We found an apartment and it is right next to the City Centre, which is amazing since there were only 2 other apartments available that met our needs. We have entered into negotiations, and I can firmly say that the Serbian approach to real estate is very different than anything we have ever experienced.
Then first challenge was finding the apartments. Unlike the US, the MLS system here is about a decade behind, and often you have to search individual Realtor websites to identify available apartments. The next major difference is that you have to pay your Agent directly and the Agent represents both the buyer and the seller. Talk about a conflict of interest; you don’t know who to trust. Fortunately, we have a great Attorney who is guiding us, so we feel fairly safe. We plan to take occupancy on July 1, and hopefully our furniture will arrive shortly afterwards, fingers crossed.
As to signs, why do we know this is the apartment for us beyond the location, size and amenities? Well it turns out that our Agent’s office is downtown, and it just so happens that the IBM office is on the next floor down. I can tell you with certainty that I had no idea there was IBM in Novi Sad, sure it was in Belgrade but who knew. If this isn’t a sign, not sure what is!
On other exciting news: we have found apps for taxis and food delivery that translate Serbian to English. It isn’t quite Uber & Grub Hub, but it is a start. Eunjae has found a good Thai Massage Studio and we found a craft brewery, with a decent IPA, that makes us all happy. Our new trainer had us fill out a lengthy questionnaire about diet, exercise, sleep, long and short-term goals. Not sure what to make of this yet and will let you know once we start to workout.
Following upon the Serbian School Shooting, the Washington Post published an article recently and here is the link.
That is all for now.
Hope you all like the new blog site, and I encourage you to leave questions and comments.