A bit late, I am gonna tell you everything you need to know when you need to settle in Czech Republic. After everything is done, you can chill and enjoy summer with a pint.
Flat hunting
First of all, many people choose to stay in an AirBnB or hostel for the first month. Actually, that is good thing to do as it takes an average of 2 weeks before to find a nice place to stay. We look on Facebook mostly, or sometimes on some website. I found my first flat with MyFlatShare another popular one is BezReality but this last one is only in Czech.
You contact a person, make a call and so on. You go for a visit and you notice that you are number 10 on the list. Some of the flat are nicer than other but the competition is also really high.
I found my second flat with luck. After being stood up, I got to visit another flat really quickly as a gesture and it was good enough for me. Now I am so thankful to be here with amazing flatmates from different countries.
One last thing, when you look for a flat, don’t start your experience with a Czech person. It can be hard for a foreigner to adapt himself in this country. The difference ways of thinking can be painful and you would have to move away quickly.
Bank
Let’s say you already found a job and you need now to open a bank account. Many recommend Raffensein. This one you need to pay for the services.
If like me you want to avoid fees, go for Equa bank. They have pretty good deals for foreigners. Agents speak good English as well. I once had an issue with them and they didn’t seem to be willing to do something about that I actually changed.
I went therefore for UnitCredit Bank. The first agent had an okay English. Besides that, she tried her best to help me and that meant a lot to me. Everything is free, everywhere. The service there is mostly on the phone also with English-speakers. The line is open until 10pm which make it much easier. The point I dislike is the fees they have when you make foreigner transfer. I am still looking to find a way to avoid this. If you have a clue, contact me!
One last bank I tried was Air Bank. They were not willing to negotiate a bank account with someone like me who doesn’t speak Czech. I quickly walked away.
Phone
Most of my colleague have pay-as-you-go. Personally I was looking for a subscription not to worry about my calls and to use a bit of Data. Phone deals are not very good here. They are expensive. For about 500 CZK (and I could get a discount!) I have almost everything unlimited with Vodafone. I could not choose a package that could fit me better. I don’t use text messages anymore –thanks to whatsapp-, I don’t call much either. The amount of data I use is also way bigger than I actually use. With Wifi at home and at work, I don’t need it that much.
Anyway, the best company for phone subscription still seems to be Vodafone. For Internet it would be more O2. Both seems quite similar.
Medical
The system here for the medical center is very simple. As soon as you get a job you get into the medical public system. Your employer provides you with an European card which is all you need for any appointments. The harder is actually to find an English speakers doctor or specialist according to your needs. You can also ask your employer if he would know anyone to recommend.
While looking for my specialists, I used to ask my doctor if she knew anyone, and if not, I was asking my work buddy and so on. At the end, I was able to find every disciplines I need, and in English. Of course, sometimes we were still struggling with the language barrier but all went very well and ended with a laugh. This is all you need to remain healthy!