Cost of living in Wroclaw (rent price too)

@smartjames06: the 5000pln gross will allow you to survive in Poland with your wife, but forget about any saving. If you live frugally, then perhaps you can save for tickets to India. Your wife has nearly no chance to find a job in Poland. She would need to speak Polish language and get work permit (except if she's a programmer, then English is enough and permit can be obtained). In order for your wife not to get crazy alone at home I would suggest her to apply for some studies in English or 1 year preparatory course of Polish language. But that's extra cost, hard to pay from your not so high salary. (around 10 000 pln per year it costs)

Thanks Monitor for your response.

Just for the clarification, I'm offered a 6000 pln NET salary at a reputed US computer company in Wojdyla business park, along with 3000 pln NET for relocation costs, both am still negotiating. My wife is a English teacher here at the local Kids' school (that's more of a time pass with kids rather the money as she donates her entire salary). Hope to find her a job in the same organization mainly for the same reason, though her first preference will always be teaching small kids.

Now lets say she doesn't find any job there. So will it be worth to move to Wroclaw with that range of a salary leaving behind friends and family?

Learning the language won't be a huge problem as I belong to a country with more than 22 different 'native' languages and 1,652 different "mother tongues"!! And trust me, mostly they are COMPLETELY different. Also I've a passion to learn different languages (know a little bit of French, German and Spanish).

Main reason for me moving to Poland is it's right in Central Europe, I love visiting places. But am not planning to stay for long honestly and go to a new place after sometime. After India, I really love the European culture and that's also one of my reasons to move there.

6000PLN net is substantially more. You would have to spend min. ~2000PLN for an apartment. 1000pln for food. So it seems that you would be able to save 2000PLN per month. while living quite comfortable. Answer yourself if it's enough to move. If you don't plane to stay long in Poland, then learning language has no sense, except of few phrases useful when shopping or asking for directions.

Many Indian people think that Poland could be their gateway to Germany or UK. Basically you would have to work in Poland for 5 years in order to get work permit for Germany. Otherwise only advantage of a job in Poland is that you could easier come for en interview than your colleagues from India. I am not sure if it's changing a lot. I think more important would be the knowledge of German, which you can obtain both in India and in Poland. As for UK I think that they don't give visas to Indians now because they want to cut the number of immigrants.

Good grief!! I must be living like someone who goes through the bins then, because my monthly grocery bill is merely 250zł. I don't buy meat or fish, mostly vegetarian stuff like beans and aubergine (egg plant), courgettes, spices, soya pieces, the occasional fish fingers from Carrefour. Also no beer or wine. And no women, vodka, or cigarettes, Er, why am I here in Poland, again?

1000 is for 2 people with some canteen at work included. And yes, you spend very little.

Funny thing is, I don't spend much on myself, but I spend generously on my genuine friends and others who deserve it. So, if there are any gorgeous Polish women reading this thread, please say hi ;)

@Smartjames06
This is just my humble view. Even for 2, 8 tys. brutto (8000 in Polish) is a very good income for Wrocław. I know some people on more but it's up with the best paid really. I'd be surprised if you don't manage. You can also save money by shopping sensibly, shopping around for car insurance and shopping around for all sorts of things. I save a lot of money by buying online, having the right bank account with good deals, etc. If I were earning 6K net a month here, unless I had very expensive tastes I'd be absolutely thrilled, even if I had a wife's income to think about. I hope all goes well for you if you decide to take up the offer.

Thanks InWroclaw for your views.

However, I'm more concerned about the first month or so, like the 'settling-in-Wroclaw' part. Because after landing there, I've to go to a good but budget-friendly hotel. Then finding an apartment with furnitures and all (as I'll not be taking any furnitures, crockeries etc. from India apart from some clothes and other small miscellaneous stuff). How much I've to pay as security deposit, broker/agent costs etc. are also there. So the costs for the first few days are very crucial. I'll get the salary and joining bonus only with my next month's salary. Till then I've to arrange everything on my own. Also my wife will be accompanying me. Hence I'm a little concerned or rather worried about the same. That's all. I'll very grateful if you guys can help me with that.

