FAQs

Here\'s a bit of information about life here. Please let us know if you
have any questions and we\'ll be happy to answer them for you.

Patricia Lopez and Micah Rigler

CLO Belgrade

<CLOBelgrade@state.gov>

**How is the HOUSING?**

Housing is spread throughout town, although there is a diplomatic
district in which we have a couple dozen or so places all together.
Housing is close to work and school and most people are happy with it.
Houses are single family homes, duplexes, triplexes, and apartments. All
housing generally include: dining room, living room, kitchen, family
room, three to four bedrooms (beds are queen size in the master bedroom
and twin in the remaining bedrooms), garage, A/C, washer, dryer,
refrigerator, full size freezer, American-style range and microwave
oven. Most of the houses are also equipped with a back up generator. The
single family houses, duplexes and triplexes all have fenced yards. They
are fully furnished with drapes and carpets. Apartments are more
scattered around town, and are varied in their layouts. They are
furnished similarly to the houses, as space allows.

**Can you describe the QUALITY OF LIFE?**

We have ballet, concerts, theater, music festival, symphony, etc. Most
US movies are in English with Serbian subtitles. Belgrade is European in
its approach to eating and drinking, and the cafes and restaurants are
plentiful.

Restaurants are good, relatively inexpensive for Americans, but meat and
more meat is the main event here. Food on the street corners is cheap
and flavorful. Meat, salads, fries and bread is the average restaurant
meal. However, don\'t despair if you are a vegetarian, you too will find
plenty of delicious meals. Foreign cuisine is somewhat represented here:
Italian, French, Moroccan, Chinese, and Indian to name a few.

There is a low-key diplomatic club with tennis courts and a small
swimming pool. Swimming and tennis are available at certain hours at the
Ambassador\'s residence. A very popular location in town, Ada Ciganlija,
or Gypsy Island, has a long pebble beach and pedestrian walkway, lined
by cafes and ice cream vendors.

This island also has many sports facilities, including paths for biking,
roller blading, fields for soccer, baseball, volleyball, tennis courts,
basketball courts, miniature golf. An informal international group plays
ultimate frisbee or softball on weekends. There is a rock-climbing wall,
a water slide, and a water-skiing club. Elsewhere along the river, there
are sailing clubs, rowing clubs, and scuba diving clubs. Horseback
riding is possible at local stables (there is a large horseracing track
in Belgrade). Many people take advantage of the walking and running
trails in a forested park area called Kosutnjak, where there are also
many picnic tables with barbeque grills.

**How is the SHOPPING?**

Shopping as an activity in Belgrade consumes a good bit of time, because
the stores are small, and the inventory in each one is limited. You may
have to look around quite a while to find what you\'re looking for. It
really pays off to ask the locals for referrals before you hit the
street shopping.

Two large supermarkets\--Mercator (a Slovenian chain) and Super Vero (a
Greek chain) are present in Belgrade. There is also a large Yugoslav
grocery store (Rodic-Mega Market) here that will have the Yugoslav or
European equivalent of all staples and many luxury items. (There are
hundreds of smaller shops and two medium-sized chains\--C market and
MaxiDiskont). All of these grocery stores are adding products to their
shelves daily. The variety and quality of locally obtained products is
improving by the month. You may order local groceries online at
www.maxi.co.yu with next day delivery. Processed foods (i.e. Macaroni
and cheese in a box, microwave popcorn) are starting to be seen here,
but not necessarily the recognized types or brands. Must-have American
food items can be ordered through netgrocer.com and food and durable
goods from the Danish tax-free catalog store, Peter Justesen. We have a
small commissary at post, run by the American Embassy Employee
Recreation Association (AEERA).

One of the highlights of shopping in Belgrade is the wonderful outdoor
green markets. Fresh fruits and vegetables are available in season at
low prices. During the summer you can buy a kilo of strawberries for
less than a dollar. There are markets throughout town, and they are open
daily. While the markets are open year-round the selection of produce
drops dramatically during the colder months. It is a good idea to freeze
fruits and vegetables when they are in season so you can enjoy them in
the winter as well.

As with food, more and more western European goods are available for
purchase in Belgrade. Clothing and shoes for adults are not a bad buy,
and the quality is decent. Children\'s clothing and shoes, however, have
much less selection and higher prices.

Budapest is a five-hour drive, but people go to the Hungarian border
town, Szeged, to shop which is only two and a half hours away. They have
huge European grocery stores and home improvement stores from several
countries. Zagreb is a three-hour drive.

