Why it is here
Why Split is on the list.
A city is listed when there is evidence that people move there. This is the evidence.
- Split is Croatia's second-largest town: 160,577 residents at the 2021 census, ahead of Rijeka (107,964) and Osijek (96,313), and the main city of the Dalmatian coast. [N1]
- Two English-language IB schools are listed in Split: Harfa International School ('an IB World School in Split', ages 6 to 18) and Split International School (IB curriculum, taught in English). Both come from directory listings; neither school's own site could be opened. [A1] [A2]
- Nomads.com (private, member reviews) shows 600 remote workers in Split now and ranks it #261 of its cities with a Nomad Score of 3.36 out of 5; its reviewers describe a thin nomad scene with no central coworking space. This is the weakest part of the case. [L1]
The Fernshore Index
How it grades, factor by factor.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Cost of living
63 of 100MixedCountry figure
Price level 0.532 of United States prices (2025).
Source: Price level index (GDP), Croatia. Checked 15 October 2026.
Climate
42 of 100MixedOwn figure
Split-Marjan's own normals (DHMZ, 1971-2000, the latest published with daily highs): 6 comfortable months a year (May, June, July, August, September and October). July's average high is exactly 30.0 °C, on the line, and counts; without it the score would be 33.
Source: Climate normals 1971-2000, Split-Marjan. Checked 15 October 2026.
Safety
68 of 100StrongCountry figure
Global Peace Index 2026: 23rd of 163.
Source: Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank. Checked 15 October 2026.
Healthcare
55 of 100MixedCountry figure
WHO UHC service coverage index 76 (2023).
Source: UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1). Checked 15 October 2026.
Schools
UnknownCountry figure
Our research doesn't cover schools yet.
Community
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Lifestyle
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Work and career
50 of 100MixedCountry figure
Mixed: one test holds. A residence route for remote workers exists (temporary stay of digital nomads, Aliens Act, up to 18 months), but fixed broadband is 29.60 per 100 people (2024), just under the 30 line.
Source: Temporary stay of digital nomads; Aliens Act (Zakon o strancima), Articles 3, 57 and 61: digital nomads; Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Croatia. Checked 15 October 2026.
Retirement
15 of 100WeakCountry figure
Weak: the Aliens Act and the foreign ministry's pages name no residence route for people living on a pension or passive income. Temporary stay for 'other purposes' lasts at most one year with a six-month wait before reapplying; the only retirement mention is an extension exception for retired people over 60 who own real estate in Croatia. The conditions for that exception were not found, so this is a judgement.
Source: Aliens Act (Zakon o strancima), Article 57 paragraphs 4 and 6: temporary stay for other purposes; Temporary residence for third-country nationals. Checked 15 October 2026.
Internet
66 of 100MixedCountry figure
29.60 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (2024), just under the 30 line.
Source: Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Croatia. Checked 15 October 2026.
English
100 of 100StrongCountry figure
EF EPI 2025 score 617 (rank 2), in EF's Very high band; the 2026 edition was not found on 15 October 2026.
Source: EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Croatia. Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, United States passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for US passports is being checked
Visa, Canada passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for Canadian passports is being checked
Visa, Australia passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for Australian passports is being checked
Visa, New Zealand passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for New Zealand passports is being checked
The country
More on Croatia.
Cities
Other cities in Croatia.
Questions about Split.
How big is Split?
Split had 160,577 residents at the 2021 census, Croatia's second-largest town after Zagreb (767,131) and ahead of Rijeka (107,964). That is the town, not Split-Dalmatia County, which has 423,407.
How much is rent in Split?
One advert in Varos asked €850 for a 45 m² one-bedroom flat on the fourth floor with no lift; utilities are extra and the tenant pays the agency a month's rent. nekretnine.hr puts the September 2026 average asking rent at €18.61 per m², €17.33 in the centre.
What is the weather like in Split?
On DHMZ 1971-2000 normals, daily highs run from 10.4 °C in January to 30.0 °C in July. Fernshore counts 6 comfortable months (May to October, highs of 18 to 30 °C); July sits exactly on the 30 °C line. Newer normals are likely warmer.
Are there English-language schools in Split?
Two IB schools are listed: Harfa International School (ages 6 to 18) and Split International School (taught in English). Both come from directory listings and neither school's own site could be opened, so curriculum, places and fees are unknown. Ask the schools directly.
Is there a remote-worker community in Split?
Nomads.com, which collects member reviews, shows 600 remote workers in Split now and a Nomad Score of 3.36 out of 5 (#261). Its reviewers describe a thin nomad scene with no central coworking space. The 2021 census counted 962 foreign citizens in the town.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [N1] 2021 Census, population by ethnicity by towns and municipalities (sheet 1), Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS). Checked 15 October 2026. Final results of the 2021 census (published 22 September 2022), column 'Total'. City of Zagreb 767,131; Split 160,577 (second-largest town; Rijeka 107,964 is third and Osijek 96,313 fourth); Dubrovnik 41,562.
