DID I MOVE TO THE WRONG CITY? (PRAGUE v. my other favorite city)
2024 ж. 17 Мам.
61 070 Рет қаралды
👉 Go to nordvpn.com/dreamprague to get the two-year plan with an exclusive deal PLUS 4 bonus months free. It’s risk-free with NordVPN’s 30-day money-back guarantee.
I moved to Prague 10 years ago sight unseen. And now I’m applying for Czech citizenship. Did I make the wrong choice?
00:00 Intro
02:19 My other city
03:24 Language
04:25 Cuisine
05:40 Safety
08:12 Digital safety with NordVPN offer
10:02 The national beer
10:48 Payment systems
12:42 Bicycles vs. Pedestrians
15:34 Public Transportation
16:13 Topography
18:16 Did I pick the wrong city?
👉 Go to nordvpn.com/dreamprague to get the two-year plan with an exclusive deal PLUS 4 bonus months free. It’s risk-free with NordVPN’s 30-day money-back guarantee.
Hello Jen, deep message nicely emphasized by underlying music, well received :) I wonder why superthanks feature is not active on your channel?
Soviet microdistrict vs USA Suburban
Between Prague and Amsterdam choose Brno...
about the bikes.. Prague is a hilly city so when you use bike you sweat a lot, so people dont use bikes to get to the work/school just because it is slower and they are smelly after. that is my opinion
The lack of talent for languages had made you give up? Sexy Sadie, what have you done You made a fool of everyone. I REALLY REALLY DID LIKE YOU!
I am living and working in Prague for 6 months. I think it is wonderful and I could live here. I am from New Zealand. I like Czech people a lot and I think the food is excellent! But the architecture is absolutely incredible!!! Thank you Prague people for your hospitality!
welcome
I am glad you love it from the other side of the world. 😀 I think many people here dream about visiting New Zealand.
@@matotuHELL A lot of people in Czechia dreams about visiting New Zealand. Especially fans of Lord of the Rings movies. 😄
I would love to visit NZ one day. I feel like we share a similar sense of humor 👍
welcome :)
I'm Dutch and I absolutely agree with you on the personal safety thing. It's definitly safer in Prague. And yes, Heineken sucks.
Well, but are the dutch people causing this criminal mayhem???
I had some special beer from Heineken and it was not bad.
@@conceptalfa Nope. We can thank "multiculti..."
@@mrkvomiltato871 exactly, I'm living in Sweden and it is pure Wild Western here, also because of multikulti and from people that actually alledge their religion is peacefull!!! There's almost no space for swedes to commit any crime, all the "market shares" has now being taken over!!!🙃😄
@@conceptalfa I'm sure they are, at least for the most part. In my personal experience, the Dutch drink in excess and often are like drunken aggressive
I came to Prague from San Francisco in 2019 for the location, affordability, TEFL certification programs, and the opportunity to learn/study a Slavic language. I had lived in France in the early 90s and always thought I might make my way back there but I am in love with Prague. Totally agree that the public transportation system is superior, it is safe, the beer is delicious, and the healthcare is excellent. As for the language, whew, that is going to take some time. But most of all, I really like Czech people! Their dark sense of humor, direct natures, and hearty approach to life and leisure is an inspiration to me. Once I can get a grasp of the language, I know I will appreciate them on another level. I realize I am biased in that most of my experience is in Prague, but I am so happy to be here getting to know the people and the culture.
Ou, your words are so beautiful. I am so glad. Thank you. 😊
Narodila jsem se v Praze, žila tam do 19 let, už 40 let žiji 30 km za prahou na vesnici, ale Praha je pro mě stále nejhezčí město na světě a cítím se tam doma. Vaše vyznání Praze mě skoro dojalo. Je milé slyšet, že ji někdo vnímá stejně jako já.
ale podobne pamatky ma treba Budapest :) Hezke mesto je i New York City. Praha je navic draha vzhledem k platum, pokud tu nekdo normalne pracuje. Potom je to drazsi pokud jde cestovat smerem na zapad.
I changed my plans to move to Amsterdam (Americans a plus, see The Dutch American Friendship Treaty) and I moved to Prague. Now, you can ask my Niece, who has lived in Amsterdam for 18+ years, about the dude who was murdered in front of her place if you want :) The big plus is, in the Czech Republic, if you are over 60, you do NOT have to learn Czech. The Netherlands has no exemption, making the choice instant. PS I have been to Amsterdam over 20 times, starting at 12 years old. I made the choice to move to Prague after a 1-weekend visit.
We offer great safety here in the Czech Rep. It is also an important thing.
You don't have to learn Czech if over 60 - - - Please explain! I am 56 and have considered the move but know I will never be proficient enough to pass an exam.
@@mtsvec A certificate proving the required knowledge of the Czech language is not requested from a foreign national who is over 60 years old. --PS. This is only an issue for the 10-year Visa after residing here for 5 years you can apply for that one. The shorter-length Visa have no language requirements at all. © 2022 The Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic, all rights reserved
@@xxxwetacidxxx 100% true. Praha is a very safe city, putting other cities to shame. I've seen young ladies walking near Congress, Vyšehrad, at 3 AM, dark underpasses, and side streets, without any issues.
I'm learning Czech, my spouse is Czech and I'm planning to take the citizenship test in 5 years. If you are married to a Czech you can take the test in 5 years. But we have been living there off and in since 2012. Moving back in the Spring. I guess I have the advantage of my Moravian family speaking to me in only Czech, and my spouse is language professor, and I have a personal teacher, so it is coming along. And I am over 60. I also m a pretty good cook so I can replicate any foreign meals I like. Glad you decided to stay! :)
As a Brit living in Slovakia I really loved this video and felt really seen because I wanted to move to Prague , a city I still love and was in only this weekend for a Halloween party, but I took a job in Bratislava as a first step to the dream and ended falling in love with a Slovak, having a family and falling in love with Bratislava and SK and have now been here 11 years. I completely agree with everything you say about feeling safe in Prague and it is exactly the same in Bratislava where we also have great public transport and every other city just compares unfavourably for me. I know Vienna has great public transport , beautiful buildings and fantastic healthcare but for me it is just too strait-laced by comparison to the Slavic world. However, we travelled from BA to Wales by train in the summer and I was so excited to visit Amsterdam for the first time but unlike you I was not at all charmed. I hated it and I felt unsafe all the time. I was terrified and on edge because of the bikes and am glad that it wasn't just me and there were so many drunks and people on drugs even first thing in the morning and I know it is celebrated for its sex trade but for me it was just all so seedy and seemed so exploitative. We saw human excrement twice in two days!!!! We took our little daughter and it took us 90 mins to find a playground for her something that has never happened anywhere else. We also went to London and Paris and they were both just so much more child friendly and I was shocked at how much safer I felt in both places. I could easily imagine raising a family in Paris but not at all in Amsterdam. Also, the food may have been delicious in Amsterdam but you have to pay a lot for that. Paris just seemed cheaper for so much more. I have never been so glad to be home as I was at the end of trip tbh so I guess I have to agree with you that sometimes you don't choose your city, it chooses you! And I know that BA isn't for everything being as small as it is but we don't all have to agree, right?
Hi I live in Bratislava and agree with all you wrote. I also travel to czech rep. and my sister live there, be happy 👍
I am from Prague, visited Bratislava twice and I liked it. Most people around me said there was not much. When you visit as a tourist and compare it to Prague, I get that, but I kept my eyes open and I liked it and it also seems to be a fine place to live. (Maybe unless you are LGBT 😬😔) I heard a podcast a few years ago where a Czech journalist who moved to Bratislava claimed that it is better than Prague.
