I've lived for a year each in Bratislava, Slovakia and Prague and in my personal experience Prague was shockingly beautiful. Bratislava's less beautiful but one sees her beauty in the long term. It has some of the best riverfront promenades in Europe - a park on one side and on the other there's also a small park near the Eurovea mall. Further west from the Old bridge (Stary most) it's more typical but still, the big road doesn't start until west of the Memorial of the Bulgarian Partisans. Meanwhile in Vienna, Budapest and even Prague most sides of the rivers are lined with busy roads, even the Vienna canal. BA has probably the best location of any capital city in Europe for having access to other countries. You can literally drink your morning coffee/tea in a Slavic speaking country, have lunch in Hungary and dinner in Vienna. 3 distinct languages and there are slight differences in culture and it's evident even in the way roads and public spaces look across each border (Western Hungarian countryside looks the most Western/best maintained somehow).
Anyway, compared to Prague or the Netherlands, local food in Bratislava is tastier and the locals are more welcoming and friendlier. On average Prague gets just 1668 sunshine hours yearly, while Bratislava is around 2000, maybe that's the reason!
BTW April and May are actually sunnier in Bratislava than in Sofia, Bulgaria where they're usually overcast and rainy if a bit warmer.
If anything I've had more locals strike up small talk with me in Bratislava than in Prague, Sofia, any of the Dutch cities/towns I've lived (Ede, Tilburg, Oss, Flushing), and even Athens & Thessaloniki where I've had extensive stays. Except sometimes small talk turns to locals telling me their life stories like one time on the train to Prague. Not bad for a capital, and some of the smaller cities are even friednlier (Kosice has a more beautiful old town btw).
Vienna, while more classically beautiful, has always left me with the quick desire to go back running to Bratislava. It's also much much easier to find a job with just English (or English plus any other non-Slovak language) at multinational offices in Bratislava than Vienna. Alas, the salaries have stagnated since 2018 and that plus not having sea in Slovakia are the main drawbacks. But for retiring Slovakia would be an amazing place if you don't mind having 4 seasons and being landlocked.
Anyway, compared to Prague or the Netherlands, local food in Bratislava is tastier and the locals are more welcoming and friendlier. On average Prague gets just 1668 sunshine hours yearly, while Bratislava is around 2000, maybe that's the reason!
BTW April and May are actually sunnier in Bratislava than in Sofia, Bulgaria where they're usually overcast and rainy if a bit warmer.If anything I've had more locals strike up small talk with me in Bratislava than in Prague, Sofia, any of the Dutch cities/towns I've lived (Ede, Tilburg, Oss, Flushing), and even Athens & Thessaloniki where I've had extensive stays. Except sometimes small talk turns to locals telling me their life stories like one time on the train to Prague.
Not bad for a capital, and some of the smaller cities are even friednlier (Kosice has a more beautiful old town btw).Vienna, while more classically beautiful, has always left me with the quick desire to go back running to Bratislava. It's also much much easier to find a job with just English (or English plus any other non-Slovak language) at multinational offices in Bratislava than Vienna. Alas, the salaries have stagnated since 2018 and that plus not having sea in Slovakia are the main drawbacks. But for retiring Slovakia would be an amazing place if you don't mind having 4 seasons and being landlocked.
