Leanne and Al Elliott, a couple from Manchester, decided to move to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) after visiting the country during their travels through 48 nations.
In an interview, they shared how life led them to BiH and how they chose to settle in Blagaj.
“Our life in the United Kingdom (UK) was great. We loved our life there. And I think sometimes people wonder if we were running away from something, but we really enjoyed living there. We wanted to travel, we wanted to experience life in Europe. So, in 2013, we left the UK and went to Spain, where we lived very happily for four years,” they said.
They went on to say that Brexit happened, which led them to the idea of visiting all the European countries.
“In February 2020, we got stuck in Lithuania, and we had only a few countries left to visit. Six months turned into four years. During that journey, we discovered the Balkans,” they explained further.
They said they fell in love with the region, noting that there are places that give you butterflies, and for them, the Balkans is one of those places.
In 2018, they visited BiH for the first time: “That’s when we discovered this most incredible place. The people were so amazing. It was different. It felt different from some other Balkan countries.”
They also mentioned that they are often asked why they chose to stay: “We respond: ‘Well, why wouldn’t we? Look around you. It’s stunning.'”
“Here, it felt like all our favorite bits of the Balkans were in one place. The landscape in Herzegovina is beautiful, and you know, the Neretva River and the coastline are very reminiscent of Croatia. Then you go to Sarajevo, which is much more urban, much more city-like, and it reminds us of Belgrade. And then you have gorgeous lakes and mountains that remind us of Montenegro,” they explained, Klix.ba writes.
