My girlfriend wants to go back to Poland as she thinks lifes better there

Im English and my girlfriends Polish. She has been saying that her job prospects (shes an accountant) are much better than in Poland than in England and she could have a better or atleast the same standard of living in Poland.

Also she says Polands ecconomy is soon to be better than Englands.

Is this true?

That part is most likely wrong, but it will definitely be up to par or close enough to be considered equal pretty soon.

Not sure about the acountant stuff.

:]

many of my friends use any kind of excuses just to go back to PL...it's economy, jobs, higher standard of life...etc..... i don't know, i haven't been in PL for a while now...

maybe your gf wants to go back to PL and live there or maybe she really sees the possibilities....
good luck...

Do you think that people need an excuse to live in their own country?
If they can have the same standard of living in Poland there is no need to stay abroad, isn't it? Accountant is probably one of the best job these days in Poland.

I understand your girlfriend, midgeure, very well.

(I am going to avoid comments of our emigrants )


there is a lot of new international centers build in Poland, where they need accountants. I would say that Poland is changing in to accountatcy center of EU. It is part of our gov strategy to bring investments to create jobs for educated people not for lauborers. Foreign investors are very satified (our accountats are very proffesional) and next comapnies come here.

Your GF has bright future here. and in present time she is not going to have problems with finding well payed job in accountancy.

She is right.

midgeure your girlfriend is right. The Birtish "bubble" has already burst and the prospects here in Poland are getting better all the time. You can't buy an out-door toilet in the UK for less than £100.000. Here in Poland for the same money you could buy a nice piece of land and build your dream home. Ive not regreted leaving the derelict slums of Newcastle's East end for the beautiful mountains of sothern Poland.

I was thinking about this.
Minimum wage in the UK = 5 pounds (?) = 20 (?) zloty an hour
= about 3200 zloty a month

Average salary in Poland = 2500 zloty a month (I'm told)

Taking into account the higher living costs in the UK, you might both be better off working for a foreign form in Poland....

Is the cost of living in Poland that much cheaper though? I'm no expert but when I've been there lots of things actually seemed more expensive e.g. clothes, electrical goods, second hand cars. My brother in law has just bought a second hand Skoda Fabia for the equivelant of 8-10 months salary.

Chain her up in your cellar. She won't go anywhere.

Polish people will always travel to find green American dollars and they think of little else. However, Poland is probably changing and there is a new middle class emerging, however, much of it is based on credit.

I just asked my flatmate about going to the shops for a few essentials, and his eyes looked glazed and he just continued to mutter half-comprehensibly about those green American dollars. I couldn't get any sense out of him... until I said we could go to the park on the way and smoke noisily. He's decided to stay in the UK rather than go back to Poland in September as previously planned.

I just had to correct a typo there - planned came out as polanned!

Home may not be the best place in the world by other people's standards, but if it is your home, as they say: home is where your heart is.

Good point. If you buy 'larger things' like cars and TVs then you will pay more or less the same as the UK, sometimes even more because you can get more bargains and promotions in the UK. Otherwise, daily life is certainly cheaper - the wife and I could get by on a little over 1000 zloty a month including house, bills, transport and food. It's only when you factor in petrol for the car and clothes shopping the cost goes up. I reckon 3000 zloty a month is pretty comfortable. How does that compare with the UK?

Remember though, if you get a good position with a foreign firm you could be on well over 10,000 a month...

Did Great Britain switch to the dollar? I am American and I think about American dollars quite often too, oh my God maybe I am Polish!

When I was living in poland 2 years ago, times were still hard. The average salary was 1100-1500/month and 1500 was on the really high end. The poles that make 2500 -3000 are lucky with connections, and are in the 96th percentile. the money to be made in the U.k. is not comparable to that made in poland. However, Poland has an old world charm that is priceless. Plus all those slim beautiful women and architecture makes Poland worth living in. comments please.