**What are the SCHOOL options?**

The International School of Belgrade is the State Department sponsored
school in Belgrade. The school was founded in 1948. ISB adopted the
International Baccalaureate Programs in 2003 and offers PreK-12. Their
web site address is [www.isb.co.yu]{.underline}. Most Embassy children
attend ISB.

Another English language pre-school option is the International Nursery
School Belgrade which has student ranging in age from two to five.
Tuition is 3070 Euros payable in two installments, with a refundable
deposit paid at registration. School hours are from 8am-1:30pm, with the
option of afternoon activities which will run until 2:15pm. Their web
site address is [www.insb.co.yu](http://www.insb.co.yu/).

An alternate grammar school is the smaller of the two. The Chartwell
School, which offers classes to children age 3-grade 8, including
remedial, gifted and ESL classes. Their website address is
[www.chartwellschool.org](http://www.chartwellschool.org/)[.]{.underline}
The school is growing rapidly and some embassy children are enrolled
there.

There is an English language high school, using a blend of the
University of Nebraska High School extension curriculum and the British
educational system. The Anglo-American High School has a teacher-student
ration of 1:2.73. The director is a Yugoslav-American psychologist, Dr.
Tijana Mandic. Their website address is
[www.aplus.edu.yu](http://www.aplus.edu.yu/).

**What about CULTURE AND TRAVEL?**

Monasteries and places of natural beauty or historical significance are
the main travel options in country. Travel by air in country is
inexpensive and taxis for in town travel are inexpensive and plentiful.
Guided tours are easily arranged. Foreigners generally avoid trains and
buses.

**How is the SECURITY at post?**

U.S. Embassy Belgrade reopened in November 2000 after severing
diplomatic ties in March 1999. Although we have experienced no instances
of open hostilities against American Embassy staff since reestablishing
operations, the possibility cannot be discounted. It is recommended that
official Americans and their dependents assigned to this post to
maintain a low profile. It is wise not to wear clothing with U.S.
government or American flag insignia in plain view to the public. One
should attempt to minimize attention being directed to you while in
public. Do not wear flashy clothing or jewelry, and minimize exposing
large amounts of currency. Employees and dependents are advised to use
the same level of caution and common sense as one would in any large
city in Europe or the US. Be fully aware of your surroundings at all
times, traveling with others in unfamiliar areas. It is against Serbian
law to take photographs of government facilities, including buildings
that are bomb-damaged. Use discretion in this regard to avoid
embarrassing the Embassy. Avoid all demonstrations and public political
gatherings, taking particular care around major sporting venues as these
events can trigger large demonstrations. In this modern electronic and
digital age, privacy is always an issue. Governments and individuals
have the ability to intercept phone conversations and invade your
computers for information, especially e-mails. It would be advisable to
assume that any communication that you have while at Post may by
monitored. Maintaining a low profile and using good common sense can
help ensure your safety and security during your tour in Serbia.

**Any HEALTH CONCERNS?**

Please review the Belgrade Health and Medical Information Handbook
online at [www.Travax.com](http://www.Travax.com/), username: statedept,
and password: 4re\$ted, under Destination Information/Serbia.

The Health Unit is staffed by our RMO, Daniel Muhm M.D. and Natasa
Jankovic, the Health Unit Administrative Assistant. Dr Dusan Teodorovic
is on-call when the RMO is away from post. The quality of care by local
physicians for common ailments is fair however facilities are very
basic. In case of required hospitalization, the policy is to stabilize
the patient and then MEDEVAC to London.

Not all medications you may need will be available in Belgrade.
Prescriptions for chronic medications will need to be obtained from your
RMO and can be filled by mail order through the diplomatic pouch. All
prescription medications that are mailed through the pouch should be
labeled that they contain medication, especially if it is a liquid
(liquid medications are the only liquids permitted in the pouch).

Belgrade\'s air quality is not good during the winter months. This is
largely due to smog produced by the burning of low-grade coal. The
health unit recommends drinking bottled or distilled water. Water is not
fluoridated. Fluoride drops for children 6 months to 16 years may be
obtained from the Health Unit.

**Are there SPOUSAL EMPLOYMENT opportunities?**

EFMs are employed at the embassy whenever possible, and work outside the
embassy is possible, although the pay-scale may be considerably lower.
Currently two spouses are employed as Consular Associates in the embassy
visa section, one spouse is employed in a public relations position at
USAID, two spouses are employed in the CLO office, one spouse is
employed as the Roving OMS, and two spouses are employed as
Escort/Custodians.

Outside of the Embassy we have two of our spouses employed by the
International School of Belgrade and one spouse teaches English to adult
Serbs.

Ana Koeshall is our SNAP coordinator and will be able to assist spouses
in searching for employment outside of the Embassy.