Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


Well, I already answered about what I paid in Poland, I assume you're talking about what I pay now in the USA?

I currently pay $900/month for an apartment. No, grandma and grandpa have nothing to do with it.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]

agreed.

what do you pay for rent/mortgage and did mom and dad or grandma or something give it to you.

that works.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


I don't really get this constant comparison you all are making about how many times your salary houses are. What difference does it make if everything else you buy is really cheap/really expensive?

Mr. X earns 50,000/year and after paying for his "stuff", he has 3,000 left over.

Mr. Y earns 50,000/year and after paying for his "stuff" he has 10,000 left over.

I also think about places like Denmark/Sweden/Norway where a huge chunk of your salary is taken from the top for taxes and other socialized programs.

Where I live down south, salaries are about 15% less than the northeast where I grew up and all my family still lives. But, houses are less than half the cost down here, property taxes are 50-80% less, insurance is much less, but then things like gas, food, movie tickets, day care, automobiles, etc., are the same price, so then lifestyle and life "situation" comes into play.

Then there's how much property you own. Mr. X might have a gorgeous home on 1/4 acre and Mr. Y might have a decent house on 10 acres but Mr. Y's house is "more expensive" due to the property, and then of course we have to consider where that property is because as we all know location heavily comes into play.

I just don't see how the comparisons you're all making have much accuracy.

Also, as we all have been in many houses over our lifetime, one person may think they own a great house, and you may think it's a total dump, so when someone says, "it's a great house for X amount", it may very well be a total dump. We all have different standards which is exceedingly evident when people on this forum say Poland is "upper middle class" because people in other parts of the world live in mud huts and don't have running water.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


A pair of Levi's in Poland run about 300zl. In the USA, $35. Lee, maybe $28-$30.

Hey krakow, have you told us what you pay in mortgage? Just trying to keep it on topic!

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


you mean to say that the avg salary of poles isn't......isn't......like 3,500 net.....like the internet says?!!! impossible.

you're a crackpot to most on here, but good to see someone fighting back the bull$hit on here about how Poland is the land of plenty.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


but who is polishing off their mortgage in 10 years....or 5 for that matter?

Life / What does an american citizen need to do to live in Poland with his Polish citizen wife? [35]


I had to have mine translated but this is years ago and as we all know, can be city or even office specific. go to one, go to another, you're sure to get conflicting information.


my residency card was contingent upon having employment to support myself (they wanted a work "promise", i.e., useless Polish work contract) and zameldowanie is often times not granted to a tenant if you're a stranger. my first apartment, the landlord absolutely refused and I had to take, let's just say other measures, to get one. sure, he's staying with his wife but if they get an apartment on their own that she doesn't own herself, he'll be in the same situation, the landlord needs to agree to give him zameldowanie, and many don't want to due to the legalities.

Life / What does an american citizen need to do to live in Poland with his Polish citizen wife? [35]

good advice thus far.

getting zameldowanie i remember being a little tricky, you have to prove to poland you have a reason for being there.

getting a job beforehand will make your process easier.

oh, and try and apply for the residency permit (karta pubytu) before your 45th day in country. i've seen enough americans apply beyond that period (88th day) without any hangups but it's written somewhere in polish law land that it needs to be before your 45th day so plan on doing it accordingly.

News / Will EURO 2012 be a proud moment for Poland and its people or set back Poland 20 years? [86]


I didn't forget anything, I just don't pay attention to soccer really. I was speaking from my own outside view but hey....people dying at games....hmmmm......that's more than a few black eyes.

News / Will EURO 2012 be a proud moment for Poland and its people or set back Poland 20 years? [86]

I'm quite confident that EURO 2012 will be very beneficial to Poland. I can't speak on the racism issues because I don't follow soccer close enough to know how much of it goes on in other countries during matches between oposing countries but all in all I think it's been less than what people expected. Some black eyes and a few chairs thrown but not too bad, unless I'm missing some news articles.

What Poland needs to hope for is that all the new stadiums get put to use after the tournament ends. All that money spent, they should put it to good use. That is where the real economic payoff will come from. It will prop up existing businesses and create new ones.

I gotta say, a lot of people in the states are watching it. The time difference makes it tough but weekends, people are checking out the games. I went out to lunch last week and the restaurant had the game on, that surprised me.

