You are very brave moving to Slovakia so far away from home. I haven't been going back home....since Covid-19 pandemic started and now is post pandemic travel chaos in the UK . People gone crazy with travelling. Some Airlines can not cope accommodating eager travellers and lot of flights are being cancelled. as during Covid-19 some airlines got rid of their staff..so now they must be recruited ......Just unbelievable chaos. I have my family place to stay in Slovakia ...so renting would not be the issue for me there...Cost of living is going up everywhere. But not so fresh produce In Slovakia is still the problem for general public of ordinary citizens. I wish you all the best on your adventures and discoveries through Slovakia. I have never been to South Africa...when I saw the movie Invictus with Morgan Freeman playing Nelson Mandela...I was thinking maybe one day I would like to pay my respects and see his grave and visit South Africa. Nelson Mandela was a remarkable man and the true captain of his soul.
@@janakumlec5363 great movie, im not ashamed to say I cried like a baby 🤧, that was a very special moment in South Africa. I lived in St Albans in the uk for 10+ years, but I have absolutely no regrets about moving here,I love it. I have just dropped my partner off at the airport as she is going to thr uk for the week so I am hoping she can get back...
@@JonoGraham She will, Ryanair seem to be more organised than Easy Jet or even British Airways. Great, hotter weather just started in the Uk this week ( she picked very nice weather for it)
Great video! Born and bred in Bratislava, Slovakia although I haven't been living there for over 10 years now. Some of my family lives in the Ruzomberok area. 🙏 I now live on a small island in the Atlantic ocean and I totally feel u! Nothing beats that salty ocean breeze and waves crashing onto shore.. Back in the day (im an 80s kid) when travelling by plane was expensive or you couldn't leave Eastern bloc we would go to Croatia or Bulgaria by coach or by car every summer 🙈. Now you can hop on a plane and get pretty much anywhere from Slovakia or Vienna, Austria. Anyway, thanks for the video! It was nice to see my home country from your vantage point. 👍
@@JonoGraham Croatia is absolutely gorgeous. You're going to love it! They even filmed Game of thrones there. It's got history, beautiful sceneries and some of the clearest water I've ever seen.
@@pavspol I've been looking at photos throughout the winter dreaming of the sea so hopefully we can manage it this summer, I might even get some fishing done there if i'm lucky..
@@JonoGraham Yeah, you're going to have great time! Lots of Fresh food too! I'd probably go off season or go to places that aren't too touristy where you get to experience the authentic local life.. Anyway, us Slovaks call Adriatic sea 'Slovak sea'. haha Every Slovak has been on holiday to Croatia at least once in their lifetime! It's sort of a must 😄
Fair points, I would say. The thing about prices of fresh agricultural products is that due to harsher climate and not exactly the most fertile soils, it is harder to produce them here than in some other countries (which is usually where supermarkets get supplied from - hence the lower prices in those). Winters... well, current winters feel more like autumns to me :) It used to be lot colder with way more snow some 15 - 20 years ago. Anyway, I wish you luck - especially with learning our language.
Southern Slovakia's got very fertile land. During the Czechoslovakia times, the Slovak area was converted into the agricultural area and the Czech area was converted to be the industrial area because Slovakia is much more fertile compared to Czechia. It's the problem of our government and managing nowadays. It used to be very different in the past but nowadays the way things are governed makes us more dependant on imported goods. Farmers aren't able to make a living here. I know a person who used to grow watermelons in the South for many many years and two years ago, he was forced to close his farm down for good because of our government making it excessively difficult for the local farmers to thrive and put their produce on the shelves. His farm was the last official farm in Slovakia with watermelons. He was very upset he had to stop their family business tradition. The climate is not that harsh though, yes we do have tropical days in the Summer and in the Winter the temps do drop slightly below °C, but Slovakia's climate is not as dry and hot as Egypt and simultaneously not as freezing cold and cloudy as Russia. North Slovakia's got mild climate and South Slovakia's got temperate climate. It's not too dry and tropical but at the same time it's not too cold. Most Slovaks own a Summer house and most families grow their own fruits and vegetables there. Speaking for myself, we are only dependant on fruits and vegs from the store during the winter time. People in Southern Slovakia can grow pretty much anything in their gradens from regular apples to figs. It's just that you have to grow it yourself if you want to have a fresh and locally grown fruit.
That's sad about the farmer. We are trying to grow as much produce as we can in our garden this summer but I'll be honest when I say we have made s lot of mistakes this year.
@@JonoGraham the funny thing is, many Slovaks despise buying produce from the shop as if it was a bad thing. Just like you look at a 30 year old person who says "I can't cook", the same way we look at people whom we know they own land and they buy cucumbers from the store instead of growing it. It's part of our culture I guess. There are also these places called tržnica, which is an open-air market place, where anybody can come and sell stuff. Sometimes local people sell their extra produce but a lot of times big sellers from Poland or Hungary arrive to your town's tržnica to sell their things for cheaper than the locals. We need to support the small locals more. A lot of people refuse to buy Polish produce because they believe they're destroying the local produce.
hi, jono. you're right about these things. at least we have a beautiful country and women. i'm glad you enjoy being in slovakia despite all these difficulties
Thank you mate, they aren't really difficulties in the grand scheme of things, I feel lucky that these minor issues are all I have really. It could be alot worse, 👍
@@JonoGraham to be fair, the Ruzomberok area is one of the few remaining cities that doesn't have a highway built yet which means heavy transport destroys the city roads. motorists always describe the traffic situation there exactly as you did, a bloody nightmare. 😂
about that fresh food thing, its better for you to produce atleast some things alone, like planting apple trees, having chickens and so on since Lidl, Billa, Kaufland and other big markets are selling leftovers from western europe. We are selling our sortiment to western europe and western europe are selling lots of shitty quality to central/eastern europe.
Thank you for your honest confession. :-) I can imagine it's tough living so far from the sea. The larger lakes and water reservoirs don't really make up for it, as nice as they are. And I believe you when you say the UK's beaches aren't that magnificent-looking, compared to any of the coastlines in South Africa. You're right that some drivers still drive like maniacs. And that's after we've had stricter laws about speed limits and driving in general implemented in the last decade and a half or two decades. Some people just can't seem to learn they need to be more careful and have more empathy on the road. I suppose I've gotten pretty good at recognising anglophone accents over the years. I've only needed to listen to your's for a few seconds and thought, "Oh ! You're South African ?". :-) Well, I hope you like it over here. It's not a perfect country and it has its fair share of issues, but hopefully you'll find it welcoming and peaceful for many years to come.
I was heading out of Ruzomberok today and a Mercedes was trying to cut the line at the traffic lights, he gave up and pushed around through the red light......once moving I was over the moon to see he had been pulled over by the police, to say it made me smile is an understatement.
@@JonoGraham Yeah usually guys' with small "xx" and Mercedes are typical :D Driving like crazy , parking like crazy . They piss me off too :) And I'm Slovak, but driving so much across a Europe.
ok roads have different classes in Slovakia. Depending how they are classified, then there is responsible to fix them. The smaller the road and the lower clasification the smaller the budget. Like Highways will be fixed from bigger districts (Kraj - Trnavsky, Zilinsky, Kosicky). Then you have those that comes from smaller districts and then those from towns and villages. So if the village has low budget, then roads are not fixed properly. With that being said, there is also EU help for roads, but the village needs to file for it properly. So at the end of the day it is about how skillful the mayor is when it comes to that.
