Liberec has just been voted the best place to live in the Czech Republic in a survey by the daily Czech newspaper Hospodářské noviny.

Even though it doesn’t have the highest salaries or lowest unemployment, it still beat Hradec Králové (2nd ) and Prague (3rd).

Of course, Liberec does have an advantage with the Jizerské hory mountains, but the clincher for top spot was that it offered the ideal of “earn big in Prague and live cheap in Liberec”.

http: / /www .praguemonitor .com /en /254 /czech _national _news /17276/

Hi Andrea

Interesting info for anyone looking at Czech as a potential investment location. Unfortunately, though, unless you subscribe to the Prague Monitor, you can't follow through on that link.

So, for those who don't subscribe, here are some interesting extracts:


'Little Czech Innsbruck
The survey, focusing on cities with population of over 50,000 and all regional capitals, was based on statistical data on wages, growth in home numbers, life expectancy, as well as the crime rate.

'Hradec Králové came second. "In Hradec, you feel they strive to take care of the city. Liberec is a small Czech Innsbruck," says sociologist Jiří Musil, an expert on urban life.

'Prague took the third spot.'

'The ideal: Earn big in Prague, live cheap in Liberec

Liberec offers a lot of ways to relax: sports, a theatre, a zoo, a water park. Many people leave for work in Prague every morning, but they want to live in Liberec.'

I also found this very interesting:

'Transparency International has been describing Liberec as the most corrupt Czech city for a long time. It points out that the Syner construction holding has been getting suspiciously many multi-billion orders from the Civic Democrat-led city hall. In 2000-2005, Syner laid hands on almost 40 percent of all contracts.

'On the other hand, the city – more specifically its broader centre – is fully repaired. And it keeps building on a large scale.'

So, a place that is rated as most corrupt is also the most popular place in which to live. Does this mean then that this kind of corruption has little impact or meaning for ordinary people?

To me this raises a fascinating question - we are all aware that a certain level of corruption is evident in CEE - partly as a legacy of those austere communist years when a 'favour' carried out and later returned was often the only way of getting anything done.

We are currently compiling a piece on the levels of current corruption in CEE, and it strikes me that this kind of low level stuff, while probably still quite common, is little more than an annoyance to most investors, even if they come across it at all.

And does the big stuff, mentioned above - and which happens everywhere, perhaps even in London, as is currently being investigated - really have any impact at all on a property investor?

What do people think and has anyone had experiences that are worth noting?

Cheers

Hi,

Interesting question. I guess most investors won't be worried about corruption, high or low level, in CEE countries and will be shielded from it by buying through PS.

I was recently shocked, however, by how resigned my Czech friends are to the massive and high-level corruption taking place in that country. The case of ex-premier Stanislav Gross (Social Democrats), who was suddenly enriched to the tune of 300 Million Koruna through the sale of some shares from a Moravian Energy company, is depressing in the main because the man showed absolutley no shame and blithely gave smiling interviews to the press. Although the case was in the papers and was therefore a bit of a 'scandal', no action was taken and no fuss caused. It is very worrying that the media has no influence in cases like this.

Another anecdote I heard was from the Eastern Region. A major highway project is apparently being built between Hradec and Poland, via Ceska Trebova. There was a choice whether to build a massive bridge / viaduct (at enormous expense) or to take another route. The former won. Why? My friend's father is a minsiter in the Regional assembly in Pardubice and said that colleagues from his own party (Centre-right ODS) were basically being bought out by the concrete industry who wanted involvement in the building works.

I find those stories depressing but what I find more depressing is my friends feel there is nothing that can be done about it.

Hi Richard

Thanks for that feedback and those interesting stories.

I think you are basically right that individuals are unlikely to be affected if they buy through PS. I don't think that's sales pitch - it's basically true that anything of this nature that might be encountered would already have been dealt with - by PS walking away!

But it would be interesting to hear from others about their experiences.

I agree that acceptance of high level corrupt practices is very depressing - the idea that 'nothing can be done', 'that's just the way it is', is very well entrenched in many places. Often, a little favour here and there - even a big one - is even regarded as part of normal business practice.

Time will, I think, make a difference to people's levels of acceptance. Plus, increased exposure to international companies and their way of doing business (although, of course, I'm not suggesting that Western companies are all paragons of graftlessness!) And the other great hope for non-acceptance must surely be the EU.

cheers