@@matotuHELL I am living in Prague almost my whole life and I feel Bratislava the same way like you. I love this city and try to visit it every year if possible.
@@matotuHELL I`m from Bratislava, now living in Japan. I went home to Slovakia after 3 years this summer and I also went to see some friends in Prague and even though I would like to say that Slovakia and Czech republic are equal I`m afraid it`s really not the case. I love Bratislava, but Prague is just so much bigger. Just the city centre is so much more preserved and rich that I feel that there`s no comparison. Bratislava is technically not even a city because it has fewer than a million inhabitants. If anything I would compare Bratislava more to Brno, which is more on a similar scale. I can imagine the journalist liking Bratislava more because of the smaller scale. I feel like the fewer people and shorter distances might make living there less stressfull, but in the end it`s really a matter of personal preference.
One of the best thing in Bratislava is the it is so closed to forrest. And there are hidden treasures in Bratislava too. I was born there, grew in Rača, we had everything what we needed (plus Vine...)
I moved from France to Czechia because it's a safer country. Maybe it's not as bad in the Netherlands but I'm not sure it's going the right way, I'm happy with my choice and I'll stick to Prague!
This awaits the whole of Europe, make no mistake about it.Low IQ politicians will make sure the European countries will vanish into the thin air.
Just avoid wine from Lobkowicz and you will be fine.
@PMKKO lol We all know.
Yes, moving to a new country or continent depends a lot on who you are and what you are looking for. Personally, I would move to Prague if I had the opportunity to turn back time twenty-five years. Now I am fifty-eight years old but I am glad that I have had the sense to travel every year to the Czech Republic and Prague for the last twenty-one years. I fell in love with Prague in 1989 beautiful city and nice people a big plus for me is that I learned Czech helpfully it has opened many doors. So I'm jealous of you who took the step to move there. Czechoslovakia was a good country, we in the West got a lot of propaganda that everyone was locked up, but the openness and welcome the people gave me there was not found in all places in the West.Great respect to the people of the Czech Republic. Kind regards from Ulf Brodin Halmstad Sweden.
Don't let age ever hold you back from living your dream. Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced !
I have just moved to Germany after living in NL, LUX and BEL and have to learn German language. I am 52. Forget the age on a wrong idea you are tied somewhere. Your borders are in your head!
I'm from Georgia and I visited Netherlands 3 years ago, I liked it, was impressed but it never crossed my mind to live there. After that I went to different countries and only 5 months ago I visited Czech Republic and fell in love with Prague from day 1. At the end of the first day I knew I could live there easily, it felt like home
I used to work with guy from Gruzie in Brno Czech Republic , Konstantine he was about 60 years old and the hardest working man i have ever seen in my life. He was running at work at his old age to get things done quicker , everything had to be perfect there was no room for errors very wise and great personality.
I am from the Czech Republic and I am lucky because Prague is my dream and real home. I love traveling, but as you said, it's about feelings. I feel the best here. I feel free and very safe as a woman. And as someone who doesn't have a driver's license, I find it very easy to travel around town.
Totally agree. The transportation in Praha in my view, is the best in EU. Why would you want to own a car, when you can be anywhere within the city in just few minutes.
@@quicksilver2446 Because people are not traveling only within the city?
@@TheKubyk My hometown is not Prague. Fortunately, traveling is very easy throughout the Czech Republic, both by train and bus.
@@terkabastianova4596 My hometown is Prague, I have cottage in small village between Litomerice and Usti. My parents (who living in Prague too) have cottage in Jeseniky. It's almost impossible to go there by public transport. Of course, it is possible when you have whole day for traveling and you don't have too much belongings.
I love Europe and have always wanted to live there. It will likely never happen because my family is in the states, but if it did, I always thought we would do Portugal. That was before I went to Prague. I loved the Czech Republic.
Portugal is also cool and I see many similarities with the Czech Republic. I feel happy there.
As a Czech who visited Portugal for 10 days and explored a lot there, I would say that Lisbon is very overrated, it can be nice there, but compared to Prague, it's very dirty, you can find really disgusting places there with trash everywhere, dead caths stucked in fences, I saw even starving horse surrounded by garbage in some homeless place, you don't want to see such things in your city everyday and you will definitely see such things in Lisbon when you stay there for longer time. People are nice there and I never felt unsafe there, but I just can't live surrounded by so many garbage and when you ask abou that, they are consused and don't know what you mean because they are so used to it that they don't even see it. Every road in Portugal has garbage next to it because people are throing trash from cars, forests are full of garbage.....and this is in massive contrast to all those fancy tourist resorts where it looks like in paradise.
I also forgot to mention that terrible smell in Lisbon, it took me like 2 days to get used to it, the thing is that all those kebab and other fastfoods don't have suction with long pipe to the roof like we have, they just have hole in wall and send it to back yard or directly to street, so you smell all that burned oil, that's another thing they probably don't realize because they are used to it. I could not sleep in Lisbon in first few nights because of that smell and when I closed window, it was terrible hot inside. 😀 I didn't want to offend people from Lisbon or Portugal generally, I am just saying how it feels like there for a Czech person. Especially that garbage shocked me, Czechs kids are beaten for throwing garbage to nature, when you do it in front of your grandma, she will hits you when you are kid. I am not saying I am for physical punishments, but you will remember that. 🙂
thank you for your heartwarming and wonderful comment about Prague❤️ Wish you all success!
As a Czech/Moravian who lived in Australia for 30+ years, your view of Amsterdam is like my view of Prague when comparing it to Brno. It has all the beauty and infrastructure of Prague, without all the tourists and higher prices. Interesting video, thank you!
Bylo to moc pěkné slyšet jak mluvíte o Praze ať se vám tu líbí dál.👍
Holka, už jsem se bál, že tě ztratíme. Ano, máš pravdu. Všechno je to o tom vnitřním pocitu a každý by ho měl mít. Prahu mám rád a je to můj Amsterdam, ale srdcem jsem v Ústí nad Labem...a tak to zůstane ať si o tom městě myslí každý co je mu libo.😉👌
Ústí je pěkné město s obrovským potenciálem. Doufám že ho využijete a budete město postupně zlepšovat. Například přístup k vodě kolem řeky by se mohl upravit. Cedule s nápisem "vstuo na vlastní nebezpečí" není úplně ideální řešení. Pokud se vy jako obyvatelé budete snažit něco změnit, tak to město může být úžasný.
@@ondra10192 Ta cedule byla u vody?! 🤔 Já myslel, že u vstupu do města...
Obvzlášť Staré Předlice jsou pěkné
Nu a já z moravské vísky pod Brnem miluji naše Brno, kde žiji svůj dospělý život od r 1982. Nejsem zarytou kontroverzní Brňačkou, ale toto město má nesrovnatelnou vyjímečnou atmosféru. Praha naše matka pro mě ční na výši, ráda jí navštěvuji, ale jsem šťastná na Moravě.
