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September 8th, 2008
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A New Year's resolution: Live the dream



January 3rd, 2008 issue

It was probably 15 years ago when we first heard the stories that acted like a siren song calling us to Central and Eastern Europe: Go to Prague, live in Budapest, visit Krakow or Zagreb or Ljubljana.

Everyone we talked to said something similar: Jobs are plentiful, even for non-native speakers, and beer and food and other living expenses are cheap. There was plenty of social interaction, lots of entertainment and a feeling of excitement in the air, as the countries transitioned away from communism and toward democracy.
Many foreigners were seduced by the tales from their friends and colleagues. They, too, would travel around Europe and stop off in the Czech Republic for a week, or two, maybe even a month.
Others set up shop in Hungary or in Poland, but the Bohemian lifestyle was seen as the best.
Many decided to stay — bewitched by the capital’s beauty and new apartments to fix up and new jobs to learn. Foreigners in Prague opened up Bohemia Bagel and Laundry King, imported wines, started travel agencies and all the rest.
They formed rock bands and advertised hotels, managed the international corporations that moved in and trained new local managers.  
That was then.
These days, many of those same people have moved on. The ones who remain are proud of what’s been accomplished, but a little depressed at how quickly the weak dollar has caused a drop in their standard of living.
Now that it’s January, things are expected to get worse. Even if you get paid in crowns rather than dollars, it will still be more expensive to go to the grocery store and to ride the metro or tram to work. It will be more expensive to turn on your lights or electric heater, or if you use natural gas, to heat your house that way. In fact, economists are saying things will cost as much as 6 percent more for the average household in January. (See story, page A1.)
Wages are also expected to rise in 2008 as much as 8 percent, economists believe. But while that might sound good in theory, it’s the smallest increase in the past 10 years. (The average monthly income is now 22,000 Kč, or $1,217, across the country and about 28,000 Kč in Prague.)
Maybe the days are gone when you could walk into a job without any Czech language skills and still be able to afford the killer apartment on the embankment with a view of the castle. Maybe the beer is a little more expensive, as are those ski trips to the Krkonoše and your weekly groceries.
But we’re “glass half-full” types of people, so, in the spirit of the new year, we’d just like to say: Live life fully. Just watch your crowns and negotiate for deals when you can (and let us know if you find a place to use the 50-heller coins that are now going out of circulation … we have quite a few!)


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