-In which country and city are you living now?
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

-Are you living alone or with your family?
My partners in crime are of the two-legged and four-legged variety. One husband. One adopted Bosnian street pup.

-How long have you been living in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Exactly one year

-What is your age?
29

-When did you come up with the idea of living in Bosnia?
My husband had two job opportunities: one in DC and one in Bosnia. The first job offered insane amounts of money in a town we both lived in (but were increasingly bored by) while the second job offered a more sane amount of money set against a backdrop of post-war reconstruction, political corruption, and social instability. What other choice did we have? “Hello, Bosnia!”

Seriously though, I am a social worker specializing in war trauma, and both my husband and I love to travel. It was a pretty easy decision.

-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?
Good question. In those heady days leading up to our expatriation, I double and triple checked all of those legalities. Like visas. The Bosnian embassy’s very brief response to my lengthy visa inquiry was that I didn’t need one. Sweet. I later learned that I could very well possibly need one. Maybe. Either that or I could leave the country every three months and then re-enter Bosnia. So, every three months I grit my teeth and head to the relentlessly beautiful Croatian coastline. Jerks.

And I’m totally in the dark about the whole work permit issue. Considering that sixty to seventy percent of the population is unemployed or underemployed (depending on your source), I’m not sweating the whole work permit thing. That and my Bosnian is, well, meh...

-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?
Lucky me. I'm covered under my husband's plan.

-How do you make your living in Bosnia? Do you have any type of income generated?
Let's just say, if it were me and only me, I'd never be able to afford living here. And "here" is Bosnia.

I had quite an identity crisis about four months into my expatriation. I had planned, perhaps naively, that I would be able to get a job equal to my professional skills before the plane even hit the tarmac. Two months and countless resumes later, I lowered my expectations. Part-time work? Nope. Clerical positions? Uh-uh. Poultry processor? Sorry, taken. Even volunteer jobs seemed to be at a premium. What's an independent, 21st-century girl to do? (No, countless hours of German MTV viewing is not a viable option. And, by the way, what is your fascination with David Hasselhoff, people? Worrying...)

Over time, I did find a semi-permanent volunteer stint with a non-profit organization that worked in the field of war trauma. That was cool, but the work wasn't very regular. Then, there were the odd jobs teaching English as a second language and editing Bosnian translated into English, which then had to be edited into English again for clarity. (Don't let anyone tell you that editing is easy. It ain't.) I found myself doing this bizarre-o assortment of jobs and thinking, "What am I doing? Who am I?"

My advice to anyone thinking of moving abroad would be this, "Have a plan, but prepared for that plan to change." If you have a job and you're moving abroad, groovy. But, if you are a trailing spouse, and this goes for the ladies as well as the gentlemen, think about careers that you can pack up and take with you. After all, you may not be able to get a job in your chosen field. A year in, I am slowly finding my path, but I sure wish I hit the ground running.

-Do you speak Bosnian and do you think it's important to speak the local language?
I like to think I speak a very basic, functional Bosnian. Unfortunately, I often find that I put the emphasis on the wrong part of the words, making them almost incomprehensible to the average Bosnian. Tricky, very tricky.

Absolutely, learn as much as the language as humanly possible. In Bosnia, English is becoming a popular second language to learn in schools, so you will find many younger people speaking an equally basic and functional variant of English as you do of Bosnian. In any event, Bosnians will love, just love, that you’re learning the language. You will find a deeper appreciation of the culture in that you will understand the culture more. People communicate best in their native language, and, sometimes, it’s difficult to express a cultural nuance in a language other than your own. However, Bosnian is not easy, so people will be pleased by your effort. Zao mi je. Ucim bosanski ali govorim samo malo. (I’m sorry. I study Bosnian, but I speak only a little.)

I think that’s right. I hope.

-Do you miss home and family sometimes?
Oh sure. My husband’s family has a little beach house on the Jersey Shore, about 45 minutes from where I grew up, and I find myself missing it. “It” being Jersey, the house, the shore, my family, the whole deal. I never thought of myself as missing New Jersey, but there you are. I guess you can take the Jersey girl outta Jersey but you can’t take the Jersey outta the girl.

