1

I can try and answer this question since I'm Slovenian, so I know the job market a little bit, however, finding a job really depends on the person.

If you're a native English speaker, you may be able to teach English (however you will have to do exams for this), as native speakers are often sought by different language schools. I don't know Novo Mesto well, but I know this is the case in Ljubljana. You could send your CV to several schools in advance, just to get the feeling if you have any chance getting a job there. If you want to teach English of course.

If you want to get a waitering job, it will be quite hard without Slovenian language. Waiters in Ljubljana earn above the minimum wage, stated in the upper post. 500 euros is the average salary for manual jobs in factories, cleaning, etc. Waiters are paid about 600-1000 euros. But you will need the basic knowledge of Slovenian, because you'll be dealing mostly with Slovenian guests. Another possibilities as a native speaker are: working as a proofreader for translation agencies (checking English texts), tourist guide, etc.
But as I said above, it all depends on your experience, your flexibility, your ability to learn Slovenian and other. If you have relatives here, they might be able to help you start.

It is true that most people work in Ljubljana, but if you don't earn at least 1000 euros per month, I would not advise you to live there as well-except if you want to share a flat, because prices can get really crazy, especially in the city centre.

2

Is this confirmed information or an assumption? I'm asking because such a rule e.g. concerning the UK does not necessarily transfer to other countries. Besides, all of that has to be managed - documents gathered, translated, notarized etc. etc. Until this process is finished, you'd require a work visa which will be hard to get.

3

Thank you all for the replies.

I can rule out staying in Novo Mesto by still_wanderers comments. It also seems to be too small a town with a population of 48,000 according to online sources.

still_wanderer and i_want_to_travel, when you say that the average salary is 500 euros, is this 500 euros a week or fortnight? How expensive is Ljubljana? (petrol, drinks, food?) I've also been told that a few people rent out spare bedrooms that they have in their houses/apartments, is this common?

I'd imagine that a few months in Slovenia I would pick up a large amount of the language and could aim for a higher job such a waitering or a sales job (Harvey Norman is in Ljubljana) since I have a sales background.

It'll take me a few months to make up the money to go to Slovenia so i'll use this time to do an online language course.

still_wanderer in your personal opinion, if you had a chance to work anywhere in the Shengen countries, where would you choose?

Mattoni - I've confirmed that I am eligible for citizenship. In accordance with article 13 of the Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia Act a Slovenian migrant or his/her descendants of up to the 4th generation in a direct line can be granted Slovenian citizenship.

Thanks

4

nexx, 500 euros is not the average, but the minimum wage (per month!) Actually it's 600 euros per month, but after you deduct taxes, etc. it's less than 500 euros, becauses taxes on salary are quite high in SLO. However, this is the minimum wage, so it applies to jobs in cleaning, factories, etc.

The average monthly salary in Slovenia is about 1000 euros (tax already deducted). If you have savings to buy an apartment, you can live just fine with this salary, but otherwise, it can be quite difficult if you have to pay rent and if you live alone. You can't really save much. People say that real estate prices will lower in 2010, but who knows? Prices can be absurd sometimes.

If you're considering coming here in search of a better standard than in Australia, you should reconsider it, because the majority of Slovenians is not satisfied with the current job and salary situation. It is even difficult to find a job, the rate of unemployment has risen in the last year due to the financial crisis.

You may want to look at http://www.wieninternational.at/en/node/2877, interesting reading also: http://www.slovenia-life.com/ljubljana/articles/?name=getting-to-know-ljubljana and http://www.worldtraveltips.net/forums/thread.cgi?thread=526

5

some prices:
litre of petrol: around 1,1 €
coffee with milk in Ljubljana: 1,20-1,50 €
prices of food in stores can be different, it depends on where you buy, but I think they're the same as in your shops, not much cheaper, fruits and vegetables can be expensive in some places.

6

500 euros is for the month (380 australian dollars for the fortnight). In continental Europe salaries are usualy on a monthly basis. A couple of years ago, I've been proposed a middle management job in Ljubljana and they offered 1300 euros/month. So that is the salary for a qualified office job in an international company.

Regarding shengen countries, here is the list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Agreement

It means that with a slovenian passport you have the right to live and work in all these countries without having to go through immigration process, etc. As a general rule salaries (and standards) are much better in the west than in the east (It's better to work in France or in Germany than in Lithuania or Poland for example) and in the north than in the south (better in Sweden than in Portugal).
Then it all depends on you and what you are looking for... It also depends which languages you speak. It could be very difficult to find a job in France without speaking french unless it is an english teaching job. I believe the same is true for all big western european countries. Plus, countries have different job policies. In France, it is rather difficult to find a job because it is difficult to fire people. In the UK, it is easier to find a job because your employer can fire you whenever he wants.
Giving the fact that you are australian, I would probably tell you to go to UK or Ireland but I've heard that with the crisis it became difficult to find a job even there...

One last thing, I don't doubt that you have all the rights to get a slovenian citizenship but be really carefull as these process can last a while. Especially as your grand parents were probably born in Yugoslavia (if not in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia), not in Slovenia. I really don't know how it goes with Slovenia so I will not risk any speculations on this, maybe I want to travel knows...
Just let me tell you a story about a good friend of mine. He was born in France from a Croatian mother and a French father and decided to come and live in Croatia. His mother being croatian (she emigrates when was in her 20s) he thought he wouldn't have problems to get a croatian passport. It took him more than two years of administrative nightmares to finally get his croatian papers. The problem was that his mother was born in Yugoslavia and when Croatia became independant she didn't do the paperworks to get her croatian citizenship certificate (Domovnica).
Once again, I have no idea how it works in Slovenia but I wouldn't be surprised that the same rules apply there...

Anyway, Slovenia is a great country with great people, tons of history and great landscape. It is rather small but you can easily visit the counries around (Italy, Austria, Croatia, etc.). I am sure that you will have a great time there if you decide to go...

7

I agree what others wrote above. I live in Slovenia and especially in last year is quite hard to get the job. This is even harder without knowledge of speaking Slovene language except in already mentioned jobs like teaching english, checking texts, somewhere in tourism ...

8

But then again, good salesmen are ALWAYS in demand (Slovenians for some reason, dislike this profession). Perhaps you'd want to contact some of the recruiting agencies (Adecco, Manpower etc) - they might help you.