Sur 1 | 7 12 Aug 2013 / #1Hi All,Greetings !!!Hope you all are doing well. I have a query and seek your helpful feeds on it. My husband has been offered 10500 monthly take home from a company in Warsaw, poland and so I am thinking is it enough for a small Family like us (Husband , Wife & infant) to live a comfortable life and also save some in the mean time ?
polforeigner 12 Aug 2013 / #2Are you kidding! Most Poles make less than 5,000 (brutto) a month and the minimum wage is netto slightly more than 1,000 and they live and raise families. It must be a joke.
OP Sur 1 | 7 12 Aug 2013 / #3No It's not a joke . Although I was just looking for some informative reply and not being moked upon , anyways u did both and so I'll focus more on "actual Information" then on ur "jokes , Kidding". Thanks Anyways.
rozumiemnic 8 | 3845 12 Aug 2013 / #4It is a perfectly reasonable question from someone from an expensive Western European country - how will she know if she doesn't ask?hope you get some better information soon Sur
polforeigner 12 Aug 2013 / #5Yes, from Poland, it may sound like a joke ;). According to official figures, over 65% of population make less than the average salary and despite that, they manage to live. With some 10,500, you'll be among let's say the elite - I assume max 1% of people here make that kind of money. Cool!
Matt1234 12 Aug 2013 / #6Hi,With PLN 10500 (after Taxes), you can have a good life here. You can afford holidays also. Please check with your company, if they are providing you with Accomodation/car etc.Cheers,Matt
phtoa 9 | 236 12 Aug 2013 / #7Hi,Is it Net or Brutto the above mentioned salary?If it is NET then it is quiet good, and you will live comfortable and be able to save.if the salary is brutto though, it is a different story.
Matt1234 12 Aug 2013 / #8Hi,With PLN 10500 (after Taxes), you can have a good life here. You can afford holidays also. Please check with your company, if they are providing you with Accomodation/car etc.If your kid grows up here, the schooling will be free (not technically, because you pay taxes for that). If you are planning on to send your kid to an International school, then its a different story altogether. Warsaw has good Public transport system. It has all the international stores for groceries/clothes etc.Please check numbeo.com, for cost of living and compare it to the city you are living in.I am unable to paste the link becasue of spam issuesCheers,Matt
OP Sur 1 | 7 12 Aug 2013 / #9Thank You for understanding my dilemma.rozumiemnic : thanks for understanding my dilemma :)polforeigner : This time I really appreciate your input. your information shared will help us in taking the right decision.Matt1234 : Thanks a lot . Information shared by you makes things lot easier
poland_ 12 Aug 2013 / #10With PLN 10500 (after Taxes), you can have a good life here. You can afford holidays alsoWith 10,500 Zlotys per month you will not have good life in Warsaw for a family of 3. Your live will be basic for a foreigner in Warsaw, you will have to adjust and go native if you wish to save any money at all.
OP Sur 1 | 7 12 Aug 2013 / #11Oh ... is it ?Also I wanted to know difference between Net or Brutto in salary
poland_ 12 Aug 2013 / #12Net or Brutto in salaryNet pay is amount that remains after all the deductions are made from the gross ( brutto) income.
OP Sur 1 | 7 12 Aug 2013 / #13Ohh ok.. i get it.."So,if the agency states "The gross salary would be 15.000 PLN / month, and the net salary: 10.518 PLN" then I believe its just enough to spend a comfortable life in city like Warsaw.
Monitor 13 | 1810 12 Aug 2013 / #14if the agency states "The gross salary would be 15.000 PLN / month, and the net salary: 10.518 PLN" then I believe its just enough to spend a comfortable life in city like Warsaw.It depends. According to warszawski it's not enough, but according to Matt1234 it's enough.
DominicB - | 2706 13 Aug 2013 / #15With 10,500 Zlotys per month you will not have good life in Warsaw for a family of 3. Your live will be basic for a foreigner in Warsaw, you will have to adjust and go native if you wish to save any money at all.Baloney. You'll live VERY comfortably. Even by western standards.
poland_ 13 Aug 2013 / #16Poland is part of the EU, therefore the term western standards is derogatory, Warszawa is not an inexpensive city, Wroclaw by comparison have lower standards of living. I will reiterate 10,500 PLN is a lower monthly middle income for a household in Waw. The aforementioned monthly income will provide you with a standard Polish living in Waw, you will not live comfortably by expatriate standards, anyone who is suggesting otherwise is misleading you Sur. I have lived in Warsaw for many years and I am very familiar with costs and lifestyle in this city.