The town or village is responsible for the roads. They say, if you damage your car in a pot hole, the town/village has to pay for it. Never tried it tho.
haha i really love winter, just cold, snow, atmosphere...i hate summer because since i was 2 years old till like 16 i had allergy to hear and warm weather so i have little trauma Did you try winter christmas markets? btw about roads you are right...mostly in villages roads are horrible
Hi Dana ,my self Amol from India I came in September to nitra city in Slovakia because of my new job in JLR car plant,but my friend's told me ,in winter tempreture below 1 degree .it's harmful to me , it's true , please reply me.
@@amolthorat9204 during winter (Late november/ december / january) its sometimes even during day below 0 ° (-4 / -18°C during day) during night it can be to -21°C
Hi Jono, this was a nice video and you seem like a super cool guy. You also seem to respect Slovakia. Your attitude is definitely one of the most respectful I have heard from any foreigner talking about Slovakia, with no condescending overtones. I found all your points to be fair and objective...however, the winter is much worse in other parts of the worlds (Chicago, anyone?) and I find the produce to be much tastier in Slovakia then in Midwest part of the USA. The driving is terrible, for sure, that's why I never want to drive there, rather I take public transport and taxi. The lack of highways is cumbersome. Now, I clicked on your video because I was hoping to hear some practical advice about living in Slovakia as a foreigner - such as how other people treat you, how do you get around with limited Slovak language, especially in a smaller towns, how do you get all your legal paperwork done, etc. I will look at your other videos. Your pronunciation of Ruzomberok and Bratislava are absolutely beautiful and for that you have a special place in my Slovak heart.
Thank you for your kind words and if you'd like I can do a video on the topics mentioned. I agree and will need to amend the video on the produce, as we have found some amazing fresh home grown vegetables and fruits on offer lately and we are preserving some our own to last us the winter months. I hear what you're saying about the cold and have never experienced anywhere else apart from the UK and South Africas winter so the winters here are something I'll have to get used to. But like I said,these are tiny issues the I have and their not really even that bad when you consider how bad they could be. I have fallen completely head over heels in love with Slovakia and am very privileged to call this amazing country home. Have a great weekend and thank you again. 👍
new to you on here so i dont know much but you now live in SK? and thats why your creating this content i suppose? youve made multiple of these? has any slovaks either your age or not thats watched these videos offered to help you with anything you might wanna know or need info on? i hope so. im thinking many have. either way i get how your feeling now. i finished my schooling in KOSICE coming from the U.S in '97-'98 and been back a few times. most of my family is there in various cities and villages. ill keep up on your vids man. chin up! cheers....
Hi Jono, firstly thank you for nice video. I live in Australia and the same like you ( even I am from Slovakia ) I don't like or I miss the ocean and don't like cold and stupid drivers etc... I speak 10 languages and I give you advice if you like how to learn easy other language. You write on small stickers everything around you inside and outside example; Chair - stolichka or how is sound for you - phonetically and then learn to some easy sentence "could you please help me I not speak slovak - Mozete mi prosim pomoct - nerozumiem slovensky " How you said this - ako povies toto ? Or staff what you need most.? Then you have Google translator on your phone ? Or write that short sentences on small card. Then if you live in Ruzomberok and so many trucks come trough ask some who doing weekly trip from other western country make you shopping of something what you need. Or going couple families together and make trip to Austria or Hungry. If you want connection of foreigners ( aussies ) living close to you ask me one is living in Dolny Kubin and other in Moravia, one of my friend from Australia is now in Lip. Sliace ... I wish you all the best. Maybe one day we meet up there :)
@@JonoGraham Jono, I am a Brit living in Poprad. I noticed your South African accent which is still there but it has been smoothed out a lot. And St. Albans, not so far from my home town in Buckinghamshire.
@@LesterMirka Oh wow, nice. I travel to poprad once every couple of months to drop off or pick up my wife from the airport, only ever been to the airport though. The view of the tatras is amazing there.
Mid-April is when it gets warmer outside, especially in the south like the Rye Island. The northern mountaineous regions are generally colder. These areas may even get snow around mid-April. A strong freezing wind is what we have experienced there just recently.
hmmm... Ružomberok? That is a Liptov region, and over the hill you have Orava region, there are no summers and spring. Those regions have only two seasons - winter and f'n winter (of course in original we use same word for winter and cold, which makes this joke less funny). People from there also saying, that it is not proper winter while fences are visible. (I was working in RK a few years - morning fog is used to dissapear obou 1 - 2 pm)
How is your the language today ? How long do you live in slovakia? Have you been to Israel? I think we hame the most crazy drivers in here ! We now planning move to Slovakia
@@JonoGraham A few days in Bratislava, then to Hungary, then up to Kosice a few days. I was in Slovakia 2019 too, in Zilina and the Tatras which was very nice. I noted that Czechia has a lot more tourists than Slovakia.
I’m a Slovakian immigrant in Florida that gardens a lot. If you farm in slovakia I would love to get to know what crops you grow, and how you plant them and when
In spring i will be doing alot of gardening. We usually grow alot of tomatoes, salad greens, garlic (already planted), onions, Brussel sprouts, kale and lots more. I even have dragon fruit, passion fruit and guavas indoors at the moment. I'll try just about anything and am still learning the sweet spots for the climate here. When I can afford it I would love to get a poly tunnel aswell to extend my growing seasons
@@JonoGraham if you grow tomatos I’m assuming you probably have a greenhouse to get them started early in late winter. As Slovakia’s climate (even more so in the north near the tarta Mts.) is colder and shorter than what is unusual needed for a tomato. But if you live near southern slovakia it should be warm enough to grow some peppers, as a lot of bell peppers are grown in Hungary. Have you ever consider an orchard of stone fruits. As apples, peaches, and plums grow great in the Slovakian region. Could also make great content on grafting the trees.
As a Slovak i agree with the bad roads and its not just roads its sidewalks too but the driving you have to get used to it we just have The Need For Speed!
I'm a Slovak who grew up in South Africa. I moved from Joburg to Cape Town because JHB is further from the sea than Bratislava is and has more potholes. Slovakia also has mountains, so why not try skiing to make winter more bearable . Just saying. Take care bru.
Hello mate, will definitely try ski one day. JHB is indeed further from the sea, and not my favourite place in the world. I'm from durban myself. My brother is in Cape Town somewhere aswell.
I think that problem with drivers in Slovakia and even in Czechia is that everyone who pays have driving licence, even total idiots who can barely count to 10 can drive car, I don't understand who gave driver license to them, some people are that dumb that I just don't believe they really passed thru driver license tests, there must be a lot of corruption.
Yes, but it's all about his character. He misses the sea, seafood, fresh tropical vegetables... If I remember correctly he mentioned that he grew up in Africa. Despite this I understand.
Howzit Jono. I also just moved here 3 months ago from RSA, i picked it up in your accent straight away... Lets get together and have a Braai one day, we have a Weber here too..✌
We're in Ruzomberok, quite far from where you are, 3 hours I think. I'll be heading to Bratislava after the kids summer holidays for an exploration mission
This country depends on foreign imports for 60% of the food it consumes. Even though it has some of the best soils where to grow food, especially in the south. This country needs farmers more than factory workers. And yes, English is not an option if you want to live there. Better learn Slovak ASAP.
