Thinking about moving to Poland in the future... how is life there?

Hello Guys;

I am a Brazilian male of 19 years old, white. I have been thinking about moving to Poland in in the future, perhaps in two or three years, maybe even less if things get bright for me. I have spent a few hours researching about Cost of Living, politics, culture, history, etc.. about the country, and I fell in love with it lol.

But before I make up my mind about it, I need to know a few more things about the country, to make sure that Poland is the right choice:

* Do poles accept immigrants well, or am I gonna have a bad time?
* I don't speak anything of the Polish language, but I am fluent in English (my spoken english is rather rusty for now, as I don't usually speak it daily). Will my accomodation in the country be harsh, and does it take long to speak Polish fluently?

* If I eventually choose to move there next year, will I be able to join a college and get myself a job?
* Are crime rates low (I think they are according to my research, but I need to be sure)
* Can a programmer live well there?
* I know it is a foolish question, but what music gender do Poles prefer (metal, pop, hip-hop)? I am a Metalhead btw, but I don't look like one (no tattoos, piercings...)

* What ideological side do Poles prefer (left-socialist or right-capitalist)? I am aware that in the last election, the leftist sphere had no important seats whatsoever, but the Polish people really enjoy the right-wing?

* What is the best city that I can move to? I was thinking about Gdansk, but are there other options that you guys consider better?

* What is the salary needed to have a middle-class lifestyle? Is it hard to earn that much?

Well, I think that those are the questions I had. Thank you for reading!!

poland



Poland



Poland

The decent educated ones do.


No you will survive


Yes. About a year if you take daily lessons.


Why wouldn't you?


Probably not so easy.


Yes. Many do.


Variety like people in any country. Behemoth is a Polish band and since you are a metalhead you should know them.


Educated ones center or left, rest right.


Great city. I personally love it.


Depends on how you define middle class.


Many people here do more than one job to make ends meet.


You will have many local friends in no time. Just don't be shy.

Thanks @Polsyr to the answers!


Well, middle class for me would be having a 80m2 apartment and a car worth of 30,000~50,000 zl, having the comfort of buying all the variety of food, and being able to have dinner in a restaurant once in a while.


Yes, I actually heard of them, but never listened in depth. I am going to have a look.


Well, maybe of cultural difference or by not knowing the Polish language.

Depends on where, but let's say PLN 8,000 a month.


That simply enriches your experience


More reasons to learn Polish.

Allright, thanks again Polsyr.

But one more question that got to my mind now, is it possible to do Exchange to Poland in my current state, and later acquire Polish nationality?

What do you mean?


Before I answer, you need to know something; in Poland there is a difference in meaning between narodowość (nationality) and obywatelstwo (citizenship).

You can become a Polish citizen after living in Poland for a certain number of years and meeting certain conditions.

But you will not become a Polak (per the way this term is used in the Polish language in Poland today). It is not a racist or discriminatory thing, just a sociocultural characteristic, and it is not unique or exclusive to Poland.

You will also notice that some official forms that foreigners may fill up in Poland ask for narodowość and for obywatelstwo as two separate questions with two separate answers.

Yes, Most of the people in Poland are center or right.


Yes, this is basically everywhere else in the world.

At the most important universities it's possible to study in English. Maybe the choice of the study fields is not wide, but it's possible.

But the quality of education imparted is not as high as it would be in Polish. Scholarship students used to spend 8 months at a school in £ódź and then start regular studies in Polish, if a foreigner wants quality education in Poland then that's the way to go about it.

But if both the student and professors are not tremendously fluent in English then that's just looking for an item on a CV and not education....

Obviously, Maf, whoever is serious about studying in English does not come to Poland but goes to an English speaking country. Logical! Programs in socalled English offered by Polish schools are nothing more than a way to get money out of naive 3rd worlders and their "diplomas" are not even worth the paper they are printed on.

Pretty much. There are some exceptions - I think there's a very highly regarded computer science course taught in English in Wrocław, but yes, in general, most of them are an utter joke.

It depends. At £ódź University of Technology (Politechnika £ódzka) the programmes in English are chosen by the best high school students from the neighbourhood, they are the ones to which it's most difficult to get from the whole university.


You are exaggerating. You don't need C2 level in English to understand the lectures, especially when the teacher is not a native English speaker.

I am now on an exchange in Germany, and I have some subjects in German. My level of German is something around B2. And it's quite difficult to understand lectures given by native German speakers, but one of them is given in German by a foreigner, and it's much easier to understand it.

In Poland I study in English, and most of the teachers don't have problems with English. Maybe except for one teacher conducting tutorials in one subject, she wasn't even able to distinguish singular and plural forms. But this is an exception.


It's definitely a better idea, but only because of that there is a lot of universities in English speaking countries that are much more recognized in the world than the most important unversities in Poland.

