Living on the certain income in Poland

My question is simple. Say, I will have PLN5000 a month as a salary. I have to pay for the tax from that (I do not know how much). I have to pay for the rent (I do not know how much it will be since I have not yet found one). So the rent will be deducted from that. The location; Wroclaw. The number of people who are living on that sum of income; two. Neither of us are of EU national.

Question; could you please give me your personal view of how your life will be on the condition mentioned above, depending on your values and interests (your life's needs). Thank you so much.

Wrocław ha takai dayo. Sumimasen, kore ha Eigo no forum desu ne.

Katsuhiko, jitsu ha, Wrocław is quite expensive. 5000PLN is good for a single guy there but 2 is so-so. Bochi bochi den na (Osaka ben) Ur tax will likely be around 750PLN. Rent, minimum 1000PLN for a pretty decent place. With bills, 1300PLN if u r lucky.

If sb asks u mokarimakka? in Wrocław then u may have to say, 'not really'. U will live comfortably enough tho without kids and a car.

infor.pl/kalkulatory/brutto_netto.html

Using the above calculator, a gross (brutto) salary of 5000 PLN per month means a net (netto) salary after tax of 3500 PLN per month.

I imagine you are looking at approx 2000 PLN per month for a reasonable standard rental apartment in Wroclaw, though utilities (media) may be more on top of that.

That leaves about 1500 PLN per month between the two of you for food, transport, entertainment etc etc.

I think that it could be a little bit difficult to enjoy a good standard of living in Poland based on this.

It all depends on what you are used to in your home country.

All the best.

Fiddly business this tax. That's why I have sb to do it for me. When I used to earn c5600PLN per month, my tax worked out at about 800PLN. So, 1/7th. That's why I said around 750PLN Katsuhiko. I'd say more 1500PLN for rent and bills but it depends.

I think such a payment will give you opportunity to live still better than many Poles (but not luxurious). But if you are not looking for luxury but just want to sustain - it is quite ok payment I would say.

Wow, poles are really gauging you foreigners.

andy b:


What I call luxury consists of eating out once a week, drinking out once or twice a week, going to cinema once in a while, having a cup of coffee twice a week, taking a short trip to neighbouring countries or cities once in a while, and shopping for clothes (when necessary). So, may as well give upon travelling..., or all of the above. Generally, I do not think that people should bring in their values that they got from their native countries and try to apply them to the country they are going to visit. I wonder what it is that is considered to be luxury among Polish people (from lower-middle to middle-middle class Polish).

Seanus, you must be living in the dark ages. tax on 5000zl is about 1800zl. Rent for a half decent unit is 1200zl plus unit fees (up to 500zl) and electricity, phone, cable tv, internet. This would leave 1500zl (approx for food, transport, clothes)

work it out for yourself your quality of lifestyle.

A night out for 2 could cost well over 300zl.

It might be consoling to know that some people take home 1000zl a month and survived.

Hi,

With PLN 5000 gross in Wroclaw you should be ok, but your net income will be around 3500. You will be tight with money, but it depends on your lifestyle. Wroclaw is quite expensive, not as much as Warsaw, but still. Rental prices vary depending on the property and location, size of course etc. With 3500 in Wroclaw you will be living paycheck to paycheck I'm afraid.

It could be true that Poland is one of the most highly-taxed countries in Europe. Any way, many people around me think that things are really cheap in Poland, but quite wrongly informed. Not everything is cheap, like in any other country. What makes a number of tourists think that things are cheap in Poland is the fact that those tourists do not live there, perhaps...

Poland for a tourist is cheap in comparison to Italy or Spain or even France, but again it depends on which city you visit...I would imagine that this will change though, especially when the euro is introduced.

I think you may be gaining part of your advise from foreigners, and part from Poles living there. Yes many do make it on 1000pln, but they live paycheck to paycheck, in debt with cell phones "pay as you go" due to lack of funds, so they are not up for comparison here. On a salary of 5000pln, after taxes, more expensive then you might budget rent, utilities, I think you may be short on what you've described as your "luxury" lifestyle of drinking twice a week, going out to eat on the weekends. Of course each can vary considerably depending on locale, but in Wroclaw, I think you need to ask the employer for a possible bump in pay to be comfortable for a family of 2 :)

I think you need more detailed information from your potential employer about the structure of your salary (I'm sure they know the Polish laws well enough to provide you such detailed info). Because if you have to pay both pension and health insurance from this money the remaining 3500 PLN won't be much for 2 persons. What about the other person? Will she/he have the medical insurance as well, you can't take risks and pay full hospital costs for her/him in case of emergency.

