Thinking of moving to Prague?!

Here's the Ultimate Guide for those thinking of relocating to Prague. I was sent this guide text from our HR, I hope they will not sue me or something for sharing it. Nothing confidential or internal anyway, and sharing is gaining! Very brief and to the point, it answers all those initial questions that may come to your mind when you decide to move to different country. I added some own notes with red font where I felt to add some explanations.

Relocating to Prague


Your guide to Living and working in the Czech Republic

Moving to a new country is always daunting, especially when you are considering a new position as well. Visiting your destination is one way to get a feel of the place, but before you do that, here’s a flavor of what to expect.

Why Prague?

While markets are opening up and tourist dollars coming in, Prague, in the geographical heart of Europe, is increasingly becoming a popular option among British and other nationals looking to relocate. Large international companies are choosing Prague as a base.

So why? Not least because of the fact that it is still relatively inexpensive compared to other European cities - although no less appealing. For instance, a three-course meal in an absolutely first-rate restaurant costs approximately £25.

And there are many places to spend your money - with Prague's vibrant nightlife gaining an increasing reputation as one of the more lively scenes in Europe.


Working in the Czech Republic

Working in the Czech Republic requires firstly a work permit, and then a long-term residency permit. Applications for either of these require you to complete a sizable amount of documentation. If you take time to make sure that your side of the application has followed the letter of the law, you stand a greater chance of a hassle-free experience. The irony of the use of the expression "long-term" in this case will not have escaped most foreign visitors who have stayed more than a year- it lasts just six months, whereupon the process has to be repeated. For more information on visas, please use this link.
http://www.mzv.cz/wwwo/mzv/default.asp?ido=7306&idj=2&amb=1&ikony=True&trid=3&prsl=True&pocc1=1

The education system

Czech Republic’s education system starts with nine year‘s compulsory education between the ages of 6 – 15. Following this is a choice of three types of secondary school - all of these require the pupil to sit an entrance exam.

- Grammar (gymnasia) - general education in preparation for university - leading to a final exam, Maturita
- Specialized - also leads to a Maturita, but these schools offer specialist subjects, such as music, science, economics and so on
- Vocational - those not choosing to take further academic courses, these schools are designed to prepare students for the working world

There are a variety of school options for non-Czech nationals - fee paying and non-fee paying local schools. Please find below a few details of some schools:
WWW.BISP.CZ
WWW.ISP.CZ
WWW.EISP.CZ
WWW.RIVERSIDESCHOOL.CZ
WWW.DSP-PRAHA.CZ

http://www.branajazyku.cz/
http://www.horackova.cz/
http://server.lupacovka.cz/sQuirrel.NET/Web/(jbmxy345v2www0zmtazjl545)/zjsLupacova.aspx
http://www.kladska.cz/
http://www.calypso.cz/rakovskeho/



Money, Money, Money!


The Czech currency is the Koruna, often written as Kc or CZK. The lower enominations are called Hellars.

http://www.cnb.cz/en/plat_bankovky.php - to view Czech bank notes
http://www.xe.com/ - exchange rates

There are plenty of ATMs (or bankomats) on the street. You may find that before your residency permits are completely valid, only one or two banks will allow you to set up an account.
- For simple online banking you can use eBanka.
- Citibank offers a 24 hour telephone banking service (in English) and internet banking.
- Ceska Sporitelna provides a specialized expat service.
- Komerční Banka is able to open accounts for non–Czech nationals. (I use it, it sucks somehow. I get my salary with 2-day delay, they charge if more than 3 ATM transactions are made on their own ATMs. But similar problems may occur with other banks.)

http://www.ebanka.com
http://www.citibank.cz
http://www.expats.cz/prague/czech/accountants/ceska-sporitelna/


For CZK 100 you can buy:
- About 4 beers (so cheap!!! and quality of Czech bear is great! at least this is what they say ;))
- Some bread rolls, cheese and a carton of juice
- Around a 10 minute cab ride
- A meal in an inexpensive Czech restaurant

There are a few things that are different about the banking system. Czechs do not use cheques. The other thing people have difficulty with is paying off credit card bills back home, which involves complicated transfers. If your current bank offers online banking, it might be best to sort it out before you come. Travelers cheques
are fine - but beware, banks and hotels charge commission.


