Let’s face it. In the opinions of a great many people, there is simply no convincing reason to stay in the United States right now. Based upon a variety of motives; political objections, social dysfunction, or simple curiosity, a great many Americans these days are looking to make the Big Move. A significant portion of these are folks who would love to leave, and who would be well-suited to the expat lifestyle, but who don’t have the money, education, experience, or connections to do it in the usual ways. Things like second citizenships and holidays in Majorca seem beyond their abilities. Even getting the money together for a plane ticket can be daunting.  This article is for those folks. This is meant to serve as a general-purpose guide to getting out of the U.S. for less than ten thousand dollars. I’ve done it on five thousand, but it was sometimes uncomfortable to do so. A total investment of ten thousand dollars would be able to provide quite a nice living during the crucial first ninety days in-country. This article is about how to get things done as cheaply as possible, as easily as possible, and as freely as possible. It is a general overview which may be further developed in the future.  It is not a one-size-fits-all method of expatriating, and for some people this may be a good working description of Hell.  However, for those who don’t mind doing things in a slightly unconventional way, and who are willing to put up with the trouble, this is a workable method.  I should probably warn you that this approach is not for the faint of heart.  But it works, and it’s also a LOT of fun. The Town In a moment, you’re either going to love me or hate me. You’re going to Prague. Right now, about half of you are saying to yourself “He’s got to be kidding. I can hit Prague for five grand?!” The other half are saying “Oh no, not Prague…lousy tourists, drunken football hooligans, legions of prostitutes and corrupt officials…” Well, I’m afraid you’re both right.  However, the information with which I’m about to provide you will allow you to experience the good parts of living in Prague, which are considerable and varied, while largely negating the less positive points.  Prague has a lot to recommend it in my opinion and, hopefully, you’ll agree. The first thing that makes Prague so attractive to the on-the-cheap ex-patriot is cost.  The cost of living in Prague is much lower than in much of Western Europe, but unlike some other former Communist cities, Prague is hardly lacking in modern conveniences and services.  In conjunction with this, Prague is much cheaper to get to than most of the other super-cheap ex-pat destinations.  It’s important to note, however, that “cheap” does not mean “dirt cheap.”  Certain things are going to be more expensive, on a percentage-of-income basis, than you’re used to.  But the savings in other areas, notably transportation and food, will more than make up for it. Secondly, work in Prague is easy to get.  Especially the kind of work you’ll be getting; you’re going to be an English teacher.  Yes, I know it’s a cliché…but it works, it pays the bills, and employment is virtually guaranteed.  Once you’ve got your job up and running, you’ll probably want to travel a bit, and Prague’s central location and international airport are certainly features to keep in mind in this regard.  There are also extensive opportunities for travel inside the Czech Republic, including what I’m told is quite a nice number of ski resorts.  For the on-the-cheap ex-pat, Prague fits the bill.  It’s easy to get to, cheap to live in, easy to find a job in, and most importantly, it’s very easy to live here anonymous and free, if you play your cards right. The Job Yes, English teaching.  A profession inhabited mostly, if you believe some of the hype, by idiotic drugged-up Americans who are taking a year off after attending University.  Fortunately, it’s not like that. Y es, such people exist; they exist in large numbers.  But their existence in large numbers can work to your advantage in this business. If you’ve continued reading this far, I must assume that you have decided to make your ex-patriation a long-term exercise. T his is good, because in cities where English teaching is a major industry, such as Prague, people like that are everywhere.  This means that long-term, well-established teachers stand out.  In the Prague job market, a teacher with eighteen months’ experience in the same company is in a good position.  Future employers will see that they outstayed a significant percentage (perhaps a majority) of their contemporaries, which speaks well to a future employer of your commitment and abilities.

