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Last April was the last possible moment to get
great deals on Czech real estate so Mirek and I
took the plunge and bought the first house we
looked at, in the farming village of Jakub,
population 500. Then I left. The place was
rundown and needed a lot of work. Actually, it
was uninhabitable, but the lot was big, price
low, and location amenable. I was nervous and
curious to see the progress since then and
finally get a feel for the village. Things
turned out great. Mirek did an incredible job
overseeing the renovation, there's a
historic church across the street, and a
great lake for swimming an easy flat bikeride
away. Village life is quiet and uneventful with
lots of kids and old people getting around by
bicycle. I was making the rounds, thinking to
myself, It's so great how there's nothing
here. Then I stumbled across this brand
new cul de sac gated community done in the style
Czechs call Byznyz Baroka--business
baroque. So, even here. With increased personal
mobility made possible by private car ownership
since 1989, Czechs are now intent on repeating
the mistake of American suburbanization. Praha's
population is diminishing as people jump ship
for the country. Instead of sprawl from the city
center, it's the little villages which are
growing. This growth in itself wouldn't be so
bad, but the newcomers are choosing commutes
over community, living in appendages to villages
but working elsewhere. As a homeowner I
shouldn't complain--development increases
property values. But it does make me wonder why
quality of life goes down as prices go up.
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