Accommodation

Prague 1 (Staré Mesto / Malá Strana)
This is the beautiful old heart of the city. The river runs between the two areas. Rent is generally at a premium here compared to other locations in Prague and in this neighborhood you are usually surrounded by tourists all year round.

Prague 2 (Vinohrady)
As the name suggests, this place was once full of vineyards. It is by far one of the most popular and peaceful places to live. It also has several bars, lounges, parks and is a great hub for public transport. The buildings are still very grand, old (mostly dating back to the 18th century) and full of character. It's only a ten or fifteen minute cab ride to the centre. (I live very close to this place although it is officially Praha-10. It's fantastic to live in central Prague districts, it's close to everything happening there, and buildings are more of art-noveau style. Difference for the flat rents between the central area and remote areas could be 200-300 USD, but it pretty much worths it. Most of the other parts of Prague and newer districts have more of a communist-style architecture and housing. Those famous "panel blocks". Don't miss "real Prague life" while trying to save some money!)

Prague 3 (Žižkov)
This is another popular and very pretty area. Again, with trendy bars, surrounded by parks and greenery, and with great transport connections.

Prague 5 (Smíchov)
This is a popular area for families. This area has a large shopping mall and supermarket. Although further away from the centre, the houses tend to be larger and good value for money.

Prague-10, Prague-6 are also not far from the center and nice places to live. Check related links for more information about all districts of Prague.


Travel

The transit system in Prague is clean, efficient, easy to use, relatively safe and above all cheap! There is the underground (or metro) and a good network of trams and buses. There are three metro lines (red, yellow and green) making the system pretty easy to navigate. The tram routes are a little more extensive (26 at last count). The metro stops at midnight and starts again at 5.00 am. Trams run throughout the night, and are on a restricted service after midnight.

Metro
Line A (Green) - running east to west from Skalka to Dejvická

Line B (Yellow) - running east to west from Černý most to Zličín

Line C (Red) - running north to south from Ladvi to Háje

There are three transfer stations in the city center where two lines intersect:
· Můstek (lower end of Wenceslas Square) - lines A and B
· Muzeum (upper end of Wenceslas Square) - lines A and C
· Florenc (main bus station) - lines B and C

Metro Link: http://www.dpp.cz/download/schema-metra-v-praze.pdf


Top transport tips!

· Tickets are valid for both metro and tram. A CZK 20 ticket will give you 60
minutes on the system at peak time and 90 minutes off peak. It also allows you
to make transfer (i.e. from one metro line to another, or from tram to metro). A
CZK 14 ticket will give you 15 minutes on-peak and 30 off-peak - you cannot
transfer.
· The best place to purchase a ticket is at a metro station. At the top of the escalators at every station are yellow machines.
· “Tabák” or “Trafika” (newsagents) also sell tickets at the counter. In a store ask for “Lístek za dvacet” (CZK 20) or “Lístek za čtrnáct” (CZK 14). There are also (in the odd case) a few freestanding machines on the street, mostly downtown. You can buy 24-hour tickets for CZK 80. You only need to stamp them in the machine once, not every time you travel.
· Watch out for pickpockets - as with any large city, Prague's transportation system attracts a lot of traffic. Be smart, be safe!

How to get long-term metro+tram+bus passes (issued with a photo-ID)

Selected metro stations such as Strašnice, Mùstek, Muzeum, I.P. Pavlova, etc. which have ticket offices where you can buy travel passes. You'll need to take a couple of passport photographs with you. Try and make sure you get one at the beginning of the quarter (January, April, July, October) or year, as many passes are valid by date rather than by the amount you pay.

Taxis

Cabs are fairly inexpensive. The recommendation is to order a taxi as opposed to flagging one down on the street. Sedop; Citycar; AAA are some options. Some companies run an SMS taxi service, eliminating the need to try and say unpronounceable street names. It is possible to send a text to them with the street name and the number.

Sedop +420 777 666 333
Citytaxi: SMS +420 602 393 070
AAA (voice): +420 233 113 311

Driving

You should carry your international driver's license, home country driver's license and passport at all times. Make sure you have documentation. Any person eligible for a company car will need to attend a course.


Things to do in Prague

Food

Traditional Czech cuisine is a little heavier than you may be used to with bread dumplings, hearty stews, a lot of pork and cabbage. If you really want to test those arteries, we recommend the deep-fried cheese (smažený sýr), which is a firm favorite.

