Going to Poland this summer -- US dollar prediction...

I'm going to Poland in the summer and my friend scared the life out of me that the dollar is supposed to go way down...How is it looking right now? Does anyone know if this is accurate information? Is USD really going to go way down?

I doubt It. It is so weak already...

I may completely eat my words (and I hope I don't as I have a lot of USD on the line)...but...

People scream the sky is falling all the time and the sky rarely if ever falls. The entire world is affected by the American economy and it is in the best interest of everyone to keep the US economy from collapsing. I am not talking about Euros heading over for shopping but rather the big picture.

It may not go up or recover to where it was but if it drops much more it won't just hurt Americans. Without a complete US economic collapse it would never reach 1:1.....I think after the presidential elections things will change.

Again I will admit I am viewing this with rose colored glasses because I don;t want my money to turn to dust.

Definately. I would say that in a few months It will be 2,5 but you never know...

Well everything is so cheap in Poland, exchange rate is good. No fees for the currency exchange, so I wouldn't worry about it.

No...

You mean you think it will go back up to 2.5 from 2.3 and stay there? What is that based on?

I cried when I saw 2.31 yesterday (but today it is 2.32) I pine for the days of 3.5.

Sadly while it waxes and wanes in small numbers the trend has been down and down. People can be happy about the exchange rate for shopping but in the big picture it hurts everyone.

I went there in the summer and I found everything was so cheap compared to Canada....

This was normal before the drop...it is just even more now.

Honestly, if this so called recession hits the U.S., that is if its hasn't occurred already (I really hope it doesn't, atleast for the time being). The dollars going to keep on falling. OPEC is already considering changing the value of oil from American dollars to Euro's; now whether that will actually happen, who knows.

I don't see how dollar could keep on falling. Then who'll be buying EU-made goods? Smart shoppers go to the US to buy small things from Canada or even England; most companies (not only smart) go to US to buy bigger goods made here. Oil in Euro it would be a similar situation what is now with dollar, next step will be oil in GBP when Euro is devaluated. Next China releases their stronger currency (they now keep it artificially low) and the world will again buy from the US even more. What about non-US based companies and people employed there?

Weak dollar helps Poles control the rise of oil/gas price.

Oil prices are so high because they are denominated in dollars.
Ditto, gold.

An interesting debate on currency markets..... HOWEVER.... assuming that you're not going to be buying property or making any big-ticket purchases while you're in Poland, don't let it spoil your trip, as your losses wont be all that significant.

My cousin from NYC came to visit me over the Christmas holidays, and spent the whole time b1tching and bellyaching about the exchange rate... even though we took her to some fab places that were actually good value for money. I think that this took a lot of the enjoyment out of her trip, as the exchange rate was all that she wrote about in her blog (rather than the cool parties that we went to etc).

Just look at it this way, your still getting more bang for your buck so don't complain or worry. Unless your planning to stay for a year or so, I don't see any reason to worry about the rate. It's sad to be turning in more dollars and not getting more zloty's but your still getting MORE! Enjoy the fact that your traveling to this amazing country and forget about the exchange.

This website is really good. Currenct Polish exchange rate with the Dollar. They usually have a chart up, but for some reason it's not working.

finance.yahoo/currency/convert?from=USD&to=PLN&amt=1&t=5y

It seems i get about 4.5 Zloty for 1 of my Pound Stirling, hopefully that will raise in the next month :) before i get to Krakow

This is not true...you may hold more ZL in your hand than USD after the exchange but the value is not more. In fact the increasing prices in Poland combined with the dollars lower worth makes shopping equal to or more expensive than the US in many respects.

There is not much I can buy here in Poland cheaper than I can in the US. Many things are even MORE expensive here (and were even before just more now)...like clothing, electronics, petrol, watches etc...most market food is the same except always cheap things like potatoes and beans...and property depends on where it is.

Poland is not cheap and was not even before the drop...

Computers in particular. I have a lot of friends wanting me to buy them laptops here in the states, and then bring them to Poland, being that they are simply cheaper here.

Even before the dollar drop electronics of all sorts were easily 50% more than in the US. I stock up on those kind of needs when back in the states...the warranties are always better too.

The only things I buy in Poland are things I have to like food, petrol etc. I am not so poor that I couldn't manage but it just doesn't feel right paying sometimes twice as much for things...the principle you know!

Hell even something stupid like decent quality jeans are 3 times as much for the same brand and model....I am not sure how the average Pole affords to buy anything other than necessities here given their salaries.

My work takes me to many places in the world and overall Poland is one of the most expensive places considering the value of goods. Sure some other places have certain items that are pricey but Poland tends to be over priced across the board and have very few things that are a value.

Ok, fair points... but let's assume that the OP is mainly going to be spending her cash on hotels, eating out, entertainment, sightseeing, transport, some amber beads etc these things are probably still better value in Poland than in the US.

Bus and trains?...yes.
Beer?...in a pub not really anymore..in the shops yeah.
Junk from street vendors?...overpriced and from China
Hotel?...no
Restaurants?...no unless you mean Bar Mleczny
Cinema?...No

It is just not as cheap here as people imagine.

Jones101 - where are you based? I find Warsaw much better value for going out and entertainment etc. than London.

Warsaw...and yeah compared to London the rest of the world is cheaper. But I am talking about the US in general. New York and LA with their stupidly over priced services, properties etc are not representative of MOST of the US.

Really the only things that are a value for me here anymore are some market foods (not all), trains, and some random goods....most things are as much as or more than the prices I can get in the US.

LOL -You obviously haven't been in Moscow lately

Actually I transit there often but rarely go into the city due to visas....Moscow is an anomaly in Russia...stupid amounts of rich people there skews things. Anyway the point stands...Poland is not cheap like people think.

True

Unlimited wisdom...

I thought they had already changed it to Euro's

I think about this everyday. Man 2 years ago I was a 1/3 richer in Poland.