Normally Polish laws allow to divide the income with your wife (or your child that is minor, under 18 years old). So you would be paying a little less tax, but if the person isn't your family, I'm not sure how it works. And I don't know if this rule applies to foreigners in all cases.


maybe, just maybe, it would be the salary after National Insurance?, then the tax would be about 800 PLN.

It is really kind of you. At this moment, I only have the hypothetical situation in mind. If the life there on my income for two people is hard, then I must consider changing my plan as of living together with other person. I have wanted realistic opinions from the other people and they were quite helpful. I must picture the life over there and I would rather picture the worst case, since I do not want to be disappointed.


I did not know that. Thank you.


You are right. This is what I will have feared the most if I acted too drastic.

Well, if you are getting hired full-time, which was my assumption, you will be covered for medical. Poland does not have insurance companies, for instance. The health care system in Poland works in a different way than in the USA. And if you have to go to a doctor and pay out of pocket, it's quite affordable (private sector). I honestly wouldn't recommend (sometimes) depending on the public health care system as you might end up waiting for an appointment for a looonnnggg time. You will be fine.

Bolek, close to bollocks that, wouldn't u say?

Dark Ages, LOL. I pay 750 ALL IN for a central flat in Gliwice. Very nice it is too. I got taxed 16PLN on 4200PLN last month, lol. When I was earning 5600PLN, I got taxed around 800PLN, 1/7th as I said. The tax office said that the figures checked out. So did my private financial expert. It was always around 1/7th with no fiddling. Go work that one out genius

Further proof that some people here are just full of crap. The only report I'd trust on anything connected with salaries here would be an independent, external one.

I just got separated from my partner, so I would not worry about the expense for the moment. It was very nice of you all. I do appreciate what you have told me. Thank you. Yet, still, any information you could give would be really helpful...

Hm I went out for a lovely meal recently with my gf, in a very nice Georgian place, we also had about 6 pints of beer between us, came to in or around 100zl....thats in Krakow ! There is a lot of nonsense and exageration on this forum when it comes to salaries, rents, expense of living in Poland. I remember one guy here swearing his friend was getting 10,000 zl a month in a very normal occupation. Why do people exagerate anyway I wonder ? Is it insecurity, bitterness about other countries etc ? Its a shame because untill I actually lived in Poland, I realised most of what is wrote here my Polish natives about salary expectations etc is complete nonsense.


Very, very true Seanus

It is really sad to know that some of the information could be false. Why does it have to be? It is not even funny or it is just waste of time to provide wrong ideas to those who do not know well about the country.

Seanus, you talk crap my friend. You seem to be a expert on everything but know nothing. Please do your homework before talking so much nonsense.

Seanus is correct in everything he wrote . . some people on this forum talk complete crap when it comes to true figures for salaries and the cost of living in Poland. The simple fact is that whatever the reason most Polish people here lie about what they and others are earning in Poland and most of what is wrote here is complete nonsesnse and grossly exaggerated.

Hello all friends,
I will soon start to live in Warsaw. I am in IT Business, I found a job in a multinational company. My gross salary will be around 13 000 PLN monthly. I am typical IT guy and I really don't have high life standards.

Can I save 3000-4000 PLN for a month with this salary ? How much should I consider as my monthly living cost ?

Your explanations will be very very helpfull.

Thanks.

You can save much more than, everything depends what you mean by not having high life standards. Generally basic things (except rent) are not very expensive in Poland but If you want "middle class" standard then the difference in prices between Poland and western Europe isn't big and "luxury" goods and services are often more expensive here.

Th


Thank you Gregorz. Not having high standards for me means, I generally spend my time at home, I can cook my meals. I go out only once or twice in a month. Generally I don't spend too much.

How much do you think a furnished 1+1 flat or studio in a safe area cost me in Warsaw ?

Like I said, the rent is generally expensive, especially in Warsaw, so even for a small flat you will need (more or less) ~1800 PLN a month but If you don't go out a lot, use public transport, usually cook at home etc. then that should be about half of total costs, so out of 13k gross (which is about 9k net) you should be able to save 5k a month.

I live on about 2000pln a month quite happily...

Thanks blueenigma.

Bolek, I don't need to do my homework to know that I pay 750PLN all in for a central place, I've been doing so for 4 years.

You, my friend, have got it wrong. If I seem to be an expert on everything, then how can it be that I know nothing? Just think about it

lol I bet it is a one room apartment with no water and toilet.lol

... and the missus?


She pays for that then?

No, it has 2 rooms. Enough for me and my missus. Before you start laughing, I'm used to small places abroad. 4 years here and 2 in Japan where flats are also small.

There is a well-cleaned toilet and ample water. All the utilities are included, internet too.