Prague is a fascinating city. Its architecture is marvelous. The historical center is magnificent: the largest castle complex in the world, the astronomical clock, the Jewish quarter and much more. Prague looks like a big city, but it’s not incredibly big, it has the perfect size, not too big and not too small. Many foreigners, attracted by the beauty of the city, are currently living Prague.
Prague is literally flooded with tourists at all times of the year, causing considerable congestion in the center during the day and groups of drunken tourists at night with corresponding shouting and noise. Despite this, Prague is a very safe city, you can walk around the city at 4 o’clock in the morning without any problems.
Public transportation is reliable, fast and cheap, you can reach any part of the city in 40 minutes. It’s usually on time and a car isn’t really necessary. Although geographically located in the center of Europe, it does not have the best air connections as one might expect.
The climate is not the best: very hot in summer and very cold in winter. But each season has its own “magic”. Autumn is spectacular. Winter is depressing, but beautiful and gives Prague an interesting look. Spring is beautiful, but crazy: one day it’s hot, the next it’s cold, and the next day it’s still raining or snowing. Summer is beautiful, but it can get very hot and temperatures can reach 40 degrees.
The cost of living in general is still cheap compared to other European capitals. However, rents have skyrocketed in recent years, and wages have not risen at the same rate.
Finding an apartment in Prague is difficult, there is not enough housing, and the search can be long and frustrating. Given the extremely high demand, most owners do not even respond to inquiries. And fraud is widespread. The price of a room or apartment, whether located in the city center or on the outskirts, is rising every month. Even high skilled workers cannot afford a falt in the center of the city. Most properties are rented on a short-term basis (Airbnb, etc.), so the supply of accommodation for long-term rentals is insufficient.
The people of Prague aren’t very open, they’re suspicious, secretive, sullen and gruff, they don’t care what you do as long as you don’t bother them. This doesn’t mean that people cannot be friendly, it takes time to get to know them, and once you do, they’re very friendly and helpful. Czechs are generally quite aloof and rude, and it is enough to walk into any store to find that they lack the customer service we are used to.
Although Prague is an international city, it is basically a white place. In any case, the feeling of xenophobia is widespread, especially towards Muslims or citizens of the former Soviet republics (Russians, Belarusians, etc.), who are considered inferior.
Speaking of jobs, although there are many vacancies in Prague and the unemployment rate is very low, it is difficult for a foreigner to find a good job if he does not speak Czech. Only if you speak Czech fluently do you have almost the same chances of finding a job as Czechs, since many jobs require language skills. Although there are a number of job offers in English in some specific industries but they represent only a small percentage of job openings and salaries are not very high on average.
The jobs you can look for in Prague without knowing Czech are in the:
- IT sector
- Tourism sector (work in travel agencies or tourist companies)
- Customer service in some call centers
- Teaching the English language
Living anf working in Prague, conclusion
Prague is certainly a nice city to live in, relatively safe and international.
I’m not sure if it’s the right city for a permanent move, but it’s definitely a good option for an internship or temporary work. In Prague you can really have a great time in your life.
If you want to know more about living and working in the Czech Republic, I recommend the article. Living in the Czech Republic, pros and cons
