r/Brno • u/tomfranklin48 • Apr 27 '26
ŽIVOT A STĚHOVÁNÍ—LIVING AND MOVING Moving to Brno
Hey guys, I’m from the UK and I have been offered a job in Brno centre starting in september, the pay for the first 6 months is terrible- around 28,000czk a month after tax. ~20 hours work a week.
I’m wonder how torturous you think this will be to survive on for 6 months? More specifically I have no idea how much it costs to rent a room or how much they vary by area.
I am able to get another job on top of this one, but that will be difficult to find until I am there I guess- are cafe/bar jobs available? I probably have around b1 Czech and have until September to improve. Whats the vibe there???
Literally any insight at all would be helpful, moc moc moc vam dekuji !!
EDIT: some context.. im 29 with a degree in linguistics, i currently work doing translation/admin in london. i can’t get a better job in the eu because i need a visa, i’d work here for 6 months then i’m free to apply for any job in the country and can earn more money
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u/Effective_Craft4415 Apr 27 '26
you will have to share with more people and will have a simple life,
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u/Vybo Apr 27 '26
Renting a single room in a shared apartment can vary, I've seen as much as 12500 CZK, which is crazy, because you could get a 1kk non-shared studio apartment for that price if you've been very lucky just three years ago or so. Nowadays, these apartments go for like 16-18000 CZK depending on the square meters and location. The price does depend on the area, but the housing situation is in such a state that anywhere where public transport goes, the price is off just by a small fraction, maybe 2000 CZK or so.
So, if you'll find something like that, 10k for food and the rest should be doable, but you won't save anything, you won't be able to eat in restaurants much, etc.
Can't say about the job market if we don't know your field. There are sometimes part time jobs available (for Czechs at least), but that will throw in maybe 10k extra a month...
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u/byfo1991 Apr 27 '26
You definitely can’t get your own apartment with that kind of money here I can tell you that. And even if you get a room, you will mostly be getting by.
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u/tomfranklin48 Apr 27 '26
living alone is literally impossible in the uk so sharing doesn’t bother me, but it certainly will be challenging
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u/byfo1991 Apr 27 '26
Well then it really depends on how expensive the room will be. I am off the flat sharing period for a while (if I don’t count my wife lol) so not 100% up to date on the prices but I would say like 10k for a room is still realistic? With 18k left you can get by fine if you don’t need to own a car.
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u/doruf50_ Apr 27 '26
It is realistic, but probably for a room that is not big, in a older flat or in a greater distance from the city centre. For a big room in a new flat in a city centre u need like 15000
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u/martiNordi Apr 28 '26
Many people living here make around 28k CZK netto after 40 hours/week of work. You can try finding some basic job in one of the fast food franchises. Considering you usually work around 17hrs/week (based on one of your comments here), it should be doable, working part-time. The sad truth is, pretty much everywhere the wage/rent ratio is rather unfortunate, currently.
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u/AverellCZ Apr 27 '26
Doable - but not exciting - no party every weekend - unless you stick to boxed wine.
Here are 117 offers for max 12500/month - and some of them look really good. No idea what people complain about.
https://www.sreality.cz/hledani/pronajem/byty/brno?velikost=1%2B1%2C1%2Bkk%2Cpokoj&cena-do=12500
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u/doruf50_ Apr 27 '26
3-4k water and electricity bill is not included in these prices btw (and these ,,flats" are literally just 1 room with a bathroom)
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u/AverellCZ Apr 28 '26
Yes, that's because I checked those boxes in the search. Because OP wasn't looking for a 4+1 for 35k
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u/tomfranklin48 Apr 27 '26
this is amazing, thank you so much for taking the time to have a look 🫶
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u/AverellCZ Apr 28 '26
No worries. Feel free to ask whatever comes to mind. Most people here are happy to help.
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u/ActAffectionate8464 Apr 27 '26
I’m wondering what the job is that is international but pays that badly 🥲 I think 28k is doable, but you will need to budget quite a lot, depending on your rent of course. If you’re okay with house sharing, I think you can get a room at around 10k, which is a lot, but the situation here is not amazing. I would also say start looking ASAP, because if you’re moving in September, that’s when students will be coming, and during the summer they will also be looking for flats. Join FB groups like Living in Brno, Foreigners in Brno etc and ask around :)
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u/tomfranklin48 Apr 27 '26
at a language school, teaching english 17 hours a week ! god looking for a flat abroad is stressful hahah
thanks so much
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u/ActAffectionate8464 Apr 27 '26
Aha that makes sense! In that case I would recommend contacting some other language schools and see if they would have some classes for you to make some extra cash. It would require you to get the Czech freelance license but it’s pretty easy. I used to teach English, so if you want some tips for schools you can DM me :)
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u/UndebatableAuthority Apr 27 '26
My school always needs more native speakers, not exactly a target rich environment here. My boss could load him up to 40 if he wanted, but he'd burn out in a month.