Life / Poland needs more immigrants and their children - which nationalities are the best? [518]

I'd venture to say that immigration is probably not the best idea for Poland. They're just not ready for it. The Polish language is too difficult, not enough people speak English/German/Spanish in Poland, and Poles are generally unreceptive to "the other kind" so you'd have to be really careful with which countries you start bringing in.

it comes down to economics. Poles generally live in tiny apartments unsuitable for large families and if you want to live in something bigger, you're probably looking at new construction, or a house, and that's something most Poles simply can't afford. If they could, they'd all be living in them. They live in their handed down apartments, or they bought one and it's only 50 sq. meters, and expanding is simply not an option for many. Packing 3 or 4 kids in a little apartment years ago in commie times may have worked somehow but nowadays, children and young adults simply want more as well as their parents. At some point, parents are saying to themselves, "do we really want to sleep on the couch for the next 20 years?" Times have changed.

I also think it has a lot to do with Poles simply having more at their disposal now which provides more opportunities and many of them want to take advantage of it and they end up persuing a career first and thinking of families later. I don't blame them, I'd be the same way if I were in their shoes but with socialized countries, birth rates are essential to the economic health of the country.

Life / Poland needs more immigrants and their children - which nationalities are the best? [518]


it comes down to the income and resources needed to raise children in today's civilized world.

I'm sure it's been said, but also people need to stay in the country for the birthrate to climb. With all those Poles jumping ship after 2004, Poland lost a lot of young adults (baby making machines).


the problem there is the most "venturous" have to choose Poland over all the other countries, which they generally do not. why earn PLN when you can be successful with a bank account full of euros, pounds or dollars, in a more advanced country? if you want the cream of the crop, you gotta make it worth their while, and that little ZUS break they get for the first 2 years isn't gonna cut it.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


that's the spirit!

Delph and gdyniaguy, what do you pay?

I guess we'll just assume you don't pay.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


RIGHT.

I'd have more to say about the topic but Delph would surely chime in immediately and tell us how poor I was, that I didn't have a car, that he didn't like my career choices, and that I ate too much packet soup.


Oh, it was great. Being really good earns certain luxuries, me boy.


Come to think of it, let's get this back on topic Delph: What do you pay in rent/mortgage? After all, you know the rules, if you post and don't bother to tell us what you pay, we will all just assume you don't pay. In your case, it would simply be par for the course.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


You're lying.


Earth to Delphiandomine........I answered to NOBODY. Hell, I barely spoke to my DoS.....and I earned more. I already explained why I didn't persue anything else. What do you not understand?

Hey Delph, how many years did you work under a DoS? My guess, you still do.


now you're just making $hit up.


lindenia. Now THAT'S failure.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


And I'm flabergasted at your attempts of diversion.

Are you completely out of your mind? I just described, in detail, exactly how uneven your relationship is. And now, because I bought my wife a plane ticket to see my friends and family for the first time over Christmas, you want to accuse me of being in an "uneven relationship"? Put the pipe down, pappy, you bought some bad crack this week.

Oh, and if what I wrote was untrue......deny it.


I took home more money than my DoS. Why would I want that job?

Managerial responsibility? What....put together work schedules for a bunch of nutty ESL teachers and not get compensated nearly enough for the frustration? Sounds like a dream come true. Sorry man, but where I was, I made plenty of cash, called my own shots, had Saturday hours if I wanted them, and being a freelancer, I could walk at any moment. I was a free man at the schools I worked at and they were all very eager to give me as many hours as I wanted.

Beyond that, my wife and I were already planning our exit after about the 2 1/2 year mark for me in Poland and we left after 4 years there so no, I didn't persue anything further than "ESL Teacher". I was more than happy to just sit on cruise control where I was and enjoy the work schedule and classes I put together for myself for the remaining time I had left in Poland.

I had some great contracts during that time, too. I remember during my last year there, I traveled several times to this little town near the Czech border to teach this 1 week intensive course with business execs in this cute little....well, hotel I guess you could call it (gospodarstwo agroturystyczne ) and we had 3 square meals a day, beautiful countryside to walk around during breaks, a bar to sit at at night, I went on morning runs almost every day before classes (the villagers used to look at me like I was insane, I guess it was my running gear.....ha, one lady yelled to me as I passed, "who are you running from?!"......good times....) and the food we had at this place was just fantastic. Was a great deal, I ate good, had great students, lots of fresh air, and I was compensated well for it.

But hey, everyone judges success in different ways.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


if I'm right there, then I'm right overall, because "villages and smaller towns" make up for the majority of the country's population.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]

There are 40 million in Poland, you and your husband are 2. I am clearly making a reference to the overall effects it would have, and soon will have, on Poland.


right, because most nice flats in big cities run 450zl per month. i had 35 sq. meters in a commie bloc in Wroclaw a 15 min. walk to the center.....1280zl/month. My American buddy lived a few blocks from the rynek, that ran 1800zl/month. besides.....how would you all like to have another 450zl a month in your pocket?......or would it not make any difference. you are totally in love with yourself.

