Job Discussion Forums

[RobeH]

Hello everybody, I'm new here and this is my first post.

I'm considering applying to work for Caledonian Schools in Prague, but I'm having trouble finding reliable information on the cost of living there.

A few websites I've looked at say that you can live on the monthly equivalent of $300, which according to net currency converters is roughlyy 7-8000 Czech crowns.

Could please somebody tell me if this is accurate?

[JimDunlop2]

Um.... I really can't speak for the ESL teachers' market, as it's been literally YEARS since I lived/taught there, but I am a Czech Canadian... My family lives there and I was visiting them this summer....

7-8000 Kcs would be truly subsitance living... As in, dirt poor!.... Are you referring to how much they will be paying you? Or how much you will spend in a month? Average wage nowadays is at least double that (15,000) according to my family, and 18-20,000 according to a friend of mine. And Prague, BTW is a fair bit more expensive than say, a small town in the Moravian countryside.

It seems like a reasonable amount to live on, until you start figuring out the cost of everything and what you can/cannot afford. For instance, average cost for a night's stay in a pension (bed&breakfast) including breakfast, is about 1000 crowns. Articles of clothing from the Vietnamese markets will run you anywhere from 100 to 500 crowns per item. A beer from the local pub will run you anywhere from 15 to 60 crowns. A meal at a Prague restaurant (not too fancy) might be around 100 crowns. My grandma pays about 4-5000 crowns for rent each month (not including utilities)... A bottle of absinth will run you about 700, and a bottle (750ml) of any other liquor (like slivovice (plum brandy)) will run you about 500 roughly. Each trip across town by public transit is 20 crowns...

Sorry, my examples are a bit all over the place, but I'm typing them out as I think of them... Any other questions, let me know.

[RobeH]

Thanks for the reply. I've done a bit more searching and, taking into account the salary offered by Caledonian Schools (16000 k) and a few debts I have to repay, I should be left with something like 11 000 k a month.

Is this enough to live reasonably on? I don't demand a spectacular lifestyle (good thing too, you might say) but I don't want to be dirt poor and starving either!

Any further help much appreciated.

[hellsbells]

You'll be looking at paying around 6-7000 for your rent probably, so that won't leave you with much. Depends how much you want to go out. Although the beer is cheap, it's frightenly easy to spend 1000 crowns on a night out if you go clubbing or drink anything other than beer.

Having said that, Caledonian is a big school and they employs loads of teachers who must be able to live on that salary. They do work you pretty hard though.

I worked in Prague from last October to the end of this June. Had an absolute ball - if you have any specific questions - just pm me.

One website you'll want to check out - www.expats.cz - lots of helpful people post regularly about everything on there.

Good luck!

[denise]

Is it really that expensive these days? I was there from 1999-2001, and my salary was about 10,000 net. My school covered my rent, so I didn't have to worry about what would otherwise be the biggest expense. I was able to live quite comfortably and basically do anything I wanted--going out, shopping occasionally, day and weekend trips all over the country, etc. (Very few cross-border trips, though--too expensive!)

d

[hellsbells]

I think Prague is on a par with lots of major European cities cost-wise these days. Yep, food and drink can be cheap if you get out of the centre, but rent is pricey and most products in the shops - clothing, cd's etc - are about the same cost as in the UK. I agree about the travel though - travel in the CR is cheap as, but to go to Germany or so, you may as well fly from the UK, it's that pricey. Certainly rent will be your biggest expenditure - within the people I knew it ranged from 5000 to 9000 crowns, but you could really tell the difference in the quality of the accommodation.

Nobody I knew in Prague got their rent provided by their school (this happens in the smaller Czech towns sometimes). Most of us worked for 2 or 3 different langauge school as opposed to getting full-time hours at one school. But even those who worked full-time for schools like Caledonian didn't get their rent paid.

People's wages varied from month to month normally, and obviously depended on who they worked for but ranged from 14000 to 25000+. I met some people who worked for Berlitz who somehow managed to take home wages of 36,000 and were getting 700 per hour for private lessons - I have no clue how they managed this!

You do hear a lot of people in Prague talk about how much it's changed and certainly about the "golden" years directly after the revolution. But even though I'm sure it's certainly a whole different city to 5 or 10 years ago - it still has a lot going for it.

I was sad to leave - but reality does always encroach and I have to go and make some proper money now. I wish wages in Prague were higher!

[JimDunlop2]