Is there a healthy expats scene in Poland? (drinks, food, golf, etc.)

To be honest, since I am living in Warsaw I am running away from everything smelling expat. I think it is a very artificial environment. Have been once to WTF, found it hugely over exaggerated. One of these places "you have to find great". We honestly prefer our local pizzeria here in Bielany. Not fashionable, not trendy, but good solid food. And hey, sure it is mixed Polish/Italian..but it is neighbourhood.

Our social circle is almost uniquely Polish and I feel good with that since the beginning. An expat circle cannot give you the feel of the country, especially when in my case I plan to stay here.

you can't figure that one out yourself?

expat- temporarily residing- usually for work
immigrant- intend to stay permanently.

Thanks for the info!

I'm not the bread winner in this household, but I won't discuss my wife and family on an internet forum. Ursynow, Mokotow and Wilanow are my ideal locations.

Cheers Pip, that's 2 good sites to look at now :-)

Warsaw is a very different city to most other European cities, Warsaw is about streets and buildings for living not districts and the most upmarket streets and buildings are not in Ursynow, Mokotow or Wilanow. if you have a 1 year old child you would most likely wish to be next to a park for children. if there are only three of you it would be better to be in a apartment than a house especially as neither yourself or your wife speak Polish. Do not fall into the trap of living in Wilanow Zawady just because the houses look nice, once you are out there you are literally out there, as for Ursynow - unless its kabaty give it a wide birth and mokotow there are only really 4 buildings, I osieldle and three streets to live in the rest is much of a muchness.

Good luck with it all.

Thanks Warszawski, food for thought. We've decided to rent a house, we've lived in too many apartments! We need four bedrooms, a large garden and a garage...preferably a double. The properties I've been looking at (Ober-Haus, dr-house) have been in those areas and they seem to be just what we want. We don't mind being remote. Yes, a park would be lovely. I thought Ursynow had these, as well as a metro? '...bike paths leading to the Forest Kabacki etc.'

There's a lot more of Mokotow than that - I'd add bough hat the older parts have much more character than he bits down towards the racecourse. I agree with you on Wilanow Zawady. Personally I like Sadyba. Handy for the centre, good shopping and restaurants and a safe area.

Dolny Mokotow is a good area too - I had several happy years there and there's no shortage of green space and infrastructure.


I suspect it would take at least one lifetime for you ever to become 'enlightened' however as a stop-gap, I suggest you look in a dictionary.

Can you advise me?. According to Google Maps, Mokotow to centre is around 6km. Is this correct?

Yes and no. The northern part of Mokotow pretty well touches the edge of the city centre. The southern (and in my opinion less interesting) part is indeed about 6 km. Check out ul. Pilicka in Stary Mokotow (the old bit), Pole Mokotowskie (the park and metro station) and also check out Dolny Mokotow (round ul. Gargarina, ul. Dolna, ul Belwederska etc)

Edit. Scuse the typos in my last post - they're because of autocorrect on an iPad.

Yes Jon, these are the areas! Hardly remote though? Typos excused...damn you autocorrect :-)

Definitely not remote, though some of the new estates in Wilanow do have that feel - windswept, not handy for shops and public transport and surrounded by building sites.

The back parts of Wilanow, behind the palace, can feel almost rural.

Warsaw can be strange like that. If you look at a map, it might show Ursus and being nearer the centre than Ursynow. Anyone who lives here would consider it further away.

Yes, thanks. You're describing the map to me. I think Wilanow is off the list, on 'street view' I can see lots of construction. I'm having trouble locating Sadyba though, can you give me a pointer please?

Exactly. The strange thing about Warsaw is that you can be within sight of the city centre but feel like you're in the middle of nowhere. Or at least the middle of a nowhere that has had a few random blocks and/or estates chucked down with no thought for things like a shop or public transport or traffic. A mate of mine lives in a new gated estate on the edge of Warsaw: the road going past the estate doesn't even have a pavement!

Sadyba is basically the top end of Wilanow which sort of merges with Dolny Mokotow. Plenty of nice pre-war houses and some new development too. There's also the Sadyba Best Mall, and plenty of shops etc around it. Google ul. Goraszewska - that's quite near the middle of Sadyba. Also ul. Świętego Bonifacego, a long but not busy street that runs from Old Sadyba to Mokotow.

Thanks Jon, looks ideal. More research..... :-)

Also, don't rule out Wawer, across the river: basically the string of suburbs following the railway line to Otwock. Nice and leafy, good for families etc. Anin and Międzylesie are maybe the best bits. Avoid Tarchomin like the plague. £omianki (the bottom bit anyway, nearest to Metro Młociny) is pleasant. And just across the river from the golf club at Jabłonna.

