I am currently working in Dubai and have an opportunity to move to Gdansk, should I take it up?

Hi Friends,

I have an opportunity of moving to Poland though i am being offered a salary half of what i earn in Dubai should i consider this offer, please provide your valuable insights on the same.

Thank you,
Nitro

If you intend to spend all your earned money locally, then it seems that your salary, even that 50% of what you get in Dubai, will have similar purchasing power in Poland. Except if it's the most expensive Polish city - Warsaw. Because:

Consumer Prices Including Rent in Warsaw are 39.58% lower than in Dubai according to:

And in 2nd most expensive Polish city: Consumer Prices Including Rent in Krakow (Cracow) are 47.14% lower than in Dubai:

If you want to save some money, then you can save more dollars in Dubai. There are also not material factors. For example if you are Muslim and like hot and sand, then you will feel better in Dubai, than in Poland.

Thank you Monitor,

No I am not a Muslim, and I don't have much affinity towards hot weather.

But If i were to be getting a Net salary of 8500 PLN will i be able to save some money.

And what are the growth prospects in Poland

Thanks again

Not much sand in the concrete jungle that is Dubai, unless you go out of town, and as for heat, it depends how much you like freezing a/c...

Your data about price comparison, Monitor, is fairly accurate as far as I can see (I go to Dubai every month, and was there last week). A few things are cheaper in PL though.

A salary of 8500 net is quite good and most people should be able to save on that. As for growth prospects, what sector of the economy do you mean?

Thank you jon357

I would be working in Financial Services sector to be more precise in the International taxation

Could you please let me know, what forms of benefits are provided to Expats by the Polish companies( Companies located in the Tricity Area)

Thank you

From a financial viewpoint, the question you should ask is "How many DOLLARS will I be able to save up?"

It's difficult to imagine that your savings potential would be higher in absolute DOLLARS working in Poland for half the money you make in Dubai. So moving to Poland will probably not be a wise move financially speaking. Better opportunities exist elsewhere.

Career-wise, it might or might not make sense. Be aware that many jobs in Poland are outsourced, and even most jobs for large global concerns are "internally outsourced", meaning that you will be isolated from the mainstream of the corporate culture, which makes advancement very difficult. Unless you are operating in the core of the corporate organization, working in Poland is not likely to bring significant career benefits. Better opportunities exist elsewhere.

Culturally speaking, Poland can be an interesting place to live. The culture is quite different from Dubai, as is the weather. But Poland is not like Western Europe, so if you are expecting Poland to be like Germany, France or the UK, you will be in for a bit of a shock. Nevertheless, you could expand your understanding of the world by living in Poland for a year or two, or even longer. It depends on your immediate and long-term life goals. I would only make that move if I were single, though. A huge problem among foreigners working here is that their spouses suffer from isolation and boredom. If you're married, make your plans on the very safe assumption that your spouse will not be able to find work in Poland.

So basically, it depends on your life plans:

Make and save money: no point in coming to Poland.
Career advancement: little if any point in coming to Poland.
Sneaking into the EU: no point in coming to Poland.
Finding "free love" or a partner: get real.
Fun, adventure, exploration, cultural education, vacation: depends on your taste.

That all depends on the company. A few (and only a few) provide a subsidised apartment. Most good employers though will help a new arrival to find somewhere to live, though threads on this forum suggest that quite a few don't. There are quite a few tax breaks like gym membership (this does very much depend on what type of contract you have) and most aren't anything special.

Otherwise there are very few perks in Poland that would make a difference to you. Employers have a social fund which can make a payment before your annual holiday, however this is not much money. You can expect them to provide Polish lessons (either a teacher or money to pay for your own) however you'll probably have to ask.

The Tri-city, by the way, is a very nice place to live.

Yes, but around 2 x less than in Dubai.


You would have to work in Poland constantly for 5 years in order to get EU permit to stay with the right to work in other EU countries.

Monitor - not necessarily, it depends on lifestyle. 8500 zl is only just over 2500 usd. Double that and with 5000 in Dubai you won't save much at all, at least not if you are young and single. I find Dubai very expensive for going out, restaurants etc - and a lot more temptations than in Poland to spend money on...

Yes. 35 pln for a beer on Al-Rigga Street. Cheap for buying clothes, getting taxis and some day to day items, but your money can easily go quickly there.

The Tri-City is cheaper and that's actually a good wage he's been offered.

Thank you DominicB for giving me a true picture of Poland,

From the career front I was advised by employer that I may have to travel a lot between the European countries, as I work in the International tax domain. Though It does not seem to be like an outsourcing job but i will surely reconfirm the with my employer. I just had an opinion that working in Poland for an year or two could add some value to my Resume.

