Hi there, I'm a New Zealander moving from Taiwan to teach English in the Czech Republic, and I had thought that I wanted to live in Brno due to it's proximity to Vienna and Prague and better cost of living to wage ratio compared to Prague. But... I've been offered a job in Liberec, but I have some fears about moving there. Will there be enough English speakers there that I won't feel lonely? Is there still a decent English bookstore there? Is there much culture and things to do at night? Places to shop? Do people in my position generally rent there own apartment or flat share housing? The information I've found on Liberec so far is really positive, but I need a little more depth, preferably from someone who has lived there before I can make a decision. I am a 29 year old female... Any advice welcome... Emma
I've never been to Liberec, but I came to the Czech Republic to teach English too so I think maybe my thoughts might be somewhat useful? Třebíč has a population of only 40,000 while Liberec has 100,000 so it will probably be quite different, very few people here speak English and those that do are usually very shy to do so. My co-workers are my friends! So I wonder about the language school you're going to? Are there other English teachers or will you be the only one? Someone I know had the experience where everyone she worked with spoke a different language and everyone tried to communicate in a mixture of broken Czech-Spanish-German-English etc. Which I think would be a lot of fun.. but very lonely after a while! I'm lucky that my job includes a place to live, the rent is something like 200 pounds sterling a month and, half of which is taken from my wages and the other half the school pays. After rent and taxes I'm left with something like 10000 crowns a month, a bit less than 4000 goes on food so the rest is mine to spend how I like. (good thing I don't smoke or collect gold bars) The flat is furnished and includes a bedroom/living room kitchen, and bathroom. I wouldn't mind renting a room somewhere though, more chances to speak Czech. There's no English Bookstore here (the entire town has only 5 native English Speakers, so there wouldn't be much cal for it.) But a few of the bigger bookshops in Brno have English Language sections, and of course there are loads in Prague, so I just stock up when I go traveling. The bus from Liberec to Prauge only takes an hour and Student Agency run one something like every hour. This tells me it must be on the Sudent Agency Route to some other European cities, so that will be a great way for you to see Europe! http://jizdnirady.idnes.cz/vlakyautobusymhd/odjezdy/ http://www.studentagency.cz/index.en.html
Thank you, that has really helped to give me some perspective on the situation. The company I would have been working for is CEET, so, as you spoke about, its one of those companies with a few English speaking teacher and many others who speak different languages. On the balance of things, using your information and the info someone else PM'ed me, I've decided to go to Brno, even though Liberec sounds like it would be cool too. Thanks for taking the time to tell me about your experience- it was interesting to me to read about! xxe
I haven't been to Liberec either, but I may be able to answer some of your questions. I believe there is a university in Liberec, so you are likely to find a good number of younger people who speak at least some English. There is also a British Council Library in Liberec. I believe it costs 800kc for a non-student the first year, but the second year is 400kc. You'll also find the local library, which is cheaper, should have English novels as well. I live in a small city of around 45,000, and my local library has quite a few English novels. Liberec is also located in a beautiful part of the Czech Republic, especially if you like hiking in the summer, and skiing in the winter. Ah, I see that you have now decided on Brno.
Yes, but still thank you very much for the info- especially about libraries, thats really handy to know. I'm really not much of a sporty person, and by the sounds of it thats a major feature of why someone might enjoy their time in Liberec. I prefer developing the muscle on the arm that holds the beer mug, by lifting it up and down towards my mouth. It was a close decision though, Liberec does look really beautiful, and seems to have a lot of things going for it. Thanks to all who took the time to help me to make my decision, you're evry generous with your time! xxe