I'm from Netherland, But my place where I feel the most home is Prague, it makes me feel relaxed and give me creativity
Hi! It is so funny to bump into your video. I come from Czech rep. but now living in Amsterdam. Though never LIVED in Prague, I can see the differences.. Btw - good to mention what you can add to your list - the living costs and especially health insurance costs are here in the Netherlands much more challenging than back home. I can surely say... and with the bureaucracy, you won't gain much anywhere... it's always the same no matter in which place you are 🙈 On the other side, all of my family and friends just love to visit Amsterdam time to time so I can definitely say this place has some magic too☺
For me, Slovak living in Czech since 1992, I must admit, place I'd love to live in would be.. Stockholm, Helsinki or Turku. But once you settle your roots in some place, and have a family of 3more depending on you, one thinks twice about what's the dream, and what's reality. This ability to dream and still stay realistic, I find actually quite a Czech specialty of naturel. Maybe, after those many years I have become more Czech than Slovak, even if Slovak is still carved deep in my heart. Thank you for this post, it's helping me to realise who am I, who I feel to be...
Slovak living in Prague since 1992 cannot be Slovak, but Czechoslovak. ;-)
It is surprisisng that there are a lot of people (including myself) who moved to Prague without giving it much thought, but then just fell in love with it. For me the most important things would be Safety, Public Transportation and Low Unemployment level. Also I like how I get excited each time there are new laws prepared. In 15 years I lived here, 50% new laws worked in my favour, and the other 50% just didn't affect me in anyway. 😀
At my opinion Praque is the most beautiful city of Europe as a continent
I’ve always dreamt about moving to US… now that im older i realised that I love my small town (Týn nad Vltavou), I have pretty much everything here, larger towns like České Budějovice, Tábor and Písek are like 20 minutes by car and hour and half away from Prague, i love south Bohemia and Czech republic because its in the middle of Europe and its easy to travel across and get to know new people and places
Vltavín. Karel Demeter. Jeho knížku o kouzelné čepici miluji. A i když to městečko vypadá úplně jinak, pořád si Týn představuji na břehu moře.
I love Brno, rather small, not so touristy, slower pace of life, chill young atmosphere :)
Brno je zlatá loď ☺️ som z Košíc, milujem Prahu, ale Brno mi tak pripomína Košice, že ak by som sa mala presťahovať, tak do Brna
@@alexlola4723 Kosice is Slovak/ hungarian and Brno Moravian / Austrian. So cultural very different.
@@MrJlin1982 absolutely not, both cities are smaller brothers of the capitals and therefore they are quite similar... believe me, i know both cities very well... you have probably never been in Kosice
@@alexlola4723 To Kosice not yet, to Brno I have. But I saw a lot of vlogs or pictures of Kosice. I speak about architecture Alex!
@@MrJlin1982 and i spek about atmosphere and spirit ☺️
This may be the most thought-provoking episode Jen has given us yet. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve been around the block a few times…but the question is: Which block? Born in Vancouver, as a teenager I had to escape its endless rain, and thus moved to Los Angeles’ sunny San Fernando Valley…but after a few decades moved again to Nagoya, Japan for family, career, and its fascinating Asian lifestyle. Two decades later Honshu’s horrifically high heat and humidity finally drove me to the rain-shadows of Washington State’s blessedly cool but isolated north coast. Still I feel the allure of an idealic life in Moravia with my Czech wife, where today I would likely reside but for Covid and the current existential threat to peace in Central Europe caused by you-know-who. No neighbourhood is perfect, but akin to the Stockholm Syndrome, I grew to love the places where I’ve lived. As the Japanese say, 地獄も住み処 (jigoku mo sumika), “even hell can be home.”
I did travel a bunch, and yes, I love Amsterdam, I very much enjoyed Bern in Switzerland, I totally loved Santa Cruz de Tenerife, but alas, the only city I can imagine I could call home (other than Bratislava where I live) is Prague... don't know why, I definitely can not explain it like Jen did, it's just the feeling, something inside just tells me, yes, I could stay here and feel ok :o)
Same as far as safety, as a woman walking home or taking public transport I've never felt unsafe. In Seattle I usually would walk for miles to avoid public transport and never do either after dark even with men along. I recently moved from Prague to another Czech city and fell in love. The people are so nice and I feel like a member of the community. I never thought I would since I am a foreigner.
Like your video. I can sympathize with your feelings because I’m an American who has lived in the Czech Republic for twenty years. My original hope was to move to Austria, but at the time it was easier to come to the Czech Republic. I got settled in over time, and when I had the opportunity to move to Vienna, I decided to stay in the C.R. I’ve been to Croatia a few times and wondered what it would be like to live there, but I’m happy here, and see no reason to move. I wish you all the best on however you decide.
Great video. I’ve been married to a Czech for 20 years but we live in USA. In recent years there has been a strong pull to stay there instead of just visiting every year. Political climate, daily way of life, raising a kid… all factors. I love it there. (But even after 20 years with her my Czech is crap)
But you do not need to learn it to stay. Since you are married, you will never be kicked out of the country. There is plenty of jobs you can do in english. Your income will inevitably drop, however, you can´t really pay for healthcare in USA and in czechia you are easily covered.
It is really different to live with somebody who knows the language, and live in a country where everybody speaks the language. It is much easier to learn it when you hear it everyday. Also you can find work here only knowing English. There are a lot of foreign companies, and a lot of them require only English language for work. I have a lot of colleagues at my work that don't speak czech and it doesn't prevent them from having a career. I would really suggest you try and see if you can find a job here, and if you do - give it a shot! 😊
I am Czech, my husband is American. We moved to England 4 years ago, after living in the US together for 23 years. I don't miss the states 1 iota.
I’m Dutch and lived my whole youth in the middle of Amsterdam, the Jordaan. Sometimes when I visit the city now it’s not anymore my place to be. If you go to an shop they start talking in English instead of Dutch 😂. Sometimes I have te feeling that I’m in the Middle East. That’s now the case in all the cities in the Netherlands. It’s not my own country anymore, I moved to Krakow Poland and only going back for visit the family ones a year for 1 week. The Netherlands aren’t the Netherlands anymore 😭
Same in Roterdam also EIndhoven most of the DUtch moved out of citys to countrysides.
@HarjoShrimp, dat is een probleem in Amsterdam, elders in ons land heb je niet dat probleem als je gaat winkelen en spreekt men gewoon Nederlands!
@@londrry heb dat zelf nog nooit ervaren in Rotterdam of Eindhoven
I have been in Amsterdam a couple of times in 1994 and it hasn't been like this at the time. Actually, I can imagine such a comparison back then would yield much better position for Amsterdam instead of post-communist Prague. Things changed not exactly positively for Amsterdam, for which I am very sorry, I really used to like it.
I’m from, and live in Dublin, but if I could live anywhere else in the world it would be Praha in a heartbeat. The language and accent is the most beautiful aurally, albeit really difficult for Anglophones. The people are charming, the public transport is phenomenal and the food & drink is delicious. I’ve never visited Brno, but I’d take Karlovy-Vary as a consolation prize. 😊🇨🇿🇮🇪
I am Czech, actually born in Prague, but grew up in Vienna. Also lived in Germany and Italy too. For the last 15 months I have been living again in Prague, mainly because of Corona.Well, I suppose not many will like what I have to say. 1. As long as you don't speak the language, Czech. You will never get a glimpse of who, us the Czech People" really are. 2. Americans or anybody that is from an English speaking country is treated like royalty, there are many reasons for that but that would bend the frame of this short monologue. I am just saying capitalism and politics. 3. We adjusted to being occupied over hundreds of years and this is why we turned tourism, the peaceful occupation into an art.4. Prague has a simple lifestyle, honest in its own very specific way. 5. Everybody is talking about you, you can count on that. Every detail of your life is part of any discussion of your social circle. Anything.....6. There is a lot of things happening in the shadows. On the surface it looks like Disneyland but underneath there is tons of mafia and illegal activity.
