About to move to Warsaw. Any advice on where to live?

Hi everyone,

I'm about to accept a job offer to move to Poland.
I'm originally from Paris and just finished my MBA in the US.
I was wondering if anyone would have good advice on where to live in Warsaw. I'm single in my 30s and would love to live in a nice area with bars, restaurants, clubs and grocery shopping close by. I'd be working in the Ochota area and would love to find the right mix between easy commute and entertaining area.

Any advice will be more than welcome...

Thank you

Rent something temporary in advance through airbnb and later when you are in Warsaw choose permanent place personally.

Stary Mokotow is nice - especially the area around Pole Mokotowskie. It's near to town and the action but lots of green areas if you want to relax. There are some new developments like Eko Park that are nice. If you like old buildings there are plenty that are being renovated and period properties can be nice and have more character than new developments. I'd only recommend moving into a period property if the whole building has been renovated as your neighbours could be drunkards on a lifelong lease given under communism. Other areas could be around aleja Ujazdowskie - it's quiet and near to a large park. You could live right in town e.g. around Plac Zbawicela and you'll have plenty of places to eat and visit. But it's noisy and the urban and still under regeneration. I wouldn't recommend going into the soulless suburban areas like Ursynow or Wilanow. Ochota isn't that bad. It's mixed and areas are quite OK. Not as nice as Mokotow.

Where in Ochota? It's quite a large district and different parts are better accessed from different places.


The only place with all of those is the city centre.


It is nice, but it's also somewhat overpriced. I'd suggest Mirow/Muranow as a better spot.


Good god no! That area is, sadly, completely infested with hipsters these days; pity, it's a nice part of town and I much enjoyed living there (before the infestation took hold).

Muranow and Mirow - both urban and going through different stages of regeneration. Muranow maybe - some nice parts, small parks but for me not a nice neighbourhood feel. If you want to be closer to the action OK. A few new developments around- just make sure you find the right corner. Mirow - would not recommend at all. Dead at night and still down at heel. Being regenerated but wouldn't touch it for a good few years.

Depends really on what you want and what you're used to. You won't find Mokotow overpriced if you're used to living in Paris and the U.S. I think Stary Mokotow is good value for money. Safe, quiet, nice shops and cafes.

Thank you Krecik89 and Harry for your replies.
My office would be next to the blue city mall in Ochota. and I first I was mostly targeting the city centre - Śródmieście but I recently heard that some areas on the other side of the bridge are being completely new and have a lot of young people (mix of students and workers) and everything close by. Just don't know the name of this area.

I'm planning to rent something for a week or two first to be able to visit places around but I need to identify an area and some specific places in advance.

are you refering to SASKA KEMPA area? its pretty good also.

There are are basically no nice neighborhood in Warsaw as they are all mixed state/private with the exception of the burbs and Marina Mokotow. Warsaw is about streets and on those streets are maybe a couple of nice developments new/old. Even in the nicer developments you may get hookers/pimps as your nexties. It is unfortunate for the OP he will be working near Blue city as there is no Metro so he is restricted to the tram or bus if he needs to go public transport.

Krecik89, I suggest you look at the transport links before deciding on location, when winter arrives you will not want more than a twenty minute journey when its -20.

There are some nice neighbourhoods. The old bit of Saska Kepa, the nicer parts of Zoliborz, the far bit of Bielany, Stara Ochota, for example. I wouldn't include Marina Mokotow in that though, unless a huge gated estate counts as nice.

To the OP, I'd recommend Stara Ochota. It isn't cheap but is a nice area with a few good restaurants and bars nearby, is very close to the city centre and close to Blue City. Otherwise,the area round ul Grojecka is cheaper and pleasant enough. There's also those flats behind Blue City, round ul. Pandy. That might be a bit quiet for a younger person though.

Yes they are nice for Poland, not in comparison to other European countries. In inner Warsaw the whole city is mixed housing state/private even in Stary Zoliborz which is considered the most affluent part of the city. The only exceptions are Marina Mokotow and one or two other osiedles in Powisle and Mokotow dolny. As for the OP and your needs look at the following streets ul Wiejska and Frascati, you will be close to all the action and it will be a 5 minute walk to trams and buses to get you to Blue city in the mornings.

I wouldn't call Stary Zoliborz the most affluent, unless you mean asset rich/cash poor. Nor would I suggest that state housing necessarily drags down an area - there are council blocks in Belgravia after all and in Stary Zoliborz all I can think of off the top of my head is the Kolonia on ul. Promyka where flats are no longer cheap and the bits down by the citadel entrance which are fast becoming gentrified.

