Emigration to Europe - the way to happiness?

I don't know if you'll be interested in my story. This is definitely worth reading to those who dream of leaving their country and starting a new and, as they dream, interesting and stable life abroad. Of course, I am aware that abroad can be different, in the sense of the country it happens with different standards of living, that you can leave in different ways: by invitation to work, study, as well as with big money and other options. Therefore, in this article I do not want to say anything, let alone advise, just tell how it was with me, how my emigration to Europe took place.

I am a little over 30, was born and lived in one of the former Soviet republics all the time before emigration. You know, everything is as usual: school, college, marriage, the birth of a child, the desire to make a career, to achieve something in life. Then suddenly the thought, what if all the same desire, but in another territory, attracted the Czech Republic - the heart of old Europe. And here we go. First we went as tourists – I liked it: very beautiful, temperate climate, developed infrastructure, visa-free regime in all EU countries, even the Slavic language. More interesting: six months tormented with obtaining a long-term visa, it turned out that the problem even to apply, spent a certain amount of money to pay for the services of intermediary firms to draw up the necessary documents. And finally, a call from the Czech embassy - the answer is positive, the visa was given. After the first couple of hours of joy, "" Oh yes, we did it! "" there was a quiet, but boring voice that still sounds: "" Why do you need that? Are you sure you're doing the right thing? But it seems to be too late to retreat, and here we are again at the airport of Prague, but no longer tourists.

Impression one (doubtful): It's a rented apartment. It turned out that the standards of good housing at a moderate price in the Czech Republic differ from our (post-Soviet). The apartment, which in the real estate agency we were described as good, small, without a balcony, without an entrance hall, i.e. went through the door, and immediately you have a tiny kitchen, where it is impossible to even sit down to eat, a room only for cooking and storing food. The rooms, and there are 2 of them, are very poorly furnished, the TV and refrigerator are very old. No, of course, Prague is full of large and beautifully furnished apartments, but the prices for them are appropriate (immoderate). Well, we are almost accustomed, but the location is good, near the metro station, and it is 15 minutes to the center.
Impression two (pleasant): Shops. As you know, we went to the store the same evening, I want to eat, and to go to cafes to spend money, we are not tourists now, we came here to live. There are a lot of supermarkets in Prague, and there are even more goods in them. And the prices are reasonable. The only thing to consider is that the range is a little different. For centuries, people have tasted and other preferences, and they have their own people. But it is correctable, in Prague there are shops of Russian products, where you can buy everything we are used to, though the prices there oh-oh-oh.
The third impression (realistic): Czech. Despite the fact that Czech belongs to the group of Slavic languages, it is not so simple, do not hope that you will understand everything. There are many words that have the opposite meaning in Czech. For example, Zapomnit (sounds like remembering) translates to Forget, Čerstvy (sounds like Callous) translated into Russian Fresh, etc. But this is not a problem, Prague is full of offers of language courses, including Czech for foreigners, you can choose a group where all students are Russian-speaking.

Impression four (sobering): Working, starting a small business or buying a ready-made business in Europe. Organizing a business without speaking the language, not knowing the local legislation and superficially studying the structure of the market, the event, in my opinion, is too risky. And the hiring job... Crisis, though. There will be some vacancies, of course. But that’s not what I dreamed of back home. Basically, they offer cleaning in hotels, cafes, for men work on construction. After you speak Czech, positions of sellers, waiters, etc. will become available for you, approximately the same level. That is, it will take some time (not a couple of months) before you can start doing what you want. Work for hire, confirming your qualifications in Czech or calmly and thoughtfully organize your business.

Impression five (unpleasant): Living in a foreign land. Some locals have a hostile attitude towards Russian speakers, they will remember 1968 (by the way, they safely forgot about 1945) and about the 20 subsequent years of “oppression”. And you have to be prepared for that. And remember that, firstly, the bulk of the Czechs are still too well educated to openly show signs of disrespect, secondly, there are intelligent people who do not consider you responsible for all these “anti-Czech” actions, and thirdly, a wise man advised in especially offensive situations to remember Krylov’s fable “Elephant and Moska” and just smile in response.

Of course, the impressions of a new life are much more than the above, but even so you already have something to think about. I wish you the right decisions!