- [W2] Climate normals 1971-2000, Split-Marjan, Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service (DHMZ), Climate Atlas of Croatia. Checked 15 October 2026. DHMZ (Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service) publishes station normal tables as PDFs from the Climate Atlas of Croatia: 1961-1990 and 1971-2000 side by side. 1971-2000 is the latest period with monthly mean daily highs (tmax) and rain totals that DHMZ publishes; the 1991-2020 tables with daily highs were not found on meteo.hr or klima.hr on 15 October 2026 (DHMZ says it has used 1991-2020 as its standard normal for climate monitoring since January 2023, but publishes only mean temperatures for that period). Station Split-Marjan, 1971-2000 block: mean daily highs 10.4 (January), 11.2, 13.8, 17.2, 22.7, 26.8, 30.0 (July), 29.7, 24.9, 19.9, 14.7, 11.4 (December); mean monthly temperature 8.0 (January) to 25.7 (July); monthly rain 25.5 mm (July) to 101.7 mm (November), all under 150 mm.
- [G1] Geography of Croatia, Wikipedia (secondary). Checked 15 October 2026. Croatia's Adriatic coast is 1,777 km on the mainland plus 1,246 islands and islets; Split is on that coast (Split-Dalmatia County).
- [A1] Harfa International School (ACES member listing), Association of Christian Educators in IB schools (ACES). Checked 15 October 2026. Listing read 15 October 2026: 'an IB World School in Split, Croatia', English, ages 6 to 18; no programme list or dates on the page; the school's own site refused automated access (403) and the IB's school page was behind a bot check.
- [A2] International schools in Croatia, Welcome Center Croatia (private guide, updated 21 May 2023). Checked 15 October 2026. Guide lists Split International School: International Baccalaureate curriculum, classes in English, elementary and high school, for international and local students; fees 'inquire at school'. The school's own website did not open.
- [L1] Split for digital nomads, Nomads.com (formerly Nomad List; private, member reviews). Checked 15 October 2026. Page read 15 October 2026 (score last updated 15 October 2026): Nomad Score 3.36/5, ranked #261 on 880 reviews; '600 remote workers in Split now'; reviews describe no central coworking space and a thin nomad scene; monthly remote-worker estimates 975 to 6,040 are medians from members' logged trips.
- [C1] Price level index (GDP), Croatia, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 53.20 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026 (series last updated 8 October 2026).
- [S1] Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank, Institute for Economics and Peace. Checked 15 October 2026. Croatia ranks 23rd of 163 countries, score 1.619 (ranking table, report PDF opened 15 October 2026).
- [H1] UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 15 October 2026. Croatia: 76 out of 100 (2023; also 76 in 2021 and 2022), read from the WHO Global Health Observatory data service (indicator UHC_INDEX_REPORTED) on 15 October 2026.
- [K1] Temporary stay of digital nomads, Ministry of the Interior (MUP), Republic of Croatia. Checked 15 October 2026. English-language official page, opened 15 October 2026. Third-country nationals who work through communication technology for a foreign employer or their own company not registered in Croatia; temporary stay up to 18 months (extendable once, if granted for less); means of at least 2.5 average monthly net salaries paid for the previous year, currently EUR 3,622.50 a month or EUR 43,470 in the bank for 12 months or EUR 65,205 for 18 months, plus 10% of the average net salary for each family member; health insurance; a criminal-record certificate; reapplication six months after the stay ends. Cites the Regulation on means of subsistence (Official Gazette 14/21 and 3/26).
- [K3] Aliens Act (Zakon o strancima), Articles 3, 57 and 61: digital nomads, Republic of Croatia, Official Gazette 133/20 as amended (consolidated text on zakon.hr, a private legal portal updated to NN 55/26; the official gazette index page opened but not the full consolidated text). Checked 15 October 2026. Article 3 defines the digital nomad (third-country national working through communication technology for a company, or own company, not registered in Croatia, and not serving Croatian employers); Article 57(1) lists temporary stay for digital nomads (point 11) and 'other purposes' (point 10); Article 61 sets validity up to 18 months, extendable once. Croatian text.
- [K2] Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Croatia, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2024: 29.60 per 100 people (2023: 28.47), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [R1] Aliens Act (Zakon o strancima), Article 57 paragraphs 4 and 6: temporary stay for other purposes, Republic of Croatia, Official Gazette 133/20 as amended (consolidated text on zakon.hr, a private legal portal updated to NN 55/26). Checked 15 October 2026. A new application for 'other purposes' may be filed six months after the previous one ended; by exception, the stay can be extended for a retired third-country national older than 60 who owns real estate in Croatia (with a spouse or partner), for a minor athlete, and for continuing medical treatment. The Act names no pension or passive-income permit and sets no income test for retirees; the Ordinance on the stay of third-country nationals (which sets the documents) was not opened. Croatian text.
- [R2] Temporary residence for third-country nationals, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MVEP). Checked 15 October 2026. Official English page, opened 15 October 2026: temporary residence for 'other purposes' may be granted for a maximum of one year, and a new application may be submitted after six months from expiry. The page names no retirement or pension purpose.
- [F1] EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Croatia, EF Education First (private test-taker index). Checked 15 October 2026. Score 617, global rank 2; the page lists Zagreb 616; the page is the 2025 edition and the 2026 edition was not found on 15 October 2026.