For the 1st 1 month rent some small studio apartment in advance through this website: airbnb.com/?locale=en (choose only people who have positive comments) In this way you will not pay more than for a bigger apartment which you will find later on a free market. If you don't want to pay too much for apartment find somebody local who could help you find it. Perhaps somebody from the company can assist you.

I have no connection to them, but there is somewhere in S Wroclaw where you can just do a few weeks or a month on a quite nice estate near buses (but not trams). He's been advertising a long time so I assume he's genuine. It's about 2500 a month for a large flat short term. But as always, you need to be careful when paying up front for accommodation. If you PM me, I'll send you a link to the ad. (Unless a mod indicates that I can post the link here without breaking any rules. I have no connection whatsoever to the advertiser.)

Thanks a lot Monitor and InWroclaw

The office address is Muchoborska 8, 54-424 Wrocław, Poland. Hence I was looking in the area so that it's walk-able or atleast quite nearby and is safe (I didn't have a nice experience once in New York in a posh location!). It will be an added advantage if marketplace (I'll thank God if any Indian stores are there) is also nearby, sorry if am asking for too much. I'm told by HR of that organization that there are apartments within 10-15 mins walking distance of the office.

Also, I don't want to spend money staying in a hotel even for a single day. Hence am looking forward to putting up an apartment as we land in Wroclaw. It's only me & my wife, so we are definitely not looking for a large apartment, a small budget friendly studio kind of apartment with all the basic amenities that one needs like furnitures, kitchen appliances, wardrobes, TV, internet connection etc. are there. I would be really grateful if you can post here or email me - smartjames06@gmail

Also, how are the medical facilities in Wroclaw, are they very expensive? Will I find doctors who can communicate at least a little bit in English? Plus my company is telling me about medical insurances, how exactly that works? Any advice is hugely appreciated.

Doctors are free for workers in Poland. Don't know how big percentage can speak English, but all younger should. Extra insurances which your company talks about is for simple treatments. If you have it then you go to private clink when you catch cold. Thanks to that you don't have to wait in a queues - you can get treatment faster. As for apartment. If you try too book online or in few days after arriving, then you have low chances getting good deal.

@Smartjames, you're welcome. I emailed the flat I had in mind for you but they did not reply and have now deleted their ad, it's disappeared completely. So I think they have no vacancies there. But it was quite cheap and from the photos a very nice standard. Unfortunately, gone.

All I can find at the moment is this gumtree.pl/cp-krotki-termin-i-noclegi/wroclaw/mieszkanie-na-wakacje-ul-sliczna-66m2-606054832 which is more expensive, quite a bit more, although much better for transport.

@Monitor, yes I did try airbnb.com, it's a nice place to start searching for a place to stay.
@InWroclaw, sorry but am not sure if I have received your email :(

But really thanks a lot for all your help thus far. I was also checking out 'just landed' and got a few good deals there as well! But haven't finalized anything as of yet.

Merged: Cost of living and taxes in Poland

Dear Friends,

I am single and from India, I have been offered 9000 gross/month plus bonus. Will this be a decent offer to live in Wroclaw?

Also, I was wondering if you all can help me with the below information.

1. Tax deductions in Poland - this would help me with finding net monthly salary
2. Apartment rent cost in Wroclaw
3. Living cost in Poland
4. What is the salary appraisal period in Poland in general

Thanks!

https://polishforums.com/work/pln-month-enough-people-india-live-wroclaw-69895/

The majority of Poles I know have a Masters in something and are on 2 to 4 (thousand) per month PLN. Personally, I'm from the UK, I have to survive on much less as I don't have an IT specialism or anything like that (even if teaching English I'd struggle to pull in much over 2 or 3 a month.

I think that probably answers your question unless you want to drive to Tesco in a Bentley.

