African American possibly moving to Brno in the near future.

Discussion in 'Expat Life' started by littlerascle59, Oct 30, 2012.

  1. Hi, my name is Arthur. I currently reside in Mississippi, USA. I've been to Europe several times but not specifically Czech Republic. I've been with my girlfriend for 2 years, who is now a United States citizen. She was originally born and raised in Brno but came to the USA when she was 23 years old with her friend who is from Hodonín to work and just for the experience. She ended up staying and her friend returned to Hodonín. When she came here about 14 years ago, she spoke no English nor does she have any relatives here. Lately we've been talking more and more about moving to her home country so that she can be closer to her family and to help her mom with her restaurant in the Bystrc(?) area of Brno. Well when it comes to me, I've traveled all over the world except for far east Asia and I've served in the Iraq war and antiterrorism missions in East Africa with the United States Marine Corps. I've made great connections with people whom I've met on my many travels so I think I'm a good people person and I socialize well with others. :D
    Even tho, I socialize well with others I still have some questions as to how well I would be greeted in Brno. It will be different this time because I will be there to stay and not just visit. From the title of the post yes of course I am African American but I am lighter skinned because I have European and Native American ancestors too. My main concern from what I've been reading is that I might be mistaken for a Roma/Gypsy. From what my girlfriend tells me, she said that Czechs are very friendly but however they frown upon the lifestyle of the Romas living in Cezch Relublic because of the trouble they can sometimes cause. She also told me that even tho their are Africans or people of African descent that visit or lives in Czech Republic, that it is still extremely uncommon in Brno and that people might stare. She said that it might not be so uncommon in Prague actually.
    Another question that I have is, are their any places in Brno that will exclusively hire an English speaker. I can speak Spanish well and some of other languages but Czech is still a very difficult language to learn. The words in Czech are very hard to pronounce properly compared to other languages, so yes it will take me more time to learn to speak Czech properly. My girlfriend also has told me that wages in Czech Republic are much lower than wages in the U.S.A. Right now I make about $4,000(77,254 Czech Koruna) monthly which I am comfortable with. Is it possible to make about the same amount of money in Brno? At this point in my life I'm just ready for a new setting and adventure so to speak. Oh yeah, I forgot to ask. How is religion looked upon in Brno as well? I do not try and force my religious views upon others but yes I am a Christian and I do believe in God and I was wondering if their are places there to worship and fellowship. From what I've read a lot of the churches there are mainly museums and tourist attractions. At this moment my girlfriend and I are talking about getting married so we will more than likely be a married couple before we make the move. I also own 3 antique collector cars that I'd have to ship over there as well. I own a 1963 Impala Super Sport, 1964 Impala Super Sport and a 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme T-top. If anyone have any information on how I can safely and smoothly ship my cars there, it would be greatly appreciated. Also any other information that can be useful to make our move less stressful would be greatly appreciated as well.
    Thanks,
    Arthur :)
     
  2. Oh I forgot to add that later I will post a picture of myself. I hate introducing myself to people online on blogs/forums without showing how I look. :lol:
     
  3. Dana

    Dana Well-Known Member

    I'm afraid I can't provide very helpful answers as I don't live in Brno and can only offer the perspective of a Prague resident. But I'll answer what I can.

    From what I've seen, African Americans who live in Prague (and I'd say there's a decent number of them here) are now well beyond the point of having to endure stares from Czechs. Prague is by now relatively cosmopolitan compared to the rest of the country and people are used to seeing foreigners of different races. I don't notice African Americans, Indians or Asians being stared at in Prague. Dealing with Czechs one on one may be a different story and I'm really not able to say what you should expect.

    The average salary in the Czech Republic is about 24,000 CZK or $1,200 per month, which is a little less than what an IT specialist makes at the Brno IBM. I'm not sure what type of employment you'd be looking for in Brno aside from helping with the family restaurant but in order to make what you're used to from the U.S., I'm guessing (and I may be wrong) that you'd have to be in the management of a foreign or large Czech corporation. You may be expected to speak at least a communicative level of Czech, but again, I could be wrong. Keep in mind that even though Czech salaries are much lower than U.S. ones, your expenses will probably also be lower.

    The Czech Republic is one of the most atheist countries in the world. Ironically, almost all Czech towns and villages have at least one church, usually Catholic. There are so many churches in the Czech Republic that they naturally can't all be used for worship. Still, 27% of Czechs regard themselves as Roman Catholic. Only a small percentage of those actually practice their religion, but they do - and they do it in their local churches. You shouldn't have a problem finding a church in Brno.

    Have you and your girlfriend considered spending a good amount of time in Brno as a sort of trial run? I think you'd get a lot of your questions answered if you moved to Brno for a couple months without any obligation.
     
  4. Oh ok..., thanks. Yeah, that does sound about right based off my other travels in Europe. As far as wages are concerned I still will have a secondary income from the USA so it's not that big of a concern for me to make money but since she hasn't been back in a while she's been asking her family alot of questions as well. Is their anything specifically I'd need to do as far as making sure I'm within legal status of being there? Right now, we're only wanting to stay maybe 3-5 years; not permanently. My girlfriend was telling me that the last time she was there her mom had an Ukrainian employee at her restaurant and the authorities would stop by every so often to check her legal status. Also do you or anyone else know what's all required when trying to bringing pets?
     
  5. Dana

    Dana Well-Known Member

    If you move to the Czech Republic as a married couple, you'll be able to apply for long-term residency as a spouse of a Czech citizen. You may want to start the process through the Czech embassy while still in the U.S. If you come as an unmarried American citizen, you'll have three months to stay here as a visitor. You can get a work or study visa that would allow you to stay long-term. The Czech embassy should give you all the information you need. You can start here:
    http://www.mzv.cz/washington/en/consular_information/index.html

    To bring a pet into the Czech Republic, you'll need a veterinary certificate, a current rabies vaccination, and a microchip or tattoo (a microchip is required by law for dogs in the Czech Republic). Detailed information about importing animals to the Czech Republic is available at the Consulate General website here:
    http://www.mzv.cz/losangeles/en/consular_information/travelling_with_pets/index.html
     
  6. Sova

    Sova Well-Known Member

    1986 ≠ antique, Arthur, please! "Classic"--now that's sounds much better! :lol:

    Best wishes in the Czech Republic!
     

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