I would say younger generation is much better at driving nowadays than people 40+.... most of them would need a retest from their driving school and I doubt they would pass it... also there is a stereotype about people from ruzomberok or topolcany that the people there cant drive 😂 also great channel:-)
Oh man i wish we had sea....maybe global warming could help us a bit? We will see in 100 years 😉. Many local people complain about the lack of fresh food. This issue is bigger than Slovakia. EU donations for agriculture are much higher in west countries than our. For example I know guy who was growing potatoes and he gave up and started them importing from France, Belgium, NL...and i was much cheaper than grow potatoes on his own field :(
Haha,I don't have 100 years 😅🤣. It's a shame about the food but I see what you mean. We are trying to grow alot this year but even food for chickens and rabbits has got very expensive so we will see.
I have heard how it was in the past and it sounds nice,but I think one of the reasons I am not a huge fan is because it snows then melts soon after then does the same again and it just makes mess.
Hi bro. Nice content. Please how about studying in Slovakia? What is my chances of getting a good employment in Slovakia after studying ? What about getting a Permanent Residence in Slovakia, how easy is it ?? Thanks much 🙏
I think it depends on what you study. I've been looking over job sites recently and it seems there are alot of IT positions. You can have a look on the Profesia website to get an idea.
@@JonoGraham Thanks much bro. Your reply comes handy and helpful. I am in West Africa. I have interest in studying Business Economics and Management on Bachelors level from Matej Bell University. Hopefully the school will consider me.
We Slovaks are nice people especially to foreigners, we certainly have more compassion than Russians. We are not cold like the northerners. But we are crybabies and we like to complain and blame other people for our problems, just not ourselves. The bad driving is an example of the hidden aggression in our minds towards others and contempt towards ourselves. We are good people but also bad.
As far as negligent motoring goes it's that way all over the eastern countries although Russia is far and away the worst. But your point on the sea came amiss because Bratislava is nearer the sea than Pretoria. I met my wife, by the way, whilst waiting for the električka in Košice. 😊
@@JonoGraham Oh, you're from Natal. I thought you were from Cape Town. I lived in Rhodesia during the '70s but I travelled quite a bit in the RSA. I am probably one of the few people on earth who likes Pietermaritzburg ... "the only cemetery with street lights" is what people used to say. 😊
@@BackSeatHump no I'm a Natal guy. And yeah I think you're right about PMB,😉,, that's the first time I've heard it called that and it made me chuckle 😄😆
@@JonoGraham It looks like you're getting settled in nicely. I love the country although I haven't seen very much of it. About 18 years ago I was rail/bus/hitching-hiking through the Baltics and Poland on my way to Debrecen in Hungary. I came into SK at Svidnik where I was treated with honour, tea and cake by the bank manager who'd never seen Swedish kronor before and was elated to change some of mine into Slovak kroner. When I got to Košice it was too late to carry on towards Hungary so I checked into the hostel (of sorts) and went into town to have a look around. I fell in love with it and decided to stop there and skip Hungary altogether. I returned the following year and met my wife and my life changed enormously. As I said, I haven't really seen very much of the country but I was extremely impressed by Spišský hrad! I'm fairy certain you've seen it yourself?
I haven't...yet but plan on going in the future. This weel has been abit hectic as I'm helping at the school so no time to go on adventures. Once I get my van I plan on really exploring and going further and further as I'll have a house on wheels of sorts. I a definitely settling nicely and have embraced the way of life hear, I think Slovakia is such an underrated country.
hey man, thanks for your videos about Slovakia. I like your style and positive attitude and I don´t mind you pointing out what you don´t like there. Slovakia is far from being perfect, it has lot of flaws, but as you rightly pointed out, it has lot of ups too. Good luck and live happy in Slovakia.
I kinda hate the grammar and all that stuff makes it hard to learn im 12 years old and i speak good english Lets put it this way english was easier to learn than slovak but slovak is my native language but idk let your point in the comments
its not your area, everyvone drives like crazy and potholes are everywhere and also mich worse than when you live mainly in the east and south also... everybody gangsta until we start talking about the politics
Rumour has it if you hit like and subscribe you'll get 5 years of good luck....just saying 😜
As an Englishman I lived in Slovakia from Sep 1992 to March 1995 and I loved every minute of it and I became completely native and learnt the language fine. They are the kindest people I have ever met. I still have not forgotten the language almost 30 years later and this summer I hope to go back to Zilina and rediscover this beautiful country and the people there. I am glad I am still in contact with all the people I knew there. Majte sa Slovaci!
That's impressive that you learned the language so fast, I'm ashamed to say that we are in our third year here and I'm still useless at speaking fluently. The people are the best here, I agree. Enjoy your trip back here
Oh, it's a very different place now from what it was in 1995. I mean the difference is much greater than how much eg England changed in that time span. It's mostly a change to the better but of course not in all aspects.
Sorry bud... Absolute BS there.... Un less you are some kind of language Savant or other Slav, this just aint true.
@@JonoGraham9:56
As Slovak I totally agree with the “freshness” of food. I remember hating mangoes until I tried it abroad. It tastes totally different! And with most of the exotic fruits it’s the same. Here it’s better to buy Slovak fruits and veggies like apples, pears, carrots, etc. if you want to enjoy it.
Yeah, and seasonal. I grew up with mangro trees etc in our garden and to this day have never enjoyed a mango quite as much as I did those. We harvested our first cherries today and some strawberries and they were delicious.
The thing with fresh produce in Slovakia, you need to buy it when it's "in season" like tomatoes/cucumber/strawberries/watermelon during summer then apples, cabbage/carrots in autumn etc. If you want tomatoes in winter/spring, they will be imported from Africa or Spain so the quality goes down by the time it gets to Slovakia.
You mentioned that fresh produce in the UK looks much better...I moved from Slovakia to UK and I find UK produce very artificial. It looks amazing but it usually doesn't tastes like what it supposed to. People in the UK will buy it because it looks amazing...but I wouldn't say their fresh produce is necessarily better quality 😊 (I work in food industry in the UK)
i am coming to slovokia , any indian foods in liptosky
@@premkarthick912 Liptovsky Mikulas is small town so propably not. If You take hour and 1/2 by car, you will have all the indian food you might want in Banská Bystrica or Poprad, or Zilina.
yes. try local products or markets :)
Most produce in Europe are organic so you need to buy them when they are in season
@@dannyboy218 most of uk produce is imported, unless you go a d buy stuff from individual farms...
Glad somebody out there actually has the balls to say something honest about a place and not sugar coat it.
we have lots of freshwater beaches and our weather is quite rough here, we have loads of tropical days in the Summer, meanwhile it's freezing in the winter - not too much but the temperature do drop below 0°C. The good thing is, the nearest coastal cities abroad (Croatia, Slovenia, Northern Italy, etc.) are just few hours of car drive (about 6 from Bratislava, which is the same amount of time you travel to Eastern Slovakia from the capital) and because of the good relations with the neighbouring countries, crossing the borders is very easy and very common here. There are also lots of cheap flights to Italy, Spain, Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Bulgaria - all of these destinations are just 2 to 3 hours maximum flight, you can take Ryanair or Wizzair tickets for a few bucks. We go to the sea every year. Actually we have a traditional hat (for men) as a part of our traditional costumes, the band around the hat is made of seashells. That's because our ancestors used to sail the rivers all the way down to the sea and bring specific species of shells as a status symbol of how much the person travelled. We also have local recipes that require marine fish to make. The sea is pretty much a part of our lives despite of us not having a coast of our own. We have friendly nations that we consider our cousins where "our sea" is.