Monitor 13 | 1810 13 Aug 2013 / #17Poland is part of the EU, therefore the term western standards is derogatoryNo not really. I haven't seen so ugly city in the west yet. (Architecture, banners)
Harry 13 Aug 2013 / #19I will reiterate 10,500 PLN is a lower monthly middle income for a household in Waw. The aforementioned monthly income will provide you with a standard Polish living in Waw, you will not live comfortably by expatriate standardsThe key phrase there is 'household income'. Putting it simply, in the vast majority of Varsovian households there are two people earning a salary (or one earning a salary and the other collecting stupidly pointless benefits because she's fairly recently had a kid). But I don't think that it would be a "lower monthly middle income"; it's probably more of a solidly middle or even slightly upper-middle income. But warszawski has nailed it with regard to expat standards: ten grand a month is not going to come anywhere close to the 'three kids at the British school and a house in Konstancin' level.I haven't seen so ugly city in the west yet. (Architecture, banners)I see that you have never been to Houston (although you do have a point about the horrible advertising on buildings).
poland_ 13 Aug 2013 / #20No not really. I haven't seen so ugly city in the west yet. (Architecture, banners)It seems your understanding of aesthetics is simply an advanced term for beauty and attractiveness, but this would ignore some important aspects of Warsaw. It should also includes the feel, design, layout, and description of a city. It is a desire to create a place that is functional and productive along with being attractive, relaxing, and reflective of the city's history and culture. It involves the planning of parks, open spaces, and other public areas along with positioning the city's buildings and streets in such a way that are visually pleasing, easy to use, and promoting of healthy living. In essence, aesthetics represents the soul of the city and how it influences the city's organs and limbs.
Monitor 13 | 1810 13 Aug 2013 / #21It seems your understanding of aesthetics is simply an advanced term for beauty and attractivenessYou're right that design and functionality is not bad, but attractiveness and beauty of architecture especially suburbs is really random. I had no opportunity to live in Warsaw, but when passing through with a car it's quite ugly view. Especially in winter.
poland_ 13 Aug 2013 / #22ten grand a month is not going to come anywhere close to the 'three kids at the British school and a house in Konstancin' levelOn ten grand a month you would be hard pushed to have one kid in the British school and live comfortably in 60 m2 in Kabaty.Warsaw is not in the west, not even of Poland!The key phrase there is 'household income'.Exactly
Matt1234 13 Aug 2013 / #23Sur: Please check the following forumMoving to Poland - Checklistposted by warszawski some 2 years back, I found this helpfull while relocating.Regards,Matt
OP Sur 1 | 7 13 Aug 2013 / #24Hi All,Thanks a lot for your inputs.Although we aren't expecting high standards of living...moreover we do not drink and rarely go out for resturants and we are also not looking for a large house , just figuring it out which place will be good for us to live nearby Poleczki as my husband's workplace would be there.And, if hand-to-mouth situation arises then we would rather think over again on this offer.I won't be able to work for a while to support my husband financially as my kid would be just months old so...will again evaluate and hopefully will reach aright decision.Thanks a lot to all for your valuable info.
Harry 13 Aug 2013 / #25Although we aren't expecting high standards of living...moreover we do not drink and rarely go out for resturants and we are also not looking for a large house , just figuring it out which place will be good for us to live nearby Poleczki as my husband's workplace would be there.A decent sized flat in that area (say 70 metres) in a new-ish development isn't going to cost much more than 3,000zl per month.I won't be able to work for a while to support my husband financially as my kid would be just months old so...will again evaluate and hopefully will reach aright decision.Even when the kid is older, will you qualify for a work permit?
OP Sur 1 | 7 13 Aug 2013 / #26Thanks Harry ...Also wanted to know (as I am going through many threads ) Is it safe for foreigners (like we are Indians) to live in warsaw ??Little worried about that as will be learning Polish before we reach there but still will not be that fluent and yes looks can be a problm if people are racist... As you now Indians are Brown-skinned although we are fair but with black hair... we are surely expecting some stares...aren't we ?
poland_ 13 Aug 2013 / #28Monitor I am with H on this one, you live in Germany so you have zero understanding of life in Waw so please stop commenting on this thread. Sur and her family are making a life decision and want to be as consice as possible, Sur there is an indian communiy in Waw, I know some of them send me me pm with your email and I will forward. Good luck with the move.
rozumiemnic 8 | 3845 13 Aug 2013 / #29. As you now Indians are Brown-skinned although we are fair but with black hair... we are surely expecting some stares...aren't we ?in my experience sur, people stare at you if you are speaking a different language, whatever your colouring.....so yes, but do not take it personally i think it is just curiousity.of course Warsaw may be different to my experiences in smaller towns..
poland_ 13 Aug 2013 / #30As you now Indians are Brown-skinned although we are fair but with black hair... we are surely expecting some stares...aren't we ?Do not worry Sur, Waw is becoming very cosmopolitan, the most important thing is to chose location.