< Index for May 99 Issues > < Index for International Living >  < Subscribe to International Living >

When you arrive in Prague at the airport, you drive past acres of dilapidated government housing projects and other buildings from the cheap cement era of Communist bad taste and worse ideas. But once in Prague, enchantment. Here, amid Gothic cathedrals, ancient palaces, and cobblestoned streets, it is easy to believe that Mozart and Einstein were born. As an added bonus, it is easily one of cheapest beautiful cities you will ever visit. I have lived in over a dozen of the world's major cities, and Prague is assuredly one of my favourites. 

The Old Town Square is the heart of the city. Sit here and bask in the architectural history of Prague, and have a coffee for a dollar. At night, golden lights flicker on in the black turrets of the Gothic Cathedral. Fire-dancers, jugglers, and musicians entertain you. 
From the old town square, a labyrinth of tiny lanes and alleys wind through the Old City, swallowing up visitors, confusing even those with the most astute sense of direction. Making your way to the river, you’ll find the Charles Bridge, a medieval structure framed with Gothic statues, which loom above you like frozen ghosts, haunting and black with the soot of centuries. Over the bridge you’ll see the colorfully lit castle sitting on the hill. 

Concerts every night for $5
After a half a century of suppression—and now with Vaclav Havel, one of the Czech Republic’s leading dramatists and writers, as the current President—culture and amusements are bursting forth. A walk in the historical center will net you about 20 flyers by the end of the day, inviting you to an opera, a ballet, a jazz club, a classical concert, or even a musical. Jesus Christ Superstar ran here for several years to critical acclaim, and now the same company is currently running Evita – which you can see for only $15.
There’s no shortage of classical concerts. You can hear Mozart, Vivaldi, Bach, Dvorack, Schubert, or Tchaikovsky every night in medieval churches, concert halls, and theatres in the historical center. They’ll cost you anywhere from $5 and $30.

There’s an abundance of bars, beer halls, clubs, and discos. Alcohol is very cheap. You can get a beer for less than a dollar; spirits are about 80 cents for a 50-mililiter shot. Whiskey or vodka is only $10 a bottle in stores. Wine is also very affordable, particularly if you go for the local Czech wine—and some of it is quite good. The Czech vineyards are only now starting to promote themselves and are hoping to establish an international reputation.

Investment property opportunities
Foreign investment has flowed into the country since the fall of communism. Over $8 billion has been injected since 1990. Many of the world’s largest multinational companies have a presence here now, including Ford, Nestle, Renault, and Motorola. Over 47,000 foreign-owned or partly foreign-owned companies have set up here in the last decade, largely due to the low labor and production costs. Furthermore, the Czech Republic has a highly skilled labor force. 

Many private investors have also come in and bought up a lot of the old historical buildings—which they purchased for a song and renovated extensively. There are still quite a few dilapidated old buildings in the center available. And, according to Miroslav Sevcik, the director of the Liberal Institute in Prague, “Residential housing prices are as low as they will be for the forseeable future.” 

Now is the time to buy. The only hitch for foreigners is that you need to be a legal resident to purchase property here. (The laws on legal residency are currently vague, but will probably smooth out when the Czech Republic approaches membership in the EU.) 

There is, however, a loophole around the residency requirement. You can form your own company, and the company can then purchase the property for you. This is a bit of a hassle, but it certainly hasn’t stopped thousands of foreigners from doing it.

For more information on how to form your own company in the Czech Republic, get a copy of the Czech Republic Business Guide, Karmelitska 25, 118 00, Prague 1, Czech Republic; tel./fax (4202)222-50-969, E-mail: info@cz.bguide-iii.com. 

Live up to six months tax-free
As long as you’re not receiving your income from Czech sources, you can stay for 182 days a year without having to pay Czech taxes. British and Canadian citizens don’t even need visas for stays of less than six months. U.S. citizens can stay up to 30 days without visas. But for longer stays, they will need to have them. A multiple-entry visa good for 180 days costs $76. 

If you want to work in the Czech Republic, you’ll need to first acquire a position in a Czech company. The company can then apply for a work visa for you. The basic rule is this: You need to be able to do something that no Czech citizen can do. But I’ve met several Americans here who are working in publishing companies, foreign banks. and such who are clearly doing jobs that Czech citizens could do. If you can get a reputable company to represent you, it will probably be able to get a work permit for you. 

