Why Slovenia

This is a simple question, but has many answers :-)

I'll try and break it down into 5 key reasons:

Nature

Slovenia has some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Lakes and mountains, rivers and canyons, valleys and vineyards, forests and flowers, cliffs and beaches. There are not many places in the world where you can ski in the morning and have coffee by the Adriatic in the afternoon. The nature here is unspoilt, with 70% of the country covered in protected forests.

Weather

Slovenia is the sunny side of the alps. We have gorgeously warm summers, yet the proximity to the alps brings naturally cool mornings even in heat waves. We have proper winters with beautiful snowy peaks and frozen lakes. Where we live in the centre of Slovenia - there is very little wind. We didn't realise how much of a difference this makes to quality of life.

Location

We are in the centre of Europe. Austria, Italy and Croatia are all less than an hour away. A weekend trip to Vienna or Prague, a day trip to Venice, a night out in Zagreb are all possible. Slovenia itself is small yet delightfully diverse. We live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world - Ljubljana. From here we can get to the coast or the mountains in less than an hour.

People

Slovenes are hard working, no nonsense people who enjoy a good time. The "work hard, play hard" philosophy is manifested in abundance. People often start work at 6 or 7 in the morning, and then go hiking or cycling or skiing in the afternoon. There are issues with the politics (like most places), but the people are generally welcoming and often speak amazing english. We've met so many lovely Slovenes, and we feel there is much less of a "class" problem here compared to quite a few other European countries 9especially the UK).

Food and Culture

The quality of food and drink in Slovenia is amazing. There are so many good restaurants, and compared to other places they don't cot an arm and a leg. There are cafes on every corner - all serving good coffee. You can order a Kava z mlekom everywhere - its like a flat white, but has been around way before that became a thing. In many other European countries buying a coffee is a bit of a gamble - it may be good, or it may be terrible, not so in Slovenia. Its not just coffee, but Slovenia has stunningly good wine, a crazy amount of craft beers and award winning gin. The capital Ljubljana is buzzing and a great place to be in Summer and Winter alike - with its river-side cafes, castle on the hill, art galleries, open air concerts and huge pedestrian zone.

We are proud to call Slovenia our home. If you've never visited, then plan a trip - you won't be disappointed.

NB - all the images in this post are photos we've taken ourselves