Moc zajímavé video. Popravdě, já jsem se teď zamilovala do Olomouce, kde studuji již delší dobu. Lze tu jezdit na kole (jsou zde i vyznačené pruhy pro cyklisty), centrum je historické a město samo o sobě má vše, co mladý člověk potřebuje. Je to dost velký rozdíl od mého rodného města (Karlovy Vary), kdy člověk nepotká moc mladých lidí a ani nový míst. Takže za mě teď Olomouc a rozhodně hodlám navštívit i Amsterdam, takže děkuji za tip s kreditní kartou (na to bych ani nepomyslela).
Děkuji! Teprve až když jsem rodné město navždy opustil jsem si uvědomil jak je Olomouc krásnej.
Krásně to Praha "vyhrála". Přeji Vám hodně štěstí. Musím k pocitu, jenž jste zmínila, že je Praha (Česká republika) pro Vás "jako doma", blahopřát! A blahopřeji i "nám"! Jste skvělá a samozřejmě i Váš manžel! Moc rád bych Vás někdy potkal v Praze! A nebo v jiném městě naší krásné vlasti a že jich je mnoho!🤩
Prague used to be my dream until I spent 6 years there. It's a place I love to come for a visit to but my most favourite place is Zlín (that I left for Prague originally:)). I absolutely love this town, its atmosphere, calmness, specific architecture, its citizens... It's my home. The real one. :)
Ještě jaké je to moje místo,je to Plzeň,Za určitých klimatických podmínek je úžasně cítit slad z pivovarů a člověku hned spadne kámen ze srdce že tam makají,vaří a neflákají se.😀
To je pro me vune domova. I kdyz pivo nepiju😊
Skoda te kriminality tady, bezpecne se tu opravdu v noci necitim. Navic tramvaj jezdi jen do pulnoci? To je co za napad... Prace tu take pro vysokoskolaky moc neni. Pivo je dobry, ale jinak prilis kladnych veci oproti Praze nevidim
@@peterjoel6386 Tak já se cítím bezpečně,neřekl bych že je tu vysoká kriminalita.A místo tramvají jezdí v noci busy.Co se týče práce-neberte to osobně-ale práci v Plzni nenajde jen debil.
I'm an American ex-pat who immigrated to the Netherlands 30 years ago. I lived and worked in Amsterdam for several of those years. I'm retired , and I now live in the south of the country. Last year, I discovered Prague and I LOVE IT!!! I immediately fell in love with the Baroque architecture there, and the pastel-colored facades of the buildings. Amsterdam has carefully preserved its old houses, but they're mostly just that drab, Calvinist, dark brown brick. If I was rich, I would get a flat in Prague, and alternate my time between my small town in the Netherlands, and Prague. Amsterdam is far too crowded, with miniature, cramped, drastically-over-priced apartments. That is - if you can find a place available at all. Amsterdam charmed me too, but living there is a lot different than visiting. The food in the Czech Republic is much better, and a lot cheaper! Traditional Dutch dishes like hutspot, while healthy, are awfully bland and boring, - more like ballast. I do love the "Hollands nieuw" raw herring with onions and pickles, though. The best food in the Netherlands comes from other cultures like Indonesian, Surinamese, Turkish, and Moroccan. Nederlands, the Dutch language is no picnic, but I'm sure it would be easier to learn than a Slavic language like Czech. Personally, I find Dutch harder to pronounce than Czech, and that Dutch "g" sounds like you're getting choked. Not a pretty sound! Your observation that most Dutch speak better English than many Americans is due to the degradation and underfunding of public education in the U.S. I was relieved to find that most of the Czech people I met spoke good English. I bought an expensive translation device for my visits, but I hardly ever had to use it. I would agree that Prague is safer than Amsterdam. Since Amsterdam is a world crossroads, we get riff-raff from all over. Czech pils is much better than Dutch pils, but if you prefer stronger beer, and a huge assortment of flavors and brewing methods, the Trappist Dubbels, Tripels and Qudrupels from the Netherlands, and especially from our southern neighbor Belgium can't be beat. Grocery stores here generally don't accept credit cards. Couldn't you pay with your Czech bank card? I've never been to a grocery store in Czechia, but I paid for almost everything in Prague with my Dutch bank card. Your bicycle, anywhere in the Netherlands, is akin to your car in the U.S., and the construction of bike lanes is just as important as streets and highways. Practically the whole country is as flat as a pancake, so biking is ideal. I wouldn't dare bike in Prague! And why would you? You can walk everywhere, or ride the trams. The same goes for Amsterdam. When Dutch people visit other countries, they get irritated at hills. To the Dutch, hills just block the view!😄I climbed some exhaustively steep streets in Prague. The numerous views of the city below are spectacular! I miss Prague since the day I left! All in all, if I were you and your husband, I would stay in Prague, especially since you've invested so much time and effort into immigrating and learning the language. I was pleasantly surprised to see your impressions of Amsterdam, and as a fellow American ex-pat, your comparisons between our adopted European countries. I certainly haven't had it easy in the Netherlands, and I've worked very hard for what I have, but I MUCH prefer life in Europe to life in the U.S. If nothing else, I know I'll never go bankrupt here trying to pay medical bills, like so many Americans have. Thanks for a very interesting video!
Hi Jen, if you want to see a city with public transport working as good as Prague's go to Vienna. But it's flat. Flat as a drop of oil on your kitchen desk.
What a lovely comparison with happy end as a bonus :)
I’m glad this video had a happy ending! I was beginning to worry. We’d be sad to loose your spectacular, humorous and intelligent content about our small country. Your videos deserve millions views!
Žiju v Brně a jinde bych žít nechtěla. Někdy ano, v teple, blízko moře...Ale pak se vrátím do Brna a to je domov. 😍
If you like a picturesque topography, I would definitely recommend Banská Štiavnica. It's quite small Slovak town but it's a UNESCO site with many beautiful views.
Watching your video was like to watch a football match. 🙂 I grew up at Prague city center and it is a great place to call home. But two years living in Brighton, wow, loved it. Totally different vibe, topography, people mix, Brighton beach, culture, you name it... Yet, back to my old district Vinohrady, I am really happy too.
Moc hezky se to poslouchá a držím palce s tou, dříve zmíněnou, jazykovou zkouškou.
I was smiling throughout the whole video as I can relate so much in regards to Amsterdam. I've never lived there only stayed few months near Eindhoven but utterly fell in love with the cycling culture and nature. I've traveled to Amsterdam many times with my job as a cabin crew also went back and forth to see my ex boyfriend and absolutely adored it, especially the canals, Jordaan and boats... although as you said seemed quite unsafe, super crowded and felt very uncomfortable having all the ruthless bikers around. Being a Czech citizen and having lived in London for 7 years, I really get to appreciate Prague so much now. I relocated back to CR last year and It's just wonderful in every possible aspect. My hometown is Brno but not a place to be for me:)) London on the other hand has a completely different vibe and an exciting energy and will always have a special place in my heart. I am quite torn on where to settle down. I have a soft spot for Stockholm too😀 Would anyone recommend moving there haha? Anyway thanks for the video, really enjoyed it!!!
