What can people tell me about Prague... (cost, country, place)

[skrazzle]

Cost of Living?

Are there houses (not huge just old style) in urban areas or is it mostly apartments?

What methods do people commonly use for internet and the speed there?

Where the hell does someone in the US learn Czech? Is it at all similar to German?

Are the people friendly? My experience with most of the place i've been in Europe is people are friendly when drunk LOL. That is not to say they are unfriendly.... but just kinda keep to themselves and very passive. Does that apply there?

[histmaj]

Cost of Living?...Cost of living really depends on where you are in the city. If you want a younger crowd and nicer areas it is more expensive in Stare Mesto, Nove Mesto, Mala Strana, and some other core areas. However, compared to other European cities, Prague is very cheap. This may not last for more than a few years because of the Euro switch. Right now with the Czech Republic being on the Koruna, things are cheap!!!!

Are there houses (not huge just old style) in urban areas or is it mostly apartments?... In the more urban areas there are mostly apartments and flats. I do believe there are some houses. No houses like American style until you get on the edge of the city which is generally not a desirable area.

What methods do people commonly use for internet and the speed there?...When I lived there I used a high speed wireless internet signal. Generally some of the newer coffee shops, and chain places like Starbucks, Coffee Fellows etc... have wireless acess for free.

Where the hell does someone in the US learn Czech? Is it at all similar to German? While, there are a few grammatical similarites between Czech and German, it is not at all similar. Czech is a slavic language, and thus has many similaritites to Russian, Polish, Slovak and so on. To learn in the US, thats a problem. Before moving there I just got Czech languauge books and dvd's from a library or a Barnes and Noble, and tried to learn the basics. But, many people in Prague speak English, and are generally much nicer to people who cannot speak their language than some other cultures.

Are the people friendly? My experience with most of the place i've been in Europe is people are friendly when drunk LOL. That is not to say they are unfriendly.... but just kinda keep to themselves and very passive. Does that apply there?...Czech culture is very unique. Czech people are generally passivists. They do not like confrontation for the most part (ofcourse this is a generalization and does not fit everyone). Also, the Czech Republic has the highest consumption of beer per capita in the WORLD. Yes, higher than Germany or Ireland. That said, Czechs can be friendly, or unfriendly just like anywhere else.

Also of note...If you are going to move there or even live there for a period of time, go to Expats.cz for Jobs in Prague - Prague Real Estate in the Czech Republic and try and meet up with the MANY MANY Americans who live in Prague. It is not hard to find fellow Americans over there. Hope this helps.

[skrazzle]

Thank you for the replies....

[dejgonson12]

Well I live in Prague, so perhaps I can answer some of your questions.

Originally Posted by skrazzle

Cost of Living?

Varies from person to person. I spend only about 530-600 Euros but there are many people who spend a lot more (usually all the expats).

Are there houses (not huge just old style) in urban areas or is it mostly apartments?

The center is mostly filled with apartments (which are quite expensive). There are quite a few houses too (but again they're ridiculously expensive). A one bedroom apt. in the center can cost anywhere from 15,000 CZK- 35,000 CZK + (you can get some for a cheaper price).

What methods do people commonly use for internet and the speed there?

The most commonly used internet connection is O2 but wireless is also becoming very popular. The speed is 100 Mbps. Wi-fi is also quite common.

Where the hell does someone in the US learn Czech? Is it at all similar to German?

I know of several universities that teach Czech (from beginner to an advanced level). The question is, where about in the US are you from? If you want to self-teach Czech, you can start with Pimsleur (which is kinda expensive) but quite good. You can supplement it with "Colloquial Czech" by James Naughton (which covers a wide array of topics that will help you converse in several topics). You can look for some other texts on Amazon.com.

Czech is in no way similar to German except for the few german loan words due to the German influence on the country. It's quite a difficult language actually (it's in the top 5 list of difficult European langauges). It's quite phonetic so it's very easy to read , except for a few sounds (like the infamous "ř" sound) but that doesn't really matter as many czechs themselves can't pronounce this sound (including the prime minister ). But the grammar is really complicated:

• 7 different cases (as opposed to the 4 german cases). This means that every noun has tons of different endings as they're declined accordingly to the case.
• 3 genders (masc, fem, neu) like german
• a very isolated, unrelated vocabulary (if you're a native english speaker; except for a few words which are of German, English and Hungarian origin).
• 2 forms of verbs (perfective and imperfective) which can be really confusing.

It's quite easy to pick up the basic czech. But to become fluent is a whole another ball game.

Are the people friendly? My experience with most of the place i've been in Europe is people are friendly when drunk LOL. That is not to say they are unfriendly.... but just kinda keep to themselves and very passive. Does that apply there?

Czech people in general are friendly but they appear to be cold and reserved. It's true that they are very outgoing when drunk or in clubs and bars in general. But if you attempt to speak to them in Czech (or ask something in Czech), they will be really happy and will be more than willing to help you out. Europe is general is knows for it's cold, reserved people but you have to find out a way to break the ice. It's doable! Besides, you can definitely get by in Prague with English. I've had tons of friends who made some close friends here (but they unfortunately returned back to the States or went to another country) and all of them told me that they didn't want to leave Prague.