Grabula!
If you'll come here expect to be questioned thousands of times "Why Poland?" ;)

About your questions:

* Do poles accept immigrants well, or am I gonna have a bad time?
Uneducated poor people for the most no, educated mid-class people generally yes and they're very curious about newcomers from different cultures, just please do not be shy since many poles are kinda introverts, also girls here like "latins" a lot. As a polish migrant and traveler I can say is not uncommon in Europe this social insight between poor-uneducated and wealthy-educated, but in PL the difference between social classes accentuate this, and although intersections between them exist those 2 parts of the society hardly communicate between them.

* I don't speak anything of the Polish language, but I am fluent in English (my spoken english is rather rusty for now, as I don't usually speak it daily). Will my accomodation in the country be harsh, and does it take long to speak Polish fluently?

Although stats say that Poland is among the top countries in English language among those that don't have it as an official language, the reality leads always to the social division explained above: educated people are generally good in English, uneducated generally no and you can find them working in post offices and in other key spots. Poles are fine with foreigners not speaking correctly polish, they understand that is an hard language for non-slavs and generally they help and they're happy if they c a foreigner improving its polish. It takes a ******** for a guy with a base of latin languages to learn polish well, it would need even 2 years of hard study.

* If I eventually choose to move there next year, will I be able to join a college and get myself a job?
A college for sure, I advise those in polish language rather than those in english, but of course you need to be fluent in polish. Part time jobs are almost impossible to find if you're not fluent in polish, and generally they pay **** money. I heard about part-time jobs for foreigners in big international hotels, but dunno really.

* Are crime rates low (I think they are according to my research, but I need to be sure)
Poland is I think among the safest countries you could land in; in general I think Europe is a safer continent than the american one.

There's now kinda a problem with hooligans beatdowns, but for the rest is a very safe country in every city, neighborhood, at any time of the day.

* Can a programmer live well there?
IT developer is actually an elite job in Poland, thanks for the most to the international companies outsourcing here, and where you can work just with english language. The level is very good and the salaries well above the average in PL. Top cities in IT are Wroclaw, Krakow, Warsaw.

* I know it is a foolish question, but what music gender do Poles prefer (metal, pop, hip-hop)? I am a Metalhead btw, but I don't look like one (no tattoos, piercings...)

Music trends are kinda paneuropeans, pop music apart they like metal (PL is pretty good in it), euro EDM (there are even local genres like Disco Polo) and local Hip-Hop.

If you don't look like part of a certain category you'll fit very well in PL :) here even in big cities like Warsaw people are very conformed, except some non-extreme hipsters that try to copy Berlin city life, for the rest people look all the same and you can notice it going for clothes shopping; in this PL looks a bit like a big village.

* What ideological side do Poles prefer (left-socialist or right-capitalist)? I am aware that in the last election, the leftist sphere had no important seats whatsoever, but the Polish people really enjoy the right-wing?

Uneducated poor people are mostly right/far-right, educated people more left, but this is a generalization.
Also the political sphere in PL is not the same as the one in other countries even in Europe, the right wing for example could seem far-right in the social issues but left in the economical issues.

* What is the best city that I can move to? I was thinking about Gdansk, but are there other options that you guys consider better?

I think Wroclaw is pretty good for newcomers from other countries, very active and open-minded city where the students have a relevant role. You cannot be bored there.

* What is the salary needed to have a middle-class lifestyle? Is it hard to earn that much?
Since you need to rent a flat (many poles own their homes) let say that living very well but without a car 6000 net a month is really more than enough. Is anyway not very easy to get them, a mid-experienced IT developer in an international company can get them and reach even the 9000 eventually.

As long as you don't wrap your head with a towell the looks don't rally matter and seeing your picture(seen it the other day.I suppose it got removed) i'm sure the Polish will think of you as a European. We aren't Nazi and we have nothing against foreigners moving in as long as the culture they represent is proven to not create issues in the past. Simply speaking as in your case a white Christian is always warmly welcome. :D

Merged: Quality of life in Poland?

I'm Polish, from the US, and I'm thinking about moving to Poland for various reasons. How is the quality of life in Poland compared to other Western countries?

Is the average wage decent in Poland? Costs of living? Is it easy to get a job? Quality of life? etc.

I'm thinking of moving to Poland from Canada in the next 5-6 years, currently, I am 15 years old, I am white with Dutch descent, I am Christian, and I have a great interest in everything Polish, I still have 5-6 years so I am starting the basics of Polish and I intend to have as much of an understanding of Polish as one can get outside of the country, The second I land in Poland I would be willing to through away the culture I grew up with and live in Polish culture (full assimilation). Is there a need for mechanical engineers, because that is a likely career for me to choose, if not I am open to whatever is needed, I would be moving with a decent amount of money to get started. So I only have a few questions.

1: Considering all this would I be welcome?
2: Should I go to Poland for University or should I go after University in Canada?
3: Which city should I move to?

At 15 years old (If you are not a troll) there is much for you to conclude in Canada , Study hard at school , then go to university and get yourself a good degree, then evaluate your next step.