Could you please clarify on this if possible.

Thanks again for your valuable advice.

Thank you jon357 for the information,

I was advised by my employer that they could look after my accommodation for 6 months,

Further I was told that hey also sponsor some educational expenses does it include ACCA or LAW courses ?

Do the Employers in Poland generally provide return travel tickets to Expatriates once a year so that they can travel back to their home country ?

Could you please answer these questions of mine.

thanks a lot in Advance

Thanks Monitor for the information,

But I have no plans of settling in Europe

Thanks Sa11y for the Info

It may not be outsourced, but what I call "internally outsourced". Some international companies send the boring, uncreative, or unpleasant grunt-work to their locations in poorer countries like Poland. Even though you may technically be an employee of the company, you are cut off from the mainstream of the corporate culture. So advancement is difficult.

Whether the job helps or hinders on your CV is hard to say. It would be best ask knowledgeable managers and HR people in your particular field, especially if their from a company that you plan to work for in the future.

Good luck!

Thank you DominicB

Of course. But then there is a dilemma weather to restrict temptation and save. In Poland there is no such, because you start with less money at the beginning :)


Usually the higher GDP per capita the country has, the more prestigious is experience. But even more important is the company you work for, than country. In this context if you had the same job position in similar prestige company from Dubai and from Poland, then I think Dubai counts slightly better. It's simply because Dubai is not outsourcing country and low wages Poland is.


We don't have so many immigrants in Poland and most of those who are here work in business processes outsourcing, so they don't get much extras (no tickets back home), as the positions in Poland exists to cut costs. In highly specialized positions, as yours, I guess that you have small space for negotiating extras.

I have one more thought. What do you get for your income taxes in Dubai? Because in Europe it's free education for your children and free public health system. If it's not free in Dubai, then it's plus for Poland. If it is free, then rather minus, because I imagine Dubai having better quality hospitals.

Non EU citizen married to a Pole. Living and working opportunity in the UK

Is there any opportunity in Poland for CISCO certified person

You mean, that somebody can take advantage of you?


there are few positions for Cisco admins: pracuj.pl/praca/cisco;kw

Hi Friends,

I have an opportunity of moving to Poland though i am being offered a salary half of what i earn in Dubai should i consider this offer, please provide your valuable insights on the same.

Thank you,
Nitro

Thank you Monitor,

As we don't pay any taxes there are no free health care services,
But all the employers in Dubai provide you with a health insurance which means that you could go to any doctor with your insurance card and get the treatment done for free.

For The employees family there is a contribution made by the employer and the employee.

Could you please let me know how are Foreigners treated in the Trinity Area of Gdansk. Are people friendly or they don't like interacting with them

People in Poland are generally friendly toward foreigners, but of course the closer culture, the easier. And it would help if you looked Caucasian, even better if you were christian. For example some Indian guy who works in £ódź (IT I think) was complaining here that he cannot befriend anybody.

Although many people have bad experience with Gypsies, so it's better not to look like one. Some Indians could be mistaken with them, so it doesn't help.

Also Tricity area is quite touristic. But foreign tourists are mostly Germans and Scandinavians.

Thank you Monitor your information was of great help,

Could you please let me know how much do managers earn in Poland.

And If I quote a salary of 10000 PLN/ net would it be an exorbitant amount there.

Thanks again

Look at this ranking from 2011. Add maybe 10% to what you see there, as salaries slightly increased in past few years:
hays.pl/cs/groups/hays_common/documents/digitalasset/hays_465124.pdf
Look at the column "Woj. Pomorskie" as this is Tricity region. Page 6 is Banking. "Najczęściej oferowane" means median or mode.

Some random:
HR Manager median: 10 000 gross.
Stock Market manager: 13 000 gross.
Tax Manager: 18 000 gross

Net salary is around 2/3 or gross.

Thanks a lot Monitor.

The Report was useful

It also helped me in downloading 2013 Hays salary guide in English

I really would like to Thank you and all the contributors of this thread and Forum for taking your time in providing me your kind advise and help.

I should be getting back to you guys with some more questions, need your advise on those as well.

Thanks again

If you mean this: hays.pl/en/media-centre/HAYS_712672 then I prefer the one from 2011, because in older they show salary ranges in various regions.

It mostly depends upon the self interest. If the salary is half the salary then the comfortable are better than previous jobs then you can take this offer

You dont have affinity with hot weather and you live in Dubai?

Dude, you must really be suffering hahaha but i know how you feel... I live here in the gulf too.

And be not a Muslim in an Arab country is pretty pretty hard sometimes :(