What is it like to live in Bosnia’s capital Sarajevo?
That’s what I asked Kathi in this interview about moving to and living in Sarajevo.
Kathi has called Sarajevo home for quite some time now and will share both personal experiences and practical tips for anyone interested in life in Sarajevo.
This interview is part of the Ask an Expat series. In this series, I interview people living all over the world but outside of their home country. I try to help paint an honest picture of the ups and downs of life abroad, and share tips about moving to the place the expat now calls home.
Living in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Name: Kathi
Age: 32
Hometown: Nuremberg, Germany
Her Story:
”I am quite a risk-averse person, so I never thought I would live all over the world. But somehow, life happened and here I am now, living in Bosnia, after having lived in several other countries as well!
After university, I really felt I needed to get out of Germany for a little bit. So, I took a 3-month break to volunteer in Cape Town, South Africa, at a community center.
I fell in love with the city and its people, like so many others before me. I decided I wanted to move to Cape Town permanently, found a job, and officially moved there in 2016. And then, just two weeks in, I met someone special…
After dating for half a year, he told me that he would have to move back to Europe – and I decided to come with him, to Prague. It was not an easy decision for me. But, the job situation in Cape Town wasn’t great and as much as I loved the city, I felt that Europe might be able to offer me more career-wise. And I wanted to know where this relationship might be going.
Fast forwards, the relationship turned into marriage. 🙂
We lived in Prague for a year before we decided to move to Germany. Two years later my partner got another job offer in Cape Town and we started planning our move back to South Africa. But then the pandemic hit, and everything changed…”
Why Did You Move to Sarajevo?
”Since our move to Cape Town got postponed during the pandemic, we decided to spend the summer in my partner’s hometown, Sarajevo.
I had already visited the city a couple of times but I was happy to experience life there and learn more about his hometown and country now that we would be staying a bit longer.
We never planned to move to Bosnia permanently.
But with a huge backlog in visa applications that prevented us from obtaining our long-term visas for South Africa, and with the aviation industry still being a shaky employer (my partner worked for an airline), Cape Town was just not in the cards for us.
So, we changed our plans and decided to stay in Sarajevo!
We have since started our own travel agency, Cheyf, here in Bosnia and Herzegovina and we hope to help a lot of people explore this wonderful country!”
What Do You Like About Living in Sarajevo?
”I love that even though Sarajevo is a city of only 500,000 there is always something going on – concerts, theater, art exhibitions, concerts, or music events.
The city is very young and vibrant and culture here is very accessible.
At the same time, the city is small enough and Bosnians are so open and outgoing that just after a month of living here you will already meet familiar people on the street – and everybody is always happy to stop for a little chat or even a spontaneous coffee.
Even though it doesn’t have a Mediterranean climate, Sarajevo can sometimes almost feel like a Mediterranean, laid-back city, especially in summer!
I also love that you just walk by different cultures, important historical sites, and beautiful architecture every single day. It’s like living in a time capsule that stretches from the 1500s to modern times.”
What Do You Dislike About Living in Sarajevo?
”The bureaucracy you have to deal with to obtain a long-term visa can be annoying here – like in many other countries.
And I don’t like that you need a car if you want to get out of the city and explore more of the surrounding areas.
The trams and busses in Sarajevo are okay and there is a cable car that goes up one of the mountains. But if you want to venture out further you cannot really count on public transportation.
Another thing I really don’t love is how bad the air quality can get in the winter. With its location inside a valley and many people using wood or coal for heating, we can get really bad smog here on some winter days.”
Also Read: Things to Consider Before Moving Abroad
Is Sarajevo Safe as a Place to Live?
”Yes, it’s an absolutely safe place to live and visit.
Also, for women traveling or living alone, Sarajevo is a great city to explore solo.”
What Is Your Favorite Thing to Do in Sarajevo?
”I love going for walks along Wilson’s Lane (Vilsonovo Šetalište) after work. The street is closed to traffic in the evenings and Sarajevans like to just walk, take their dogs, work out, or meet some friends for a chat along this street.
On weekends I love exploring the surrounding mountains. There are so many mountain huts, cottages, restaurants, and hiking trails that you can try something different every time.”
What Is Your Favorite Place to Hang Out in Sarajevo?
”I love Apetit Gastro Bar on Wilson’s Lane for a glass of wine or a cocktail after work.
BarSa and Margherita are great restaurants for pizza, and Bašča kod Ene and Barhana for a proper Bosnian dinner experience.
There are a few really nice coffee bars in Sarajevo as well; Ministry of Ćejf, Fabrika, and Kawa. The last one is also a great place to work from because they offer remote workers a big table to sit and connect with others, and the internet connection is quite stable.”
What Is the Expat / International Community Like in Sarajevo?
”There is a small international community here in Sarajevo that is really well connected – once you find it!
