The Czech Republic is definitelly a developed country with a long history of industrialism and top-notch engineering: Czechoslovakia's engineering prowess was historically very well-respected in the former Soviet Union; and Czech companies to this day find their reputation is much better eastward than it is in Western countries(who've been blinded by the Cold War nationalist narratives.)
It's a manufacturing country, much like Germany. Indeed, many of the factories here specialize in making various parts for German cars, which are then exported to Germany and put in their cars.
The quality of life is not bad at all, though obviously the power houses of WEstern Europe and US/Japan/Australia/Canada rate higher.
Average wage last year was about 25 000 CZK/month, or about a thousand dollars. This is gross income: average net is going to be somewhat less.
But the numbers are skewed.
I can tell you from first-hand experience that many people in the Czech Republic are self-employed, which skews the number somewhat, as there is a loophole which allows tradesmen(which is almost anyone aside from factory grunts) to write off 60 percent of their earnings automatically.
My girlfriend, for example, who is an English teacher and manager at the school I own, takes home about more than that per month; she pays a bit for social and medical and then writes off 60 percent of her income, which leaves her actually well under 25 000/month officially. In reality her net is actually far more than what her official income is. So income statistics definitely have to be taken with a grain of salt.
All this is completeley legal, of course, and many employers take advantage of it. (The downshot of it all is that less money gets paid to the government, so the services suffer; or the corrupt politicians have less of a money pot to skim off, depending how you look at it.)
All this is completeley legal, of course, and many employers take advantage of it. (The downshot of it all is that less money gets paid to the government, so the services suffer; or the corrupt politicians have less of a money pot to skim off, depending how you look at it.)
For someone here making an average wage is enough to live on. Of course, it's best to have two incomes in a household, as it is everywhere. A family can survive well enough on 50 000 average income, particularly since in reality some of those families are actually making 60 or 70 000.
Now it goes without saying that this is still lower than an average income in the US or UK. However, the upshot of it is that many things are cheaper in the Czech Republic than they are in the West.
Services, in particular are incredibly cheap by American standards.
Note: I live in the East of the country, in the the Beskyd Mountains(or rather Highlands.) The average wage for this region is about the same as the average for the country. Average wage is far higher in Prague, it should be noted.
AS to whether it's "Eastern' or "Western" Europe, to me it's neither. To me it's CENTRAL Europe: and in my own definition, Central Europe would include: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary: basically, countries which were communist countries but were not part of the USSR proper. Culturally, the Czech Republic shares some elements with Austria(food, especially), and historically Czech Republic was part of Austria until 1918.
By the way, forget your Hollywood-inspired visions of Eastern Europe. They are dated if they ever were true.
But anyway, I think, more than Austria or Poland, that the Czech Republic is truly 'central' in terms of culture: it strikes a balance between the ultra-ordered, precise Germans to the West and the ultra-chaotic, happy-go-lucky Slavic nations to the East. As a result you find two kinds of Czechs:
- the organized, disciplined, hard-working ones, typically well-educated and above all, practical(and these people are the ones who absolutely rule the country)
- and the disorganized kind who drink too much and resent the successful.
The division of Europe into regions is a tricky thing: I find Eastern and Western to be far too simplistic. Here's my answer regarding the divisions of Europe(specifically about Germany but...):
If you are thinking of relocating here, if you have a decent job and work hard, it's a very good place to live. If you piss away your money and time in a pub(and many people do) you will struggle and eventually leave the country.
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