If I’m honest, I can’t say that I miss it enough to go back permanently, not yet, and not that either of us have actually lived in Jersey for years. Living in Bosnia, we have access to some of the most beautiful mountains — the mine-free ones, that is. Skiing is cheap, which is fantastic for my husband, and hiking is plentiful, which is fantastic for me. There are wonderful wide-open natural spaces, and, frankly, it will be hard for me to live anywhere without mountains. Bosnia, how you have spoiled me!

-Do you have other plans for the future?
More traveling, please…I recently found a statistic that said only 20% of all Americans have passports. Well, it is my personal goal to use all of the stampable space on my passport and have pages added. According to allamericanpassports.com, you can add an additional 24-96 pages. Think of the possibilities. Turkmenistan, here I come!

-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?
There is no shortage of housing in Sarajevo, but, if you’re an international, prepare to pay through the nose. Comparatively speaking. I mean, we pay 1400 BAM per month for our two-bedroom apartment, which is about $909 U.S. dollars, give or take. Having lived in DC, believe me, this is cheap. For other folks…maybe not so much. In our case, we sacrificed price for location. We chose to live in a high rent district that is within walking distance of the old town. If you moved out of the city to, say, Ilidza, you could get yourself a big ol’ house and a nice little yard for the same thing. Heck, probably for much less.

-What is the cost of living in Bosnia?
Oh, my dears, Bosnia is ever so cheap for those of us from countries with strong economies. Case in point. I just had a lovely meal at a swanky international joint for only $9.00. And have I mentioned the cheap black-market pashminas for only $7.00? That alone is worth the visit.

But, scratch the surface and think about why everything is so inexpensive…People are poor here, folks, that’s why it’s such a bargain.

-What do you think about the Bosnians?
Bosnians are often described as warm and welcoming. I find this to be true…with a “but.” Before you get to that warm, welcoming, even passionate center, you have to get past an almost surface reserve. I’m not a native, and I haven’t lived here long enough to really know, but I often find myself wondering if this reserve, this cautiousness, has anything to do with the past war? I don’t know. It could be a Balkan personality trait. It could be war-related. No matter. As I said, this is just the surface. When you break the ice, people respond. Prepare to be offered a second and third cup of Bosnian coffee. Also be prepared to “Just say no,” unless you want serious heart palpitations and a sleepless night. That coffee is a wicked drug, man.

-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Bosnia?
Bosnia is beautiful. Full stop. I am completely charmed by the accessibility of the country from the city. Standing in the heart of Bascarsija, the old town, you can look right into the villages on the mountains. Fifteen minutes later you can be in the country, on the winding trail of Bentbasa. Magical. If you have ever lived in places like DC, Baltimore, Philly, or New York, where you need to drive an hour or two to find the country, Sarajevo is just…It’s just a cool little city. Or a big village. It’s also a fantastic place to launch your other continental adventures. Trains to Budapest or Zagreb. Affordable international bus lines. Easy access to the Croatian and Montenegrin coast...

On the other hand, the poor economy makes some things that you take for granted in the States, like clothes shopping, a real challenge. You have a choice between high-end stores or cheaply made knockoffs. There’s not much in between. And, while I love cheaply made knockoffs, keep in mind the average Balkan female body type is much, much smaller than the average American female body type. An adult XL sweater is like something you would buy at Baby Gap.

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Bosnia?
Don’t forget that these people lived through war a little over a decade ago, and don’t harp on it, either. Keep in mind that most people you meet have somehow been impacted by events in the not-so-distant past, and they don’t want to relive them to each new expat or tourist. Go slow. Be kind. Listen. There’s a lot to learn, and, over time, you will.

Another by-product of these “events in the not-so-distant past” is a certain edginess or rawness to Bosnian society. If you think about it, families have been broken and displaced. Many, many people are unemployed. College graduates are underemployed. Politicians are corrupt. Infrastructure is weak. In short, people are pissed. And, while none of this is your fault, your big American laugh and your seemingly limitless supply of money, health, and good luck might strike the ugly chord of resentment. Sometimes. Please, put things into context and take a deep breath. Your patience and humility will be more than returned.

-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about Bosnia?
Come and get your daily dose of Balkania at Neurotic Traveler. In terms of visiting, I think the Bosnian tourist board did a rockin’ job with their website, BH Tourism, as did Green Visions. For more information on all things Bosnian, check out the Bosnian Institute.

If you want to learn more about the recent war, read “Endgame: The Betrayal and Fall of Srebrenica, Europe's Worst Massacre Since World War II” and visit the Women of Srebrenica website.