RESOURCE LINKS FOR CZECH REPUBLIC About Moving to the Czech Republic Resources for moving to The Czech Republic. Articles on Living And Investing in the Czech Republic Articles on Living And Investing in the Czech Republic. Art & Culture for the Czech Republic Information about museums, galleries, heritage research and others. Business & Economy for the Czech Republic Banks, Real Estate, Investing, Properties in The Czech Republic. Real Estate In The Czech Republic Real Estate In The Czech Republic - Current real estate listings of properties in The Czech Republic. Links for the Czech Republic Including search engines. Vacation Rentals The Czeh Republic Vacation Rentals worldwide - including The Czech Republic Vacation & Travel The Czech Republic EscapeArtist Travel - Our new section providing unique travel to unique locations Embassy Resources  for The Czech Republic Embassy Resources for The Czech Republic - On our sister site EmbassyWorld. Books about Living & Working in the Czech Republic Travel, Expatriate, Employment and history books. Maps of the Czech Republic Maps of The Czech Republic - Our own Embassy maps plus a large number of differing Czech Republic maps, also including city maps. Education Resources for the Czech Republic Information about Schools and Universities in The Czech Republic. Jobs in the Czech Republic Jobs in the Czech Republic and in other parts of Eastern Europe - it's part of overseas jobs index. Newspapers, News & Media for the Czech Republic World Media from The Czech Republic. Banks of the Czech Republic See Banks of the Czech Republic at our Banks of Europe section. Travel & Tourism for the Czech Republic Information about Travel and Tourism in The Czech Republic.  Travel Guides, Vacations, Car Rentals, Tours and much more! Previous articles on Prague: From Yin and Yang to Fred and Ginger: The Dancing Building in Prague - In a quiet green space in the ancient city of Prague, Czech Republic, a stone-faced old man sits idly and watches as a gleaming couple bends and sways in a perpetual dance on the corner of a busy intersection near the banks of the Vltava River. But there is no music to be heard as the couple dances, because in reality “the dancers” are actually a Frank Gehry creation officially known as the Nationale-Nederlanden building. The building has been dubbed “Fred and Ginger” by appreciative critics because of its resemblance to the famous dancing pair of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Like-minded Czechs tend to call it tancinsky d?m, or, The Dancing Building, while less appreciative viewers have names for it like: “terrible“ and “looks like a crushed can of Coke“ to name but a few.  Living, Working and Investing in the Czech Republic No sooner had the Berlin Wall tumbled then a group of adventuresome expatriates rushed into Prague and claimed it as the expat haven par excellent - - Prague had everything that Paris had in 1920 - cheap rents, good food, and an exciting culture recovering from years of Soviet idiocy - - That was 1989 -1990 - What about the Czech Republic today? The consensus is that the Czech Republic contains all that is great about Europe without the European price tags. If you want to live in an advanced culture with great art, great real estate and an excellent lifestyle but you don't want to pay Europe's usurious price tags then the Czech Republic is the place for you. Retirement Planning for Offshore Living The advantages of outsourcing your retirement have never been better!

Prague features several schools which teach the TEFL certification.  Look for one which features a minimum of 110 hours of classroom time and 10 hours of teaching practice.  A good program will focus on student-centered learning and multi-disciplinary approaches to teaching.  Two schools to consider are TEFL Worldwide Prague and The Language House.  Both offer fully accredited coursework, 12 hours or teaching practice or more, and have excellent reputations.

Once you get the Certification, it’s time to get a job.  Many schools will help out with this; some even arrange job fairs, where recruiters from various English schools will come to the school and give a short pitch, trying to get teachers as quickly as possible.  If you get cracking early, some schools will even interview you before you finish your TEFL coursework.

Now, this is where things can get a little complicated.  Schools in the Czech Republic pay on a monthly basis. However, just like in the States, you’ve got to finish out your second pay-period in order to get paid for the first period; each month you get paid for the month before.  This means that you can easily go 6 weeks before you see your first paycheck . Complicating matters further is the fact that most schools start you out slowly, giving you several weeks to work up to full-time status.  This means that you may wait 10 weeks for your first full-sized paycheck.  Now you see why more cash is a good idea.

Once the pay starts, however, the English teaching business becomes - very - attractive.  The money is pretty good, and it’s possible to live a comfortable lifestyle doing work that only requires about 25 hours per week.  Not only is this an interesting change for habitually - overworked Americans, it means that you have enough free time to pick up enough side work ( proofreading, private lessons, writing for online magazines ) to add a sizeable chunk to your monthly income.  Additionally, most schools help their full-time teachers with Visas and other paperwork.

The Money
Now this, my friends, is where it gets interesting. Once you’ve cleared that crucial 90-day “break in” period, things are going to be much different for you than they were in the United States.  Besides the fact that your working hours are going to be cut significantly, expect your standard of living to rise substantially as well.

