Living in one economy, my old life still in another.

The Czech economy is going great guns. Profit is up, the crown is strong, the sales of luxury goods are shooting up with the entry of stores like Gucci and other upmarket labels into the streets. They even opened up a Starbucks here in recent months–unlike back in Australia, where they’ve slashed three quarters of the stores, about 61 stores and cutting the jobs of a lot of students and travellers that I know.

The one-size-fits-all concept never really moved me, but one thing I always did appreciate about Starbucks as I struggled to get a hold of conversational German in Vienna and Nuremburg–they always hired travellers that could speak German and English, so if I was feeling a little bit rattled after a long day of trying to learn the language directly in the street, I could order my long-winded customised, flavoured macchiato and still be reassured that it was the same drink that I was getting back home.

I grew up a child of the recession, when mortgages were in the double digits and impossible to get, when my parents chased down a stray two dollar bill that slipped out of their wallet and flew along a pier because that was our petrol money home, where for a couple of years I was too young to realise what it was I was demanding of my parents when I wanted a treat and didn’t get one. Then the internet boom came,  and the ease of getting technical jobs as I worked my way around Melbourne; all of that saving and all of that enjoying the present but not in denial of the future. Professional jobs are still relatively easier for me to get with my experience–but I am still a foreigner, still an outsider, still mastering the nuances of the language and the culture. Prague is one of the most expensive cities in the world, and my Australian security holdings have crunched by a remarkable 30% in a year, and being surrounded by this post-communist affluence–it’s tempting to partake, but, then there’s the practicality of making sure that I can handle the inevitable rent rises whilst I’m waiting out the years to finally obtain permanent residency, eventual citizenship, so I can call this place my own home.

The kids I know who work at Starbucks back in Australia are talking about their redundancies. Once the credit crunch hit I knew this was coming, but it’s still frightening–still a sign to keep the bigger picture in mind and not to get too caught up in the beauty and new-found luxury of my new city.