I don't know about the chefs salary. I imagine finding a cook/chef job won't be too difficult. I guess your lack of Polish will hinder you a bit depending on where it is in Poland that you want to move.
There are plenty places to learn Polish in Poland ;) and if you are actively learning it then being around native speakers will be helpful and you should pick it up quickly enough. Having the basics is a good start. :)
It might be helpful to know where about in Poland you intend on moving. Also, have you thought long and hard about this? Have you visited before? What are you reasons for wanting to move to Poland?
I have thought about this for a while, I realized this is what I would like to do. I will be visiting again before 2011. It might sound dumb but I would like to trace my heritage back and go live in Poland, like my ancestors.
It doesn't sound dumb at all and I say go for it! :)
Also be realistic about it though. Plan where you want to settle, check the job and housing market for that area and keep checking on it. Visit as often as you can.
Also, if you're not planning on moving until 2011 then why not start learning Polish now? :)
Thanks I'm trying to learn Polish, I don't have a problem remembering the words just putting them together in a sentence is difficult. I can pronounce most of the words no problem, just the different cases and grammar rules.. it gets confusing. But I'm very determined and I hope all goes as planned.
I want to move to a populated area, I'm used to that kind of surrounding. Where there is noise outside my window 24/7.. I'm not rich and I don't plan on becoming rich anytime soon.
I'm looking to live in a lower middle class area.. I'm moving alone. Do you know of any area where you know there is a large population (not to big) and there is always noise? Cars, Talking..etc??
Do you think you can write me back in a PM please. I don't want to get suspended for going off topic since this is a Work and Study thread.
How are you learning Polish? Are you doing a course (even one bought in a shop)? It is hard to come to terms with different cases and grammar but you'll get there. Suddenly it will all fall into place. :)
To have noise 24/7 you need to move to the centre of a city but if that's not possible for you price wise you can move out of the centre. For example, Bemowo, busy part of Warsaw but a little less expensive than the old town. As I said before, you have to keep an eye on the housing market of Poland.
Yeah I'm using Rosetta Stone level two, just started it. I rather take a course where i can physically ask questions. But there are none around my area. Rosetta's is good enough for now.
Yeah, from where i live atm, I hear cars passing by and a train down the block. On the days when there isn't much noise, I usually turn on the television for background noise :)
Any good sites where i can check out the housing market of Poland? I was thinking a Warszawa but I'm not quite positive on the location.
Thank You btw, is there a lot a crime in Poland? I'm trying to compare it to New York
New York is a hell of a lot more dangerous than almost anywhere in Poland. There's not many guns here for a start. Of course exercise caution when wondering around ghettos.
Are you an expert chef or something? I ask because if you're just a regular chef, then I hope you're prepared to earn 5-10 zł an hour in what is becoming a disproportionately expensive country.
Unfortionatly I'm no expert chef, but I am not after money. Yes it would be nice to make more, but I don't care. As long as I'm living my life and enjoying myself is all that matters.
Maybe when I'm in Poland I could find someone to live with, so we can go half's on rent and what not. Are you sure it is 5-10 zł? Just trying to get ready for what's coming. That's a little more than 30,000 zł a year. 5-10 zł sounds a little off, i would at least be thinking 15-20 zł. Haha, ill try my best to get a raise :)..Could i live comfortable off the average chef's salary? As in be able to pay bills (water,electric,rent,..etc) groceries (food,vodka,cigarettes)? Comfortable as in not worrying about getting kicked out or starving.
I am sorry to say that but you sound a little bit naive.
The chef jobs in Poland are not as glamorous as they are in the US, so unless you can get hired in a good hotel, you will have a problem surviving on a very low wage in Poland, unless you have some savings.
So you can do things: study Polish (it will come very handy for obvious reasons), and maybe take some cooking courses, which will land you a better job in Poland. I have never met anybody who does not want to earn more money.
If you have a talent for cooking, then you can build your career anywhere and there is room in Poland for that, so good luck with that.
On the other hand, if you are a tough cookie, who likes "sink or swim" situations, go for it. If you grew up in the US, then you will probably sink with the way you are trying to approach the move to Poland.
As a cooker, you will be an inanimate object, confined to a static life with no prospects and always having to cool down after having the heat turned up on you.
As a cook, well now, that's a different story ;) ;)
It depends on the restaurant you work in. 1500PLN would be quite good for Silesia. In a top-class restaurant in Warsaw, it would depend on your reputation.
Well, everyone has to start somewhere. There is a pecking order and he will have to work his way up. The idea 'lucky break' is diminishing in many places.
thanks for the advice, So would a chef with two years of culinary school not be needed in Poland? Sorry if I sound naive, So if i could not live off a average chef's salary. What is a good job that will offer decent pay?
So would a chef with two years of culinary school not be needed in Poland?
It's not about 'not needed', it's about 'why hire a foreigner for an entry-level job when you can hire a Polish speaker?'. It simply doesn't make sense to hire a foreigner unless the wages are cheaper or you want something that's in short supply. Hence why native speakers do well as teachers in Poland.
Sorry if I sound naive, So if i could not live off a average chef's salary. What is a good job that will offer decent pay?
Depends what you can do.
What is the basic cost of living?
Depends again on what you expect. People live in Poland on very low pensions. But their standard of living more than likely wouldn't be suitable for you.
Ultimately, you won't manage to maintain the standard of living you expect on an entry level chef position in Poland. I've got a higher standard of living than in the UK - but not having to pay rent factors highly into this.
Alright thanks, Ill make it one way or another.. How much do English Teachers usually get paid in a month..How long would I need to go to school to be able to teach?
So would a chef with two years of culinary school not be needed in Poland?
Contrary to some of the answers above, I think that if you've got a good culinary school behind you, solid experience in higher end restaurants and an interest in food, you might be able to do quite well here. There's a shortage of qualified chefs with Western experience - the Polish cooking schools just turn out people who process food and have no deeper interest in it, and many of the chefs I know of who are running critically acclaimed kitchens have had experience abroad. I know the two head chefs in one of the upper end restaurants in Krakow both worked in London and take home 6-7000zl/month because they know what they are doing and can do it consistently - their employer is worried about losing them. Of course the rest of their kitchen staff are closer to the 5-10zl rate quoted above.
I suggest you email or call some of the better restaurants/hotel restaurants in the major cities (you'll have to do your homework here - look them up on line, in tourist guide books, or in the Michelin guide) and ask them what the possibility of doing a stage is (you might have to explain how this works - it would be even better if you could arrange an exchange with a good restaurant in NY for example). Then at least you'd have some paperwork to start off with and if you're any good, it would then be easier to persuade them to go through the pain of getting a proper work permit.