I live more in the Southern areas compared to Ružomberok - which is pretty close to the moutnains and has higher altitude than my town and I don't ever wear gloves or hat in the winter. Slovakia spans west-to-east. Not much north-to-south. That's why one would expect the climate to be the same everywhere but it's not. And a lot of foreigners are surprised. If you travel just an hour and half to the north or to the south, the climate changes. And sometimes even by 10 °C. That's because of the altitude change.
"Actually we have a traditional hat (for men) as a part of our traditional costumes, the band around the hat is made of seashells. That's because our ancestors used to sail the rivers all the way down to the sea and bring specific species of shells as a status symbol of how much the person travelled. "
Wow, thats cool. I did no known that. Very informative comment. Thank You.
"and because of the good relations with the neighbouring countries" otherwise the EU and Shengen area 🙂
I'm a new subscriber and find your videos very interesting. I appreciate your efforts as I'm very much interested in Slovakian living, culture and history. All four of my deceased grandparents immigrated from Tvrdosin, Slovakia to the United States sometime around 1920. They all lived good lives and left their descendants with a thirst to know more about where they came from and the culture of Slovakia. I hope you can film Tvrdosin if you should ever pass through that area. Keep up the good work and thanks again for sharing your videos. My wife and I enjoy them very much.
Hi there. Tvrdošín is only an hour away from where I live so I will definitely look into it and go for a mission there, I'm nearly done with our local area now so will be heading into towns etc soon.
@@JonoGraham Very much looking forward to that as well as all of your videos about Slovakia. Thanks!
Nice video! As a Slovak, I can only say, that you’re right. So many maniac on the roads, the food is not that fresh as it could be. But you know the real reason? It’s the fact that stores like Billa, Kaufland, Lidl and so on are trying to buy as cheap food as possible, cause (unfortunatelly) majority of Slovaks want to buy cheap food. It’s sad. But we tend to go to the farms and harvest fruits and veggies by our hand. It’s cheap, fresh and eco friendly 😊
Good job, keep doing videos like that! 😊 🎉
Hi, I came across your videos accidentally and was immediately drawned by the video telling 5 things you like about Slovakia.Aftetr accounting them I was literally crying how nicely you appreciated our country and nation.We often don' t think much of our pros.Thank you for that.
Regading your video about how you struggle and consider some things difficult is also educative.I absolutely share your opinion and I don' t feel offended because as you said, we ourselves often criticize agricultural policy of the EU which is not fair and equal to new member states .The sea problem of course is unmanageable by us but yes it would be nice to have it.
Local roads of 2nd class are really very often in a bad state.
Some drivers really drive fast and irresponsibly, unfortunately.
Good luck in your life here.I admire your effort and all enthusiasm that sooner or later definitely bring you satisfaction.
All support and hug 👍
Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad I wasn't speaking out of turn,like I say,these are small problems and there are far more positives than negatives for me here in Slovakia.
Hi Jono! Have you seen the castles in Slovakia? Orava Castle near Ruzomberok for example? And Strbske Pleso Lake in High Tatra Montains? Lot of love to your family!
Hi... I am from Ruzomberok... I lived there my whole childhood and my parents still live there. But this city struggles from missing motorway that should be "soon" finished and all the main traffic would be diverted out of the city. And that is the main problem these days.
And yeah... the winter is no more what is supposed to be 30 years before.
But I like that you are trying to learn my language... and your struggles with that are pretty normal... because slovak language is pretty hard to learn, especially for an english speaking person.
Yeah the motorway is taking forever, the roads in and out of Ruzomberok are really busy at the moment, but still nothing compared to London so I can't complain really.
No 5. - We love old food without taste so much that we are willing to pay extra for it.
I buying food for texture. Thank You very much. I will season my food by my liking.
Hey Jono, i am very glad, that you live here in Slovakia. I know, that it had must been big culture shock for you. Currently i am writing my Master thesis about adapting foreigners into slovak job market, so this is very interesting for me! Take care and i wish you all the best!
Thank you mate. How are your findings so far about that subject?
@@JonoGraham Sorry i am responding late, but i had some stuff to do and then i forgot. Findings are interesting so far, but i am specialized for citizens from EU, so its little harder, as most foreigners in Slovakia are from outside the EU. Neverthless, it is a very interesting topic.
Markets turned in 90's into bazaars, where was Polish and Chinese crap, later the died out almost. I am living next to everyday market and I hoped, when I was moving her, that I will roaming there take some fresh products and do breakfast. I realized that each morning merchants unload same boxes as I was unloading from truck in Tesco where I used to work.
I live in Slovakia as well and it may be where you are living but where I am there are pretty much all 4 seasons when it comes to weather
Im Slovak but i spent all my youth in England. My family decided to move to Slovakia and at first i had alot of problems with communication ( i always spoke with my parents slovak but it was never perfect as i spoke english much more and was exposed to english people much more). A few years later i can now speak decent slovak, though i still have a thick english accent, sometimes i still struggle pronoucing many words, its a very hard language to master.
The driving issues have become apparent more in the last decade. We have not developed a car culture historically. It is in last 10-15 years that people started to buy a lot of cars. It is normal now to have 2 cars in a household. I remember that it was possible to drive from Cadca to Zilina, cca 30 km, in 25 minutes. Impossible feat nowadays. It also bears a heavy toll on infrastructure.
I'm Polish and Im thinking about moving to Slovakia for a year or two to learn the language.. its similar :)
Interesting point about the weather. The weather is one of the reasons I want to move there. Its so much better than the UK and Isle of man where I currently live. Its much less windy in Slovakia than UK and especially Isle of man and far less wet. Give me all the cold but its a lot drier.
3:38 that's the exact reason for the potholes. RK has a lot of traffic around it simply becasue that part of D1 motorway is not done yet, thus everything needs to go through the town and few villages beyond till they can get back onto the motorway. Cars wouldn't be such problems to make potholes but heavy lorries are there 24/7 and that is not healthy for the kind of road used for town.
Hello Jono, very interesting you mentioned the lack of autumn aspect. This was not the case couple of years ago and I blame the global warming for this as everywhere its getting hotter and hotter. You are absolutely right, there is very little distinction as when the autumn/spring begins and ends, even though last autumn (2021) was one of the prettiest autumns in the last couple of years. In the area where I live (the west) we also face this problem with winter and especially snow, as a kid we used to go sledding on the hill or ice skating on the river (there was a thick layer of ice and the river flew underneath), nowadays if we get 5days of snow in the winter, it has been a good year. Same as in the summer when I was a kid, we barely got 5 days of above 30C temperatures, now it is a common thing to have 35-38C every summer. Also this is not like a long span, I am talking about 15-20 years of changes. Ofcourse it varies in which part of the country you live in.
Greetings from Bulgaria 🇧🇬
Summer's coming!
1ove
6:20 Connect with villagers for fresh seasonal fruits and veggies, you will get more for lesser price. As for tropical fruits, well, choose wisely.
As a Slovakian I can confirm that we drive like maniacs & our roads are destroid af 🤣 but with what you said about fresh produce I don't agree, It depends on the shop but Lidl is my fav for fruit and vegies (this depends on where you are like countryside or city tho)
I agree and will have to amend this video. We have been going to lidle more lately as the produce has got better than it was.
Šoférovali ste niekedy v Taliansku?Španielsku? V Rusku? V Rumunsku, nedajbože v Alžirsku?
Thanks for the video, it was interesting to hear things about Slovakia from a foreigner's perspective. Thank you for being diplomatic about the negatives since there are so many more things that could be added to the list, especially regarding the drinking, narrow-mindedness of some people, bureaucracy, many nonsense laws that the government is not willing or too slow to fix and extremely high crime rate for such a small country... but of course, this is not to say that these / similar problems do not exist in any other countries.
