1st ex-pat assignment advice needed about settling down in Warsaw.

I've just been offered a great job with my company in Poland and I'm seriously considering an ex-pat move. Would be based in Warsaw, but currently have no idea what to expect and how to help myself and my partner settle in when we don't know the language or the area. Is there a strong ex-pat community in Warsaw?

There's lots of expats here, though whether you want the expat lifestyle is a different matter :) However, you would certainly not be alone, lots of us in Warsaw from various places and there's usually someone with advice and help here on PF. They're a great bunch (apart from me maybe :) ) - where are you from?

If the job really is great and you can get some perks out here, why not? What sort of thing do you want to know about? A lot of the topics might well already have been covered in other posts :)

Warsaw is in no way a hardship posting ... all the comforts of home ( almost !) ... go for it .

With the exception of good bacon and sausages, everything you can find in Coventry can also be found in Warsaw and a fair bit more too.

I strongly disagree. The ONE good thing about Coventry was the Nandos ... (is that where you are from Harry? Sorry, dunno why, thought you were American!)

Nandos as in hot sauce? You need to check ostrakuchnia.pl, they have sauces which blow Nandos away! I particularly recommend the Blair's Death range.

I was brought up in England (Gloucestershire to be exact) but have been living in Warsaw for the last 13 years.

Thanks for your note Bev. I'm just about to accept the role and have been spending hours n the internet looking for apartments / international telephone providers / sky TV etc! At the moment I'm not sure what we don't know!

Are you living in Warsaw at the moment? How long have you been there?

I've been here in Warsaw for just over 2 months officially. I found my apartment on day 2 of being here by looking in the Gazetta Wyborcza with the help of a Polish speaking friend.

Re internet/cable etc worry about that when you get here, because the chances are relatively high that if you move into an apartment block there's a dedicated provider already (my block had Aster). Sky is trickier as you need to get Sky in the UK as I understand it and for BBC/ITV you need a 2m dish.

You'll have lots of questions, for sure (ok I am getting that from my students, napewno!) but searching the topics here will help you, there's lots of very helpful people and lots of advice from people who know a lot more than me (including the wonderful MagdalenaG :) ).

I'd contact you directly but you've set no email contact - I moved here from Leamington Spa so feel free to drop me a line, can recommend a very good local transport company who are not too expensive :)

Getting Sky is easy as pie: just get somebody in UK to subscribe for you and post the card over. Then just pay them every month and they pay Sky. Done.

BBC is much harder. You need a 2.7 metre dish to pick it up (and even then you won't have it in all weather conditions). Apparently you can use a proxy server to watch BBC iPlayer etc but I don't do that (because I don't want to have fast internet at my flat).

Just do my best to help...thank you very much !

In relation to Sky TV ,you can actually get Sky from a company called Sky Satellite services who are based in Warsaw. They supply sky box, dish & installation. Thy are very reliable & english speaking also . It is also possible to pay them monthly by direct debit charged to your credit card. ( still can't get BBC,ITV without the 2m dish though... try justin.tv ( free streaming site ) for any sporting events that BBC/ITV cover that Sky don't & then there are plenty of websites that you can download all the usual Sat. night BBC bubblegum for the brain light entertainment shows.)

Most welcome! Thanks for clarifying that Harry, not sure I want the expense of Sky plus all the hassle about landlord permission I assume?

Also there are ways around iplayer, IM me :)

I certainly wouldn't recommend them: they are very very expensive.

hi Ceaton, Just wondering if you have found an apartment yet? If not, i have one coming free next week. I am not sure what i want to do with it as i may be moving to warsaw early next year. So if you wanted it for a month or two while you get settled, i am sure we could come to some agreement. Its 77 sq m, 2 bedroomed, in Zoliborz area.

Gotta lotta Złoty? That's not going to be a 1200 a month dive now is it? lol!

Eh....not quite...!! :-)..


Not really unforunately...was able to buy a few years ago..doubt i could do it now.

I could perhaps buy a wooden orange crate. Possibly. :)