Most international people living in Sarajevo work for large international organizations or embassies and those are really well connected with each other. So if you don’t fall into that category when moving here it can be a bit tricky to get in.
But just meeting one expat here is already enough to get to know a ton of other people!
Events like Sarajevo Matinée are actually great for that and so are Facebook groups (Sarajevo Young Expats for example) and Instagram. I met most of my friends in Sarajevo on Instagram!”
Any Tips for Moving To / Living in Sarajevo?
”First of all: Don’t be scared! I know there are a lot of prejudices and preconceptions about the Balkans, but Bosnia is a beautiful and safe country and if you are willing to try living and working here, you won’t regret it!
Now here are a few more practical tips:
1. Getting a long-term visa is a bit tricky at the moment if you don’t have a job that gets you a visa. But, it is also possible to register a business as a freelancer. If this is not an option for you, you can only stay for up to 90 days within a 180-day period.
I know of some people that do visa runs and it worked for them but of course, you can always get caught and fined.
If you go to the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs I recommend bringing someone along who speaks the local language.
2. Note that Sarajevo Airport is not as well connected as other international airports.
So even though you are very central in Europe, getting to other European countries can sometimes be tricky.
Connections to Turkey and the Middle East are quite good though!
Alternatively, Tuzla Airport is just a 2-hour-drive away and is well-connected with larger Western European cities.
3. If you move to Sarajevo in the summer, it can be difficult to find an apartment as many Bosnians living abroad visit home for a couple of weeks or months in the summer.
So it’s better to move in spring and secure your lease before the tourist season starts.”
Any Resources You Found Useful During the Process of Moving to and Building a New Life in Sarajevo?
Olx.ba is a great website to look for apartments. It is kind of like the Craigslist of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
If you see apartments advertised by real estate agencies, don’t worry, you won’t have to pay for their services. In Bosnia it is the landlord that has to pay the agency.
Sps.gov.ba is the website of the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is where you find all the necessary forms for visa applications and information on what exactly you need to apply.
The Facebook group Sarajevo Young Expats is always very helpful for any kinds of questions you may have or just to ask if someone would like to meet for a coffee.
Expats in Sarajevo is another Facebook group worth joining if you decide to move to Sarajevo.
To be honest, information about moving to and living in Sarajevo as an expat is quite rare still and not so easy to find.
So feel free to drop me a message on my Instagram or write me an e-mail for any questions!”
Is There Something You Just Have to See or Do When You Are in Sarajevo?
”Eat the food! Talk to the people!
Hear the muezzin singing and the church bells ringing at the same time.
Sarajevo is such a special place with so much history and culture, with such a mixed and multi-ethnical population, and with so many unique things that you won’t find anywhere else in the world (like a synagogue facing Mecca and other curious little details)!
So my advice for anyone coming to Sarajevo is to educate yourself about the recent war, don’t ignore it because it’s still part of people’s story here, but don’t focus on it too much.
Keep your eyes open and be ready to explore and see Sarajevo as the modern city that it is now, always reinventing itself.”
About Kathi
Kathi is a journalist, a travel blogger, and a photographer who became a serial expat by coincidence.
Apart from her home country Germany, she has lived in Denmark, South Africa, the Czech Republic, and now Bosnia-Herzegovina.
She has loved learning about the culture, traditions, and lifestyle of all of those countries.
Living in Sarajevo now, she opened her own travel agency, Cheyf, together with her partner.
She also continues to work as a freelance copywriter and digital creator, and you can follow some of her adventures on her blog, Kathi-Daniela.com.
About Sarajevo
Sarajevo is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a city with an incredibly rich and diverse history.
Sarajevo is the political, financial, social, and cultural center of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The city is sometimes called the “Jerusalem of Europe” or the “Jerusalem of the Balkans” because of its long history of religious and cultural diversity. Sarajevo is one of only a few major European cities that has a mosque, a Catholic church, an Eastern Orthodox church, and a synagogue within the same neighborhood.
During the Bosnian War and the breakup of Yugoslavia, Sarajevo suffered the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare, lasting from April 1992 until February 1996.
With all the post-war reconstruction that happened, and is still ongoing, Sarajevo has been the fastest-growing city in the country.
The city has developed into a cosmopolitan European city and has been designated as a UNESCO Creative City for having placed culture at the center of its development strategies.
After years of war giving Bosnia and Herzegovina a bad reputation, the tourism industry has been steadily growing, showing the world the beauty this country has to offer.
Plus, the cost of living in Bosnia is significantly lower than in most other European countries, making it a great country to visit, and for some a great country to move to.
Also Read:
- What’s it Like to Live in Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina
- What Mostar is Like as a Digital Nomad Destination
- 5 Great Reasons to Move Abroad
- Things to Consider Before Moving to Another Country
- Using a VPN to Access Blocked Websites Abroad
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