Now, some of you will probably not notice much of a change.  Those of you who are/were fortunate enough to have high-paying jobs or other means of securing money will, in all likelihood, not see a significant difference in your lifestyle, apart from having to work a lot less.  However, those of you who are fresh out of college or are working at Pizza Hut are going to see a substantial improvement in your lifestyle.  If you economize on fixed expenses, such as your apartment, you can end up with quite a lot of monthly “spending money” for travel, savings, etc.  It’s not unusual for English teachers to make 20-25,000Kc per month; about $1,000-$1400.  If your rent takes up 7,000Kc per month, and your food bills another 5,000Kc, both of which are perfectly do-able and comfortable once you get outside of the city’s tourist-choked Centre, you end up with 8,000Kc per month; about $400 of spending/saving money.  In a country where 500mL of beer can be had for just under $1, that $400 can go a long, long way.

Now, getting to that point can be tricky.  If saving money is what you’re interested in, and I assume that it is, you can forget about teaming up with your friends from the TEFL course to get a place together.

Most realty firms in Prague charge both a deposit and a “realtor’s fee,” each of which can easily equal or sometimes even exceed the cost of a month’s rent.  So, while you may be tempted by the offer of the 7500Kc/person 3-bedroom, don’t sign before you check everything in regards to price.  If you went through a realtor or a housing agency, there’s a pretty good chance that your first month in that 7500Kc apartment will end up costing you 22,500Kc apiece.

In order to dodge this problem, which bites new teachers upon the buttocks every day, it’s best to look into getting a “flat share” deal.  Websites such as expats.cz and craigslist.com are extremely helpful in this regard.  Not only will sharing an apartment save you time and money (both of which would be wasted with a realtor), it’s also an excellent way to begin integrating into local life.  To celebrate my first night in my shared flat, my Czech roommate took me down to his favourite bar and bought all the drinks.  Many of my colleagues have had similar experiences.  If you find a good flat with a Czech roommate, life is made infinitely easier. Additionally, flat-shares are usually furnished.  Since you don’t want to haul your new bed back from Ikea on the Metro (trust me on this one) a furnished flat should be a major priority in the quest to save cash and effort.

For the purposes of saving money, it’s best to live outside of the city center.  Like many cities which feature a large tourist trade, central Prague has acquired a reputation for “tourist prices” in many areas, especially in restaurants.  I remember hearing a TEFL classmate, who also stayed on in Prague, complaining about the 36Kc beer where she lived…while I was paying 19Kc for the same beer in my neighborhood pub.  It’s not at all difficult to find foods within the centre selling for 1.5-2x what they would sell for in Vinohrady or Andel.  This is particularly true of the hole-in-the-wall groceries which speckle Prague’s residential neighbourhoods.  Typically featuring a smallish selection of basic foodstuffs, their prices are good although the selection sometimes leaves you heading for one of the larger grocery chains (such as Tesco or Albert) in desperate search of some crucial ingredient not carried in the smaller shops.

One thing I must recommend against is using ATM or credit cards.  I was the victim of debit-card fraud within two weeks of coming here.  According to representatives of my bank in the United States, as well as the Prague Police, such things are exceedingly common, and range from sophisticated false faceplates on ATMs which read and copy account numbers, to waiters who simply write down your card-number when they take your card to pay for a meal.  Use cash to get here, and then open a Czech bank-account.  Or better yet, just use cash; cards are fairly rare here anyway, and until recently it was somewhat difficult finding a store or shop which would accept them outside of the centre.

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It should be noted that one place where you can expect some Police harassment is in your car.  As I do not drive, I cannot confirm this.  However, friends and students with non-Czech license plates report being pulled over routinely and “fined” for any number of small infractions.  A secondary source of such troubles are the comically obvious “plainclothes” ticket inspectors who occasionally pop into Metro stations and trains to make sure everyone has their ticket.  Although they won’t toss you off the train while it’s still moving, they will give you a hard time, take down all your personal information, and fine you 500Kc.  Adding to the troubles will be the high likelihood that the inspector who catches you will probably not speak much English.  So, unless you’ve been smart enough and studious enough to pick up Czech lessons, it can end up taking quite a bit of time to clear the mess up.