The mix of housing (plus the constant influx of people) in Warsaw does mean one big thing though. That there are very few truly bad areas. Even Szmulki is looking better now.

Jon people who own houses at 1million euro plus in Warsaw would not be cash poor, most of them would be renting them out for 3-5,000 Euro a month and financing a second or third property.People who bought at the height of the market on Swiss franc mortgages are mostly struggling. If you put a nice house on the market in Stary Zoliborz that presents value even at 4 mil + it will sell within two months.

Warszawski, there are some homes (even flats) like that in Stary Zoliborz (an area I've just moved out of after a few years) - however most are worth far, far less and in fact you can pick some of the more modest flats up for not very much. Still a good area though.

By the way, a lot of people in good areas are very much cash poor. Not everyone raises credit to invest based on the value of their home. Most don't. And homes in Warsaw generally take longer than that to sell, despite 99% of them being cheaper than the price you mention.

Not much use to the OP though who wants to be nearer his work at Blue City. I'd recommend Stara Ochota (the bit often called Kolonia Staszica). Nice housing stock, a safe area and near his work. Can be expensive though in which case the other side of pl. Narutowicza might be a good bet.

Here was me thinking the OP was Max116 below :-)



In KS there is very little there to do in the evenings, some of the older blocks are nice if you don''t have a car.

As for safety you would be hard pushed to find a safer street in Warsaw than Frascati.

Yes, that's him. Working next to Blue city. See above.

I agree that KS could be a little quiet however 15zl in a cab and you're in the heart of the city. Also, you might be surprised by how much there is going on within a 5 minute walk. If I was single, KS or the middle bit of Saska Kepa would probably be where I'd live. I found Zoliborz a bit staid and elderly but with all the drawbacks of living nearer the centre. Pretty though.

Another possibility would be the area at the back of Zloty Taras however that's a little further from Blue City and could be noisy. Plus the area by Rondo ONZ doesn't have a great reputation.

There is also the area the other side of ul Drawska which has the park and ski jump, some people claim its a great area, don't know if it is all family groups though.

Thanks guys for being so proactive.
It's a bunch of very useful information and a lot of things to check out.
But looks like it could correspond to what I'm looking for (easy commute not more than 15-20min and in a young area with bars and restaurants close by).

On this I can agree...although I would not include Przy Agorze...The tenement blocks and spaces between them have a bad reputation.
That said and done, I like to live in Stare Bielany. It is very green, safe (I have never experienced anything bad here, the worst was that somebody stole 3 wheel covers from our VW Touran. Still don't know why he left the fourth one?), I have the shops nearby which I need. And we meet with friends in the weekend, we have 350 mtrs to the metro.

But I think it is a family neighborhood, not something for the OP.
I have never ventured beyond Huta Młocina...I heard Młociny is a nice place to live.


That is correct. If I see the annual breakdown of the exploitation costs of our "kamiennica". It is like 60% private / 40% gmina.
But that doesn't tell anything about the people living there. We are lucky that we have a quiet housing estate. The 40% gmina are mostly pensioners.

The point I was making earlier in the thread is- it is very difficult to say a area/neighborhood is good in Warsaw. Warsaw is more about streets and buildings within those streets, some people say stary Mokotow is nice although if you own a house in stary Mokotow you better have a state of the art alarm system. stary Mokotow has high theft figures. As a new person moving to Saska Kempa only because someone mentions it a nice area is a recipe for a disaster as there are only a couple of good streets and a few nice blocks. As an add on, I would never live in stary Mokotow I believe it is the most over rated place in Warsaw. Stare Mlociny has a couple of nice streets around the church although you would need a car to move there.

Choosing where to live is very subjective. I've lived all over Srodmiescie, Stara Praga, Centrum, most parts of Mokotow. They're all OK but I want a decent park, a safe area, no winos, decent cafes / pubs, restaurants but not hectic, a stone's throw from Centrum and under 20pln taxi ride. So the area around Pole Mokotowskie trumps it. As an expat there's no point living any further out as amenities dwindle and the sea of apartment blocks grows.


Defining something as overrated is disagreeing with other people's rating of it. Quite a lot of people like living there so the houses increase in value and prices are high so these people rate it above other places in Warsaw. So you disagree with a lot of people.

Krec, if you are going to quote me quote me in full.


Do you think that prices only increase in stary Mokotow?

The OP was looking for a place close to his work and for quality of life so why bring rising house prices into it.

As for stary/dolny Mokotow there are a few streets which have nice buildings and houses outside of that it has turned out to be what it was designed for a low end area full of ex criminal families second only in Warsaw to Prusków.