Agree with everything except for "extremely high crime rate". Slovakia is in fact a really very safe country... Unless you included the corruption on all levels of government into the crime rate.
Your beard is beautiful Masha-Allah 👌 & I like how you were so polite about sharing these difficulties
Great reflection of Slovakia. You can't expect somthing fresh delivered from over 2-3k km. And market is more expensive, because its not mass produced, but should be more ecological and when you purchase, you sea people who made product you are buying, there is more trust of quality of product.
Thank you for sharing your experience and perspective as a foreigner, my mother and I (we are Americans) are looking into moving to Slovakia as a part of the newly passed law, granting citizenship by descent!
Sorry. I am not Slovakian , but you say, you would like to move to Slovakia from the States? May I ask you Why? I'm a Croatian background, born in Hungary, live in Ireland, and I want to know Why someone want to move from US to Slovakia. Just interesting.
@@BlaskovicsLaszlo Because some of the things they can prefer here in Slovakia.
@@BlaskovicsLaszlo I think they want to move to Europe, especially EU. Slovakia, same as Hungaria provide that. Very ratioanal way of thinking if You ask me.
@@ludovitstur9045 exactly. Slovak citizenship basically means european citizenship, so they can stay in SR, but also move to other countries inside the EU
Yeah. Fresh oranges juicy hmmm. That's why we slovaks live in Spain. Anyway nice videos 👍
A nice, objective and kind video about Slovakia ! Thank you, Jono :)
Hi! I know this is an old video but with the freshness of food: unfortunately, we (Slovakia) sells OUR fresh food to other countries and we get only the second hands from other countries which are much worse quality and therefore cheaper (and same goes with medicine). Fresh food is found on stuff like small shops, Tržnica, or local food shops were (usually) grans sells their good from their gardeners :) Sometimes it's cheap, sometimes the prize comes with quality.
Also the winters, don't worry, the global warming takes care of that. From where I live, there no longer is any snow. It hasn't snowed in few years now (it usually snowed few meters before easily), the winters are less cold and the summers are getting MUCH more heat. Example, the temperature for average summer went from 28 being the highest (around 2000) to 40 degrees 2014+. This and last year (2023) were 40° for the majority of July and August so...yeah, not nice.
Anyways, that's my ranting/explaining! Have a nice day everyone!!
I just married a Slovakian woman who is 34 at 38. Great tips. I work from home so considering moving back to her homeland once she gets normalized in the US.
I am a new subscriber, i just came across your videos, and just like them, i am a Nigerian my Mrs is Slovak we have lovely 2 kids, we just baught a property in presov area and planning to move someday.Slovaks are wonderful people. greetings from Germany
I live in Ireland and when back in Slovakia I usually buy same stuff in lidl as here in Ireland and can confirm that quality of same food in Slovakia is realy shity..same brand, same package but taste is terrible
I found your video and for the next month will take my PhD in KU Ruzomberok.. you mentioned Ruzomberok, I hope will be there soon.. btw, difficult for me to find long term apartment reservations in Ruzomberok.. they dont want long term reservations I don't know why or maybe I'm a foreigners..
I think produce is a problem in many European countries outside of warmer areas. I heard friend complaining about this in Germany too. I live now in New Zealand where produce is as fresh as it could get (however prices are also freshly scary lol) and I remember sad looking celery sticks or tomatoes back home in Slovakia. However for some reason (probably the price) I used to eat much more vegetables and fruits back there. Things we do have in Slovakia, like cabbage, green paprika, potatoes were ridiculously cheap.
Slovak who moved to Netherlands here: Upon my arrival I was so dissapointed with the quality and price of food here. We've been hearing our whole life that the food in the west is amazing. France and Italy are great, but Germany/Netherlands is no better than Slovakia.
I'm a foreigner living in Slovakia too as a Brit, this is really interesting 😁
Cheers mate, where in Slovakia are you?
Yeah, winter is no joke, but I like that it is a sunny winter. In the UK the sky is so often covered that it makes it quite miserable. I think the markets are more expensive because self-employed individuals get taxed more compared to for example the UK where you have a high personal tax allowance and a low tax rate after that. I wished Slovakia would implement a flat tax rate like Czech did in 2021 and become more small-business friendly but, they're going down a whole different road.
i didnt know you were from south africa im thinking of going there and mabye staying there but i dont really know so far about everything so thanks for all this info
Hi, I live in UK but I’m from Ruzomberok lol. I completely agree with your complain about produce. This town don’t have good shops with fresh produce unfortunately. I believe bigger cities like Zilina or Banska Bystrica have better choices and quality.
Hi there. I am Slovak living in England. hahah There is a lot of things I could not adjust to when I arrived to the UK...rain and damp. hahaha I miss cold snowy winters and skying. Going mountaineering. Visiting High Tatras. In Slovakia we have no sea....But we have water reservoirs and lakes and lovely rivers. You can even try windsurfing, canoeing ..most of water sports ..on those lakes ...etc. maybe even scuba diving....As you are from South Africa ...it must be more difficult for you to miss the sound of sea waves and sandy beaches. Saturday farmer markets exist in Slovakia and are selling fresh produce. I found, Tesco was the best supermarket for fresher produce in Slovakia...they even were selling English cheddar cheese and Heinz salad cream. In Slovakia the prices of food are more expensive than in England. I found it shocking.( this was before 2022 inflation) In Lind in England I could buy 4x Alpro soya yogurts for £1.49. And in Slovakia the same product was nearly 4 Euros...and when I bought it , it was OFF. ( Sell by date was fine, I checked). IN Slovakia you can not return this OFF product anywhere, In England Lidl would give you refund!!! and apology. Slovakia must have strange buying and selling food policies...I think something is drastically wrong with imported produce to Slovakia , how much Slovakia buy products for and how much are they selling them for in their own country.I think Slovaks pay far too much money for imports of veg and fruit, which are not as good quality as they could grow and produce themselves!!! Even farming Slovak industry can not compete with prices of Polish farmers. Slovak homemade products are top quality, but very expensive for health-conscious Slovak citizens.......unless they are politicians earning high wages. Something does not add up. Certain customer consumer rights for buyers are non existent in Slovakia , which I find very backward. The consumer/buyer can be ripped off faster in Slovakia than in England...The law in Slovakia is allowing it to happen. This law should be changed...and I am Slovak.... Somebody is making money on the misery of ripped off consumers.
Hey there and thank you for your comment. Where in the uk are you?
I'm very lucky to have a beautiful river aswell as the Mara really close by so I get my water fix.
The food prices are getting expensive,but it's all relative i guess, maybe the cheaper rent makes up for it 😅.
Do you visit home often?
@@JonoGraham Hey Jono, I am situated in Midlands in Shakespeare birthplace county......You are very brave moving to Slovakia so far away from home. I haven't been going back home....since Covid-19 pandemic started and now is post pandemic travel chaos in the UK . People gone crazy with travelling. Some Airlines can not cope accommodating eager travellers and lot of flights are being cancelled. as during Covid-19 some airlines got rid of their staff..so now they must be recruited ......Just unbelievable chaos. I have my family place to stay in Slovakia ...so renting would not be the issue for me there...Cost of living is going up everywhere. But not so fresh produce In Slovakia is still the problem for general public of ordinary citizens. I wish you all the best on your adventures and discoveries through Slovakia. I have never been to South Africa...when I saw the movie Invictus with Morgan Freeman playing Nelson Mandela...I was thinking maybe one day I would like to pay my respects and see his grave and visit South Africa. Nelson Mandela was a remarkable man and the true captain of his soul.
