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Net Salary for comfortable life in Wroclaw [14]
Sal,
I was born in Wroclaw and most of my family lives there. Although I primarily live in the US, I travel there regularly and will be going there again this summer. I plan on moving back to Wroclaw for good in the near future.
Basically, an upper middle class existence in most Polish cities, in my opinion, starts at around 10,000 zloty a month gross (brutto as they call it there). This is a bit under $3,000 USD a month. Such a salary will allow you to afford most common luxuries while still putting some money aside for savings/investments. A more middle class existence where you don't have to worry about having all your needs and wants fulfilled can be attained for 7k 8k zloty but your savings potential will be diminished and you can forget about buying that new BMW or Mercedes on such a salary - a new entry level/mid range Skoda or VW though won't be a problem. A person living a Spartan life would be making 3k-4k a month yet even with a salary like that people still manage to enjoy life, travel, enjoy the local entertainment, etc. Try to avoid taking out any loans in Poland as the interest rates are insanely high and save/invest as much money as you can. If you plan to buy property be very very very careful as many unscrupulous agents, lawyers, title companies, etc. will try to rip you off and steal all your money if they detect you're a foreigner that doesn't know all the laws and nuances of the market.
If you're living expenses and a meal a day is covered by your company, than honestly you won't need more than maybe $1,000 USD a month budget and even that will take you pretty far - as long as you're not buying a bunch of imported clothing (a pair of Versace sunglasses will run you 800-1000 zloty, nikes will be 300, 350+ zloty depending on type, style, etc. generally itll be hard to find even the most popular Adidas low tops for less than 200/250 zloty) .... BUT you can find many Polish brands that are just as high quality, sometimes even better imo, and cheaper than the imports.
Just about everything is cheaper in Poland than in the West with the exception of imports. Gasoline, electronics, imported clothing brands, etc cost more. Food, public transportation, entertainment, utilities, etc tend to be quite a bit cheaper. Cost of living is lower than a US city but it really depends on your habits and lifestyle. You can rent a place for as little as 2.5k, 3k zloty a month (granted it will be a small studio/1 bedroom). There is a lot of new 'town home' style residences that are being built that go for 400k-600k zloty. While you can go to a restaurant and eat a meal for as cheap as 10-12 zloty, there are plenty of restaurants in the town square where you'll find a meal easily costs 60 zloty plus. This may not seem like much to a person coming from a wealthy western country, but for most Poles a 60 zloty meal is a rare luxury while for say a Brit, German, or American they'll be ecstatic that they got a steak dinner for like $16-$17. However, groceries are generally far cheaper than in the west - unless again you're buying imported brands in which case they'll cost the same or slightly more due to VAT (import taxes).
Same thing with clothing - you can buy cheap shirts and pants for a fraction of what they'd cost in the west but if you want to buy imported brands like Nike, Adidas, Armani, etc. they'll cost you more than they would in the west.
One nice thing about Wroclaw is there is ALWAYS something going on in the rynek (town square) - sometimes it's a sporting event, sometimes it's a concert, sometimes it's evevn something random as like a shampoo company giving people cheap shampoo/haircuts while playing some techno. There's always street performers as well.
The nightlife IMO isn't that great. You're limited to basically like 4-5 clubs - 1 of which is banana which I like to go to and the other 4 are located literally one right next to the other. The nightlife is a lot better in other European cities - even Warsaw has a lot better nightlife. However, Wroclaw makes up for that for having a lot of other attractions, lot of museums, lot of clubs and organizations for everything from biking, to book clubs, to hang gliding to even 1%er OMGs. Whatever you're into - you will find a group of people that are into the same thing.
As far as making extra money, tutoring English will likely be your best option. Rates vary but based on your age and experience I'd say you can comfortable charge around 50-60 zloty an hour.
Although much (most I'd say) of the youth speak English, you will want to start learning Polish. Although it's possible to manage with just English, you will have a difficult time communicating with Poles from older generations as most do not speak English. They grew up in the PRL where Russian was compulsory. Some speak German.
You may also find a niche part time job using your Arabic skills.
Good luck - feel free to message me or write back if you have other questions.
Oh and cigs cost usually around 15 16 zloty at the super market give or take a few zloty depending on brand and where you buy them. Counterfeit cigarettes cost half that but many of them are naaaasty. You can tell the difference because the warning label on the counterfeit cigs will be in English/Russian/german or some other language other than polish but the labeling and everything like the Marlboro box will look exactly the same.
If you plan on eating out at cheap/ mid range restaurants 2x a week, don't do a whole lot of shopping (not imported brands anyway) and go to parks, museums, etc. even like every day or every other day, and eat breakfast at home instead of going out you can even make $500 last you a month as long as you budget wisely. $1k would be plenty and you'd be able to do a lot of shopping with that and enjoy some of the nicest restaurants. I've been going to Poland a long time so I'll often take nike Adidas stuff for my family and friends and sell it but then buy dress shirts, suits, dress shoes, etc. because they tend to be much cheaper than in the US especially for the quality. You can get a nice nested suit for like 800-1000 zloty in Poland with tailoring and everything, in the US you'd have to spend almost that much but in dollars even for a 'mid range' Ralph Lauren one with Armani's going for 1k-2k plus.
Also, taxis are very cheap as is public transport. Taxis are everywhere in Wroclaw so you definitely won't need to like rent a car to get around. It wouldn't even be worth it because gas is expensive and the drivers are crazy.