1. You'll most probably need to include the basic tax of 18% which will net you an 7380 income. If you're a programmer, or generally an IT person you could ask the company if they use increased tax deductible expenses as the part of the creative work. Many IT related companies do and this would mean your net salary would be increased depending of the % of creative work being done. It's best to ask them what would be the net salary you'd be receiving.

2. Depending on the location in Wrocław you'd be spending between 1500 to 2200 for a flat for one person.
3. Well launch every day means between 10 - 20 zł depends on the quality. Plus similar amount fo the rest of the meals daily. Good restaurant is between 50-80zł per visit. Monthly public transport ticket aprox. 100zł. These are really vague numbers I've posted...

4. It really depends on the company, there are companies which will hold your entry level salary and a change of employer will be required to change the salary. There are those who have an appraisal every year but the actual change happens much less frequently. 9000 pln sounds like a senior position salary and it means you'd probably need to get a promotion to get a bigger salary and that depends on a lot of things, how proactive you are, and a lot of other general corporate bs. I don't think it differs from other countries.

9000zl netto. minimum for a decent life.

Merged: cost of living in Wroclaw,poland?

Hello.

I m 25yrs and might be moving to Wroclaw,poland. i would be living there alone and would like to know what would be the estimated cost of living over there? how much could one be expected to earn monthly to have a nice decent lifestyle over there?

I am assuming that you are an IT engineer. You'll need at least 5000 PLN a month NET (7500 PLN a month gross) to have a "nice decent lifestyle" for a healthy single non-smoking, non-drinking 25-year-old in Wrocław. If you are experienced in SAP or HBase, you can easily make double that.

If you're not an IT engineer, then tell us about your education, qualifications and experience.

InWroclaw and frd, thanks for your replies and inputs. Does clear a lot of my queries. Much thanks again!

I am looking forward to move to Poland as soon as I receive my Permit. Speaking of which, any idea how long does it take for the work permit to come and for how long is it valid for?

I guess (really only guess) that it takes 1 - 3 months and work permit is for 1 or 2 years maximum. It's for only this specific employer so you would need a new one when changing job.

Hello,

Please help me with this question:

I am waiting for a Work Permit to come to Wroclaw, It will be issued soon, then, I will have to apply for Work Visa (I am non-EU) my question is if I want to change the job I will have to apply for a new Work Permit only ?

Or do I have to apply also for a new Work Visa ? (Though, I think that Work Visa is not specific for one employer)

Please confirm if I am right.

Thank you

You are right. Work permit is specific to job/employer and not the resident permit/visa. You should apply for a temp resident permit 45 days before your current visa expires.

Thank you rdhir for your reply,

Actually I am out of Poland, I planned to apply first for a Work Visa to come to Poland and once in Poland to apply for Karta Pobytu

Merged: Cost of living in Wroclaw

Hello, is 3600 PLN per month enough for a single person to stay in Wroclaw?

Merged: Wroclaw: Cost of living.

Hi Everyone,

I would be moving to Wroclaw shortly, Am from India .. I would be earning 4900 gross pm. Would that be sufficient for Average living in Wroclaw.

Considering i dnt speak Polish.

Thanks
Wishwah

nope.

Not really. It might be a little tempting if you are a recent grad, but if you have any experience, it isn't all that generous. Even if you are a recent grad, your time would probably be better spent in India beefing up your qualifications rather than spending a year or two in Poland gaining experience that most likely will not help you very much in your future career. The amount you quoted will get you a basic apartment and pay for basic food. No luxuries or savings. A toothache or the flu can wipe you out financially for many months. Too much risk for too little gain.

Hi DominicB,

Thanks for your reply, Am covered with medical insurance so i guess i shouldn't be worried about it. But is there any other miscellaneous expenses that can't be ignored.

Merged: is 5000 PLN net good salary to live in wroclaw ?

is 5000 PLN net good salary to live in wroclaw ?