PRAGUE LIFE: Spend less and have a better quality of life!

My Prague life: How I spend less and have a better quality of life. Is it possible to have a better quality of life by spending and earning less? Most Americans would say no. After all, when you have more disposable income you can buy more things that make you happy! But the truth is that my life in Prague is less stressful, more enjoyable and it's because I spend less money! What do you consider important to have a good quality of life? A nice car or a short commute? A break-the-bank vacation or several trips a year to amazing cities to live like the local? Working 50 hours a week and earning a huge salary or working part time and spending your free time doing the things you love? There are no right answers, but in this video I'll share how my quality of life is better here in Prague, even though I earn and spend less money.

00:00 intro
00:43 Prague vs. California salaries
01:37 Cost of consumer goods
03:01 Being a freelancer
04:55 Dining out
05:49 Vacations
11:29 Transportation
12:32 Fitness
14:02 Social life

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▶ A B O U T D R E A M P R A G U E:

Ahoj! I'm Jen, native Californian, living in Prague, Czech Republic for the past 9 years with my husband and our rescue dog Tobik. One fateful night, we drank a bottle of wine, threw a dart at the map, and bought one-way tickets to move our entire lives to the center of Europe! Every day we learn something new, about Czech people, Czech culture, Czech history, Czech language, and how to battle the Czech bureaucracy. Dream Prague started as a place to share what we learned with other foreigners living here.

Are you considering a move, a visit, or simply interested in American culture vs. Czech culture? Subscribe and hit the bell to get notified of my latest video each week!

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▶ I R E C O M M E N D

I cover everything from how to find a flat to finding a community and dealing with visas and other legal requirements.

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▶ C O N N E C T W I T H M E !

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▶ M O R E V I D E O S Y O U ' L L E N J O Y

➾ The honest truth about my life in Prague:

➾ Are you planning a visit to Prague?

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[renatavintrova]

Moc děkuji za skvělé srovnání. Syn se mi vrací z USA po pěti letech a spolu s nim snoubenka. Prahu si vybrali pro společný život. Vaše videa jí moc pomáhají.

[jasekjaan]

Je super, že musí přijít někdo z druhé strany světa, aby čechům říkal, jak se tu máme dobře. To potřebujeme, jako prase drbání :) S tím cestováním máš naprostou pravdu. Mně taky až cestování otevřelo oči v tom, že není samozřejmé to, že můžeš na dovolenou, nebo to, že když potřebuješ lékařské ošetření, tak ho dostaneš, nebo že když chceš jít na univerzitu, tak můžeš, nebo že když je v jízdním řádu, že autobus jede v 11:20 z místa A, tak v tom čase opravdu z toho místa pojede, nebo že když chceš najít práci, tak nějakou vždycky najdeš. A spousta dalších drobností, které považujeme za naprosto normální, ale ve spoustě zemí naprosto normální vůbec není. Já vím, že to bude působit, jako captain obvious příspěvek, ale stejně jsem si nemohl pomoct :)

[seanhochman]

I've been living in Prague for over 5 years and every day feels like a vacation compared to living in the US :)

[carthtc]

About the "Czech way of travelling" - it originated a long time ago, after the boundaries opened after 1989, because the salary gap was MUCH worse back then. The prices everywhere else were so much higher that it was a necessity to bring supplies from home, otherwise you couldn't go on vacation at all. Everything was like 20x more expensive to us so a tent in a campsite was the only lodging option and even a stupid ice cream on the beach was a luxury you could afford only once throughout the vacation and only a single portion for the whole family... :)

[radkajanotova]

I think Czech people just value their free time and love having several short holidays during the year. Doesn’t matter if it is abroad or in Czech Republic. We just keep planning holidays, long weekends, skiing trips, cycling trips etc... and just having fun

[chrisdunn]

So true. I sold my house in the UK (and my car because I knew I wouldn't need it). Bought a flat in Prague and my standard of living went sky high - I earn a lot less money but seem to have a lot more to spend. Mostly though, I have much more time!

[miguelangelsandoval]

Dear Jen,
Your videos are our inspiration to move to Prague in a few years from now.
We hope we'll bump into you on our way to the beer garden in Prague, one day.
Thank you again for everything! ❤️

[sotouscz]

12:15 také trolejbusem, vlakem na území Prahy, lanovkou a lodí

[lukasloukota]

Jéé děkuji, na takové srovnání jsem se těšil, moc hezké video :-)

[Garis]

What a nice way to say we are poor but still can enjoy our time with what we have :-)
Edit: that sounds way meaner than it I meant, sorry

[seamusp]

How lucky to discover your channel - this is a treasure trove! :)

[lettuce]

I completely agree with how you described the way czechs travel. Me, my family and friends go to italy almost every year and i can tell you all that we've never stayed in a hotel. It's always a smaller house in those cute little italian streets, surrounded by natives. We bring our own food but we buy local products too. We also don't go to the same place every year, only if we really like the place

[MrOrgtr]

Thanks for confirming what I always thought. I’ll see you in Prague soon.

[Geker]

If your friend lives 5 km away in CZ than it's a nice walk for saturday afternoon. Especially out of Prague. And it will take you the same time as in LA by car.

[RadomilBenes]

Díky, tohle video tady chybělo. A opět jsem moc rád, že žiji v České republice :-) Neumím si představit, že bych jednoduše nemohl zajít s kamarády kdykoliv na pivo, nemít placenou dovolenou a 90% mého života by zabralo vydělávání peněz, žití na dluh (kreditky) a porovnávání se se sousedem, kdo z nás má lepší auto. I když... tohle nemám v povaze. Je mi jedno, jaké auto má soused, to moje mě taky doveze, kam potřebuji a stejně nejradši jezdím na kole. I na ty dovolené :-)

[janawaw]

Výborné rozhodnutí Jen. Také jsem si našla zaměstnání kde sice vydělávám méně, ale opravdu mám konečně čas a ten je k nezaplacení, protože energie mi již dost chyběla. Hodně mi pomáhá, že pracuji sama a nemusím se nechávat rušit okolím - arogantní a nepříjemné kolegyně apod. Doporučuji všem svůj život zpomalit a nakupovat tak jak zmiňuješ s rozmyslem :-) Děkuji za inspirativní video a přeji krásné letní dny.

[StarvingMarving]

Thanks Jen! This is exactly the video I needed right now. My wife is originally from CZ and we're thinking of moving from Australia to CZ, but of course money is always a concern. Your video really puts things into perspective. If I knew for sure it was the right long term decision I would totally sell-up here in Australia and just move, but we'll probably try renting for a year or so first.

Thanks for an excellent channel. I love your videos and insight into life in the Czech Republic.

[kristynaberankova]

I remember a friend telling me that she had visited a family friend in the suburbs of Los Angeles. She asked her where some "center" of the suburb was. The hostess told her that it was about three kilometers (she probably told her in miles :-) but it was not far), that there was a square, shops, a cinema ... So my friend went to see it. Along the way, she found that there were no sidewalks in many places at all, and four cars (one of which was a police car) stopped by her at that short time and the drivers ask if she is in trouble and need help. Because she was walking. Strange....

[Nejedlej]

16:12 That's why I love it here that much. You just bump into your friend on your walk from work, agree on one or two beers... then realizing what you did at 7am when you're leaving the pub and waving goodbye to the twelve people you had a great night with, not regretting a single second.

[stepandusek]

I really hope I'll bump into you somewhere around town because I still can't believe you're real.