I have just moved to Poland because of my girlfriends job opportunities. Before I came to live I visit a few times and thought the prices were unreal, of course I was just looking at clothes etc.. But when you get down to how much you spend a week the cost of living here is great. I have a job with an english firm out here and the money is good. A good move I think so far

So generally speaking Poland has a better or atleast the same standard of living as the UK now? obviously up till 2 years ago it didn't. So my girlfriends right I guess....

I didn't think the prices in Krakow were that different to uk maybe food and accomaodation yes,, but clothes and such like ,,, no...

Well, you see most people have bills to pay. Student loans, familys to support, car insurance, mortagages and the like. Thus money is very important, whatever nationality you are. However, it seems you don;'t have much of a life, so you don't have to worry about nor understand these things.

;)

Let me put it this way: today I've found out that if I had the same job in Poland I have in the US, I would be paid up to $18,000/year. Over here I get $69K for exactly the same career. That have put a halt to any delusion I had of moving to Poland.

Look at GDP per capita which is a rough measure.Poland has 16000$ per year.UK has 38000$ per year.Taking into account GDP increase rates in the two countries how many years will Poland need to catch up with UK?(supposing the difference in GDP increase rates remains the same).

With current economic outlook (UK 1.9%, Poland 6.4%), and if there are no changes in the growth of either economy then it'll take about 14 years and 3 months.

The issue though is not just GDP. It all depends on how far will a dollar take you in UK as opposed to Poland.

You see, I think there has to be a legitimate reason for 1 million Polish to leave their homes, families, often kids and spouses, careers (?), schools etc... To go to GB to do a job that is usually below their training and below the average pay in the UK. It can't be that the economy in Poland is so perfect right now.

Midgeure, you need to talk your girlfriend out of this move, this is not going to be very beneficial for you two.

I'm with you on this one. When I say that I make that much they think I'm awfully rich, but this kind of money is OK (normal) here. I don't want 18,000 in Poland and begin from scratch...

Dice, yes I was just talking to her today about it and she still pretty adamant about moving, she said I could get a job as an English teacher etc. I dont know, I think we have a better life here. She can get on a plane and visit cheap every few months etc.

like you said, that was two years ago, and now 2500 isn't that much. Most people I know make that roughly, the ones that don't are teachers working at state schools or some kind of shop assistants...but then again food prices are going up so fast, the gains made in salary over the past two years are quickly being eroded...

Of all the doctors, school teachers, hair stylists, taxi drivers, cashiers, nurses, other blue collar workers I met, none were making more than 1000 zl. Further, engineers and lawyers make only about 1500 - 2000 zl if they have connections through their parents/relatives, otherwise, many are unemployed. The only people I met who were making decent money were english teachers, hookers, and people who got jobs in multinational companies through luck and connections. If most of the people you know are english teachers, it is not a representative sample of the population.

Let's be realistic about this, Poland is VERY expensive, over rated and your gf is deluded. She must believe all the hype about everything being "rosy in the garden". All that is communist style propaganda slotted into one of the most capitalist, uncaring, intolerant societies in Europe. Believe me, you really don't want to become one of those irritating oiks who pose as english teachers here! Other than that you won't have a chance of any other employment.

Aside from the economic factors, maybe she just misses friends and family, as welll as familiar home comforts.

didnt giles write an interesting thread about just how difficult many poles find readjusting to life back in poland after time in the uk.

there is all this talk about standards of living but this is near impossible to guage. little things we take for granted in the uk are frequently not available here in poland, especially if you are living outside one of the larger cities. dont see many 24 hr shops here, very little choice if you want to go out for a decent meal, limited brands in the supermarkets...

was speaking to giles earlier in the week. he has done his sums and recons for he and his wife to have a lifestyle andywhere near comparible to what they had in england they need to clear a minimum of 10K zl a month.

if you run a car, petrol will soon cost more in poland than the uk. probably by the summer. put things into perspective

I agree Bubba, 10k is about what you need to have the same kind of life style one would be used to somewhere else..