The Czech Republic Named the 10th Best Place to Raise a Family

As living costs rise, raising a family is becoming a more expensive endeavor.

Priorities are changing too — more families are seeking out areas that offer easy and affordable access to education and childcare, low crime rates and family-friendly policies to help support a growing family.

A good education will shape your child’s future, so it’s important to have good and affordable schooling nearby. Salaries and rental prices provide a good indication of cost and quality of living, where higher salaries and lower rental costs suggest a higher standard of living.

Family and social policies, particularly around parental leave, are essential, though it’s surprising to see how many countries lag behind, particularly when it comes to paid paternity leave.

With this in mind, BigTravel compiled a list of the best places in the world to raise a family using a comprehensive points system. They ranked more than 100 countries in the following five categories:

• Global Safety Index
• Healthcare
• OECD Median Salary
• Rent Index
• United Nations Education Index

For maternity and paternity leave, countries were ranked 25 points each, bringing the total overall points to 150.

The Czech Republic ranks 10th and is described as:

“The Czech Republic frequently ranks as one of the most livable countries in the world and it’s every bit as pleasant for families. The country gets full marks for both healthcare and rent, with some of the lowing living costs on our list. Maternity and paternity leave policies are reasonably strong too, with 28 weeks of paid leave for mothers and 14 days of paid parental leave for fathers and partners. Salaries ($31,771) are lower than the top entries on our list, as is education (0.89). Families can enjoy universal healthcare, with free medical treatment for Czech citizens, permanent residents and ex-pats working for a local company.”