Monday, October 10, 2011

Low country morale

There seems to be a sentiment among Czech people that the Czech Republic is not as good to live in as western countries. Of course not everyone thinks this way, and maybe it is more common among young people, but it seems to hold true for a lot of Czech people. When people hear that I chose to relocate from west to Czech, I often get asked why with a stare of disbelief. It's as if people think that the standard of living is better outside of eastern Europe.

From what I've seen so far, your standard of living is less dependant on where you live and more dependent on what you do. You maybe earn less money in eastern Europe, but things are priced differently and you have other options of what to do with your time. I think media is largely responsible for the low attitude among Czech people about their country. Media often equals money and consumerism (buying gadgets, travelling, spending money) with happiness and success. Maybe this has lead to people striving for those things and not seeing the great things around them that are free.