Many will agree that Prague is one of the most beautiful and convenient cities in the world. The high popularity of Prague among foreigners for relocation can be explained by having one of the lowest income inequalities in Europe. Great work and life balance in Czech culture attract many professionals to build their careers and start a family in Prague. High quality of education, friendly living costs, and world-class public transportation make the Czech Republic a popular destination for university students from around the world.
This is exactly how the founders of Expat Hub, Marina Panko and Caroline Beach, moved to Prague. They met at their university and became friends, as they shared a common interest in the expat community in Prague. “We find it interesting that there are a lot of foreigners living in Prague, however, almost none of whom we know would use services from local businesses. We found expats were spending at a premium to get services done from abroad, due largely to language barriers. This inconvenience lowers the quality of life for expats and ships money directly out of Prague’s economy.” says Marina.
Barriers when relocating to the Czech Republic
According to the market research conducted by their friend and colleague, Karolien van den Bergh, 84% of foreigners experience language barriers when relocating to the Czech Republic. As a result, the vast majority of expats (82%) don’t know what local businesses to approach to fix their daily problems. Instead, they approach big corporations or make an order online. Therefore, local small businesses don’t get support on such a big market segment like the expat community. It slows down local economy development and negatively impacts ecology by increasing a carbon footprint caused by goods shipping.
The trend towards globalization is only getting more popular, and the expat community continues to grow worldwide. “A quick, smooth integration into the local culture and economy is so important to the quality of life for foreigners.” Caroline added, “By shortening the transition time for the expat community, we hope to improve relations between the local people and their new neighbors.”
Support the local economy
To address this problem, Marina and Caroline created Expat Hub where they publish articles about local businesses that are not widely known by the expat community in Prague. In their articles, they showcase services that the business provides, its history and mission. By introducing the founder of the business to the reader, “It is important for us to add a “human touch” to the business. When you shop local, you are not only contributing to the local economy but also supporting people that run local businesses and provide jobs to others.” Marina says.
The mission of Expat Hub is to help expats all over the world to take advantage of globalization and break down barriers (language, cultural, financial, and personal) to make it easier and more affordable (financially and emotionally) to connect, integrate and feel like a local.
Join Expat Hub Facebook group to get exciting updates about awesome local businesses that will exceed your expectations by providing you with its generous services and great prices.
Let’s contribute to the local society and make this world a little bit better together.
