Living in Warsaw costs - will my earnings be enough to live on?

Hi, I'm moving to Warsaw in a couple of weeks to work as an English teacher, I'll be earning 3400zł NET and I'm just wondering if this will be enough for me! I've pretty much set up a flat in Warsaw (sharing) for 800zł a month but I don't know much else!

Any extra information would be appreciated, cheers!

I'd say you'd be comfortable with your 80 zl/20eur a day left for spending; this 20eur a day would give you some 20% more power then elsewhere.

Merged: Warsaw Living Cost and Tax rate - Indian

Dear All,

This is Zuber am indian. i got job offer from Warsaw .they offering 1000 Euro salary. would you guide me how much i will get salary after deduction from Tax charge and Health insurance. and this is salary is enough for survive in city ?

Hi! A salary of 4,000 (= 1,000 Euros) means something like 2,835 ZL after tax and unless you are starving in your country, not worth coming. Besides having it rough financially, be aware that you'd be isolated socially as Poles don't mix with foreigners (especially when not "white and catholic").

That bit's just not true - a load of rubbish even. In any case, there's a thriving Indian community in Warsaw.


It isn't much money and you don't mention if you're single or have a family; nor do you mention what sort of accommodation you would expect. Plenty of people earn less so yes, you can survive on it however you would need to e very careful if you want to save money on that..

@ Gosc123456 @JollyRomek

Dear All,

Thank you very for your quick response.

Am Muslim - Indian 30 age. Single, I would like to be live shared small apartments.. even though as you said After Tax deduction 2800 PZL is not sufficient to live and Safe money. so better i quite that offer.

Thanks a Lot,

Regards,

Zuber

That sounds like starvation, especially in Warsaw.

@Wulkan: maybe not starvation (70% of Poles make less than 2,700) but for sure not worth it. Most Poles have to manage with less but they have family network, they know where to get cheaper things and also they eat local food whereas a foreigner, on top of that not speaking the language, shall have to pay everything at the highest price and the Indian Muslim shall spend a good amount of extra money because of his different eating style..... Unless very desperate not worth it and I'm sure the author of the thread can be better offf in India

Yes but they get support from the family.

@Wulkan: this is what I said (= family network) ;). Besides, foreigners always spend more money as they buy products from their countries. The author of the thread being a Muslim shall need to pay more for his meat, for instance. Going abroad to count each grosz does not make sense.

Plenty do just that, including Poles on below the minimum wage in the UK. People go abroad for many reasons, not always money.

In any case, maybe the OP is veggie (or would have to mostly be on that wage).

@Jon: the guy posting obviously is concerned about money since he's asking about it. He could also see Poland as a way to enter UE and then go further West ;). As far as I know, middle classes in India make good enough money ...

Life's journey.


Not by European standards.


And indeed my replies focused on that, plus life in wawa.

Merged: Living in Warsaw at 5500 Netto

Is 5500 PLN Netto a good salary for an average life style in Warsaw, Poland for an expat?
I would be getting health insurance and some sports benefit card along with the full time employment contract.

p.s. I am currently single and will be getting married in a year or so!

Your comments (positive/negative) are much appreciated.

Ty,

Depends what you mean by "expat". If you mean heavy duty, super qualified engineering, financial, legal or business consultant or administrator sent by his home office for an extended stint in Poland, it's way, way too low.

If you mean slacker or backpacker with no skills or experience, it's way to high.

If you're a fresh out of school single engineer, it's pretty much spot on. Not really tempting for a couple, though. Explore better opportunities in Western Europe or English speaking countries. The deciding factor is that your savings potential would be low.

Thanks DominicB,

Definitely Western countries are any day better, given a chance (I did try, but no success).

I am no engineer, just carry experience in support consulting (not a rocket science, but yes involves a lot of thinking, reading and understanding of business). However, I want to gain some expertise/skills and guess it would give me at least an opportunity to learn, and may be grow when I'm back in my home country after gaining some skills.

This is a big red flag. If you are having trouble making it in a Western country, where opportunities abound and the job market is relatively favorable, you are probably going to have a much harder time in Poland, where good opportunities are few and far between and competition is fierce.

It is extremely difficult to set yourself up as an independent consultant anywhere in the world unless you have balls so big you need a wheelbarrow. And by balls, I mean heavy-duty qualifications, abundant experience, a voracious, insatiable carnivorous appetite for self-promotion, and plenty of savings to tide you over until you can build up a solid client base, which isn't going to happen overnight. Don't think that you are going to be welcomed with open arms; quite the opposite: Consultants have to fight viciously, mercilessly and relentlessly for every single penny they get, especially when they are starting out.

Agree to your point to the core,

But one can not get everything just by staying where you presently are. I am not looking to start my own consulting business. No. I am earning millions to set up my own venture. I need to know how the work is done at the front-end, so that I can leverage my work experience to apply for a better role in my home country - where the competition is based upon what you carry under your belt in terms of 'college' and 'relevant experience'. I am not going to get into core consulting by staying where I am.

My question was if my salary is good enough to survive and save (about 40-50% of it) considering I don't have any additional person to support as of now. My aim will always be to gain experience, exposure and learn, and come back to my home country (or other better place) to leverage the learning.

And how about the sports card?

Thanks,

Hello, am applying for a Team assistant position in a bank in Warsaw and was asked about the salary expectation. Was wondering if anyone would have an idea about the appropriate or net salary for such a position (if also experience matters) taking into consideration the cost of living and that I will be sending money to my parents back home

Allow 1) at least 4000 PLN a month for living expenses, plus 2) the total cost of your travel to and from your home country and visa/residence permit divided by twelve, plus 3) the monthly amount you want to send back home together with money transfer fees. Then multiply the total by 1.5 to get the MINIMUM gross salary you should ask for.

That's how much you would need to break even. That's assuming that you are a young single male that doesn't smoke or drink or spend money on chasing girls, and is satisfied with a rather modest lifestyle with few frills or luxuries. Also, that you are not going to be saving anything more than a very modest rainy day fund. If not, you are going to have to increase that amount accordingly.

Frankly, it's going to be hard to get paid that much for a team assistant position, unless you have extraordinary skills and/or experience. If you need to save money or have debts or obligations back home to pay, then Poland is probably not the place for you. The cost of living might seem low, but compared to the even lower wages it is very high, which makes savings potential very low indeed.

DominicB thank you for that. Concerning work i believe they are more interested in the language part (English) than my 5 years of experience (if everything went well i will be working with the team based in London).

As for the second part, I am actually a single female, i already have polish friends in different cities in Poland so i think my spending would be mostly on visiting them and sometimes going out for drinks

You could try and see if they bite, but don't accept any offer that is less than the amount I gave above, or you'll end up in the red.