but the geographic location of Poland doesn't make the trip any easier/closer.
Frankfurt, Berlin, Budapest, Vienna, Prague, Gdansk, Hamburg, Bratislava, Lviv, Munich...all within two hours travel for me. 3 hours gets me Holland, Switzerland, Northern Italy, Croatia, Denmark. Last Saturday I left in the morning for Vienna, met some friends for lunch (Hotel Sacher...mmm sachertorte..), and was back in my house at around 7ish.
If you have more time than money, trains and buses work too.
regarding costs in Poland, being from America, I find Poland unbelievably expensive.
Everywhere is more expensive than the US. Give that time (hello inflation!).