if someone moves to Prague and thinks they will get a flat in Old Town on a server's salary, they didn't do any research. My partner and I shop mostly at farmer's markets, which are cheaper than, say Tesco. Moving from NE, Ohio, I find Prague winters to be mild. I moved here already having a lot of Czech friends and partner, so things were pretty easy. I pretty much never hang out with expats. The bureaucracy is partly why CR doesn't have the problems other countries in Europe have with people in those countries who are not there legally.
The bureaucracy in the Czech Republic is actually easier than the bureaucracy in Germany or Italy. It's just not exactly the high-income country to attract the illegals the same way it unfolded in UK, Germany, France etc. nor does it boast a generous welfare system.
I'm not sure here... 1) when I lived in London, I had to share an apartment with another person, the apartment was shit and still I was paying nearly half of my salary. So paying half of your salary for an entire place isn't bad at all. 2) Dark winters - well, surprise surprise, this is not California or Ecuador and you should expect this type of weather in this part of the world. 3) Friends - I find this very speculative and personally think Czech people who speak English well, are very friendly compared to, say Hungarians for example. 4) Tourism - again, surprise surprise - Prague is a beautiful city and tourism has been flourishing here because of that. I'm not happy with it, but I guess beauty has its flipside of the coin 5) bureaucracy - that's probably the only point I would tend to agree with you on, but hey, you are in Europe, most of the old traditional lands like Bohemia, Austria, Hungary, UK, Spain, etc. are bureaucratic. Sometimes more sometimes less. Don't forget Prague is the city of Franz Kafka so you can get on trial for a crime that hasn't been specified :) All the best
Very interesting video! Yes, many of the things heard here are real, but found not only in Prague, but in general in all ex-communist countries in central and eastern Europe. I'm from Romania, even from Bucharest, and a lot of negative things (low salaries, gray and cold days in winter, bureaucratic difficulties) are the same here. With the difference that Bucharest is not Prague...
1:07 43k was average salary in Czechia, but Prague is more expensive and also have higher salaries, so the average was 57k, which is actually about 44k after taxes, you can find small apartments under 20k, so you would pay less then 50% for the accomodation. Also if you pay more then 35% of your income for accomodation, you can get some housing benefits from the goverment, altought if you are a foreigner, you have to live here long term to get the benefits. Of course if you live with your partner or a friend and you have 2 average salaries for the household, then living in Prague with 110k household income is pretty easy.
I agree that the winters in Prague are be long and depressive, but then the summer days are very long and warm (now even scorching hot). So if you get over Nov- eo Feb period, things start to look brigher. From mid May- mid Sep you can spend long evenings out and enjoy lots of outdoor activities. So save your holidays for winter and get an escape to exotic destinations- you will double appreciate it :) (If you are employed in Prg, you normally get 5 weeks paid holiday which also is a plus side).
i've lived here for over 8 years and agree with pretty much it all. though for me the language has been the biggest challenge of living here. getting past the beginner's czech phase was an emotional struggle for me with how many negative reactions i had when using "bad" Czech, it made me want to avoid the language. I've (mostly) gotten past that now but i do think my life here will be better when I get to a higher fluency. at least now i can have conversations (even if somewhat limited), tho i still struggle with feel ashamed, i try to ignore it and just focus on the good experiences
The language is definitely tough! I’ve honestly found in Prague that most of the people I interact with (restaurants, cafes, events, etc.) speak English. And whenever me or my gf wants to practice Czech they would rather speak in English to us anyway 😂. It’s more of a struggle outside of Prague and in other parts of the country for sure. But yes all you can do is keep trying your best!
To avoid to speak a language because you are scared to make mistakes, is definitly not very helpful to learn a language. I was married for 10 years with a foreign national. Nobody of my friends loughed about her, because she made mistakes, but even after 5 years she avoided to speak our language because she was scared to make mistakes. I myself lived for some years abroad, and I didn't know the language at all, but on the first day I was able, to say actively hello and good bye and of course yes and no. On the second day I could say, sorry, I am a foreigner and I don't understand you. And like this I improved my knowledge every day. I never became perfect, but that is anyway Impossible, if you don't learn a language in your childhood.
Don't be ashamed when you speak Czech! Absolutely none, even if you still make mistakes. All Czechs are convinced that the Czech language is very difficult (grammar, pronunciation), so they will only be happy to see that foreigners are learning a difficult language with a very little circulation. So...encourage your conversations in Czech!
2:09 I’m sorry that the sun came out and that you had to put sunglasses on, but your eyes needed some protection. The minus for me was that your blue eyes were now disguised 🥸! 3:55 Yes, the blue eyes are back!
if someone moves to Prague and thinks they will get a flat in Old Town on a server's salary, they didn't do any research. My partner and I shop mostly at farmer's markets, which are cheaper than, say Tesco. Moving from NE, Ohio, I find Prague winters to be mild. I moved here already having a lot of Czech friends and partner, so things were pretty easy. I pretty much never hang out with expats. The bureaucracy is partly why CR doesn't have the problems other countries in Europe have with people in those countries who are not there legally.
