Living the High Life in Czechia

Not only does Czechia prove to be a family haven, but expats there also enjoy wonderful career prospects.

Expats are extremely satisfied with travel and transportation.
Only 49% of expats find the local population friendly.
Czechia is among the top 5 countries for family life.
It is the third-best destination for working abroad.
86% appreciate the low cost of living in Czechia.

Expat statistics for Czechia — infographic

Transportation System Puts Czechia on the Map

Czechia has emerged as one of the best-connected transportation hubs in the world, ranking third overall in the Travel & Transportation subcategory in 2018: 95% of expats rate the Czechian transportation system and infrastructure highly, compared to just 68% worldwide. Moreover, 96% of respondents testify to the good opportunities to travel in or from Czechia, 14 percentage points more than the global average.

Healthcare Options and Leisure Activities Do Not Disappoint

Czechia’s strong performance in the Quality of Life Index cannot be attributed only to travel and transportation. It does really well in several subcategories. One huge reason is the above-average performance regarding health and well-being.

Exactly eight in ten expats attest to the good quality of Czech medical care, and a hugely impressive 82% are satisfied with its affordability, compared to 59% worldwide. Another big factor adding to the popularity of life in Czechia are the wonderful socializing and leisure activities, which 83% of expats rate highly, compared to a global average of 66%.

Such favorable leisure options and high-quality healthcare may have contributed to the fact that almost eight in ten expats (79%) say they are generally happy with their life in Czechia.

Settling Down in Czechia Is No Mean Feat

Settling down in Czechia is not an easy prospect, and expats struggle with the friendliness of the local population. Just under half of the respondents (49%) see the general friendliness of the local population, as well as the local attitude towards foreign residents, in a positive light. These values are 20 and 17 percentage points less than the respective global averages of 69% and 66%. Expats also have difficulty making local friends. Fewer than two in five (39%) believe that making local friends is easy (vs. 45% worldwide). According to an Indian respondent, “people are quite introverted and hardly mix up with foreigners”.

People are quite introverted and hardly mix up with foreigners.

Respondents also have trouble learning the local language. Over three-quarters of expats (79%) find learning Czech difficult, with an American expat adding that the language is “very challenging”. Globally, just 45% of expats experience the same difficulty when learning the respective local language. Fortunately, nearly half the expats (49%) don’t find it hard to live in Czechia without local language skills, although less than one in ten (9%) think it’s very easy.

An Almost Unrivalled Family Life

Family life continues to prove a particular advantage of this expat destination: for the third year running, Czechia places among the top 5 countries in the Family Life Index. More than seven in ten expat parents (71%) believe that childcare options are numerous and easily available, and another 71% say the same about education. Once more, these scores are considerably higher than the respective global averages of 47% and 52%.

Czechia also scores very well in terms of affordability — 68% of expats raising children in Czechia say that childcare is generally affordable, while an impressive 80% say the same about education. Of course, the quality of education is just as important as the costs; and these statistics don’t disappoint either: almost nine in ten parents (88%) rate the quality of education positively, and most of this education (60%) is provided by local state schools.

My family has a safe place to live, and the kids attend decent, safe schools.

The country’s performance in the Family Well- Being subcategory continues to go from strength to strength, with Czechia moving up four places from seventh to third. An incredible 100% of respondents say that their children’s general well-being is good, compared to 81% globally. “My family has a safe place to live and the kids attend decent, safe schools,” a US American shares. Expats also think that family life in general doesn’t get much better — 94% of parents in Czechia are satisfied, 15 percentage points more than the global average of 79%.

Job Satisfaction Stays Very High

According to the Working Abroad Index, Czechia is the third-best country for expats to work in. Overall job satisfaction places a very high 4th out of 68 countries. For the second year in a row, Czechia lands in second place with regard to job security, and almost three in ten respondents (29%) are completely satisfied with this factor.

Most expats (84%) also rate the state of the economy favorably, and half even considered the local economy and/ or labor market a possible benefit of moving to Czechia.

Economy Causing Finances to Flourish

Almost three-quarters of respondents (72%) are satisfied with their financial situation, perhaps due to a booming economy and the low cost of living — 86% rate this factor positively. A Turkish expat commented that “daily life, for example eating and drinking, is affordable”.

Daily life, for example eating and drinking, is affordable in Czechia.

Moreover, over eight in ten (82%) believe that their personal income is enough or more than enough to cover everything that they need for daily life. Both results are above the respective global averages of 51% and 78% for cost of living and sufficient income. According to a Ukrainian expat, the quality of life measured against the cost of living is “among the best in Europe”.