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Cost of Living, Average Salaries and Job sites in Poland [263]
delphiandomine wrote:
Truth be it, for the average Brit, they'll live far better here than in the UK if they can get themselves sorted.
i gotta say, when i read this, i think of all the Brits on here complaining about back home, such as the recent thread from WroclawBoy. he spent a couple days in England, decided he hated it, pissed and moaned about how terrible it is there including the job market, and now he's ready for Poland again (or is he back already?) I honestly can't comment on this at all though. I simply have very little understanding of the U.K. besides they speak my language, drink a lot of tea, have their fair share of alliances with the USA and 'Snatch' was an awesome movie. I'm kidding a bit here, but as far as economy, politics, housing, I simply don't know much about it. this is part of why I posed that question earlier.
from what i gather though by reading testimonials online, to be an american in poland vs. someone from the U.K. is a very, very different situation altogether. statements like, "Truth be it, for the average Brit, they'll live far better here than in the UK if they can get themselves sorted," is perfect evidence of this.....suggesting that a reasonably successful person (I assume that's what you are referring to when you say "get themselves sorted" ) living in Poland will live better than a reasonably successful person living in the U.K. With all due respect, this makes me glad I'm not from the U.K.
delphiandomine wrote:
What about Americans, Fuzzy? I always get the impression that Europe is a step down for them in terms of what they can obtain here - I mean, cars, housing, electronics - everything is going to be worse.
first and foremost, i need to say that "everything is going to be worse" is inappropriate to say. it's your impression, fair enough, but i wouldn't say everything.
regarding cars, housing, electronics.....without question. no comparison.
there's a simple way of displaying the difference when talking about "obtaining" things.
take cars:
for argument's sake, let's say we take a nice round number of 3000zl net per month for the Polish guy, and $3,000 net for an American guy (avg. salary in America right now is around $2700/month net I believe, but the avg. salary in Poland seems to be less than 3000zl as well, but who knows, that's an ongoing argument on this forum I don't want to get into here. regardless, a couple hundred here or there won't make a difference for this example) So 3000 and 3000 to keep things easier.
Poland: a polish guy wants to buy a new small Honda and an American guy wants to buy a small new Honda (i have to use a car such as this because in America, we simply don't have Peugot, Skoda, Magane, etc. Mind you, in America, a Honda is basically one of the cheapest cars you can buy, but it doesn't matter what car we choose for this, the difference will be just the same).
A new Honda Civic, Type S, in Poland, costs 68,000zl.
The same exact car in America doesn't exist, but the equivalent is the Honda Coupe, which costs $18,000.
A guy earning 3000 buying a car that is worth 68,000.
Another guy earning 3000 buying a car that costs 18,000.
the difference is clear and this goes for basically anything else you wish to buy in America. it's simply cheaper and often times better.
OH, and for what it's worth and to simply bolster my point, when I was 24 years old living in America, I was sharing a 100 sq. meter apt with a roommate a stone's throw from NYC and I drove a brand new Honda, fully loaded.
now put yourself in an American's shoes living out here. the prices absolutely boggle the mind compared to what you earn, the sheer lack of choices in basically everything is a huge adjustment, a complete lack of cultural diversity for an American coming from a big city....the list goes on and on.
so yes, going to be worse in that respect?......nearly every time.
At the risk of sounding like a DISCLAIMER, I get adamant on this forum when people discuss cost of living not because I have some hidden agenda but because when I think about where I come from, you simply cannot compare. 300+ million people living in America, paying 18,000 for a new car, not 68,000. In an American's eyes, just about everything in Poland is a complete ripoff.