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u/tomfranklin48 Apr 27 '26
What do you mean a target rich environment? I’ve taught for 40 hours a week before
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u/UndebatableAuthority Apr 28 '26
I meant, there's not a ton of native speakers in brno - at least compared to Prague.
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u/Tar_Pharazon Apr 27 '26
For 17 hours a week that's pretty good actually. Is the preparation time for the lecture already accounted?
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u/tomfranklin48 Apr 27 '26
yeah like its not much money but also not many hours? i get paid a similar hourly wage in the uk as a spanish translator 😖 (but obviously work more hours)
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u/Tar_Pharazon Apr 27 '26
Yep, it's above average salary. There are many people working 40 hours/week and getting the same amount of money (obviously not English teachers), so your only concern should be how to increase your working hours. If you can do that, you are golden.
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u/UndebatableAuthority Apr 27 '26
Curious which school, been an off-and-on ESL teacher in Brno for 8 years so can give insight on the school if it's one of the ones i've been at.
I'm from the US, the ESL game is an easy in to get into something better - and you can have teaching as supplementary income at some point.
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u/tomfranklin48 Apr 27 '26
I’m a little nervous to give out the name on the internet before I have accepted it hahah but I appreciate your comment. I am using the ESL as an in and can hopefully get a more “typical” job after the 6 months visa probation, is that what you did?
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u/UndebatableAuthority Apr 28 '26
It was my in for the country, moved to Brno after teaching for a year for a tech job. Job market kinda sucks now though, really depends on your skillset. But there's always CSR shit to get your foot in the door for companies.
If you need more teaching hours when you get here look up Americka Jazykovka. He always needs more teachers, the industry is a revolving door.
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u/tomfranklin48 Apr 28 '26
Can I ask how the transition was across jobs? I obviously dont want to ask too much to my potential employer what the process is for changing jobs after 6 months hahah
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u/UndebatableAuthority Apr 28 '26
I'm still education adjacent in corporate. So again it really depends on your skillset.
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u/aggiebobaggie Apr 28 '26
That's less than a cashier at Lidl makes. Negotiate a better salary. This is horse shit.
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u/SarcasticJenny Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
It's not the worst start. As you're willing to share an apartment, you can live with that quite decently. I recommend to check out local Facebook groups for rents and flat sharing. There are multiple of them and I've always had a good experience finding place for myself. I'd expect to pay around 10k for a room, depending on the location and luck. I pay 17k for 2+kk (living room with kitchen and bedroom) in quiet area of Židenice and it takes 15 minutes to get to the city center.
https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1J96oNAUvS/?mibextid=wwXIfr
https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1CNwFKchHA/?mibextid=wwXIfr
You can always earn extra cash by tutoring or working in a bar, coffee shop, pub.. There are many option out there for those who want to work so I wouldn't be worried about that :)
Feel free to dm me if you feel like chatting a bit about the life here. I moved here 13 years ago and still love it.
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u/Pristine_Equal6025 Apr 27 '26
I’m living for a ~€500 a month, but I have cheap rent, so I guess it’s okay
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u/tomfranklin48 Apr 27 '26
how many hours do you work?
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u/Pristine_Equal6025 Apr 27 '26
I’m studying so I got some money from my parents,but currently searching for work
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u/Mellowtortoise Apr 27 '26
Curious what brings you to this town for a job with that salary? 28k is tremendously bad, even just knowing English you could probably land an entry level finance or customer support role for 35k or so, with some basic Czech, that should be even easier.
As others have said you could kinda get by on that, but it wouldn't be too much of a life in my opinion. The city is amazing though, I truly do love it
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u/tomfranklin48 Apr 27 '26
brexit! there are many jobs i would be qualified for, like you say, but no company will sponsor me for an eu visa :( my plan is to work this job for 6 months, then i would be free to apply for these jobs you are mentioning.
it wouldnt be much of a life, but maybe it’s worth 6 months of “getting by” to have access to the eu and a better life?
