miles or kilometers...it doesn't matter. you still reach Moravia. prices of real estate are quite expensive but still ok. supply vs. demand
Big difference indeed. Going 100 miles east from Praha would place you in Slovakia. Europe is rather small after all, espacially Central Europe.
Moravia is NOT a country. I doubt many who frequent this site know the difference between Slovakia or Slovenia, or that Czechoslovakia no longer exists. Brining up Moravia will not make matters any easier.
well guys allow me to chime in a little. i moved back home to Slovakia about 5 years ago and was able to ride the korean wagon here and got a job with one of key suppliers for Samsung. Kia, Samsung, Peugeot and VW along with US Steel are one of the top companies here keeping the country afloat. Slovakia has a good amount of savings and to my surprise the buyingpower of consumer was quite strong, especially since many people discovered loans and other means of credit that were not available in the past. Luckily banks here have been very careful recently - although a year or two ago it stareted looking like the us mortgage market where they would finance 100% of home value. luckily it was only temporary and now you get maybe 70% of home value, so the banks are quite careful here. Due to the financial crisis banks have begun to call in loans which are not profitable or secure, and for maybe 99% (including govt. agencies) they increased the existing rates eventhough ECB is on a lowering spree. Simply put, banks are pulling in all cash that is available or is at risk. All of the above companies are dependent on export and consumers in the west, so for us, i think this will be a big problem since the market is shrinking and automobile industry is quite a big portion of our economy. So KIA, VW, Peugeot and Hyundai in Ostrava will have problems in the upcoming year or two which will definitely hurt the entire consumer spending cycle. Maybe Samsung could do ok here since you can buy a tv easier than a brand new car, but it will still hurt. now the companies are not laying people off in big amounts, and they only terminated employment agencies workers but i can see it coming if the market doestn turn around in a couple of months or so. the numbers will simply give, and they'll have to scaledown. this will be the second wave of shock to the slovak economy. but i think that it wont be as bad as in other parts of europe, especially since the govt is working quickly to protect the consumer and to give tax breaks and rebates to those who keep the employment level stable at their companies. Also some VAT reductions or eliminations on cars and other goods might help the domestic market quite a bit since its around 19% anyways, just wanted to give you guys some insights from first hand observer.