@@janakumlec5363 great movie, im not ashamed to say I cried like a baby 🤧, that was a very special moment in South Africa. I lived in St Albans in the uk for 10+ years, but I have absolutely no regrets about moving here,I love it. I have just dropped my partner off at the airport as she is going to thr uk for the week so I am hoping she can get back...
@@JonoGraham She will, Ryanair seem to be more organised than Easy Jet or even British Airways. Great, hotter weather just started in the Uk this week ( she picked very nice weather for it)
I live in Florida Daytona Beach your country looks great I would love to visit there
Great video! Born and bred in Bratislava, Slovakia although I haven't been living there for over 10 years now. Some of my family lives in the Ruzomberok area. 🙏
I now live on a small island in the Atlantic ocean and I totally feel u! Nothing beats that salty ocean breeze and waves crashing onto shore.. Back in the day (im an 80s kid) when travelling by plane was expensive or you couldn't leave Eastern bloc we would go to Croatia or Bulgaria by coach or by car every summer 🙈. Now you can hop on a plane and get pretty much anywhere from Slovakia or Vienna, Austria. Anyway, thanks for the video! It was nice to see my home country from your vantage point. 👍
Nice. We are planning a trip to Croatia as I've never been, probably going to drive as I like a road trip
@@JonoGraham Croatia is absolutely gorgeous. You're going to love it! They even filmed Game of thrones there. It's got history, beautiful sceneries and some of the clearest water I've ever seen.
@@pavspol I've been looking at photos throughout the winter dreaming of the sea so hopefully we can manage it this summer, I might even get some fishing done there if i'm lucky..
@@JonoGraham Yeah, you're going to have great time! Lots of Fresh food too! I'd probably go off season or go to places that aren't too touristy where you get to experience the authentic local life.. Anyway, us Slovaks call Adriatic sea 'Slovak sea'. haha Every Slovak has been on holiday to Croatia at least once in their lifetime! It's sort of a must 😄
Many Slovaks go to Croatia because they love Croatia.
I’m 17yo and my plans is to move to slovakia kosice as a student, and i hope I’ll get along 😌
I'm sure you'll be fine. Where are you from?
@@JonoGraham israel😉
why on earth would you move to slovakia from isreal, get a doctor mate :D
@@dodoslavn it’s hard to be a doctor here.. and in other countries is more easier
Fair points, I would say.
The thing about prices of fresh agricultural products is that due to harsher climate and not exactly the most fertile soils, it is harder to produce them here than in some other countries (which is usually where supermarkets get supplied from - hence the lower prices in those).
Winters... well, current winters feel more like autumns to me :) It used to be lot colder with way more snow some 15 - 20 years ago.
Anyway, I wish you luck - especially with learning our language.
Thank you. Yeah my partner says the same about the winters, still for me they are freezing 🥶. But hopefully I get used to it
Southern Slovakia's got very fertile land. During the Czechoslovakia times, the Slovak area was converted into the agricultural area and the Czech area was converted to be the industrial area because Slovakia is much more fertile compared to Czechia. It's the problem of our government and managing nowadays. It used to be very different in the past but nowadays the way things are governed makes us more dependant on imported goods. Farmers aren't able to make a living here. I know a person who used to grow watermelons in the South for many many years and two years ago, he was forced to close his farm down for good because of our government making it excessively difficult for the local farmers to thrive and put their produce on the shelves. His farm was the last official farm in Slovakia with watermelons. He was very upset he had to stop their family business tradition.
The climate is not that harsh though, yes we do have tropical days in the Summer and in the Winter the temps do drop slightly below °C, but Slovakia's climate is not as dry and hot as Egypt and simultaneously not as freezing cold and cloudy as Russia. North Slovakia's got mild climate and South Slovakia's got temperate climate. It's not too dry and tropical but at the same time it's not too cold.
Most Slovaks own a Summer house and most families grow their own fruits and vegetables there. Speaking for myself, we are only dependant on fruits and vegs from the store during the winter time. People in Southern Slovakia can grow pretty much anything in their gradens from regular apples to figs. It's just that you have to grow it yourself if you want to have a fresh and locally grown fruit.
That's sad about the farmer. We are trying to grow as much produce as we can in our garden this summer but I'll be honest when I say we have made s lot of mistakes this year.
@@JonoGraham the funny thing is, many Slovaks despise buying produce from the shop as if it was a bad thing. Just like you look at a 30 year old person who says "I can't cook", the same way we look at people whom we know they own land and they buy cucumbers from the store instead of growing it. It's part of our culture I guess. There are also these places called tržnica, which is an open-air market place, where anybody can come and sell stuff. Sometimes local people sell their extra produce but a lot of times big sellers from Poland or Hungary arrive to your town's tržnica to sell their things for cheaper than the locals. We need to support the small locals more. A lot of people refuse to buy Polish produce because they believe they're destroying the local produce.
hi, jono. you're right about these things. at least we have a beautiful country and women. i'm glad you enjoy being in slovakia despite all these difficulties
Thank you mate, they aren't really difficulties in the grand scheme of things, I feel lucky that these minor issues are all I have really. It could be alot worse, 👍
The potholes. This one got me. I feel ya 😂 I got a flat tire on a bike the last time when I drove into one
They're a bloody nightmare 🤣🤣
@@JonoGraham to be fair, the Ruzomberok area is one of the few remaining cities that doesn't have a highway built yet which means heavy transport destroys the city roads. motorists always describe the traffic situation there exactly as you did, a bloody nightmare. 😂
about that fresh food thing, its better for you to produce atleast some things alone, like planting apple trees, having chickens and so on since Lidl, Billa, Kaufland and other big markets are selling leftovers from western europe. We are selling our sortiment to western europe and western europe are selling lots of shitty quality to central/eastern europe.
Do they speak English outside Bratislava? Also, are there job opportunities for foreigners outside Bratislava?
Thank you for your honest confession. :-)
I can imagine it's tough living so far from the sea. The larger lakes and water reservoirs don't really make up for it, as nice as they are. And I believe you when you say the UK's beaches aren't that magnificent-looking, compared to any of the coastlines in South Africa.
You're right that some drivers still drive like maniacs. And that's after we've had stricter laws about speed limits and driving in general implemented in the last decade and a half or two decades. Some people just can't seem to learn they need to be more careful and have more empathy on the road.
I suppose I've gotten pretty good at recognising anglophone accents over the years. I've only needed to listen to your's for a few seconds and thought, "Oh ! You're South African ?". :-) Well, I hope you like it over here. It's not a perfect country and it has its fair share of issues, but hopefully you'll find it welcoming and peaceful for many years to come.
I was heading out of Ruzomberok today and a Mercedes was trying to cut the line at the traffic lights, he gave up and pushed around through the red light......once moving I was over the moon to see he had been pulled over by the police, to say it made me smile is an understatement.
@@JonoGraham Yeah usually guys' with small "xx" and Mercedes are typical :D Driving like crazy , parking like crazy . They piss me off too :) And I'm Slovak, but driving so much across a Europe.
ok roads have different classes in Slovakia. Depending how they are classified, then there is responsible to fix them. The smaller the road and the lower clasification the smaller the budget. Like Highways will be fixed from bigger districts (Kraj - Trnavsky, Zilinsky, Kosicky). Then you have those that comes from smaller districts and then those from towns and villages. So if the village has low budget, then roads are not fixed properly. With that being said, there is also EU help for roads, but the village needs to file for it properly. So at the end of the day it is about how skillful the mayor is when it comes to that.