Eating out

The great thing about Prague is the restaurant culture. The prices are very reasonable at traditional Czech restaurants (and there are lots of them).

Outside of the traditional fare there is a dazzling array of places to feast in from Thai to Sushi. There is bound to be an international restaurant that's to your liking.

Useful websites:
http://www.squaremeal.cz
http://www.inyourpocket.com


Social life

The Czech Republic is one of the most musical countries in Eastern Europe. Music is a key part of education in schools, and if classical music is one of your hobbies, you'll be thrilled with the numerous concerts and evening events on offer. There's plenty to do outdoors, and the terrain offers good opportunities for hiking, skiing and water sports.
Most foreign films are shown in their original format, but watch out for the words “titulek” meaning subtitled, and “dabovat” meaning dubbed.
Night-owls will find clubs, bars and casinos in the larger cities. Since the Czech Republic gained relative freedom, some aspects of life have been progressing faster than others - and entertainment is one of them. Bars that are 'in' are just as quickly uncool, so it's hard to say where the best spots are. Akropolis in Prague is well-known for playing world music. Please review the information at the links below for a
guide of things to do in the Czech Republic:
http://www.ticketpro.cz/?@en/index
http://www.virtualtourist.com
http://www.timeout.com/travel/prague/
http://www.pragueexperience.com/clubs_nightlife/clubs_nightlife.asp

Shopping
…
… is a whole new experience in the Czech Republic. You can find major western European brands and you'll find plenty of smaller unique shops that are worth visiting if you want more choice. Prague is excellent for finding antiques and the famous Czech glass and crystalware. Opening hours vary, although major stores can open from 6am, and tourist areas are increasingly open on Sundays. If you're in the city and it all becomes too much, there are plenty of cafés to rest in.
http://www.pavilon.cz/
http://www.palacflora.cz
www.metropole.cz
http://www.oc-letnany.cz/cz/
www.slovanskydum.cz

The Great Outdoors

The Czechs are a sporty nation and they love the great outdoors. Whether it's rollerblading, mushroom picking or rock climbing, as soon as there's a break in the weather they'll be out there. In winter skiing and snowboarding are very popular, and being in central Europe you'll have a range of resorts to choose from. Even healthy Czechs do not escape the drinking phenomenon - quite a lot of gyms also sell beer and allow smoking in the lobby. Of course there are too many gyms to mention, but here's a few of our tried and tested.

World Class Fitness
Wenceslas Square, Marriot Hotel on V Celnici and Chodov
The Wenceslas Square World class is the biggest of all the gyms. They offer good quality equipment, saunas, exercise classes, instruction, yoga, pilates. They encourage full time membership and the Chodov gym is in the V Parku‘s complex where DHL is based. (I go to BBC Fitness which is also quite good and cheaper than World Class. In fact, BBC Fitness near my office is way bigger than World Class branch located there as well, and cheaper! Check for more info.)

Golf
It's a budding sport here but there are some beautiful places to hit a few rounds.
Golf Resort, a short drive outside Prague.
Tel: 311 604 991 or visit www.karlstejn-golf.cz

Horse Riding
Horse riding is quite popular in Prague. For English-speaking schools and instruction try:
Velkostatek Tetín (near the town Beroun). Tel: 602 633 775
Zamek Ctìnice (near Letòany shopping Centre). Tel: 736 605 766
Or log onto : www.vt.equicenter.cz

(Well, it seems that this guide was written more for upper management who would go for Golf and Horse Riding activities ;))

Kickboxing / Thai boxing / Boxing / Karate / Taebo

Delroy’s Gym Zborovská, Andìl Tel: 257 327 042
As well as hosting a gym and ladies aerobics and body styling sessions, Delroy does
private and group martial arts sessions.

Swimming
Podolí consists of one indoor and two outdoor pools. The indoor pool and one of the
outdoor pools are both Olympic sized. The address is Podolská 74, Vyšehrad.

Indoor climbing walls
There are too many to list, so here are two of the more established ones. It's possible to hire shoes at all of them.
Ultra Ant Club, Týnská 17, Prague 1
Boulder Bar, V Jámì 6, Prague 1
Useful links,
http://www.czechinfocenter.com/
Prague Business Journal
http://www.myczechrepublic.com/

Hope it will be useful!