Ta topografie je presne ten duvod proc kola v praze nejsou tak super a cool
You speak from my heart, because I currently have exactly the same feeling. - I've been living in Prague for over 8 years and I'm beginning to doubt if it was the right decision. - It is clear that Prague is a fantastic city in my eyes, but also a city whose way of life and quality of life is changing very quickly and drastically. - Of course, the current high inflation has also contributed to this and for me personally this city is losing its charm and quality of life. - A beautiful cityscape is not enough to survive, you also have to be stable and secure. - Nevertheless, the city won't let me go. - When I go to my hometown Italy to visit my family, after 4 days I get homesick for Prague.... A sign that I am at home here and have to adapt to the not so pleasant things. - A 2nd option for me? - Definitely San Francisco! - Also a city that I love very much.... However, I only experience the city as a tourist and my friends there always advise me not to live there because the quality of life there is said to be not as good as in Europe. - In general, I'm a person who quickly feels at home everywhere, but I think I'll stay in Prague. I try to enjoy the pros and avoid the cons where possible ;)
So your issue with Prague is high rent? Is that it? :D
@@martincerny2938 Not only but also... So much has changed so quickly. - I also liked the less elegant areas, all of which have now become luxury zones through constant renovation. - Prague has lost a lot of charm for me in a short period of time, it seems like everything is about profit now... but I'm not saying that I don't like Prague anymore. - It is and remains a very beautiful city.... only the change here is suddenly happening a little too quickly. - It almost looks like it's becoming a rich-people town, while the middle class is pushed further and further to the periphery. - I don't think I'm the only one who thinks like this....
Thanks Jen for the awesome upload once again. I agree with you on every single point of comparison. For me Amsterdam would be ideal due to my line of work and being from South Africa originally my home language is super close to Dutch as we share roots from many moons ago. However after 2 years in Prague it feels like home whenever I come back from abroad. Even though Im not good with the language yet (jedno pivo prosim🍻) the city makes me super happy in so many aspects. Thanks for the great content and looking forward to the next one. Ahoj👋🏻
I lived in Netherlands for a year. Lets just say for English speakers just moving and living to NL is easier than anywhere else in Europe..Like EVERYBODY speaks English there, however on reddit I've seen a lot of people sort of dislike this, because for example in Amsterdam the native Dutch sometimes no longer feel like they are in their homecountry....People dont learn dutch because they simply dont have to. Ive had colleagues that lived in NL for almost a decade and didnt learn the language, simply because they lived within their native-tongue community and used English anywhere else.
Of all the foreigners I know who are living in Prague since the 90s, only one has learned proper Czech, the language is just crazy 🙄😬
@ontyyyy I hate that indeed and if I know someone is living in The Netherlands I refuse to speak English. If you gonna live somewhere, you have to learn the language!
@@MrJlin1982 ...and just because you want it or there's some other reason❓
@@sendittomik intergration, you can never be part of a society if you don't speak the native language, you always be an tourist and be treated that way. You don't get the news and don't understand the native people, only expats and you will never became a real citizen or discover the real local people, people will not open up to you. If you don't speak Dutch, you never get the full extend of the Dutch culture. If you just wanna speak English stay in a native English speaking country. Next you will never get a job outside the center of Amsterdam or just by some multinationals.
@@sendittomik that will be your problem, not the problem of the czech society. Next you refuse the invest in the culture of that specific country, why should the natives invest in you?
Topografie vs. cyklistika - to je právě ono. Zatímco Amsterodam, Kodaň nebo Pardubice jsou města na rovině a proto ideální pro cyklodopravu, Praha je v podstatě město kolem sedmi kopců a rovinu najdeme v podstatě jen podél břehu Vltavy. Všude jinde je to prakticky jen do kopce nebo z kopce. Proto se tu cyklistika přirozeně nikdy masově neujala a jen v poslední době se tu násilně implantuje. Stejně je ale většina pražských cyklistů messengeři, ostatní jezdí kolem vody.
16:26 - That's exactly what I was thinking about when I visited Vienna, totaly flat city where you don't know where you are and you don't see any hills or buildgins on hills, you see just building around you. There are streets in Prague which are really magical, you walk and boom Prague castle spots at the end of street on hill, I really miss these thing in flat cities.
Moc jsem si to video užila, hezky jsi to zpracovala, Jen! Pocházím z maličké vesnice ve Středočeském kraji, ale když jsem začala bydlet v Praze (ve "velkoměstě", kterého jsem se předtím bála), okamžitě jsem si to tam zamilovala. A úplně nejvíc s tebou souhlasím ohledně topografie. Ty úžasné výhledy z pražských kopců, parků a mostů člověku přirostou k srdci a pak je marně hledá v jiném městě za hranicemi. Na Praze se mi také líbí, že má i spoustu klidných míst k bydlení, které nejsou daleko od centra.
I lived in Prague nearly 15 years. All my expat US friends had left, I was the last. I came back to the US (boomerang expats) finally. What was the reason, to tell you the truth I don't know. It was just like a clock that registered the time was up. I still love Prague. I ended up there on a whim as well. I had to ask others at first if I'd made the right choice for there were many European cities I could have chosen. People would just look at me as if I was crazy when I asked. I wasn't naive either, I had grown up a good deal of my life in San Francisco. One time a restaurant manager told me she knew the reason I moved there. I was game for I had a few good reasons but she couldn't know them. Her boss was from San Francisco. She told me: It's the trams!. She was right, the transportation system was much like that in my day back in "the City". But upon returning to the US I elected to live in Houston for I like a big city that has it all (somewhere at least within its borders). I found it was the food that was a bigger deal to me than I realized. I missed American products. I like Czech food 100% but being from San Francisco I knew a some places offer more. I had a VW GTI (American version) and got around both the city of Prague, the Czech countryside, and Central Europe (Zdar, Croatia) just fine. The beauty of the Czech countryside equaled that of anywhere I'd been. But still the ease of language and courtesy of people in Texas won out. And I could speak Czech pretty well at the time (not now so much - no practice). I tried to pick up complicated Czech grammar by osmosis rather than being overly studious. Every now and then I would review the complexities and then just go back better informed and probably more clear. I lived in Prague 6,. the garden side. It was mostly quiet and of course, Czech. I like the people who are truly intelligent and "normal" once you get to know them; they've a dry sense of humor ever present just beneath their straight-faced persona. Now I miss Czech food, virtually impossible to find these days in Texas. I decided to cook it myself learning from KZhead Czech cooks. That works. I was conflicted for years after my return and many times I wished I was back in Prague. But in the end I realized getting older and having one's own country around me is more important than always being a foreigner in a foreign culture. And as a citizen I have discovered with Medicare I'm as entitled as any Czech was in their national health system for about the same money ( as a permanent resident would pay). There are many services here in the US (in bigger cities) that would be complicated by the Czech Bureaucracy even if available there. In the end it's safer here in US than in Prague. I say that as the aged and weak can easily become a target of gypsies and never-do-well bums. I thought Prague was less expensive but if one is careful in a big US city there is also "more bang for the buck". Property is different in the US if you wish to buy. I don't know If I can do a comparison that makes sense. I have a small home adequate for my retirement (1307 square feet) plus a garage. That would equal a normal family home on the outskirts of Prague. Prices were a lot cheaper when I returned, that's for sure. But times change and in real estate, like fashion, it's difficult to say something long term. There is one thing, the weather in Houston, is semi-tropical and 7 months a year it's really not bad, those other 5 months though are certainly hot. I love the 7 months of nicer weather as per today, 6 Nov it's better than many other places in the US, 59 low 82 high. I like the thunderstorms, the sound of pouring down rain, the ocean being near (Galveston) and the larger than life modern aspect of Houston. I like having a garage with direct access to my home. I much prefer looking at KZhead and being able to fix something utilizing a language I'm completely familiar with. Czech can be difficult only because there are many words one doesn't use that often, perhaps never heard before. A task becomes an ordeal in that case.
