Finding accommodation in Prague

Finding accommodation is just the same as in the UK. You can browse the internet for vacant properties, we chose to rent first as it seems like a sensible option, on estate agency's websites or through a website similar to gumtree, called seznam.

We chose to search for our property via a website called www.bezrealitky.cz This website is designed to rent or buy property directly from the individual..translated as "without agent". This is ideal if you want to save some money due to the way the renting process works here.

When searching for a property it is quite different in terms of description. Instead of the standard "One bedroom, Two bedroom etc" you instead search for "2+kk, 3+1 etc". The first number means the number of rooms (living room + bedrooms) and the kk stands for kitchen/diner type and the second number means the kitchen is a separate room. For example, a 2+kk is a One bedroom flat with a toilet/bathroom, with a combined living room and kitchen. A 3+1 is a Two bedroom flat, toilet/bathroom with a separate kitchen.

Most of the flats here in Prague have a lift and secure buzzer system, so it is not so bad whether you live on the 2nd floor or the 12th floor.

Just as in the UK, you must pay 1 month rent and 1 month rent as deposit. However, if you decide to go through an agent you must pay for the agent's fee rather than the landlord, this is commonly 1 month rent as well. The costs soon mount up and can surprise you unless you are financially prepared.

So that is the base rent, purely for the property. Then, you must pay "poplatky" which is basically council tax but is paid to the landlord too. It covers things like rubbish collection, water and sewage. The poplatky can vary, I'm not exactly sure what it depends on as every property I have looked at seems to have a different value, but I would pay no more than 2500Kc on a property of around 50 square metres.

After the rent, deposit and plopatky, you must then pay the gas and electricity, which normally gets transferred to your name from the landlord/agency within the first month or so. The landlord sets a flat rate and that you must pay each month and then the difference will be transferred back to you or you will pay extra depending on your usage.

Our friendly pigeon/holub neighbours...

So that's about it for essential bills, now you must think about Television, Wifi etc. The flat that we are currently staying only has possibility to connect to UPC; a bit like Czech's version of Sky except not really as good and much more difficult to understand...although some channels are in English.

The annoying thing here for me, is that everything is usually billed to the 15th of each month. For example, we started renting the in late August so we must pay one month and a bit, the same for the UPC. And everything is paid one month in advance which can make some cash flow issues arise, again if you are not financially prepared.

Anyway, that is all the serious talk out of the way...

Like I mentioned before in the blog, we had arranged some viewing before we left the UK and luckily enough the first flat we saw was nice, so we took it. :)

Too much metro is bad for your health.! [[Video]]

Registering with the police and the quirks of this city

This morning I had to go to some government office to register my intention to stay in Czech Republic for longer than 3 months.

No phones were allowed, but the
office clerk kind of looked like this..

This involved quite a lot of repetitive paper work, and being sent back an forth to different offices within the building, but in the end it was not as slow as it could've been. I was fortunate enough to have made an appointment before going, because they use this ticket system where you receive a number when you enter and are served when your number is called,but it is slowed down because its common for someone to take a ticket and then go for a smoke or just not come back.;This system is something that I only saw in "Clarks" shoe store  in the UK about 10 years ago and every other store here in Czech.

We somehow ended up in the Non-EU office and it was just crowded with people with about 1 member of staff to every 15 people. But, over in the EU office the situation was much better, it was quite fast and efficient. Because I had an appointment, I was seen straight away and it was all dealt with in about 30 mins.

The 30 minute turn around was possible because through some common sense, (no instruction was given) I brought my ID, work contract, flat contract and passport photo..oh and European Health Insurance card..first time it has ever been used..

The whole process was conducted in Czech as I had Veronika there with me, but the paper work had both Czech and English instructions. I just need to return to the office next week to pick up my citizen's card.

And hey, turns out my criminal record is as clean as...a Didgeridoo? or a Peruvian whistle?


So after that, I had a pretty non eventful day...I had some time to kill whilst Veronika was going for a job interview (she got it by the way! :D )..So I had a wander around and took some photos of "quirky" things. And yeah there are many things when you look closely..

Dappy Birthday to you..

Sometimes the police bring horses..
purely because horses are bad ass, right?

Who has taken more acid? these guys..?

Or this guy..?

or this guy..?

How big is the language barrier.?

So today we took a trip to the other side of the river to visit the old town. It is, as with every old town area of every city, much calmer, quieter and prettier than the bustling city centre. This part of Prague has quite a few attractions, from boat trips, to the castle, to the "famous" John Lennon wall.

fun is round every corner...(Kampa Park)

However, today we set out to see the park named "Kampa", it's probably best recognised for the big fat crawling babies (statues, although there are a lot of chubby babies round here.) There was some school field trip there, climbing all over the modern art..Some young school kids came up to us with a quiz that had been assigned to them by their teacher; they had to get strangers to help them answer some questions about Prague.

Of course, Veronika was able to speak with them and try to help them with their task, but it was when some of them turned to me for help, that I had to badly explain I don't speak Czech. My favourite method is "Prosim, Anglicky" but I say it so well that no one is ever sure if they believe me...
Although, I have learned the metro announcement off by heart now. But anyway.. It was then that the question dawned on me "Is there actually a language barrier in Prague?"