That's the bit I mentioned round ul. Pandy. Nice enough apartments, but Nappy Valley - not much of a buzz. He'd do well to live closer to pl. Narutowicza or even right in centrum. Plenty going on and no moe than 15-20 mins to Blue City.


A bit more than a couple. Same with


there are far more than just a few good streets - in fact there aren't any bad bits. Some of the newish apartment blocks around ul. Heroldow are a bit 'Daily Mail' however in the upscale area between where the gated apartment blocks stop and UKSW, it's hard to imagine a nicer (and more affluent) part of town. Very safe too, because of the sheer number of the great and good who have security. Quite a few famous names on my street. Much too far for the OP though and not exactly seething with nightlife for a 30-something.


That's plain untrue.

I suggest you talk to people who are long term residents of Warsaw, Centrum Praga and Mokotow have shown the highest crime stats for some time. Stary Mokotow was a dumping ground for crimes for many years and has a high percentage of dysfunctional families.


Jon, I am a regular visitor to stare Mlociny and also Dąbrowa Leśna both places I know many people living there and so many people are looking to sell up and get out.

Being one myself, I can tell you that Warsaw have very low crime rates for a capital city. It is a very safe place.


I'm an even more regular visitor to one of those places, since I live there. I can assure you there are no bad areas in Stare Mlociny. Are you sure you're talking about the right place?

You always start with your spin Jon, there are some very safe places in Warsaw ul Frascati is one and parts of Zoliborz are another. Stary Mokotow along with parts of Praga are most certainly not.


The streets around Wazow and Jagida are nice, on the other north side of Dankowicka it gets lesser. Towards the south side and the concrete jungle which has been built its a real shame, at one time stare Mlociny was almost village like now its quaintness has gone.

I think I mentioned those rather tacky gated estates round Heroldow earlier. Not for me - a little too 'net curtains/three piece suite' though nevertheless some of the apartments round there are quite expensive.The rest is nice though - there are certainly no bad bits at all. Not sure what you mean about quaintness since it's been suburbia since the thirties and not especially village in the 2 decades I've been going there. For villagey there are still some bits beyond Wilanow which I'm sure you know.


Just the truth, whether you agree with it or not. Mentioning ul. Frascati is an odd choice; rather like saying The Mall or Kensington Palace Gardens is a safe place in London. Stary Mokotow is however safer than inner suburbs in most European capitals and in Praga, which I mentioned earlier in this thread, only a few bits are questionable and those are much improved. Warsaw is a very safe city generally and there are far fewer no-go areas (if any) than in London, Paris or Berlin.

Its your area Jon, if I recall you also have dogs so the forest area is a bonus. When they built up the new bridge and heraldow up it took something away from the area for me. I recall going to visit family of my wife in Wazow and it was almost an oasis of greenery/forest now you look south and you have purpose built gold fish bowls.

ul Frascati was a street I originally suggested to the OP.

I supposed I'm biased about that bit of town since I do like the area a lot. My doggie is sadly no more but the forests are still nice to walk in. Really, you don't notice the flyover to the bridge or the flats until you're very near them - there's talk of widening the road by the seminary which is sadly the right thing to do - hard to imagine anywhere in Western Europe allowing such big developments without widening the road. That only affects the bit southbound from there though and having the flats and the bridge has improved public transport, not that most Stare Mlociny residents have been on a bus since Abba was in the charts. A bypass following the river would be nice - the only real drawback to the area is the main road cutting the area in half.

As for Frascati, the OP would need very deep pockets indeed. That area just behind the Sobieski Hotel before you get to Narutowicza might be a good bet. It's only a few minutes in a bus or cab to his work, has plenty of available housing and a few bars/restaurants. It's also pretty near to the delights of centrum.

Merged: Which Warsaw streets are the best to live in regarding safety/transportation in Mokotow?

Hi There,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

Out of curiosity, which of the following streets/areas in Mokotow would you recommend?

Czerniakowska
Dolna
Domaniewska
Krasickiego
Niepodległości
plac Narutowicza
Racławicka
Rakowiecka
Sobieskiego
Wilanowska
Woronicza
Wołoska
Żwirki i Wigury

A few key features I'm looking for are: safe, close proximity to public transportation (tram or metro - not a fan of buses), modern/renovated buildings, and overall something that isn't too boring or out of the way.

Thank you!

Merged: Looking for an apartment. The best area in Warsaw for a young guy?

hey guys,
I am 21 y.o. and I'll move to Warsaw on the following September and yet to find an apartment. I'm looking for an international young area so i won't feel too lonely... of course shopping and traffic is a big factor...

can you recommend a cool area?
looking forward to hear and learn from your experience.
thanks,
Dor