The bureaucracy in the Czech Republic is actually easier than the bureaucracy in Germany or Italy. It's just not exactly the high-income country to attract the illegals the same way it unfolded in UK, Germany, France etc. nor does it boast a generous welfare system.
I'm not sure here... 1) when I lived in London, I had to share an apartment with another person, the apartment was shit and still I was paying nearly half of my salary. So paying half of your salary for an entire place isn't bad at all. 2) Dark winters - well, surprise surprise, this is not California or Ecuador and you should expect this type of weather in this part of the world. 3) Friends - I find this very speculative and personally think Czech people who speak English well, are very friendly compared to, say Hungarians for example. 4) Tourism - again, surprise surprise - Prague is a beautiful city and tourism has been flourishing here because of that. I'm not happy with it, but I guess beauty has its flipside of the coin 5) bureaucracy - that's probably the only point I would tend to agree with you on, but hey, you are in Europe, most of the old traditional lands like Bohemia, Austria, Hungary, UK, Spain, etc. are bureaucratic. Sometimes more sometimes less. Don't forget Prague is the city of Franz Kafka so you can get on trial for a crime that hasn't been specified :) All the best
Very interesting video! Yes, many of the things heard here are real, but found not only in Prague, but in general in all ex-communist countries in central and eastern Europe. I'm from Romania, even from Bucharest, and a lot of negative things (low salaries, gray and cold days in winter, bureaucratic difficulties) are the same here. With the difference that Bucharest is not Prague...
BASICALLY !
1:07 43k was average salary in Czechia, but Prague is more expensive and also have higher salaries, so the average was 57k, which is actually about 44k after taxes, you can find small apartments under 20k, so you would pay less then 50% for the accomodation. Also if you pay more then 35% of your income for accomodation, you can get some housing benefits from the goverment, altought if you are a foreigner, you have to live here long term to get the benefits.
Of course if you live with your partner or a friend and you have 2 average salaries for the household, then living in Prague with 110k household income is pretty easy.
I agree that the winters in Prague are be long and depressive, but then the summer days are very long and warm (now even scorching hot). So if you get over Nov- eo Feb period, things start to look brigher. From mid May- mid Sep you can spend long evenings out and enjoy lots of outdoor activities. So save your holidays for winter and get an escape to exotic destinations- you will double appreciate it :) (If you are employed in Prg, you normally get 5 weeks paid holiday which also is a plus side).
I would fit in Czech Republic so well as I dont like small talks at all
Haha that’s fair!
Jake, seriously, your videos, whether or long form, are excellent!
Thank you very much!
i've lived here for over 8 years and agree with pretty much it all. though for me the language has been the biggest challenge of living here. getting past the beginner's czech phase was an emotional struggle for me with how many negative reactions i had when using "bad" Czech, it made me want to avoid the language. I've (mostly) gotten past that now but i do think my life here will be better when I get to a higher fluency. at least now i can have conversations (even if somewhat limited), tho i still struggle with feel ashamed, i try to ignore it and just focus on the good experiences
The language is definitely tough! I’ve honestly found in Prague that most of the people I interact with (restaurants, cafes, events, etc.) speak English. And whenever me or my gf wants to practice Czech they would rather speak in English to us anyway 😂. It’s more of a struggle outside of Prague and in other parts of the country for sure. But yes all you can do is keep trying your best!
To avoid to speak a language because you are scared to make mistakes, is definitly not very helpful to learn a language. I was married for 10 years with a foreign national. Nobody of my friends loughed about her, because she made mistakes, but even after 5 years she avoided to speak our language because she was scared to make mistakes. I myself lived for some years abroad, and I didn't know the language at all, but on the first day I was able, to say actively hello and good bye and of course yes and no. On the second day I could say, sorry, I am a foreigner and I don't understand you. And like this I improved my knowledge every day. I never became perfect, but that is anyway Impossible, if you don't learn a language in your childhood.
Don't be ashamed when you speak Czech! Absolutely none, even if you still make mistakes. All Czechs are convinced that the Czech language is very difficult (grammar, pronunciation), so they will only be happy to see that foreigners are learning a difficult language with a very little circulation. So...encourage your conversations in Czech!
@@LaszloVondracsek agree
i dont know who have 43k, i have job where i get 24k in prague
paying half meaning you have quite good income lol
It depends in which part of Prague you live. You can have better and cheaper apartment further from the center.
Yeah if you live outside the main areas you can definitely find some more affordable options 👍🏻
Yeah…If you literally live outside Prague or on the outskirts.
2:09 I’m sorry that the sun came out and that you had to put sunglasses on, but your eyes needed some protection. The minus for me was that your blue eyes were now disguised 🥸!
3:55 Yes, the blue eyes are back!
Where exactly are you walking?
On a path near Trojský Most