The town or village is responsible for the roads. They say, if you damage your car in a pot hole, the town/village has to pay for it. Never tried it tho.
haha i really love winter, just cold, snow, atmosphere...i hate summer because since i was 2 years old till like 16 i had allergy to hear and warm weather so i have little trauma
Did you try winter christmas markets?
btw about roads you are right...mostly in villages roads are horrible
No winter Christmas markets yet,hopefully this year everything will be open and I can get to some.
@@JonoGraham I recommend you to go to Košice and Bratislava christmas markets😊
Hi Dana ,my self Amol from India I came in September to nitra city in Slovakia because of my new job in JLR car plant,but my friend's told me ,in winter tempreture below 1 degree .it's harmful to me , it's true , please reply me.
@@amolthorat9204
during winter (Late november/ december / january) its sometimes even during day below 0 ° (-4 / -18°C during day) during night it can be to -21°C
for example even now in the morning (6 am) its 5°C and you see car windows frozen
Check out Šútovské jazero lake :) It's really nice. It feels like on the beach.
Thanks,i will definitely check it out!
Hi Jono, this was a nice video and you seem like a super cool guy. You also seem to respect Slovakia. Your attitude is definitely one of the most respectful I have heard from any foreigner talking about Slovakia, with no condescending overtones. I found all your points to be fair and objective...however, the winter is much worse in other parts of the worlds (Chicago, anyone?) and I find the produce to be much tastier in Slovakia then in Midwest part of the USA. The driving is terrible, for sure, that's why I never want to drive there, rather I take public transport and taxi. The lack of highways is cumbersome. Now, I clicked on your video because I was hoping to hear some practical advice about living in Slovakia as a foreigner - such as how other people treat you, how do you get around with limited Slovak language, especially in a smaller towns, how do you get all your legal paperwork done, etc. I will look at your other videos. Your pronunciation of Ruzomberok and Bratislava are absolutely beautiful and for that you have a special place in my Slovak heart.
Thank you for your kind words and if you'd like I can do a video on the topics mentioned. I agree and will need to amend the video on the produce, as we have found some amazing fresh home grown vegetables and fruits on offer lately and we are preserving some our own to last us the winter months. I hear what you're saying about the cold and have never experienced anywhere else apart from the UK and South Africas winter so the winters here are something I'll have to get used to. But like I said,these are tiny issues the I have and their not really even that bad when you consider how bad they could be. I have fallen completely head over heels in love with Slovakia and am very privileged to call this amazing country home.
Have a great weekend and thank you again. 👍
new to you on here so i dont know much but you now live in SK? and thats why your creating this content i suppose? youve made multiple of these? has any slovaks either your age or not thats watched these videos offered to help you with anything you might wanna know or need info on? i hope so. im thinking many have. either way i get how your feeling now. i finished my schooling in KOSICE coming from the U.S in '97-'98 and been back a few times. most of my family is there in various cities and villages. ill keep up on your vids man. chin up! cheers....
Hi Jono, firstly thank you for nice video. I live in Australia and the same like you ( even I am from Slovakia ) I don't like or I miss the ocean and don't like cold and stupid drivers etc... I speak 10 languages and I give you advice if you like how to learn easy other language. You write on small stickers everything around you inside and outside example; Chair - stolichka or how is sound for you - phonetically and then learn to some easy sentence "could you please help me I not speak slovak - Mozete mi prosim pomoct - nerozumiem slovensky " How you said this - ako povies toto ? Or staff what you need most.? Then you have Google translator on your phone ? Or write that short sentences on small card. Then if you live in Ruzomberok and so many trucks come trough ask some who doing weekly trip from other western country make you shopping of something what you need. Or going couple families together and make trip to Austria or Hungry. If you want connection of foreigners ( aussies ) living close to you ask me one is living in Dolny Kubin and other in Moravia, one of my friend from Australia is now in Lip. Sliace ... I wish you all the best. Maybe one day we meet up there :)
I kept wondering where you're from as your accent sounds South African, so happy that you mentioned it 😁
Lol, is my accent still strong? I forget sometimes
@@JonoGraham Jono, I am a Brit living in Poprad. I noticed your South African accent which is still there but it has been smoothed out a lot. And St. Albans, not so far from my home town in Buckinghamshire.
@@LesterMirka Oh wow, nice. I travel to poprad once every couple of months to drop off or pick up my wife from the airport, only ever been to the airport though. The view of the tatras is amazing there.
@@JonoGraham I just sent you an email.
I'll check it when I get home. 👍
What is Slovakia like in April? Is it still cold or just beginning to warm up
Pretty decent to be honest, I love April as I can start waking up from my hibernation 🤣🤣
@@JonoGraham excellent I’m hoping to be in Slovakia towards the middle of April next year
Mid-April is when it gets warmer outside, especially in the south like the Rye Island. The northern mountaineous regions are generally colder. These areas may even get snow around mid-April. A strong freezing wind is what we have experienced there just recently.
hmmm... Ružomberok? That is a Liptov region, and over the hill you have Orava region, there are no summers and spring. Those regions have only two seasons - winter and f'n winter (of course in original we use same word for winter and cold, which makes this joke less funny). People from there also saying, that it is not proper winter while fences are visible. (I was working in RK a few years - morning fog is used to dissapear obou 1 - 2 pm)
How is your the language today ? How long do you live in slovakia? Have you been to Israel? I think we hame the most crazy drivers in here ! We now planning move to Slovakia
Language still isn't great. I have been here 3 years in October. Good luck with the move
Interresting with your perspective. I am about to spend some time in Slovakia shortly on vacation. I'm Swedish.
I think you'll love it. I love it here. Where abouts will you be staying?
@@JonoGraham A few days in Bratislava, then to Hungary, then up to Kosice a few days. I was in Slovakia 2019 too, in Zilina and the Tatras which was very nice. I noted that Czechia has a lot more tourists than Slovakia.
Lovely. Have s great time. I still want to go to Bratislava some time for a few days
I’m a Slovakian immigrant in Florida that gardens a lot. If you farm in slovakia I would love to get to know what crops you grow, and how you plant them and when
In spring i will be doing alot of gardening. We usually grow alot of tomatoes, salad greens, garlic (already planted), onions, Brussel sprouts, kale and lots more. I even have dragon fruit, passion fruit and guavas indoors at the moment. I'll try just about anything and am still learning the sweet spots for the climate here. When I can afford it I would love to get a poly tunnel aswell to extend my growing seasons
@@JonoGraham if you grow tomatos I’m assuming you probably have a greenhouse to get them started early in late winter. As Slovakia’s climate (even more so in the north near the tarta Mts.) is colder and shorter than what is unusual needed for a tomato. But if you live near southern slovakia it should be warm enough to grow some peppers, as a lot of bell peppers are grown in Hungary. Have you ever consider an orchard of stone fruits. As apples, peaches, and plums grow great in the Slovakian region. Could also make great content on grafting the trees.
As a Slovak i agree with the bad roads and its not just roads its sidewalks too but the driving you have to get used to it we just have The Need For Speed!
Need for speed,haha. I'm getting used to it now.
Dirivng like maniac :D But compare to who? Imho most pycho drivers are in Rome and Prague.
I'm yet to drive in Rome or Prague but I have heard it's quite an experience....🤣
I'm a Slovak who grew up in South Africa. I moved from Joburg to Cape Town because JHB is further from the sea than Bratislava is and has more potholes. Slovakia also has mountains, so why not try skiing to make winter more bearable . Just saying. Take care bru.
