00:00We say Belgrade is a concrete jungle.
00:03It's chaotic and it's a mess,
00:06but we constantly find new reasons to love it.
00:11Belgrade, Serbia's capital and largest city.
00:15Home to ancient fortresses and socialist architecture,
00:18it faces high youth unemployment,
00:20rampant corruption and years of anti-government protests.
00:24But what's life like here for young people?
00:28And do they see a future here?
00:32Hello, I'm Tanya. I'm 25 years old.
00:35I live in Belgrade and this is what a typical day in my life looks like.
00:40Hi, welcome here.
00:41We meet Tanya at her parents' apartment as she starts her day.
00:45She and her sister are tucking into some fried eggs and rolls for breakfast,
00:50served with Ivar, a local roasted pepper spread.
00:53A hearty and savory Serbian breakfast.
00:57Tanya's parents have left for work already.
01:02We eat on the go and everybody rushes to their day.
01:08But on the weekends we eat together.
01:12Typically young Serbians stay living with their parents for many years.
01:16On average, they only move out at 30, largely due to high rents and low wages.
01:22Rent has gotten two or three times higher in the past three years.
01:28So it has been a big shock.
01:30Tanya's parents own their apartments, which is typical here.
01:33Over 90% of Serbians own their own home.
01:36After the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s,
01:40former state-owned apartments were often sold cheaply to tenants.
01:45Tanya grew up in Novi Beograd, New Belgrade,
01:49a district built in the capital of former socialist Yugoslavia after World War II.
01:55Brutalist residential blocks were divided into sectors,
01:59each featuring its own school and community center.
02:05I really love living in this area because it's a very close-knit neighborhood.
02:13Everybody is connected to each other.
02:14When I was in middle school and lower school,
02:18all of us would just go out outside at around 6-7 p.m.
02:24and all your friends would be outside in the park.
02:27You don't make plans with anyone.
02:29You just go out and there's 30, 40, 50 kids.
02:33Tanya likes to cycle in the city's green spaces,
02:36but she currently has little time for it.
02:38Since earning a bachelor's degree in international relations,
02:41she's been working full-time on a modest salary.
02:45Still, she's glad to have a job.
02:47Youth unemployment in Serbia stands at a whopping 18.3%.
02:52Next year, Tanya plans to start a master's program abroad.
02:57I would really like to have an experience of studying somewhere else
03:02and living in another country.
03:03I think this is a valuable experience to have.
03:06And I could see myself growing as I experience another culture
03:13and another way of life somewhere else for at least a bit.
03:17For getting around Belgrade's other districts,
03:20Tanya takes the bus or tram.
03:23Public transport here is completely free.
03:26You just hop straight on.
03:28Sounds great in theory,
03:30but Belgrade is infamous for its delays and poorly maintained vehicles.
03:36We wait for buses a lot.
03:39It's usually really cramped up inside during rush hours.
03:43We often say that it's like sardines.
03:47And crashes can happen, traffic jams, stuff like this.
03:52I would definitely prefer to have a better, more functional public transport,
03:58which I pay for.
03:59When she wants to unwind, she comes here,
04:03Tsetinska,
04:03a vibrant former brewery complex now home to cafes and pubs.
04:07So for me, Tsetinska is like a small oasis,
04:12like a small place inside the chaotic city center
04:16where you can always find friends and always find your close ones.
04:20I sometimes go here even without making plans.
04:24I see my people, many of my friends work in these bars
04:28or hang out here all the time.
04:31Like many young people,
04:33Tanya is worried about the future.
04:35She's keeping a close eye on the country's political and economic trajectory,
04:39which will ultimately decide whether she'll stay.
04:43Belgrade is still a place where I feel like I belong the most,
04:47but it's a place where I am very insecure about my future.
04:53It's a place where I don't know if I can find a job in the long run,
04:59if I can work in a sector where I'm educated at.
05:03I don't know how life will be for my children here.
05:07These are some things that would have to change a lot for me
05:10to be sure that I want to stay in Belgrade.
05:13One thing is for certain,
05:14wherever the future leads her,
05:16Belgrade will always be home.