You are not that far from Fayette County, where there are plenty of places with Czech heritage, including cuisine. It's actually more Moravian, but still. And don't let the names like Schulenburg fool you, there were plenty of Gernam-speaking Czechs emigrating, making Texas their new home. You definitely get the best 'kolaches' in the States down in Tejas! Another Czech-infested area in Central Texas is between Temple and West. Also worth exploring, including for its food. Besides Czech, try Goode Seafood Company, the outlet on Chimney Rock is the better one. They have a Mexican cantina next door, also very good. Houston is great for foodies!
@@paulselinger6658 Thank you very much. I have an appetite for some Czech dishes and had to learn to make them at home. I just completed a video on Knedliky though not my favorite they help with some dishes.
Jen, you should experience Pragues Čertovka river tour (and/or underground rivers tour) Different than channales, but still pretty special. It is not comon knowlage, but Prague has big underground spaces, part of wich originated in (or before) midleages.
I really love the fact you mentioned topography, because it is one of the main reasons I consider Brno my home, when I couldn't say the same about Olomouc after living there for five years. The ability to just walk up and see the city from above makes it so much more exciting to me. Even catching a glimpse of Špilberk castle on a hilltop as I walk through the city center makes me happy for a short while.
Loved the conclusion of the video 💙. And I have just now realised how strongly I agree about the topography of the city. I was once told that one prefers the topography of the surroundings based on the type of countryside one grew up in.
Thank you for this insightful video. My wife (Czech) and I are moving to Prague from Australia next year. I agree with you about the language: I really don’t know if my Czech will ever be sufficient. That’s actually why we’re starting in Prague and not a different Czech city - at least it will be easier in the beginning. I can’t believe you moved there on such a whim! That’s amazing! Always looking forward to the next video.
Prague is definitely the most beautiful city in the World I lived there for 25 years then I moved to UK living in N.Ireland but not being happy there I moved to London really nice city and plenty of sightseeing to visit but you can not find any city as Prague . Anytime I am going there I always feel some kind of wonder what I love.🙂
Really? Good food means history of colonialism? So where did the British go wrong :-D :-D
Well they brought amazing Indian, North African, near Asian etc. food to the Islands but I have a feeling that British are even more traditionalist than we are when it comes to food. And the original British food? It was so amazing that they created the greatest navy in the world to go find something better; as the old joke goes. 😀
Haha, the british food is horrible, almost uneatable!!! Fish and chips used to be excellent like 30 years ago but that was it, according to my experience....
That's a good one! 😀
Very good point!!
I remeber the very first sentence about Irish cousine in a written guidebook for Ireland: "Irish are nation that can´t cook and was occupied by nation who can´t cook either." OMG, I was laughing so hard when I read it! 🤣
Just a detail: with the Czech citizenship you are a citizen of the European union as well so you move to Amsterdam without any problems; in fact it's so easy like moving e.g. to Brno. 😉
Oh, it is not so easy. You can stay there three months, but then you need to register yourself and change your insurance etc. Yes, it is easier then moving to US, but still not the same. I moved from Czech republic to Slovakia, so I experienced that 😀
@@taraem5573 Yeah, but that is just a bureaucracy. There is no authorization you need to be granted or bar you need to pass, you just fill some papers.
Happy you stay with us! :-) Martin from Prague
Phew! You had me a bit worried at first and certainly did leave us guessing and hoping till the last minute! Thanks for the happy result. :-)
My beloved home is my hometown of Olomouc. For me it's like small, non-tourist, beautiful Prague. I was in a few cities around Europe (and more i want to explore), but everywhere I felt the same as you were describing, for visiting good, but not for living. The only one city that actually charmed me was Slovakian Košice. And we have been there for only few hours, but I felt really really well about it, and I want to visit it again for much logner time, to explore it and find, what it is really about.... and well, maybe also Koper in Slovenia was amazing, but I have never thought about living there.
To som veľmi rád 🙂 Keď budeš v Košiciach, kľudne sa ozvi. Dám nejaké tipy:))
@@ftell pecka, nevím kdy se tam dostanu ale ráda se ozvu 😇
This is a very refreshing honesty from your type of channel and I hope you choose what is the best for you! I am very pro freedom of movement and choice and so I wish you both good luck and happiness and as a Pilsen resident maybe we'll see each other in a pub! I always recommend your channel to foreign friends that want to visit the Czech republic!
Well Jen, we are happy to have you here, you and Honza :) astonishing you :D
And Tobik!!!
@@dominika5173 of course, Tobik, the great dog :D How may I forgot.... :D
What a happy moment when you and Honza opened a bottle of wine and decided to move to Prague. I'm so glad you're both here. Home sweet home.
I love the video and I loooove reading all the stories in comment section how people fell in love with Prague! I had a bad day and all the love from people around the world warmed my heart
I moved from Brno to Oslo two years ago and I love the city so far, even though it is more populous than Brno. The only other place I am drawn to is Northern Norway, I wonder what the life would be in a city like Tromsø, with proper mountains, endless polar days and polar nights with northern lights.
I much enjoyed this video. I’m American and lived/worked in Amsterdam 1999-2001. It is a sublimely beautiful city. Walking the canals late at night, especially after a rare winter snowfall, renders an almost magical and existential experience. Much akin I suspect of walking the Charles Bridge on a full moon night. I don’t remember thinking Amsterdam was unsafe. Excepting a single physical altercation I had on a tram during an attempted pickpocket, I felt very much at ease in Amsterdam. I perceive both Amsterdam and Prague to be much safer than almost every major American city (more guns than people thanks to a largely unbridled 2nd Amendment in the U.S. Constitution). Amsterdam is quite a bit more cosmopolitan than Prague. Think trade routes, colonialism, and easy access to the North Sea. And yes, better food albeit native Dutch food is about as appetizing as a trdelnik. In Amsterdam, search out Indonesian cuisine; in Prague Vietnamese. I’ve spent considerable time in Prague and speak a modicum of both Dutch and Czech (thank you Duolingo). I love both cities! I’m also of German rootstock and feel much at “home” in both locations.
@globalstudiescpcc. The Netherlands/low counties (+ Nord-Pas de Calais) and Germany are cultural very different ! Very simulair in a lot of ways to Portugal and Spain!
So true about the safety! As a Czech I never realized that until I start to travel more and more.. No wonder that CZ is consistently rated at top 3 safest countries in the world.
I was born in Praha and lived there for fourty years and I truly love it but I must admit that what most people love so much about the beauties is just a small fraction of what one can find in Italy where most of the gamechanging architectural epochs emerged. Our treasure is just a parochial reflection of the main cultural centers of ages. I am pleased someone with experience from abroad appreciates it, but I am afraid it sometimes comes out of comparison with places that have not much history or those that got bombed to the ground during the war.