Once you have a work permit, you can then obtain a residency permit—which will have to be renewed each year. The laws on obtaining long-term residence in the Czech Republic are very vague, and are probably sure to change. At present, though, obtaining a work permit or getting yourself on what is called the Zivnostensky list—a list of people promising to start businesses in the Czech Republic—is the way to do it. But if you decide to go that route, you would do best to hire a good immigration lawyer, and preferably one in the Czech Republic who can speak good English. One firm I know of is Altheimer and Gray, Platnerska 4, 110 00, Prague 1, Czech Republic; tel. (4202)2481-2782, fax (4202)2481-0125, E-mail: agprague@comp.cz.

Prague’s surprising efficiency
Prague is surprisingly functional. It has a 24-hour post office, a 24-hour copy center, and supermarkets that are open until 6 p.m. on Sundays and until around 8 p.m. on weekdays. 

I’ve found setting up here far easier than in many other European countries where I have lived, such as Italy and Portugal. 

I’ve heard the phone system here is a little antiquated—but apart from the sometimes-delayed connection to Compuserve, we haven’t had many problems.(Your modem will run at a slightly slower speed here, but Compuserve and AOL both have access points in Prague.)

Our phone was connected immediately. In Italy it took a month—and we told them it was urgent. In Portugal, our line kept getting interconnected with several of the neighbors’. Often, we couldn’t call out. 
Local phone calls are cheap. International phone rates, however, are expensive. Calling to Britain will cost you about 90 cents a minute. And calling to the United States will cost you a whopping $1.40 a minute! But there is a way around this. You can exploit a loophole in telecommunications law that can offer you up to 80 percent savings when you use a call-back service. (See the sidebar on page TK for details.)

The postal system here is a bit like Italy’s. You may or may not get the occasional piece of mail. However, its unreliability does have one advantage: It’s very cheap. You can send a letter to anywhere in Europe for only 20 cents, and anywhere outside of Europe will cost you around 28 to 32 cents. What’s more, you can send a 1-kilogram package airmail to the States for around $10. Not bad. Of course, your package may not get there. But apparently you have more chance of getting your stuff to your recipient than he has of getting his stuff to you.  The usual alternative carriers are available, with DHL offering good service for packages in and out of Prague. All the major newspapers are available from newsstands, including the London Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Daily Telegraph and The New York Times. There’s not much English programing on Czech television. (EuroNews is on twice a day in English.) But you can rent a satellite dish for around $30 a year, and this can give you access to a wide variety of English stations, including CNN, the Discovery Channel, Filmnet, the Cartoon Network, and many more. British Sky Broadcasting is also available—but more expensive.  For lists of English cinema, theater, and TV programing, consult the Prague Post.

Banking in Prague
Many of the banks in the Czech Republic are universal ones. That means you can obtain the full range of financial services from them, including brokerage services and asset management. In addition, you can choose from a wide range of account options, including securities accounts, foreign-currency accounts, and term deposits. Term deposits (denominated in Czech korunas) were paying 12 percent interest last year, but they've since dropped to half this rate. 

If you open an account in the Czech Republic, I recommend you stay away from the Czech banks and go with the foreign ones, which are used to dealing with English-speaking customers and which offer full, high-quality service. Bank Austria, tel. (4202)211-02-111, and Austria’s Raiffeisenbank, tel. (4202)242-31-270 (which do not require large initial deposits), have branches here. 

Beware clever taxi drivers
As is the case in any European city, the potential for a foreigner to get ripped off is high. Prague is no exception. You just have to be wary…particularly with the taxi drivers. Our first short taxi ride cost us $20, which we happily paid. (At this stage, we weren't too quick in computing the exchange rate.)

But, the taximeters run on varying levels of expense. It depends on what time it is, how many people are in the cab, how much luggage you have, etc. And what taxi drivers do to unsuspecting tourists is put their meters on the highest levels possible so the customers watch the figures click over and over and think they are entirely legitimate. Quite clever. Don’t be fooled. 

Avoid hailing a cab; definitely avoid taxi ranks in a tourist area. If you have to take a cab, be sure to ask first how much it’s going to cost you. (Kolik (col-leak) means “How much?”.) In this way, you’ll probably pay $5 instead of what should be $2—but it’s a lot better than paying $20.Your best bet, however, is to call and request a taxi from one of the more reputable companies. Try AAA Radio Taxi, tel. (4202)1080, or Halo Taxi, tel. (4202)2213-5111. Taxis ordered this way are normally very cheap. A $3 fare should get you a 10-minute ride. 

Save up to 80 percent on international phone calls
You can save a lot on international calls with call back. Here’s how it works: You call and set up an account with a call-back operator in America, and that operator then makes your long-distance calls for you from the United States at a much cheaper rate than you’d pay in Prague. There are a number of companies that offer this, and you can find them advertised in the Prague Post.