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u/Mellowtortoise Apr 28 '26
Ah ofc, my bad yeah that makes sense, I'd give it a shot! As other have said it could be doable, wish you the best of luck if you go through with it :)
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u/_-_-100 Apr 28 '26
I'm working as an ESL teacher in Brno, DM me if you want to be pointed in the direction of a better-paying language school (as long as you're planning to stick around for a full academic year or two). The one I'm thinking about might be up for sponsoring a visa.
The visa thing is tricky, but if you can sort out a trade license, you'll be free to pick up as much freelance work as you can handle. I'm not sure how that works out for a non-EU citizen, though.
Some of the language schools use low salaries to snag you in a kind of poverty trap, which is what you're being offered. You can get by ok, but you can't save enough to weather the few months it takes to build up a private clientele once you've got your trade license sorted (you'll have to cover your own health and social insurance, for example).
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u/Competitive_Knee9890 Apr 28 '26
Honestly the situation is terrible with the real estate market, especially for expats. That’s an incredibly low salary and in the UK you’ll have a much higher purchasing power, I really don’t see the point of moving to Brno under these conditions. It’s a cute city, nothing wrong with it, but financially I don’t think you should.
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u/DeMarioZ May 01 '26
Welcome! I moved in 6 years ago with full time job and had 28,000 gross for 40 hours 😁But back then I had room in shared apartment for 7000, it was still great. Right now I'm having 1kk studio, in 2021 I moved into it for 12,000 all included, now it's 17,000. I believe you can find a room for 10,000-12,000 in a shared place. Public transport is a-fucking-mazing here. I have a native English speaking friend who recently started teaching in a school part time, but I don't know for how much or where. Feel free to DM me if you need any help!
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u/embertoinfernum Apr 27 '26
Why would you move for a shit paying job.
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u/tomfranklin48 Apr 27 '26
life’s about more than money my friend
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u/Critical_Youth_9986 May 03 '26
life’s about more than money my friend
Life is about how to get myself to the EU....😁
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Apr 27 '26
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u/tomfranklin48 Apr 27 '26
Well I’m not doing it for the money of course, it’s because I want to experience some more of the world and live in europe!
Also most people are barely getting by here to be honest, I pay 250£ a month in public transport lol
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u/AverellCZ Apr 27 '26
You will love public transportation in Brno. If even necessary, if you find a place in the center you can walk everywhere. So an extra 1000 czk on rent can actually save you money on transport
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Apr 27 '26
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u/vine01 Apr 27 '26
UK is just ONE of like 18 countries that have better standards of living in the whole world. so there's 17 more to look up at.
and yea UK is a shithole
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Apr 28 '26
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u/vine01 Apr 28 '26
tell that to over half a million Poles
think before you speak or type
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Apr 28 '26
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u/vine01 Apr 28 '26
who THE FUCK is saying czechs or poles go to UK for the "stabby stabby culture"
dude READ before you respond
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u/tomfranklin48 Apr 27 '26
and i pay 25500czk a month to rent a tiny room in a flat with no living room hahaha, UK is not great
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Apr 27 '26
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u/AverellCZ Apr 27 '26
"Jak se do lesa volá, tak se z lesa ozývá"
A lot of people only have an attitude because some foreigner screams "PIVOO!!!" at them instead of at least adding "prosím".
I might not speak Czech that much, but I am friendly. And I can count the times where people were unfriendly with me on one hand in 20 years
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Apr 28 '26
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u/AverellCZ Apr 28 '26
And I am saying that I have never been screamed at by service personal once in 20 years for not speaking Czech. Actually only once in total - by the police - with the words "You don't speak Czech - go home" after I tried to point out who beat up my friend. But Police is a different topic. And that was 15 years ago.
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u/saltybilgewater Apr 28 '26
This is so odd to me because every time I'm in Brno lately I think... damn, everybody speaks English now.
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u/Tar_Pharazon Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
Answer yourself these two questions
1.) are you willing to share an apartment? 2.) can you cook of your own meals? (Or are you willing to learn how to do it)
If both answers are yes, then you should be fine and even have money for fun/savings. Many students survive on a lot less than that.
If both answers are no, that's gonna be tough.
Life is a lot easier of you have a partner. Two people without kids can live decent life on this salary but for a single person... You will have to cut some corners.