I'd ask you how much of your wiife's money bought the house you currently live in now, but you'd flat out lie about it anyhow.


I just can't respond to this crap anymore, it's so senseless. I have no doubt that I earned, at the very least, as much as you when I lived in Poland. You talk like I lived under a bridge and begged for money. You're ridiculous and just offensive.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


people that can afford to live in Warsaw and buy homes in Warsaw....live in Warsaw.

There are millions of Poles that are where they are today because they've been living rent/mortgage free their whole lives because they commandeered their home from their family or their spouse's family. Just ask Delphiandomine, he's been riding that gravy train since day 1 in Poland.

just imagine how much more you could have done if from say the ages of 25 to 35, you had no rent/mortgage.....you could buy cars for cash, open up a small business or two, go on vacation where ever, etc.

I know a very wealthy couple in Poland, they own gas stations mostly with a few random small businesses thrown in there along with real estate. You know how they got started? Their mother moved to the USA in the 1970's and sent money to them for years. They took that cash and built on it.

I stand by my statements earlier: When the commie blocs and old run down houses "in the village" are no longer inhabitable and Poles have to buy their houses and apartments with their own cash, Poland is in for a rude awakening because the lifestyle millions of Poles live today is all thanks to their decades of free digs.

Life / Which services is Poland still waiting for? [218]


if you bring it to the bank, you must have a full roll, you can't just drop loose change on them.

$10 in quarters, $5 in dimes, $2 in nickels, 50 cents in pennies, rolled by yourself. for guys with just a plastic cup sitting on their kitchen counter, it's a convenience and you don't care whether or not you receive $8.64 or $8.31.

Life / Which services is Poland still waiting for? [218]


yes, i think around 6%.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


mine used to write "1280zl", the date, and scribble her name. i literally had a pile of torn corners of notebook paper as "receipts".


which, like i said, means that poles will have to take big mortgages in order to get new construction. i don't think many poles have that kind of money. plus, they've been living that way for years and years.


sure, but that requires people to pay mortgages. mortgages most poles can't afford.

my wife's parents and most of her family are average "middle class" poles. modest jobs, modest flats. without question, if they suddenly had a mortgage of 200,000-300,000, even with their salaries they have now after working 25-30 years at their jobs, they couldn't afford to eat or cloth themselves. it would literally bankrupt them in 3 months. the ONLY reason they have been able to go all these years on that income is because their apartment was given to them for next to nothing during commie times.

Poland simply could not function if those "free homes" dried up. It's no mystery why so many older generations out there still hold a special place in their heart for communism.

Life / Let`s compare prices of services and products in Poland [359]


I didn't ask specifically about "in relation to income", but I think it's my next question.


There's also the matter of what kind of insurance coverage you're getting. Insurance isn't insurance isn't insurance.


Bingo. I've always said that if my salary had been doubled while I lived in Poland, it wouldn't have really changed my lifestyle at all, but I guess that's a bit off topic.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


I wonder if that is grouped in with Section 8 housing. And yes, I am a bit surprised at that figure.

I also wonder what the percentage is of people under 60 years old, meaning people of working age, still raising kids, etc.

As for the average working day slob here though, amongst the middle class and a lot of middle upper class, the vast majority have mortgages.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


right.

it is VERY uncommon to meet someone in the USA, under the age of 50, without a mortgage/rent payment.

we aren't given homes here.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


an impossible question to answer, that all depends on how much house you buy, where you buy it, etc.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


very very off topic.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]

nobody asked.

my first apartment in wroclaw, about a 10-12 minute walk south from the rynek, was 1280zl and I think that included everything. small place, maybe 35 sq. meters. my landlords were OK by Polish standards but still tried like hell to cover up the money I was giving them to avoid paying taxes.

after about a year, I moved in with my now wife, she had her own apartment that she had bought maybe 18 months earlier (no help from her family). i don't remember what the mortgage/czynsz came to exactly, but I think we were paying around 1600zl/month total. it was 50 sq. meters and in a rough neighborhood. it had improved over the years, but it was still a rough neighborhood.

then we left Poland.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]

see now that sounds fun.

mortgage free, cash to renovate the place how you see fit, you don't have to teach frickin' English.....good deal.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


why would you say that? how am I judging anyone? I'm asking straight forward questions with light moderating to keep things on topic.


who suggested otherwise?