I work in the automotive industry and they have some of that stuff going on.
From what I know about Autosan, it's a place where jobs go to those who know the management. There's not much else there in the way of the automotive industry - unless you count the usual small businesses.
As for living there - it would probably drive you mad after a few months. There's precious little to do, though there are some good pubs - especially one called "beerland" ;) In all fairness, if you have enough money to buy a nice house outright and working is more for pleasure, Sanok will be a great place to live. But if you need to work to live - then steer clear.
but free healthcare and cheap beer makes the balance.
It certainly isn't "free" - either you or your wife will have to have a real work contract, and they'll be paying circa 20% of their wages to cover the healthcare for both of you. Even if you both have "umowa o pracy" - then you'll be looking at 20% each.
There is lots of cheap beer in Sanok, though.
She says it is a place attractive to live in but not to work. You know fresh air, nice sights. But all her cousins from Sanok went for work to Cracov or outside of Europe..
That's pretty much how I'd describe the place. A wonderful place to live if you don't have much pressure to actually do much - but there's precious little happening and very little to fall back on. Even Przewozy Regionalne closed down the train station ticket office - which tells you a lot!
For someone financially independent, it seems like a fantastic place to live - close to Bieszczady, close to the (really) wild Ukrainian Karpaty, the list is endless. But economically, the town is suffering badly - the only real reason that it has anything is because it's the centre of life for Bieszczady.