Vehicular vexations aside, you can expect to be left completely alone by the Police so long as you act like a reasonable human being.  Social cannabis use is near-universal in many pubs and some restaurants, and Police are disinclined to harass social smokers; they’ve got drunken British football hooligans and stag-parties to worry about.  Moreover, Czechs detest informers and plainclothesmen.  They’ve good reason to, of course; when the inept plainclothesmen of The Good Soldier Sveyk were replaced with those coldly competent monstrosities of The Gulag Archipelago, this dislike was cemented into the national consciousness.   The result is that a scene of social lawbreaking which would reduce most Americans to darting-eyed paranoia is a common and unremarked-upon feature of Prague’s pub scene, especially in the cheaper residential areas where I recommend living.  Additionally, much of the day-to-day economics of living “La Vie Boheme” in Bohemia is accomplished with cash.  Rent is paid, as are wages upon request, in cold hard Crowns.  Personal anonymity is simple to the point of absurdity in such a climate, and unlike in the US, Czechs do not look askance at such things; they don’t even comment on them, as everyone else does business in much the same way.  By using the Metro and Tram, you can avoid the need to have a driver’s license, and all the red tape associated therewith.  The sorts of silly bureaucratic hang-ups we so often encounter in the US, such as presenting ID to purchase nearly everything, are non-existent in everyday life.  I should warn you, however, that the Foreign Police, who handle Visas, are a red-tape nightmare.  However, many schools and employers will help considerably with all this; some will even handle all the work-visa paperwork for you.  You can also avoid the mess altogether by simply making a Visa Run every 90 days, which is fairly inexpensive and gives you a perfect excuse to see Vienna, Budapest, Berlin, or Paris over a weekend.

The Method
Bear in mind; this is how I made this work.  It has worked well for me, but your mileage may vary.  That said, this is how you get to Prague for less than $10,000.

The very first thing you need to do is join the International Association of Air Travel Couriers.  Why? Because being a member of the IAATC is your ticket to cheap flights.  Even if you decide not to actually carry a package, the IAATC has a superb consolidation service, which will easily undercut Priceline.com and CheapTickets by as much as 50%.  Using this service, you can get to Prague from any airport on the East Coast for less than $600.  You can become a member for $45, and it is well worth it. 

If you need to save more money still, use the IAATC to get a flight from New York to London.  This will cost about $400.  Use a budget carrier such as Southwest to get to NYC, and a similar carrier, such as EasyJet or SmartWings, to get from London to Prague.  This means that getting to Prague can cost anywhere from $350-$600, depending upon whether or not you actually carry a package for the IAATC, or if you just buy your ticket through them.

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A good TEFL program will run about $1500, and most if not all TEFL schools are more than happy to take graduated payments and to allow, within reason, changes to the dates of your course.  Your lodging during the TEFL course should run about $350, and no more than $500, for housing supplied through the school.  If you choose to get an apartment, of course, your mileage will vary.

Assuming you started with $5,000, you have still got about $2,500 which, with careful economizing, will see you through that crucial first 90 days in-country. Obviously, more is better when it comes to “cushion” money of this sort, so bring as much as you can stand.  This is one part of your journey in which I do recommend the use of a debit or credit-card, as large quantities of cash are known to attract all sorts of undue attention from both Law Enforcement types in the US. 

Once you’re in the Czech Republic, start looking for apartments and jobs immediately.  Many schools will interview you before you finish your TEFL coursework, and the shorter you can trim the lag-time between graduation and your first paycheck, the better off you’ll be.  From a standpoint of economy, privacy, enculturation, and freedom, you’ll want a flat-share in a residential area near a Metro or Tram station; such a place is easily found in a few days.  Check Expats.cz first thing; new ads are posted daily, and the message-boards are also a great place to network and look for jobs.

Hopefully, someone will find this general guide useful.  This method has worked well for me, and it has enabled me to leave the US and start a new life with comparatively little money.  It has also been, as I said before, a lot of fun.  If you thought ex-patriation was only within the reach of the wealthy, and anonymous, free living only possible through great effort, I hope this work has encouraged you and enabled you to begin your own “Big Move.”  If you’re ever in Prague, look me up.  Your first Czech beer is on me.

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