If you are looking for inside knowledge of where to live in Prague as an expat, you came to the right place! We have been helping people move to Prague for over ten years and finding a place to live for the is one of the most requested service in Move To Prague. We have prepared a description of 7 best parts of Prague to live as an expat and 3 bonus places which are still kept a bit of secret. Read on!
Vinohrady, Prague 2
For many years it has been the most popular part for English speakers expats. On one hand you have a lot of restaurants, cafes and shops that can speak English, but on the other hand it is also the most expensive area to live in Prague 2. Being a neighborhood full of foreigners, the general idea is that foreigners have money, so locals end up taking advantage of that. But if you are looking to enjoy your stay in Prague as much as possible and you can afford it, then Vinhorady is the best place for you.
Zizkov, Prague 3
Even though it is considered as a “rough” neighborhood, not in a way of getting robbed or something similar, but because most buildings are not properly reconstructed and with plenty of graffiti on the walls, it is becoming a very popular area, especially for young people, where you can find many restaurants, cafes and bars with a unique vibe.
Chodov, Prague 4
This is kind of an unusual choice, maybe because Prague 4 is huge and with few English speaking expats living there, but people there really take care of you and can make it a very pleasant place. Might be a bit far from the city center (15-20 minutes using transports), with old concrete buildings, but it is also a very cheap area to live and is close to the forest. If this meets your needs, then this is definitely the area for you.
Dejvice, Prague 6
An area with the combination of student housing and very expensive housing, mostly for ambassadors or workers from the embassy. Since there are many universities in this area, which gather plenty of students, many things are also focused on students, for example cheap cafes or low cost markets. On the other hand you also have lots of embassies, which helps to explain the expensive part.
Holešovice, Prague 7
If you could go back in time 10 years, and visit this part of Prague, you would meet all the drug addicts and homeless people, so it wasn’t a really pleasant place to live. But now, it’s developing to become nicer, with some huge and amazing parks, plenty of cafes and restaurants as well, with a low cost. So adding to the fact that it is close to the city center, Holešovice is definitely one of the best places to live in Prague.
Karlin, Prague 8
Same as Holešovice, 10 years ago you would not want to live there.The first reason was related to huge floods that used to happen every couple of years due to the location being close to the river. Which also leads to the second reason, when the landlords didn’t really repair the buildings because they already knew that it was a matter of time until the floods came and ruined everything again. But after deciding to build a special wall alongside the river to prevent the floods, this area changed. A lot of international companies started to invest in this area, offering job positions to foreigners and Karlov developed a lot since then. Nowadays there are a lot of expats, which caused the prices to become higher, but it is still an area to keep your eyes on if you are considering moving to Prague.
Vrsovice, Prague 10
A hipster area close to the city center, with plenty of small cafes and restaurants with a low cost, with a really nice vibe. On the other hand there is no metro, so if you live there and want to go somewhere far, you will need to use the tram or bus.
Three additional secret neighborhoods of Prague that must have your attention!
Nusle, Prague 4
I guess we can call this part of Prague a “cheap version” of Vinhorady. With similar buildings, around the same age, but also beautiful and with a unique style. On the other hand, it’s not as expensive as Vinhorady, more of a Czech version (cheaper). So if you are looking for a nice neighborhood to live in, but you are cautious about the budget, this can be the solution for you.
Michle, Prague 4
Close to Nusle and to the city center as well, this part of Prague three years ago was not very developed, but now everything is being reconstructed, from buildings to shops, to become a very nice area to live in.
Smichov, Prague 5
This can be a strange choice, because a couple of years ago this part of Prague was very popular among foreigners. Was considered as the second city center for czech people, most specifically Andel, an area with a big supermarket, many tram stops too, restaurants/cafes and huge cinemas. But for some reason, it disappeared. Could be because of the smell of the brewery, we are not sure eheh. But at the moment, it is coming back in style as a great place to live. They reconstructed the old railway station, built some new business centers, and it is super close to the city center.
This article is an extract from a LiveStream about this topic by one of Move To Prague Co-Founders which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iczY7p_MT-U&t=980s.
