Poland monthly bills costs advice

Advice needed!
My Wife is Polish she moved to the UK from Tychy, Katowice, 4 years ago to be here in the UK with me, she had no desire to move to the UK but did so we could be together (I could not leave my job at the time).

We recently got married 2 months ago and are now thinking of moving to Poland as we have a flat there and it is hard to save for a deposit in the UK and we want to be nearer to family.

We already own a small 2 bed flat in Tychy but need to know how much the bills are per month. Can anyone tell me roughly how much you pay for a small 2 bed flat (i don't know the size in meters) in electric, gas, water and rent to the government (council tax) per month please and any rates for the block, rubbish lift etc?

Also my Wife works in the UK for HSBC and is looking at jobs in banks in Poland, does anyone have any working experience of Polish banks.

Thanks :)

No idea about Katowice, but as an example:

Every apartment block has a cost called "czynsz". This usually incorporates hot and cold running water, building maintenance, waste water and heating. Water meters are installed in the flat to monitor usage, and this affects your monthly cost. For my small Warsaw apartment czynsz is about 400 a month, but it can be up to 700 in some places.

You will then have electricity (100), gas (50) and phone/internet (150) subject to your usage, and if you own the building you are liable to two taxes a year; one based on the amount of land you're using (price per square meter, depending on city; about 130 a year for me) and another that I've never worked out the purpose of but comes to around 250 a year, entirely at the local authority's whim.

As for banks; almost every Polish bank is in crisis mode at the moment, desperately trying to raise money and cut costs which means very very few are hiring. Is your wife a front-desk clerk who works in a branch, or does she have skills that would be useful in a head office (data, back office, audit etc.)? That will determine how successful she may be in her job hunt.

Hi thanks for the info so it is roughly 1000 pln per month plus the extra bits of tax.

She works front of house, opening new accounts, sales etc, so not good news really if banks are that bad. I have a job of teaching with salary of 3800 net which is good I think but she will need something too.

I've heard some pretty crap reports about mbank in Tychy. The staff manager there is supposed to be just an awful and condescending person to her staff.

Where are you working in Tychy? I may some know things you may be interested in.

I've seen bills of 850zl in a block that was run by a private administration company. It's a worthy warning that if there's a pre-1990 block run by such a company - stay well clear. The one I saw had very questionable bills - my flat is a similar size, yet the bills are half that.


Yep - a high up retail banking ex-student of mine predicted a bloodbath on the Polish banking market last year, and it looks like it's coming true.


That second one doesn't seem to be universal, we only have the price per square metre and nothing else.


Don't trust it at the moment. The ESL market is seeing the effects of the crisis - schools are cutting salaries and group numbers are smaller. 3800 net seems incredibly high for a small town - so I would have my doubts about that.

is this wpłata własna?


from 250zl to 700zl pcm

Hi,
I was going to work teaching the direct method at a school in Katowice but I am going to come to Poland in a few weeks and also speak to Best School in Tychy and Speed, I will also look at Schools in Katowice. I have found out the wage is before tax so 3100 roughly net. My wife is looking at maybe transferring with HSBC to the office in Katowice, but I don’t think she will apply to banks in Poland as we hearing some very bad stories.

I am open to any offers!

Yes, it does sound rather high, even if it's gross. Good luck if you can get it, but believe it when you see it.


We have friends in Białystok who pay 800PLN/month.

It works out at 50zl/gross assuming a 20 hour week. It just doesn't sound believable right now - Callan schools are normally charging around 60-70zl for one-to-one classes. Guaranteeing those 20 hours a week is also questionable - especially as these schools have seen a massive downturn in popularity.

If she can do that, that would be ideal.

I agree that the salary you're talking about sounds too high for that method of teaching and for that size of town.

She'd be really fortunate to be able to transfer to the Honkers and Shankers in Kato. A friend's husband has been out of work for two years now. He was a bank manager, and now he can't bring himself to accept the cashier jobs he's very occasionally offered.

I'm sending you a p.m. for more details about both of those places and the owners.

Best: Darek Wisniewski There is no way in this world you will make 3800/month net working there. Just kiss that idea goodbye. It is utter rubbish.

Dariusz is a taker, pure and simple. He promises the moon and then some. He finds ways to whittle down his promises to the bare minimum. Here's an example to show how he operates:

The guy wanted me to go to a company where the director explicitly demanded I be his only teacher. So of course I wanted them to cover my fuel costs. I remember I had over a 5/6 approval rating on average and he still said that I wasn't keeping people happy enough so of course "no" he wouldn't cover my fuel costs. I subsequently refused to drive to the business. The guy lost out on making money because he didn't want to share even a bit more than he thought he had to.

Speed: Andrzej Stoszek. What can I say about that guy? I'll send you a p.m. so he doesn't come after me for liable. You'd be working with 3rd or 4th year students straight off the bus from the UK or the US. He's now got it set up so education students can come teach at his school and receive some kind of credit for their program back home. There seems to be a disproportionate overturn among staff and students. He does pay as advertised though. He's the one owner in this country who never screwed me out of money too badly.

If you have no experience and refuse to entertain Katowice then I'd recommend Speed because Andrzej (this was 10 years ago mind you) delivers on the financial end.

If you have experience and refuse to entertain Katowice then I'd recommend Speed because the role Darek tries to put native speakers in, is bizarre and ineffective.

There are something like 70+ "language schools" in Tychy. The Katowice market is much larger and much less saturated. It is your decision but whatever you decide, don't say

you didn't know better.

Hello Phil,

Are you now in Tychy? Are you still looking for a teaching job? I have a small English school in Tychy and we would certainly consider having an additional native speaker in the school. If you're interested, then please get in touch.

My number is: +48 505 403 883
Email: ian@imenglish.pl
Web: imenglish.pl

how many hours are u offering?

3800zl a month = 950zl a week is not unrealistic, if the OP does 4 or 5 hours Monday to Friday and Saturday mornings.
Direct Method or traditional it isn't that relevant and small towns are captive markets. Those schools using the Direct method like native speakers, it adds to their kudus.

I taught in Poland several years ago both for a school and privately, in a small town, usually clocking up 30 to 40 hours a week, at 40 zl per hour, so in my humble experience 950zl a week isn't unreasonable.

Question is netto or brutto?

Regarding bills, the other posters are bang on about ground rent on apartment blocks and especially regarding the variation in charges differing block to block.

Paying ground rent is not clear cut in Poland. An example would be if you have 50 tenants in a block and you all have to pay "czynsz" what happens if 5 people don't pay..... and that is where the trouble starts.....

The easiest way of finding out is to ask the neighbours. Most people will be more than happy to moan about the bills.

I am sure your wife will find work, if she wants to work she will find a job.

Ignore the doom mongers and nay sayers...

useful link

numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Poland

Hi! Your link is not updated since prices are now higher - for instance public transportation.

I'm sure they have but the site gives a rough idea. ;)