A Brit mum who swapped London for the Croatian coast thought she was starting a dream new life in the sun – but instead found herself lost, grieving and questioning whether she’d made the biggest mistake of her life.
Maria Randall never imagined she would end up running her own boat tour company abroad after leaving the UK with her husband and dog.
Today, she has built a new life in the seaside town of Podstrana near Split, where she runs Island Discovery, a boat tour business exploring the Croatian coastline.
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But Maria says the reality of moving overseas was far tougher than the dream many people picture.
“I was exhausted,” the 54-year-old told What’s The Jam.
“People imagine moving abroad is exciting and glamorous, but I felt strangely numb.
“Everything had happened so quickly that I had barely had time to process it.
“I was excited, scared and wondering whether I had completely lost my mind.”
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The move came after a short holiday convinced Maria and her husband to take a leap of faith and start again in Croatia.
But the culture shock hit almost immediately.
One of Maria’s first solo trips to a supermarket ended in tears after she got lost when Google Maps stopped working.
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By the time she finally arrived, she was already feeling overwhelmed.
She said: “I did not recognise any of the products on the shelves.
“Something as simple as buying food suddenly felt difficult.”
Hungry and stressed, Maria grabbed a cereal bar while walking around the shop.
She said: “A man started shouting at me in Croatian and I burst into tears.
“Later I realised he worked for the supermarket and probably thought I was trying to steal the cereal bar before paying for it.
“Looking back now it is funny.
“At the time I wanted to get on a plane and go home.
“Coming from Britain, I was used to quieter and more reserved interactions.
“I genuinely thought people were arguing all the time.
“It took me a while to realise that what sounded aggressive to me was often just a normal conversation.”
Just as she was beginning to settle in, tragedy struck when her beloved dog died shortly after the move.
Maria said: “Everything still felt unfamiliar and unsettled and suddenly I was dealing with the loss of a much-loved family member as well.”
The heartbreak continued when she later lost both her mother and younger brother within an 18-month period.
Maria said: “Nobody really talks about that side of living abroad.
“People see the sea, the sunshine and the photographs, but they do not see what it feels like when major family events happen hundreds of miles away.”
There were other challenges too.
Maria, who is severely lactose intolerant, ended up in hospital following a dairy contamination incident.
She said: “Being in an ambulance and then a hospital environment where I struggled to understand what was happening around me was one of the most frightening experiences I have had since moving here.”
Despite the setbacks, life gradually improved.
Maria said: “I began to understand the culture.
“I started to appreciate the people.
“I made friends, many of them fellow expats who understood exactly what it was like to start again in a new country.”
That new life eventually led to an unexpected business venture.
Maria said: “It started as a conversation, then somehow I had a boat, then a website, then a skipper, then our first guest.”
One of the biggest surprises was that her skipper, Pasko, was someone she had met on one of her earliest boat trips after arriving in Croatia.
Maria said: “We stayed in touch and when I launched Island Discovery, he was the first person I asked to join me.
“Today I joke that he is my Croatian son.”
For Maria, the Adriatic Sea remains one of the biggest reasons she stayed.
She said: “There is something magical about the Adriatic.
“The colour of the water still amazes me and some mornings when I am walking my Jack Russell, Sid, along the coastline I spot dolphins in the distance.
“Those moments never get old.”
She still misses Britain – especially Wagamama and “a proper Chinese takeaway” – but says Croatia is now firmly home.
She said: “It is where I have built a business, it is where I have made friendships, it is where I walk Sid every morning.
“And most importantly, it is where I rediscovered myself.”
Maria admits many people misunderstand the realities of expat life.
She said rents along Croatia’s coastline are far higher than many newcomers expect and have risen sharply in recent years.
She also believes the country has changed significantly since she first arrived.
Maria said: “There seems to be a huge amount of development taking place.
“Everywhere I look there are new apartment blocks, villas and construction projects appearing.
“Personally, I think Croatia has changed significantly since joining the EU and later adopting the euro, although that’s just my observation.”
She added that food prices and restaurant costs are now often comparable with those in the UK.
Looking back, Maria believes the move changed far more than her address.
She said: “When I moved here, I thought I knew exactly who I was.
“What I did not expect was to spend my fifties learning about websites, social media, marketing, accounting, boating and how to build a business from scratch.
“I realised I was tougher than I thought.
“I learned not to let other people dictate my mood.
“I learned to laugh at myself when things go wrong.
“Looking back, I do not think Croatia simply changed where I live.
“I think it changed who I am.”
The journey began after a spontaneous three-day trip convinced Maria and her husband to take the plunge.
Just weeks later, in the summer of 2023, they boarded a one-way flight with their dog and started a completely new life on the Adriatic coast.
Maria added: “And if I could give one piece of advice to the version of myself boarding that Croatia Airlines flight in July 2023 it would simply be, ‘buckle up it will be one hell of a ride’.”
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