Hello mate, will definitely try ski one day. JHB is indeed further from the sea, and not my favourite place in the world. I'm from durban myself. My brother is in Cape Town somewhere aswell.
Hey dud... Actually im planing to move on to Slovakia for seaking job and to live indipendent over there .. can u help me out .
Zdravim ta,ty mas zenu zo Slovenska???
Agree with a lot of these for sure being and Englishman living in Slovakia also 😁 🤙
I think that problem with drivers in Slovakia and even in Czechia is that everyone who pays have driving licence, even total idiots who can barely count to 10 can drive car, I don't understand who gave driver license to them, some people are that dumb that I just don't believe they really passed thru driver license tests, there must be a lot of corruption.
1000 years ago was juhoslavia ( južnéSlovensko) part of Slovensko and there is our see.
Welcome to Slovakia :-)
Fun Fact : The Slovak word for "Really?" is "Fakt." We read it as "F*cked" 💀
Yes, but it's all about his character. He misses the sea, seafood, fresh tropical vegetables... If I remember correctly he mentioned that he grew up in Africa. Despite this I understand.
Howzit Jono. I also just moved here 3 months ago from RSA, i picked it up in your accent straight away... Lets get together and have a Braai one day, we have a Weber here too..✌
Awesome bru,where are you located?
@@JonoGraham We stay out in Vajnory, Bratislava. Which village do you stay in?
We're in Ruzomberok, quite far from where you are, 3 hours I think. I'll be heading to Bratislava after the kids summer holidays for an exploration mission
Have you ever been in some Slovakian museum?
Yeah I have. I'm contemplating going to the one in Ruzomberok tomorrow or on Thursday
Do you have kids? Wonder how they're adapting to it.
all the fresh produce is in the west europe. Thats what we dont like About EU. Not getting the same quality AS west, and our is even more expensive.
This country depends on foreign imports for 60% of the food it consumes. Even though it has some of the best soils where to grow food, especially in the south. This country needs farmers more than factory workers. And yes, English is not an option if you want to live there. Better learn Slovak ASAP.
I would say younger generation is much better at driving nowadays than people 40+.... most of them would need a retest from their driving school and I doubt they would pass it... also there is a stereotype about people from ruzomberok or topolcany that the people there cant drive 😂 also great channel:-)
Well done!
Oh man i wish we had sea....maybe global warming could help us a bit? We will see in 100 years 😉. Many local people complain about the lack of fresh food. This issue is bigger than Slovakia. EU donations for agriculture are much higher in west countries than our. For example I know guy who was growing potatoes and he gave up and started them importing from France, Belgium, NL...and i was much cheaper than grow potatoes on his own field :(
Haha,I don't have 100 years 😅🤣. It's a shame about the food but I see what you mean. We are trying to grow alot this year but even food for chickens and rabbits has got very expensive so we will see.
I love winter unlike you and its sad that the snow coverage is smaller each year :(
I have heard how it was in the past and it sounds nice,but I think one of the reasons I am not a huge fan is because it snows then melts soon after then does the same again and it just makes mess.
@@JonoGraham i definetly agree.
I barely had a chance to sleigh down a hill last winter.
Hi bro. Nice content.
Please how about studying in Slovakia?
What is my chances of getting a good employment in Slovakia after studying ?
What about getting a Permanent Residence in Slovakia, how easy is it ??
Thanks much 🙏
I think it depends on what you study. I've been looking over job sites recently and it seems there are alot of IT positions. You can have a look on the Profesia website to get an idea.
@@JonoGraham
Thanks much bro.
Your reply comes handy and helpful.
I am in West Africa.
I have interest in studying Business Economics and Management on Bachelors level from Matej Bell University.
Hopefully the school will consider me.
We Slovaks are nice people especially to foreigners, we certainly have more compassion than Russians. We are not cold like the northerners. But we are crybabies and we like to complain and blame other people for our problems, just not ourselves. The bad driving is an example of the hidden aggression in our minds towards others and contempt towards ourselves. We are good people but also bad.
As far as negligent motoring goes it's that way all over the eastern countries although Russia is far and away the worst. But your point on the sea came amiss because Bratislava is nearer the sea than Pretoria. I met my wife, by the way, whilst waiting for the električka in Košice. 😊
Yeah true, also true about Pretoria, I was in Durban though so nice and close to the coast. 👍
@@JonoGraham Oh, you're from Natal. I thought you were from Cape Town. I lived in Rhodesia during the '70s but I travelled quite a bit in the RSA. I am probably one of the few people on earth who likes Pietermaritzburg ... "the only cemetery with street lights" is what people used to say. 😊
@@BackSeatHump no I'm a Natal guy. And yeah I think you're right about PMB,😉,, that's the first time I've heard it called that and it made me chuckle 😄😆
@@JonoGraham It looks like you're getting settled in nicely. I love the country although I haven't seen very much of it. About 18 years ago I was rail/bus/hitching-hiking through the Baltics and Poland on my way to Debrecen in Hungary. I came into SK at Svidnik where I was treated with honour, tea and cake by the bank manager who'd never seen Swedish kronor before and was elated to change some of mine into Slovak kroner. When I got to Košice it was too late to carry on towards Hungary so I checked into the hostel (of sorts) and went into town to have a look around. I fell in love with it and decided to stop there and skip Hungary altogether. I returned the following year and met my wife and my life changed enormously. As I said, I haven't really seen very much of the country but I was extremely impressed by Spišský hrad! I'm fairy certain you've seen it yourself?
I haven't...yet but plan on going in the future. This weel has been abit hectic as I'm helping at the school so no time to go on adventures. Once I get my van I plan on really exploring and going further and further as I'll have a house on wheels of sorts. I a definitely settling nicely and have embraced the way of life hear, I think Slovakia is such an underrated country.
planting trees in potholes, top 😄
If you have slovak citizenship please go make a group in the parlament, we need some help with the truth department
no. 3 and 4 totally I Agree ....
To learn Slovakian try repeating sentences you hear. That one way I learn English..
Thanks for the tip, I have been trying, I'll post a video of my progress soon. ☺, I will be very embarrassed though.
Yhe peapole drive like maniacs killed me 😂😂
what are you doing for living in slovakia ? if you dont mind me asking...
I will be doing a video on this soon.
Hello. Je ako je! Doto ho! Nazdarva!
hey man, thanks for your videos about Slovakia. I like your style and positive attitude and I don´t mind you pointing out what you don´t like there. Slovakia is far from being perfect, it has lot of flaws, but as you rightly pointed out, it has lot of ups too. Good luck and live happy in Slovakia.
Ak chceš čerstvú zeleninu a ovocie, príď do Bratislavy.
lol yeah they drive mental, even my grandpa
I kinda hate the grammar and all that stuff makes it hard to learn im 12 years old and i speak good english
Lets put it this way english was easier to learn than slovak but slovak is my native language but idk let your point in the comments
Yeah I am still struggling badly, maybe I'll never be fluent in Slovak but I'm still staying. I agree with you about the grammar, it's a nightmare 🤣
@@JonoGraham i forgot to say im from slovakia
How good is your Slovak?
Oh you answered in the video lol
Not great but getting better. I understand a lot more that I can speak still
Thank god you’re out of South Africa. No offense to you.
its not your area, everyvone drives like crazy and potholes are everywhere and also mich worse than when you live mainly in the east and south
also... everybody gangsta until we start talking about the politics