I'm Czech and I loooooooove our small town near Ostrava. I was born here and unpopularly I don't want to move. Its just so peaceful. Also I just started uni in Ostrava and its amazing to just hop on a bus and troleybus and be right at school. I wouldn't change it for any other city. Some people are just not meant to live in a big city. I've visited Prague like 4 times in my life and being a tourist there aas enough for me. Its way too busy. That's why I also prefer Ostrava.
I'm Czech and i use to live for 18 years in Holland. My children are born there and my husband is Dutch. In 2021 we all moved from Holland to Czechia and I regret it so much! I miss Holland culture and mentality so bad. I hope one day we return back to there.
Sorry Jen for bomboardign this comments section... but if you we're to consider Amsterdam, consider one very very important fact: that's the nature outside the city! The Netherlands have virtually no forests left. The sea is nice, and there are some gorgeous towns but you can virtually walk out of Prague into wonderful forests and countless chateaus, castles and sites that I think few other countries can offer. The areas around Beroun, the Sazava valley, Pruhonice, or the Vlatava valley around Stechovice and the Vlatava river cascade. A little to the north, you have the Kokorin forests, the spectacular Prachovske skaly, Czech Switzerland... My goodness the list is endless! I live in Dejivce just a short walk from the Castle and yet, a street away from home, I can enter the Divoka Sarka valley. And considering that virtually all forests and lands are accessible, you can hike endlessly and enjoy nature in a way that I could never have hoped for even in Canada! This to me is even better than all the monuents and beauty the city has to offer.
Hi Jen, that city I wonder about is, of course, Prague. Even when I visited earlier this year I was thinking something similar to what you went through with Amsterdam. I live in Tbilisi Georgia. I've been here almost 4 years. And one thing I've learned about living in a few different places (New York City & Haines Alaska) is that whatever you felt at the beginning eventually fades into the background, and other things come to the fore. I know Prague well enough to actually have friends there, and almost well enough to travel around effortlessly, but not quite well enough to know it as a place of daily life. I do know Tbilisi well enough for that. I have long since passed the honeymoon phase here. And I have explored it, made videos, lived through the pandemic, etc. I think I would love Prague if I lived there. I used to consider the Czech language to be monumentally challenging. And I enjoy the dark humor of the Czechs. But cracking into Czech culture and having good friends is serious work. And here in Georgia, a much older culture, I find Georgians much more open. In February when I visited Prague I suddenly realized that in contrast to where I currently live, Czech culture seems very predictable. I said to myself 'The Czechs practically seem like Slavic Germans.' What used to seem eccentric, in contrast to Germany and France, now seemed quite normal. And the language? At least it is connected to the Indo-European languages. Whereas Georgian is a linguistic isolate and looks like this: ქართული ენა !!! (That's not even Cyrillic.) But then, upon return, like clockwork, Georgia started proving why it is so interesting. The pandemic strictures had all loosened. And suddenly there were art shows, animation festivals, dance performances, puppetry, music, great conversations, etc. all over again. And I remembered just why I love it here. And then I had to visit Germany in August, several different cities, and while I enjoy Germany, inside, all I could think of was 'Get me back to Tbilisi.' I prefer the openness and unpredictability. But Prague remains my favorite place to visit, along with Paris, Lyon, the French Alps in Switzerland, Krakow, and Palermo. (But NOT London, Berlin, or even Amsterdam.) Thanks for sharing your thoughts. They prompted a few of my own.
I think that is what Jen said in the video - you just need to find your place, which is Tbilisi for you. 😊 I have a lot of people who moved to Prague and didn't like it because of exactly what you said. However I really love their "predictability", as it makes me feel even more safe.
@@zlatakelembet3680 Thanks. And as I write this I just got a slap in the face with the unpredictability of Georgia. But it is being worked out. But that is the problem with unpredictability. I know Switzerland well. Beautiful mountains, everything works. Totally predictability. And totally boring. It's a trade you make for living in a very interesting culture. I still love visiting Switzerland though. I like being able to count on the trains being on time. And yet...
I have known many long term CZ expats and many more Czechs that have left the country and never come back (just an observation). Prague is amazing, but, in the end, aside from all the many good things, it will begin to feel like what it is, a small and relatively undynamic city. It is "the comfort zone".
Prague is very dynamic, it just does not feel like it, except the tourists in the center. Honestly, busy,stressed out, fast cities are not something modern people want. Everybody is sick of it and honestly you must be insane at this point to want to live in cities like Paris,Amsterdam,London or NY city or LA etc... It will make you ill physically and mentally.Plus progressive ideology is like cancer that kills everything it touches.
Jsem dojata. Praha je nej nej město, a (Vídeň, Paříž, Ljubljaň..např.) jsou jen její slaboučkou kopií, chybí jim mystika a duchovní rozměr Prahy. Žila jsem v Praze 8 let před revolucí, domy sice nebyly pastelové, míň aut, míň lidí, míň dopravních značek, míň reklamních ploch a žádné graffity, ale tehdy ona mystika přímo dýchala člověku za krk. Ona je tam stále, jen přehlušená "moderností", ale silná místa nezmizela. Uronila jsem slzu, že to u vás Praha vyhrála a že zůstáváte. 💖
I loved the last point about topography, such a brilliant observation and it spoke volumes about your passion for Prague 😉 Being from the place I never realized how much that’s something I love too - thank you! P.S. Even being well in my adulthood I still talk about new views from unexpected places with my friends every now and then ;)
"Trams were late. We never experience it in Prague." lol, good one :D
Well... if interval between 2 trams is like 3 minutes U never know whether it was late or arrived 2 soon...
Hi, I like it! I was born in Prague and spent there more than 30 years and I can imagine living there again. When I visited Amster for the first time, I absolutely fell in love with it. Maybe I like smaller towns in NL even more. But exactly as you said - as a tourist.
We just moved to Prague with my husband 1 months ago from Hungary - I am still adjusting, but the atmosphere is really nice, even cozy, and as you mentioned you will get to appriciate the things that surrounds you and its in the attitude (I am not a big lover of changes, so I need to work on that one :D )
You nailed it with the topography of Prague! I used to felt like idiot explain it to ppl in London and other places in the UK which were totally flat, what difference it makes to have valleys a hills in the city like Prague. I agree wholeheartedly that it feels different and it's such a simple thing, but makes me on it's own happier to be back in Prague now :)
Great video! Made me think a bit about different aspects which one tends to overlook. You should compare Prague and Brno as well ;))
Originally from Pilsen, I then moved to London to learn English and lived there for 6 years and I can say would never live there again (I enjoy an occasional visit but that's it). After London I lived in Gold Coast for almost 2 years and loved the hot weather, ocean and the people but the distance (literal & in time ) made me feel more "lonely" + it was more like living in the countyside ("vesnice") which is not my cup of tea. Moved back to Pilsen but found a job in Prague where I moved 2 year later and I'd never move again (I think!). It has everything I need in about the right amounts :-) But from all the places I visited (on holidays too), I must say that only NYC excites me and I consider it the most interesting place for a visit!
I got so nervous seeing the video notification! I thought it will be about Brno! 😀But really, I fell in love with Amsterdam at first sight! But then I discovered that I can't really explore it having a car. This spark ingnited my big plan - in the following years I found myself an old motorboat, fixed it, hooked behind my trusty Skoda and 8 years after my first visit I got to Amsterdam with a boat - and then only the city of Amsterdam was just right! 🥰
The Netherlands is not just Amsterdam, and I think you can get the vibe you want if you will consider living in nearby cities like Haarlem or Leiden. You can always go to Amsterdam minus the non-stop crowd and sky-high prices of housing. I was in Prague for a week, and I love that people are more fashionable, the shops are neat and well-kept, and uber/taxis are affordable plus, if you have the money, you can afford better customer service. In Amsterdam, customer service does not exist; shops close early, and there are too many people around. I love NL, but I will never live or bike in Amsterdam.
