Escape from the Urban Jungle: A Young American Moved to Croatia and Decided to Stay

In an era of rapid technological advancement and globalization, jobs are not what they used to be. The business community is undergoing significant changes, and entrepreneurs and their employees are no longer confined to traditional offices and routine working conditions. Instead, an increasing number of people are choosing to become digital nomads. Such is the story of Niav Konno, a social media expert and content creator who lives in Makarska and runs the popular TikTok account @mylifeincroatia.

– I never wanted a job with regular working hours. I worked from nine to five during the pandemic, and that’s when I realized I couldn’t do it. I worked from home, walked less than 2,000 steps a day, my mental health was at its lowest, I had no motivation to meet friends, and I couldn’t travel – Konno told Insider in an interview.

‘I Knew I Wanted to Return’

Explaining how the pandemic negatively impacted her mental health, she added that she moved to Makarska, where she now collaborates with small businesses around the world, with clients on three continents, creating digital strategies and social media content for them. Her ultimate goal, she says, is to help represent and promote small business owners because she loves working with them and proudly watching their entry into the online space.

I grew up in the Bay Area of San Francisco, California. Many of my friends went to universities and got jobs in tech companies. I think that way of life almost forces you to work more and be busy, rather than having fun. If you run into someone and ask how they are, they’ll say ‘oh, I’m so busy’, and the other person will say ‘yeah, me too’, and it’s like some kind of competition about who is busier. They wait all week for Friday; there’s no life in that – thinks the young entrepreneur.

Konno was raised by an American father and an Irish mother, so she has two passports. While growing up, they traveled a lot as a family, and she always wanted to see the world, and by the age of 13, she was already dreaming of finishing school and going to Europe. She first moved to London back in 2015, which was a springboard for her.

– I really loved challenging myself in a new environment and meeting so many people who broadened my horizons. We were all curious about the world. I traveled a lot around Europe that summer, including Croatia, and I knew I wanted to return. The next summer, I got a job on the Makarska Riviera and worked in a small family hostel. I lived in Croatia for three and a half months and fell in love with the people, culture, nature, and food. I felt quite at home here – Konno explained.

And then, as is often the case, love happened. She met an Australian, fell deeply in love, and eventually moved to Perth to be with him. She happily lived there for six years. In Australia, she felt trapped, as if she had no life. Most of the time, she worked from home due to the pandemic, and her physical and mental health deteriorated. ‘I wasn’t truly happy and satisfied with my life,’ she said.

Entrepreneurship is Not for Everyone

As soon as the borders opened in early 2022 in Western Australia, she booked a trip to Croatia, flew to Split, and went straight to Makarska.

– Three weeks later, my relationship ended. I was alone for the first time in seven years. I was in a foreign country. When things are taken away from your life for a certain reason, you might think: ‘Why is this happening to me?’, but I told myself every day: ‘Life happens for me, not to me’, and that helped me survive a lot. The atmosphere and energy of Makarska are very healing, and it was the perfect place for me to go through these key changes. A few months later, I decided to stay. It wasn’t a deliberate move; it was more like ‘I guess I won’t leave’.

I had to reassess what it would look like to run my own business remotely and abroad. I never want to go back to a 40-hour work week, so I won’t do that. I love working from cafes and with friends. I just went on a trip to Spain and Portugal, and I could work from there. I can manage my time better in fewer hours than with commuting to an office or pointless meetings – Konno commented.

And so, a positive change began. She started walking much more because she no longer worked from home, so she wasn’t tied to a desk. She lost 15 kilograms, and her hormones returned to balance. She gave dating, adventures, and life another chance, not just work and obligations. Then, she says, life started to get really good.

– The digital nomad life or entrepreneurship is not for everyone. If you have your own business, you have to be extremely disciplined. But it has given me so much more freedom, and it’s just a reminder that you can choose your own balance between work and private life when you are your own boss.

Where I live, we have a saying ‘slowly’. That’s the beauty of life here: we have a slow pace of life where we actually know how to appreciate the little things. In California, my friends are trying to get ‘that’ promotion to buy a nice car, get a new apartment – it’s a race for more, more, more. Here, I’m just happy to have coffee with a friend. That could be the highlight of my day – concluded Konno.