Advantages and disadvantages of living in the Czech Republic. Pros and cons of living in Prague
This is my personal subjective opinion. As everywhere else, life in the Czech Republic has its own peculiarities. Someone considers them “pluses”, and for someone these are solid “minuses”.
Advantages of living in the Czech Republic
- The peculiarity of Czech society is that almost the entire population lives here uniformly. There are neither very rich nor very poor.
- Brilliantly developed infrastructure and its accessibility for all types of citizens. Including people with limited mobility with disabilities for independent movement.
- There is a very low crime rate and a practical absence of corruption.
- In the Czech Republic, you can be a citizen of several countries. Having Czech citizenship, immigrants do not necessarily have to give up their native, be it Ukraine, Slovakia or Vietnam.
- The beautiful nature of the Czech Republic makes you fall in love with yourself instantly. The population preserves it in its original form, trying to protect it.
Living in Prague pros and cons
- Incredible cleanliness on the streets and beautiful roads are a delight for the soul. There can’t even be a thought of dropping a piece of paper not in a trash can or out of a car window. Czechs are very fond of order.
- Admires the attitude to animals. Especially to dogs. It seems that dogs are also “people”, the locals treat them with such love and joy.
- In the Czech Republic, higher education is free in the Czech language.
- Public transport works strictly according to schedule, so you don’t have to be late anywhere.
Pros and cons of studying in the Czech Republic for foreigners
Pros and cons of Czechs
One thing a day
My Czech friend once told me: “We have an unspoken rule in the Czech Republic – one thing a day.” This is, of course, very exaggerated. But everything is very slow. An appointment with some doctors six months in advance is normal. It is problematic to find an urgent cleaner! Do you need to sign up for a good hairdresser? Wait. The air conditioner broke down in the summer and you need service? They will arrive in a month.
Pros and cons of living in Prague
There are no round-the-clock supermarkets. Not really. There was one before on the outskirts of Prague, but I’m not sure if it still works. Before the coronavirus epidemic, there were all sorts of mini-shops in the center of Prague, which were kept by the Vietnamese, where they sold alcohol and food very expensively at night. And sometimes we met near the subway. But chain stores do not work at night in Prague.
Czechs go to the sauna completely naked and squint at those who are sitting in a towel.
Fun facts about Prague. Little known facts about Prague
Pros and cons of living in the Cczech Republic – czech language
The language itself is not bad, I have nothing against it, but, purely from a strategic point of view. Here you are moving to the Czech Republic, learning Czech, making an effort. And you get a language that only 10 million people speak. And I could have learned Spanish or German during this time and money.
Pros and cons of living in Czech Republic
Sincerity
The people here are pretty private. I’m used to visiting guests, giving gifts, going somewhere together. Shower for plowing. Not here. The Czechs are all on their own. But to be objective, I can say that the more people earn, the more closed they are.
Xenophobia
The Czechs I encountered have a pretty clear association that Ukrainians are construction workers, and Ukrainian women are cleaners (due to migration and their subsequent employment in these positions). The Czech people, in principle, are closed to something new. Protects its culture and statehood as a watchdog.
Advantages and disadvantages of living in the Czech Republic
Expensive property to buy
Apartments are not expensive when compared with New York or Berlin. But very expensive real estate in terms of the proportion of the price per square meter of housing and the salary received in the Czech Republic. To buy a property in the Czech Republic, you need 12 annual net salaries (excluding expenses). In the same Italy, for example, 6.2 average monthly salaries will be enough to buy an apartment.
Pros and cons of living in the Czech Republic – salaries
Salaries are much lower than in the same Austria and Germany. Despite the fact that the prices of products are more or less similar.
Types of employment contracts in the Czech Republic
Long wait for permanent residence and citizenship
To get permanent residence, you need to live for 5 years in the Czech Republic (if you suddenly go home for six months, this period is not counted). A year of stay on a student visa, for example, is counted only for six months for permanent residence. After obtaining permanent residence, it is necessary to wait 5 years before citizenship (departures again do not count). And it’s not a fact that they will be given – at their discretion.
Meal
Czech beer is known all over the world. But fish and seafood are expensive and often frozen. Czechs are lovers of flour and pork. Vegetables are also not particularly in high esteem. But dumplings and pork become boring after a couple of years.
Vodka slivovice in the Czech Republic. Types of Czech fruit brandy
Czechs are passive
They are content with little. Most of them don’t want anything from life – it’s enough to go for a beer a couple of times a week, and go to the forest or park for mushrooms.
5 best places to have breakfast in Prague
Disadvantages of living in the Czech Republic
There is a lot of work in the Czech Republic. There is practically no unemployment, but the salary is low. Most Czechs receive the approximate equivalent of $1,200 per month for their work. The most respected and paid professions belong to the IT, financial and telecommunications sectors. From their earnings, Czechs make the necessary deductions for insurance: medical (4.5% per month) and social (6.5% per month).
With a relatively low salary and cheap products (the lowest prices among the EU countries), clothes are expensive. Its price is comparable to the European one.
Living in Czech Republic pros and cons. Expensive gasoline and public transport. A single ticket (tram / trolleybus/ bus/metro) costs around 900 kronor for a month (about $ 45), and you will have to pay $ 1.5 for a liter of gasoline. It is very expensive and unprofitable. Therefore, the Czechs prefer cycling and walking, if it is not very far and a little time.
The low standard of living of pensioners. The largest pension in the Czech Republic today is 4,500 crowns. And the average pension is only 2500 crowns. It is difficult to live on such a pension, but it is possible, because very cheap products. In addition, all pensioners, even those who are not working, must pay the necessary deductions for insurance (medical, social) and 15% tax on their income and savings in the bank.
The country has no access to the sea. The peculiarity of the Czech climate is its moderation. The Czech Republic has mild winters and not hot summers.
How to rent an apartment in the Czech Republic without a realtor – personal experience
Features of life in the Czech Republic
- There is very good medicine here. It is much higher in the level of outpatient and hospital services than in Western European countries (except Poland).
- All Czechs are athletes. They are always on the move. And it doesn’t matter if you are a professional in sports or not, but the love of movement is instilled in children from infancy.
- Life in the Czech Republic is built on independence and mutual assistance. Children who have reached the age of 17 leave their parents’ home. At first they rent a house, but then they buy their own, earning on it. Parents, while working, help children. But after receiving a pension and retiring, parents already receive help from their adult children.
- Czechs are quite balanced people. Strong emotions, both positive and negative, are alien to them.
Advantages living in the Czech Republic. In the Czech Republic, the people are apolitical. Ordinary people are not interested in politics much, they are more concerned about everyday problems. Conversations involving political topics tend to cause mild negativity.
How to use medical insurance for a student in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic – how to understand the numbering of houses in Prague for a foreigner
