Expats Prague expats love to talk about how annoying all the other Prague expats are. Oh well, if you can’t beat them, try not to beat their faces in. But seriously, despite all the “Left Bank of the ‘90s” hype that attracted artsy visitors throughout the last decade, these days things have settled down in terms of foreign influx. Which is not to say that it’s become the Right Bank of the Right Wing. But you will find the expat scene to be a bit more conservative and straight-laced than it was in the early ‘90s, for better or for worse. A lot of Western companies have opened up shop here, sending their employees who inevitably bring their families, thus giving the whole expat scene a decidedly yuppie feel. If you stick around for long enough, you’ll certainly meet your fair share of English teachers, or probably become one yourself, if you don’t have work pre-arranged upon arrival. Statistics fluctuate wildly when it comes to exact estimates as to how many Americans and Brits actually live in Prague. There’s good reason for this – no one really knows. The expat community here is a transient one – people tend to come and go over time, and many of the ones who decide to stay don’t bother to get legal, preferring to live and work “black.” Which has its pluses and its minuses. As Western foreigners are generally initially attracted to Prague because the cost of living is incredibly cheap, they are often put off when they find out that taxes are exorbitantly high; once you go legal, the Czech government will take nearly 40% of your monthly pay check! You get social benefits in return, but is it really worth it? There are, of course, opportunities for illegal work, although these opportunities have been diminishing as the country’s infrastructure develops. Even getting a legitimate job teaching English can be a problem nowadays if you’re not an EU citizen. While long-term expats are often too grouchy to admit it, there is something of an expat scene in Prague, if we compare Prague to say, Chisinau or Bratislava. Although it’s far too spread out and diversified these days to pinpoint any exact hangouts, the most visible signs of Prague’s expat community are in the virtual realm. WWW.PRAGUE.TV provides a useful event calendar, active message boards and discussion forums, local news, and all sorts of advice about living and working here – all in English. Their main competitor, WWW.EXPATS.CZ, provides similar content, although it tends to be a bit more conservative and less user-friendly. The bulletin boards at Bohemia Bagel (www.bohemiabagel.cz) -- at both the Old Town and Mala Strana locations – are an invaluable resource. They are often full of offers for flats, roommates, jobs, and language lessons.
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