We’ve signed up with a company called Kallback that charges only 33 cents a minute to call the United States or Britain. Contact Kallback, 419 Second Ave. W., Seattle, WA 98119, U.S.A.; tel. (206)284-8600, E-Mail: mkuntz@ms.kallback.com.

Bargain riverside rents 
If you are planning a short stay in Prague—whether for a holiday or to investigate opportunities—you won't have any trouble finding an affordable apartment. Get a copy of the Prague Post, a weekly paper available at most newsstands, and look in its rental section. You can also view live listings in the Prague Post online, Web site: www.praguepost.cz.

Most of the agents here speak English. However, you will find the most affordable apartments if you’re willing to look yourself and not use an agent. There are many independent listings. A decent one-bedroom apartment in the historical center can go for as low as $400 a month—but that’s unfurnished, and you’ll have to take at least a six-month lease.

If you want something furnished and for a shorter term, you’ll pay a bit more—particularly if you go through an agent. One agent did show us a luxurious, fully furnished one-bedroom apartment on the river in the heart of Prague for only $900 a month. It was in a newly restored building, and the apartment had also just been newly renovated. It had breathtaking views of the Charles Bridge and Prague Castle. We lost out to tenants who wanted a longer lease, unfortunately. But this was one of the most magical spots in Europe—and the price was dirt-cheap. An equivalent apartment on the Seine in Paris would go for at least four times that price.

To give you some idea of what's available, here are some current listings:

• a furnished one-bedroom apartment in the enchanting historical center for only $430 a month
• a fully furnished one-bedroom apartment in the Beverly Hills of Prague, right on Kampa Island, for $1,100 a month
• an unfurnished one-bedroom apartment in Prague 2 (an artsy area just outside the historical center) for only $320 a month
• a fully furnished two-bedroom apartment in Prague 7 (which is about 10 minutes on a tram from the historical center) for $1,100 a month

Agents usually charge a fee of one month’s rent for a one-year lease. But if you take it for a shorter term, you can negotiate a lower fee. 

A champagne dinner for two for as little as $60
My favorite restaurant in Prague is Kampa Park. One night, we found ourselves being sketched by an artist at a neighboring table. (I think he was impressed by the beautiful young friend we had visiting us from London.) The artist was with an art-gallery owner and her husband—she a Russian and her husband a French baker—typical of the lively and diverse crowd Kampa Park (and Prague in general) attracts. 

This restaurant sits right on the northern tip of a tiny island in the Vlatva River, just next to the old Charles Bridge. It's separated from the eastern side of the city by a tiny canal. In the summer, you can sit on the balcony overlooking the river and the bridge and enjoy an exquisite, candlelit dinner while the Gothic statues on the old Charles Bridge look on. 

A very three-course dinner for two with champagne will cost you as little as $60. That's if you choose the local champagne from the Bohemia district, which for $10 is pretty good. The imported champagnes are, of course, more expensive. 

The food at Kampa is the best in the city. I recommend the fresh oysters in a cold tomato consommé as a starter. The thick, juicy veal in an orange-infused port-wine sauce, served with goose liver paté, is an excellent entrée. In one of Prague’s most famous modern buildings is La Perle de Prague. An excellent French meal here will cost you around $18. 

If you like fine wine, I’ll let you in on one of Prague’s best-kept secrets: the Flambee Restaurant. It has an exceptional wine list that is about 15 pages long and offers one bottle worth $29,000. For Italian food, go to Don Giovanni’s. I had a creamy, funghi porcini that was very good and cost only $9. You can also get a 1985 vintage bottle of Chianti for $28, which is about a third of what I’ve paid in any other country.  A traditional Czech meal will cost you around $5. There is no shortage of restaurants. Common is stewed pork or beef served with dumplings and cabbage. The best traditional Czech restaurant we’ve found is The Blue Duck. A peaceful walk through the lantern-lit, lesser-traveled lanes on the southern side of the city will take you there. 

For more information, contact:

• Kampa Park, Na Kampe 8b, Mala Strana, Praha 1; tel. (4202)573-134-93
• La Perle de Prague, Rasinovo Nabrezi 80, Praha 2, 120 00; tel. (4202)2198-4160
• Flambee Restaurant, Husova 5, P1; tel. (4202)2424-8512
• Don Giovanni, Karoliny Svelte 34, P1; tel. (4202)265-406

The Blue Duck, Mala Strana, Praha 1