During my first month and half here, I have not really encountered any communication problems. In Prague, the majority of people are either foreigners too or they speak English as a second language. Everything is easy to attain in English, from travel cards to health insurance, there is always someone who is willing to help you. Luckily though, I have had Veronika with me a lot of the time to avoid any confusion, which has made the relocation a whole lot easier.

wurk it gurrrl..

The only communication barrier that there maybe has been was with Veronika's family. But I have learned that many things can be communicated through body language, gestures, and very badly spoken Czech. I have picked up bits of Czech here and there, but nothing that I would feel confident about speaking to a stranger.

So when it comes down to it, I do honestly believe that if you want to learn a language then you can focus it in a more widely spread language than Czech. It goes without saying that you should learn some basics to be polite, a please or thank you never goes a miss.

So yeah, tak cau ty vole :D

Park Kampa.!

Being a tourist on the straight and narrow!

So in the first month in Prague, I have managed to explore almost every part of the city..from Wenceslas Square to Petrin Tower to Charles Bridge..yep that's right, all the touristy things.

But it does feel a lot different from when I have visited Prague for vacation, mainly due to the fact that this is reality, my new home.

Vaclavske Namesti looking fine..

One thing that I may find difficult about writing this blog is that I don't like to take photos a lot as I would rather enjoy the moment as it happens and remember things as they are, in my head.

As odd as it may seem, I have not consumed my body weight in beer. I know, right!? A Brit in Prague that isn't taking advantage of the 20Kc pints! And what's more, a former bartender that's not taking advantage of the wonderful array of arguably the best beers in the world!

So why I have to go separate ways from the good old liquid gold (Pivo).?

Having grown up in Scotland, alcohol has been a major part of socialising whether it be with friends or with work colleagues, it's just the culture that surrounded me. Although the drinking culture in Czech is prominent, it is a lot more civilised than the UK. The need to drink as much as you can in as short a time as you can is not apparent here.

I think this was the moment that I peaked..

That all so fatal night..

Well..I will set the scene..

It all came down to one night. A cold March evening in the centre of Edinburgh, I had decided to go to the shop after work to get some essential groceries. As I was walking down the biscuit aisle, I received "that" text from a friend at a bar around the corner....so yeah..copious amounts of alcohol later..I ended up participating in a real adventure going home.
Waking up the next day, I knew that it was not to be indulged in for a while.

It's funny how things change..

But don't be mistaken. Apart from the beer here, there is a great selection of other czech beverages, from Bozkov to Jelzin to real hot chocolate to Kofola, Basically Irn Bru (In terms of the national pride shown in it), if you like weird herby coca cola.

When in Prague, I would definitely recommend befriending some locals so that they can show you the real capital. Even if you are just looking for a nice drink, I find the more local and less English speaking places tend to be a lot nicer.

Now, pass me a rum.

The arrival..and the hunt for a job.!

Moving to Prague was a spur of the moment decision, but I think that those ones are the best!

Having come back from a break in Czech with my girlfriend, I had just got a new job as receptionist in a nice 4* hotel, also just got accepted to college to study business. I had finally got some sort of solid plan together. And then...

flying with no fear..

Home sickness set in for Veronika, and we talked about it for about an hour or so, before I told my parents and started searching for flight tickets. And in under a month, we were touching down at letiste Vaclava Havla or Prague airport as I like to call it.

We had set our base in Brno at Veronika's parents' house, so that gave us an opportunity to search for jobs and flats whilst having a comfortable place to stay. We actually viewed a flat the day we arrived, just 25 mins from the city centre, and I am currently sitting in that flat writing this blog.

So having been here for just little over a month,
it has been quite a mixed experience, although always trying to make the most of things, the financial pressure of moving to a foreign country is always on the back of my mind.

When I arrived, I already had some interviews set up to attend So travelling from Brno, I was planning to make the trips in Prague via coach, a unpredictable 2.5-4 hour journey depending on the wind direction..or something.

Celebrating the job win..

Luckily, I was successful in my first interview and had a job set up just 2 days after arriving, which I thought was quite incredible. This job was within a worldwide IT company, my duties were to be fun stuff like instructing users how to switch on a printer and all that jazz.

I attended the training for one week before being offered an interview at a big on line travel company. Another spur of the moment decision meant that I decided to quit the IT job and put my faith in my ability to succeed in the interview. Thankfully now, I can look back on this choice with no regrets as I am due to start my new career in the first week of October!

So in a wonderful world that will mean that I have no more financial worries to think about and life will be jolly, and that's the way it is looking right now.! I guess its a wonderful world.. :)

And so it begins.!

This blog is supposed to give an accurate account of my life as it happens..or maybe a little after it happens. I guess the main purpose is to allow family and friends to keep up to date with what's happening in my life, and also to brush up on my writing skills..and if anyone sees this or anything comes of it then all the better.

So to begin with I will talk a bit about myself and what my current situation is.

Originally coming from "The Heart" of Scotland, and travelled a little (or wee) bit around Europe, I have finally found myself living in Prague, with my girlfriend, Veronika!

Me and Veronika, working the camera..

.

Since finishing school a few years ago I never knew quite exactly what I wanted to do in life, so I found myself working in hospitality for a good 3 years, which was an experience I will always look back on with a smile...as it was exactly that, a great experience.

One of my passions in life is stationary but also organisation, so I will go further into my introduction in separate posts!

Thanks for now..