Me. And, Anna. And, any other US Americans looking for a place to live in Prague.

The other night we met some nice Italian fellas at a nice Italian restaurant. As they invited us to join them for a bottle of Chianti, we chatted about life in Prague. We explained our living situation with our less than desirable roommate and how we wanted to kick him out or find another place to live.

Then, Stefano told us how he just rented a new place near by this very central location for a very nice price AND that his landlord had another flat next door that was available. The kicker? Rent was lower than what we pay now.

We went to look at the flat last night. It was quite nice but when asked how much they wanted– Anna and I grumbled when suddenly rent jumped double what it was for our EU friend, Stefano.

When we first arrived in Prague and were looking for apartments this same thing happened. But, then we didn’t know any better. Thing is, if you find a listing for an apartment in English it is almost double the cost noted in the ad for the same apartment in Czech. A bit of national favoritism here.

One of the first questions out of a renter’s mouth is, “What nationality are you?” When I respond that I am US American, the response I receive makes me feel as if I have the plague. It is like they do not want to rent to us and if they do, they are going to dig for all they can get. But, if you are Czech, or even EU, you get a much friendlier price.

I get it. Help your own first. But, it makes it hard for those of us who want to be here, work legally, and spend our money here.

This happens with negotiating for goods in town, taking taxi rides, and eating at some restaurants. There is some kind of resentment held against us that forces us to dole out more money than others.

Clearly, this is not a serious or life-threatening type of discrimination. But, it is odd to be on this side of the tracks…where you clearly aren’t very well liked in many situations.

Just another aspect of life taken for granted.