The Land of The Karlovy Vary Spa, The Church of Our Lady

& The Krivoklat Castle

Information on Relocating to the Czech Republic

• The capital city of the Czech Republic is Prague with about 1.25 million people. The political centre is also in Prague where the President also resides. The Czech Republic is a parliamentary democracy.

• Language: The language spoken is Czech although many of the Czech, especially the younger ones, speak English and/or German. The TV programs are in Czech. Some of the foreign movies are subtitled or dubbed. There are 4 different channels and satellite TV.

• Population: The population is about 10.2 million people - 81.2%$ are Czech, 13.2% Moravian, 3.1% Slovak, 0.6% Polish,  0.5% German, 0.4% Silesian, 0.3% Roma, 0.2% Hungarian, 0.5% other.

• Expat areas: Popular areas for the Expat community are Brno, Cesky, Krumlov, Pardubice, Prague, and Tabor.

• Housing: Widest range of choice for houses and apartments can be found in Prague. Remote locations can be difficult and market is limited in smaller towns as properties are usually for sale and not always the quality assignees would look for. However, buying can be difficult as assignee has to meet a lot of requirements - also can be a lengthy administration process to finalize the purchase and can be a problem to re-sell if assignment ends.

• Cost of housing: Price range has changed, rental prices went up and more likely to find something from EURO 600-700 in remote locations and EURO 800-2500 (or even higher) for properties - both apartments and houses - in Prague. Please take into consideration that there are no set prices, rental fee is always up to the landlords and even same size and quality properties can have differences in price. The local currency is the Czech Crown.

• Schools: We have the American school, the British, French, German and Russian schools and of course  all the local school systems available.

• Transportation: There is a good and reliable public transportation system, Plains, trains, trams, busses, subway and taxis.

• Banking: The banking hours vary from bank to bank. Banks are open mostly from Monday-Friday from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Most banks will provide online banking from your home.

• Shopping: Souvenirs include Bohemian glass and crystal, pottery, porcelain, wooden folk carvings, hand-embroidered clothing, and food items. There are a number of excellent shops specializing in glass and crystal, while various associations of regional artists and craftspeople run their own retail outlets (pay in local currency). Shopping hours: Monday - Saturday 9:00 am - 6:00 pm. Some stores close at 12:00 on Saturdays, while others also open from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm on Sundays. Supermarkets and food shops in large towns and cities are open from 7:00 am and often stay open until late.

• Climate: The Czech Republic has a typical continental climate with warm humid summers and cold dry winters. In the north the mountain winters are more severe and generally snow falls for 40 to 50 days in winter with fog persisting in the low lying areas. Average annual rain fall in Prague is about 510 mm (20 inches) while average temperature ranges are from -4°C to 1°C (25°F to 34°F) in January, 14°C to 23°C (57°F to 73°F) in July.

• Culture: You can find anything here, concerts both classical and modern, theatre, cinema, cabaret, museums, galleries and festivals.

• Public holidays: State holidays : January 1st-Independent Czech State; May 8th-Liberation Day; July 5th-Slavic Apostles St. Cyril and St. Methodius; July 6th-Burning of Jan Hus; September 28th-Czech Statehood Day; October 28th-Independent Czechoslovakia Day; November 17th-Fight for Freedom and Democracy. Other holidays: January 1st-New Year Day; Easter Monday-(date varies); May 1st-May Day; December 24th-Christmas Eve; December 25th-Christmas Day; December 26th-Boxing Day. Important days for the Czech Republic are March 12th and May 5th.