Might be moving to Prague

apoch632

Anyone done this.

Any advice

ahyeah

I spent two summers living in Prague. The first year we just lived in a hostel all summer, was good craic and a good way to find our feet in the city.

The second summer I rented a flat in Praha 1 which is the city centre (I'm not sure how well you know the place..?). It's obviously more expensive than the further out suburbs (i got a great deal on my apartment) but it was so handy to be able to walk most places, or else only get the metro one or two stops. Some of my friends had to get the metro to the end of the line then catch a tram etc. Praha 2 or Praha 3 would be good compromise areas to live,not too far out but a lot cheaper than Praha 1.

The metro stops around 12 but there's all night trams serving all areas. The metro is clean safe and reliable, but be careful of pick pockets. Same goes for trams.
I found work in an English laguage call centre at Krizikova stop, not too far from the city centre. Their website is www.iconcc.cz. I found it through www.expats.cz which is a brilliant resource for english speakers in Prague - I found my apartment through this site as well. Definitely check it out before you go.

I wouldn't say there was a huge amount of work there for foreigners, do you have a job set up already? Do you speak Czech? You should start learning it straight away if possible, although English is fairly widely spoken in the city centre, you'll still find A LOT of people who don't speak it. Most older Czechs have German as a second language, younger Czechs, English. But like I said not a lot of casual jobs there for the foreigner. My first year there I worked for a brothel just off Wenceslas Square doing promotions (honestly).

I absolutely loved living in Prague and I definitely want to go back to at least visit. As you probably know, it's a gorgeous city, and I found most Czechs friendly and warm. the language is not as difficult as you think at first, and the locals appreciate any effort you might make. They're shocked when you speak in Czech to them and it'll make your life so much easier.
Crime shouldn't really affect you, except for pickpockets who are rife, professional, and extremely smart. Move with caution on metro, trams and around Wensceslas Sq/Old Town Sq areas. The gypsys are really dangerous but once you dont go staring them down or anything they'll leave you alone.

Trying to think what else I can tell you....bear in mind I lived there in 2004 and 2005 so things could be different now...if there's anything else you need to know I'll do my best to answer your questions.

Wilko121

Sounds sweet.

How would you rate the odds of a non czech speaker finding promotion/bar work that earns enough to live off while staying in a reasonably nice area?

would i be better off looking for english call center/teacher jobs?

Dubliner28

Great City
Enjoy