Slovaks often find it hard to believe someone wants to live in their country

Homecoming may also not be easy because of how returning Slovaks are received at home.

Bratislava airportBratislava airport (Source: Jozef Jakubčo, Sme)

When I received an invitation to speak on a radio programme about people who experienced life abroad and then returned to Slovakia, I wasn't immediately sure of what I might want to say.

In my years working for The Slovak Spectator, I have heard countless stories of foreigners who live in Slovakia, as well as Slovaks who have returned to Slovakia from abroad. Does it even make sense to seek a single pattern in those stories?

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

Sure, Slovakia is a beautiful country, but many of us would probably make do without its beauty, if they could find comfort in the roar of the North Sea, a Sunday walk along the Thames, or a view of Prague Castle every day.

SkryťTurn off ads

In this country, no return home is overlooked, which I suppose makes Slovakia different from more successful or more confident countries. If you return home to France or the Netherlands, people around you are not likely to keep asking what made you do it. It's clear to them: where else would you want to live?

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk
Subscribe now for full access

I already have subscription - Sign in

Subscription provides you with:
  • Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk
  • Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)
  • PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you
  • Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk

Top stories

Over the weekend, several centimetres of snow, the first bigger cover of the season, fell in the High Tatras.

Winter offers best conditions.


Peter Filip
New projects will change the skyline of Bratislava.

Among the established names are some newcomers.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
SkryťClose ad