It has been almost two months since I wrote about Zagreb, when I reflected on one year as an expat. I have been traveling almost nonstop these past couple of months: North Macedonia, Slovenia (twice), Hungary (twice), France, and Serbia (I think that’s all). Autumn’s “wine event season” is finally winding down as we head into the holidays.

I’m still awaiting on approval (or denial) of my residency extension and trying to decide where my next home will be. But the past couple of weeks, I’ve been reminded why I like my neighborhood and why I will be sad to leave.

Trešnjevka (whose name is derived from trešnja, the word for cherry) isn’t fancy, but it’s authentic. While there are chain stores, the majority of businesses are small and family-owned (closing for at least a couple of weeks, if not the whole month of August), like bakeries, restaurants, and caffe bars where they remember what I order.

Well connected by the Zagrebački električni tramvaj (Zagreb Electric Tramway, aka ZET) from multiple stops – and walkable to Zagreb’s center and main square, Trg bana Josipa Jelačića – Trešnjevka offers a glimpse into how Zagreb actually lives: practical, friendly, and vibrant.

It’s characterized by warm sense of community that reveals itself in daily rituals like errands done on foot, children playing in Trg Krešimira Ćosića (the square across the street), residents walking their dogs, and people huddled in conversation in the caffe bars and outside of the shops and stores.

There’s a local printing company nearby, Masterprint, a few blocks away from my apartment. When I need something printed, I send it to the shop by email and always write that I’ll pick it up later that day or the following day. When I arrive, they print it, I pay, and I leave. This week when I arrived, my print request was already complete and waiting for me. I guess I’ve reached a level of trust with them – they know for sure I will pick up and pay.

I also have a great salon a half-mile walk away, Noir beauty, and a wonderful stylist, Anamarija. I found them through another expat’s recommendation. In the beginning, I was nervous – it’s always that way when trying to find a new dentist, doctor, and stylist (at least for me). Now I am one of their most frequent customers. I go not only for a monthly cut, color, and style, but also in between when I want my hair to look its best for special events and occasions.

Around the corner from my apartment, just over two U.S. football fields away, is a Lidl grocery store, where I bought my microwave/mikrovalna pećnica. Some cities in the U.S. have Lidl, but we did not have anything like it in Napa. It’s a store that not only carries groceries, but also a selection of housewares, clothes, seasonal items, and more – usually at very low prices and rarely the same thing twice. I go there a few times per week – sometimes just to people watch or see what oddities have arrived (I believe new items come in on Mondays and Thursdays). I’ve heard people line up waiting for it to open if there’s something really popular scheduled.

Less than a minute walk across the street is a high-rise hotel, the Zonar, with a ground-floor gym, The Fitness, a local chain with 18 locations throughout Zagreb and its suburbs. I’ve been waiting on a special offer to join, which just happened December 1. It’s a traditional gym similar to Planet Fitness in the U.S. While I prefer to walk outside, the treadmill is great during the cold winter days, and I have access to all of the other locations, too.