3 Bad Things About Belgrade

This is the second post of a ‘mini-series’ dealing with the advantages and disadvantages of living in or visiting Belgrade. Click here to read the Top 5 Good Things About Belgrade.

You’ve seen what I consider to be the main good things about Belgrade, so what about the disadvantages of living in or visiting the Serbian capital? I actually couldn’t think of many huge problems. There are of course lots of little annoyances (such as trying to wade through a cramped mass of people on the bus to validate your ticket in the stamping machine placed as far away from the doors as possible). So, without further ado here’s my top 3 bad things about Belgrade (again in no particular order):

1. Traffic

Belgrade’s traffic can be a nightmare and often a daily one! The roads are full of cars both day and night and traffic jams are nothing unusual here with what would normally be a 20-minute journey turning into an hour. The drivers are even worse – regularly speeding (when there’s not a traffic jam that is), making illegal turns, overtaking in precarious ways and they stop for nobody. Belgrade’s drivers are notoriously impatient – if someone doesn’t move within half a second of the light turning green, the car horns are blaring! Ear plugs are recommended. There are lot of car accidents (often fatal) in Belgrade and to make matters worse hardly anybody wears a seat belt (I was told to unfasten my seatbelt by a taxi driver once!). Motorbike riders seem to be allergic to helmets, but that doesn’t stop them from zooming up the Bulevar at ridiculous speeds.

2. Pollution

Belgrade is definitely not one of the cleanest cities in the world. The city centre is pretty much taken care of, but go a few streets outside and it’s a different matter, with crumbling facades and litter on the streets. The air is full of fumes and toxins and the rivers are polluted. It’s not uncommon to see litter collect around the floating restaurants and cafes on the Danube and Sava – which make a nice river-side walk kind of unappealing. Recycling is not widespread amongst the population and facilities are few and far between, although the Roma gypsies do collect cardboard which they sell on for some money – essentially they are Belgrade’s recyclers. Dog poo on pavements is another blight of the city – you’ve got to watch your step because dog-walkers generally allow their best friends do to it anywhere and few pick it up afterward. The stray dogs (which is no. 3) also contribute to this problem.

3. Stray Dogs

Stray dogs are another of Belgrade’s main problems. There are stray cats, but they don’t pose much danger to humans! I have no idea how many strays are in Belgrade but there must be thousands. Many of them were previously owned by humans and still act friendly towards us or pay no attention, but there are generations who only know street life. I’ve never been attacked but I know people who have been involved in incidents with groups of dogs, some just having a fright, while others have been bitten. Living in Belgrade has made me a lot more anxious around dogs and my heart always pounds when I catch sight of an unaccompanied one! I’d love for this problem to be sorted but I don’t  want them to be simply killed – something which does happen sadly. Stray dogs aren’t  just limited to Belgrade, it’s a Serbia-wide problem.

Those are my top 3 bad things about Belgrade. What do you dislike about Belgrade?  Have I missed anything? Let us know by leaving a comment.

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