That's such a good point about the topography of Prague, I never thought about it :)
I love both Prague and Amsterdam. And currently we're very happy at Davis, CA. Very many nice places in the world, for different reasons :)
Canadian here, been living in near Cheb village, Karlovy Vary over six months. In the beginning, I wanted to live near Prague , and my wife wanted to live near Cheb, closer to her family. I was so mad , we had to go with Cheb cuz it seemed boring and nothing going on like Prague ....but now that Im here , I love it, Im actually closer to the German border , lots of nice cities I could hit up, in 2 hrs drive, over the border to visit that are just as good as Prague or better. Karlovy Vary city is very good with tourism too with nice spas, restaurants and landscape the way you described about Prague. Off course if I want to go to Prague, I could do so in less than 2 hours , so convenient to live near the Western border of Czechia, I have the best of both world.
I may mention Prague's nature. I've visited Amsterdam many times and the only characteristic of nature there, from my point of view, is the sea a few km from the city and some parks and gardens. Prague, on the other side, has so many dramatic and beautiful landscapes to offer - Prokopák, Šárka, Petřín, Stromovka, Tiché údolí, ... And you can just few minutes by train or car and you're in places like Křivoklátsko, Brdy, Kokořín and if you can further (to all directions from the city) you reach amazing mountains. This is something I've never experienced in the Netherlands. I like the vibe of Amsterdam, but it ends with the question - can I experience an adventure here?
I lived in Kaohsiung (Taiwan) for a year and due to my university I had to come back home, but god, I would love to return there and live there, it actually is my home and I dont feel the same way here in Czechia
Thanks for loving my country😊
Hey Jenn! Skvělé video, jiný komentář není zapotřebí!👌👍🇺🇸🇨🇿 BTW: 10:42 - to mě fakt dostalo! 😂😉😄😆🍺🍻
I have been living in Amsterdam for 48 years now. A nice place to be for sure. I can every corner of this capital. North South East or West you name it. The China town, the Turkistan(Amsterdam-West) the part of the city we call ´Manhattan on the Amstel´ (the river). There is a nice part of Amsterdam, Amsterdam-South and there in Buitenveldert I live, we have here many well tended parks and also jewish citizens. I love this cosmopolitan city. But, I have to visit my roots every year - Prague, where I was born and lived for 24 years. Until the time of my expat-moving to the city where I have got my citizenship and a Dutch passport on the day of my first marriage back to the year 1974. For your next trip to Amsterdam, Jenny there is a small shop in the Damstraat, not far from the Dam square with more then 120 types of beer. There you can get Pilsner Urquell as well.
At the first time i was like a "eh, Jen we will miss you😭" ...after a while i was relieved with "uf, how could i have doubts" and "that´s our Jen" 😊🥳. I think you scared some people, but you told us in such touching way. Great video Jen !! P.S. Thanks for that info about Amsterdam, now i appreciate our city more too ^^
I agree with you 100% on the topography. That's why my top 3 cities are Rome, Barcelona and Prague.
Marseille got rather lovely topography as well
You are simply part of Prague and old Prague always loved foreigners. Good choise and be patient, please. You forgot about Czech reluctance. Cashiers, waitresses, taxi drivers... :D I find the Czechs very uptight. I am a Czech born in Prague and I would like to try living in L.A. for a while. I like your insight and sense of humor :)
Just got back from a first time visit to Prague last week. Loved it. You are spot on re: the under-rated topography. Totally agree: city of big vistas.
I never lived abroad, but I traveled a lot and I always ask myself the same question "would I like to live here?" I moved to Prague 2015 and I consider it as permanent home, thoughts about moving somewhere else are always in the air, but when I return, I just like living here. I feel you in case of food, I'm probably not typical Czech person. 😅 Amsterdam (or the Netherlands in global) is also high on my list, especially for the language reason as you mentioned. I was overwhelmed by Singapore, but after few days I realized there's not much to do. I'm always happy visiting Seoul, great food, interesting culture, but English is useless. Japan awesome to visit, but I would never feel being home. US, I would gain 1000 tons on the weight 😁. But there is city of my heart and it's Syndey. The biggest negative thing is geography, obviously. The city got under my skin. I could have been in Germany, Swiss, UK, US.... Could I make more money there? Of course I could. Would I be happy there tho? Don't know. Prague is not the best city, I say it's great city for what it offers.
I am so glad that Praue wins it for you!!!:) I live in Prague for 9 years, I am native and I like Prague very much. I cant say I could not live in other city (I studied in Olomouc and it is a beautiful city) but I could not imagine myself in other country ( or maybe ionly n Slovakia or Polland:). I move to Prague bacause of job opportunites and I am glad I did. I hope you stay in Prague for a long time. Love your videos!!
awwwwww..... I knew you would choose Prague :) Even though I was thinking in the beginning: oh, no, oh no, they are moving to Amsterdam and take Tobik with them....🐈⬛. I am a Prague patriot, even though I sometimes wish there were a bit less hills and bit less tourists and bit less of cars ....you know I am Czech :) I lived a bit around Bohemia and Moravia, and England and Scotland and Italy...and was always lucky to live in beautiful places and if not, in places I learned to appreciate and missed them later. I sometimes think I have multiple hometowns all around... I am back to Prague for some years now, and had to learn to appreciate it, too and it helped me in the beginning that I was hanging out with expats (my ESL teaching friends :) and learned to see the city through their eyes. It is one of the reasons I love your videos- they remind me again how lucky I am to live in such a place :) Good luck with your citizen and Czech language tests...it really is a challenge only the strongest pass :)
Greetings. My parents came out to Australia a couple of years after WW II, so I was born and bred in 'Oz'. They literally jumped the border from Czechoslovakia into Germany as the Russians were constructing the Iron Curtain just behind them. My first visit to Prague was in 2015, I was with my daughter and her husband as we did some sort of vague homage to my oldies, since they had died a year or so before. We got to see and experience a fair amount of the place but it generally struck me as a bit of a tourist pastiche, I didn't feel the need to go back. In my European travels since then, I've discovered that Berlin is my fav city of the planet, followed very closely by Milano and then probably Bregenz. BUT(!!!) the place I feel absolutely the most "as if I am home", through ALL the layers of my being -- and I ever never knew this feeling of belonging existed before discovering this place -- is a village high in the Austrian Alps, ie. Heiligenblut am Grossglockner. However, in the mean time, in November last, I became a Czech citizen (now dual with Australia) and am going through the painful logistics of moving to 'my alpine hideaway' by the end of the year. Through Facebook, I met up with several nephews in Czechia in 2019 and during last October particularly, they showed me the Prague I never experienced before, stuff with more of a locals perspective, than a tourist's, so my appreciation of Prague is now much deeper and multifaceted than back in 2015. Would I choose to live there?.... I definitely could, but I think Pilsen may win in a choice between the two -- assumimng I had to stay in Czechia.
Hi Jen, do I still need a "Health form" to enter the CR? *American coming from the Philippines in a few weeks.