"Opportunities are easily lost while waiting for perfect conditions."
— Gary Ryan Blair
Sooner or later, if you want to begin an adventure, you have to take the first step.
But there are some things worth considering. Timing your move correctly will impact your budget, the amount you're able to save for the move, and the availability of job positions are when you arrive.
In this lesson we'll go over these major considerations when timing your move to Prague:
- How much you are able to save before you arrive? If you're able to sock away an extra $1000, it might be worth delaying your departure to keep that retail job through the Christmas shopping season.
- Do you need a Visa? - If you're not an EU citizen, you'll have to apply for a visa, and this will have a big impact on how you plan your itinerary. In brief you really shouldn't plan a Europe-wide summer tour culminating in a move to Prague. We'll go over why below.
- What's the best season? Are you a Florida girl who's never seen snow? Arriving in January might not be your smoothest transition into winter in central Europe.
- Costs of travel, hotels and TEFL - There are high months and low months for everything from flights to TEFL programs (we'll go over that in our TEFL module) to short-term housing. These could add hundreds if not thousands to your budget if you're not aware of them.
- Job Prospects - If you're moving to Prague to teach English, the hiring times are best in certain times of the year.
- Logistics of documents - plan ahead so your flight doesn't leave before your passport arrives.
Let's go over each of these in detail:
HOW MUCH CAN YOU SAVE BEFOREHAND?
We know how it is—once you've made up your mind to move to Prague, it's hard to focus on your job as a barista or shoe salesperson or camp counsellor or receptionist.
But consider this—if you delay your move by a month or two, how much money could you add to your cushion? Is there a summer job at home you know you can bank on? Perhaps working through the summer and waiting until September is the most fiscally responsible thing you can do. Same with part-time Christmas work. At certain point, you'll have to take the jump, but do so with your budget in mind. You'll never regret having that extra thousand dollars in your bank account.
DO YOU NEED A VISA?
If you are a non-EU citizen, you will need a visa, and so the VISA MODULE is very important—don't skip it!
In brief, you need to start your visa process as soon as you touchdown in Europe. This is because you'll start your stay on a 90-Day Tourist Visa, and if the Czech government hasn't approved your Long-Stay Visa (and trade license) by the end of that 90-Day, you'll have to leave Europe.
That means you if you plan to travel to Barcelona, Amsterdam and Rome before you finally settle in Prague, you might not have enough time to get your visa before your Tourist Visa expires. It's best to come to Prague first, and save the travel until after you establish yourself here. Don't worry, we go over this in detail and show you the exact steps to take in our VISA MODULE.
If you're an EU citizen, this will not affect you. You can obtain your Trade License any time of year and it should only take you a couple weeks.
PICK YOUR SEASON
If you plan to stay the year (or longer!) you'll get to experience each of Prague's glorious seasons eventually. But which seasons are most conducive to moving?
Spring, Summer and Autumn offer gentler climates than winter and require less bulky items in your luggage (snowboots, gloves, parkas, etc.) You'll need those things eventually, but sometimes you can convince a parent or sibling to ship them when the season arrives.
Consider other yearly plans and commitments to visit home. If you count on spending Christmas back home with family, you might want to push your arrival date to January instead of October. Are three of your friends getting married next June? Plan your move early enough prior to those commitments so that flying home for the weddings won't feel like an unnecessary and expensive trip.
HIGH SEASON V. LOW SEASON
Picture JFK airport on Thanksgiving weekend, or the Hollywood Freeway at rush hour and you'll get a sense of what the capitals of Europe are like in the months of July and August.
Most of Europe is shut down and on vacation (we take vacation very seriously here) so all forms of travel are more expensive. In the next lesson, we'll show you how to find flights based on cheapest times of year (usually January & February) and even cheapest days of the month. Accommodation prices skyrocket in July and August too—that matters if you plan to stay in a hotel or hostel for a week or two while you hunt for the perfect Prague apartment. (We'll show you how to find the perfect flat in our HOUSING MODULE.)
If you plan to take a TEFL program, the summer months can be overbooked, while winter months have last minute spots and might even offer discounts. Don't miss our TEFL MODULE where we show you how to get big discounts should you decide to sign up for an online, or in-person course.
In general, summer months are more expensive for everything and January-March are the best for deals. Knowing this alone can save you hundreds of dollars on your move.
JOB PROSPECTS
No matter what your specialty, a little-known trick of finding work in Europe is to start in a high-demand field, and then keep your ear to the grindstone for other jobs in your desired field. And what is always in demand? English teachers. We'll go over what TEFL entails, in the TEFL MODULE.
"Before my husband and I made up our minds to move to Prague, we spent months looking for jobs in our fields (Graphic design, law) all over Europe. Finally we realized that no one was going to hire us from 10,000 miles away. So we made up our minds to move to Prague. Teaching English teaching was the path of least resistance to getting work right away. After a few years, we branched out into our fields and even expanded our horizons into new ones. Teaching English was an absolutely essential step to moving abroad successfully."
Language Schools (most English teachers in Prague start at Language Schools) generally accept rolling applications, but they tend to hire staff for the new semesters in August/September and January/February.
If you are not yet TEFL certified and want to get certified in Prague, you will need a month on the front end of your journey to take a TEFL program. That means January & August TEFL courses are very timely.
This timing matters less and less as more teachers move to online teaching companies that need teachers all months of the year.
Maybe you're a digital nomad who consults over Skype or does graphic design, programming or online marketing. Consider your busiest and least busy times of year. Maybe your corporate clients always leave you high and dry during the Christmas season, and then start banging down your door in the first week fo January. Plan your move for your slow time of year so you're set up with a flat, an internet connection and a local coffee shop by the time your workload gets back up to 100%.
LOGISTICS OF DOCUMENTS
Don't have a passport yet? Best apply early. It can take several months to get your passport, so make sure you don't book a ticket within that time period. If you're a non-EU citizen, you'll also need a letter from your bank, proving you have a certain amount of money at your disposal. That shouldn't take more than a week or two, but be sure to do it within the 30 days prior to your flight. We'll go over that in the VISA MODULE so don't miss it.
ACTION STEPS:
- Consider the variables above
- Select 2-3 potential departure months and write some Pros and Cons for each
- Once you've narrowed down your desired departure date, mark it on your calendar.
Remember, a goal without a plan (and a date!) is just a wish. See you in the next lesson!