The parents of a friend of my step-daughter live out there and they like it a lot. However, as you get further north, the place becomes less desirable.

When was the last time you woke up in the morning to half a meter of snow that had fallen, then spent 1 hour digging your driveway so the cars could get out of the garage. I have lived in Manila and lived in Warsaw for many years so I am familiar with both cities, life is very different


Jon, Sadyba is not really an area for fresh off the boat ' types' it may be ok for you. H, and myself as we all know how Warsaw ticks, Sadyba is predominantly Polish.


Stary Mlociny by the Church is pretty as is ul Zachodnia in D L ( Lomianki) but it would be about 1 hour travel time per day.

UK expat if you want the house with 700-1000 sqm plot, double port garage and expats, I would suggest ul Rumiana and surrounding streets. I also believe your wifes embassy is close by.

I'd say that Sadyba is one of the more popular areas for people new to Warsaw and has been for decades. A lot of the embassies accommodate their staff there.


That's the bit I mean, near ul. Anny Jagiellonskiej. Actually quite quick into town on the metro.

Sure you are not mixing it up with Stary Wilanow or Stegny. I know quite a few people that live in Sadyba on both sides of the road. Years ago the Osiedle at Cyprjska in Stegny was the place for Embassy staff and expats, although times have changed now Jon.

No, in fact I'd say that Stegny is far less expat friendly. In Sadyba, there's the 'historic' bit where real estate isn't so easily available and the bit nearest to Best Mall, where it is.

Jeziorko Czerniakowskie


ul Okrężna


I have friends who inform their daughter gets to the American school by metro and bus in under an hour from Stary Mlociny.

Interesting. Then majority of Poles in the UK are expats and many of PF's "expats" are immigrants in fact.

A beautiful part of town. I especially like it when they have the festival and dress up in period clothes.


Round there and, as I mentioned, the area round Goraszewska, are a nice place to live.


Yes, very interesting. But wrong. The 'PF expats' thing is a term primarily used by you. And is naturally inaccurate. An expat is usually someone residing temporarily for their work for a defined period of time and usually earning a much higher than average salary (or accompanying a spouse who is). There may be a few people like that on here, but most just don't fit that. Most of the recent migration of Poles to the UK are economic migrants. Not as classy.

when that happens, i stay at home.


you have no idea what you're talking about.

Warszawski, I respected your input, have you had a drink? Warsaw is tame compared to the places I've lived. I'll swap you snow for a typhoon in a heartbeat.

An expat is usually a middle class person with exquisite taste where as an immigrant is from the lower orders?

ok, now my two cents.

Sadyba is nice, but it is only serviced by bus or car. I lived in Stegny- it is only Ok. Not a lot of English speakers.

Don't knock off Zawady. It is super nice and there are loads of expats out there. It is also only serviced by bus or car. But at least you know there will be English speaking kids at the parks.

Wilanow is nice. I also lived there- but it is also hit or miss. It is a high end neighbourhood- wealthy Poles and Expats mixed with old grannies.

Sadyba is also nice- there are two big parks for children, it is a historical part of Warsaw where the elite military all lived before war. Again, only serviced by bus or car- but the buses are frequent.

Old Zoliborz is nice- it is further away from the expat scene but it has some great neighbourhoods.

If you want the real expat scene try Osiedle Konstancja. It is a gated community next to the American school. It is full of people from every nation- it is just down the road from Wilanow- again only serviced by bus (as opposed to tram or metro) but it is guaranteed you will enjoy all the place has to offer.

Certainly at least middle and more usually upper income.


Do you know many companies which head-hunt high salary blue collar staff from overseas and then reward them generously?


That really is expat-ville.

Thanks Pip, relevant info as always :-)

As I mentioned I previously lived in the Phillies, I have experienced typhoons and earthquakes while living on the 17th floor in Makati. The extreme winter is different it can stay with you for 4-6 weeks.


No unfortunately.

Although driving in Warsaw is tame compared to Manilla, driving in Poland during the winter is an art.

Yes. That's where I live now, in Żoliborz Oficerskie. It's a lovely area but property is very much at a premium here - there's a very low turnover because people tend to stay rather than sell up.

Flats are a bit easier to find than whole houses - but even then not nearly as readily available as in the new bits of Wilanow. It's also quite expensive due to the proximity of the city centre and good tram/metro connections. Stare Bielany up the road is a good bet for finding somewhere and also on the metro.