Your lodging together with utilities and internet are going to set you back some 2000 to 2500 PLN.
Could easily be done for 1500PLN, and even then - why would someone single and without any social circle choose to live alone?
You'll spend about 1000 to 1500 PLN on food.
I pay little to no attention to the price of things, I buy what I want, and between two, we don't spend more than 500-600 a month. Saying that a single person will spend 1000-1500 a month on food is just totally unrealistic.
3500zl/net is more than enough to enjoy life as a single person in Krakow.
why would someone single and without any social circle choose to live alone?
Ask half the posters here ;-)
BTW, at that salary level and with only 5 years experience I suspect the poster is very young so renting a room would probably be a better bet - that would cost only a few hundred and would stretch his salary further.
At that level though, if he wants to save much, he'd find himself walking past all the delights that Krakow can offer, but only able to press his nose against the restaurant window.
when working in Poland for a company registered in Poland for more than half year, then you're not consider foreign worker from tax point of view. Otherwise read agreement with your country.
Net salary you can calculate with: money.pl/podatki/kalkulatory/plac/
Write gross salary to "Wysokość wynagrodzenia", click "Dodaj do miesiecy", click "Oblicz"
You'll need about 2k to rent a small flat, 300-400 bills, at least 1k for food, so nothing will left.
Are you kidding me mate??
Rent is cheaper than that! further from the Center you can easily get a one bedded flat for 1200zl or lesser.
1K for food?? are you a hippo? O_o.. stop misleading this guy!
Back to the topic.. I am a foreigner, earning nearly the same amount of money like you (5000zl gross) which is good money here. In my case it is as same as my other foreign colleagues. I drink and smoke a lot... Despite that you can still save something if you aint like me!
Rent (one double sized bedroom)- 1000zl max- mostly it comes all inclusive Travel(within Krakow)- 100zl (All lines of trams and buses) Food- 600zl minimum Phone- 50zl
So, out of your 3000zl net, these I would consider as 'fixed' expense.. The rest is up to you! Drinking, calling an Escort, smoking or saving..
Thats the real figure mate! you are alright with what you gonna earn!
i want to share a flat with 1 person, in a medium-expensive area of the city
1500 PLN with utilities for one person in a two-bedroom apartment, all costs and utilities included. Living alone, a studio apartment will set you back about the same, and a one-bedroom apartment will cost about 2000 PLN or slightly more. Depends what you mean by "medium/expensive". If you mean expensive, you could pay double the prices I gave above.
i always cook at home, and maybe 2 times a month i go eating out (medium priced restaurant)
600 to 1000 PLN per month, depending on the diet you eat, including household items and toiletries.
i go out every weekend, but don't drink a lot (4 to 5 consumptions per night)
Anywhere from 30 PLN and up a night, if the only thing you have to pay for is beer. Really depends on what you mean by "going out".
All in all, it'll cost you about 3000 PLN to live a no frills life in Kraków. And that really means no frills, and no money left over at the end of the month, and no security blanket. The fun doesn't begin until you make 5000 PLN or more after taxes.
So earning 4000 PLN net wouldn't be enough to save almost anything if i read well.
If your very careful, disciplined and frugal, you'd be able to put away at most 300 Euros a month. Perhaps a bit more if you are extremely careful, disciplined, frugal and lucky, like you don't get sick or have to go to the dentist, for example, or have to travel back to the Netherlands for a wedding or funeral. Not much, but after a year or two, you'll have a rainy day fund to fall back on.
The biggest hit a westerner takes when moving to Poland to work is how little money they are able to save in terms of dollars or euros. Like someone told you before, if you're coming to Poland for fun, adventure and experience, fine, go for it. If you're coming to Poland to make money, forget about it with your qualifications.
You're much better off keeping your job in Belgium, and improving your qualifications and building up your experience there. In five years or so, if you work and study hard, you may be in a position to get a job as a project manager or something like that for a western company doing business in Poland, and get paid at western rates. That would be a smart course of action. Learn the language before you come, and read up on Polish law and finance.
So earning 4000 PLN net wouldn't be enough to save almost anything if i read well.
To save in Poland people don't rent apartments alone:
In western countries, sometimes over 50% of houses in the city is inhabited just by 1 person. In Poland we cannot afford that and it's usual for students to live in dormitories where 3 people live in one 14m2 room. Often graduates share apartments with colleagues until they find a partner.
I know of people who live 4+ to a room in order to have some disposable income. Not just twentysomethings either.
I think this is some extreme. I haven't heard about such situations except of workers which work out of their homes and even then it's rare to have more than 2 people in 1 room.
Merged: Cost of living & salary details for Krakow? Change management professional with 8 yrs of experience
Could you please guide me about the living cost in Poland. How much salary is needed to live a normal life and to safe some money. Need everybodies valuable comments. Thanks.
That's such a general, relative and unspecific question that nobody is going to be able to answer it. Sorry, but you're going to have to tell us about yourself, and why you need to know. In detail and specifically. Otherwise, you'll just get a vague, general answer that probably will be useless in your case.
I'm going to assume that you are an IT engineer from India or Pakistan who's been offered a job in Poland. Here's a quick and dirty rule of thumb.It's not worth coming at all if you are making less than a minimum of 7500 PLN gross per month as a single person. For each additional family member, add 3000 PLN. Add another 1000 PLN for each year of professional experience you have, and another 5000 PLN if you have a skill that is highly in demand, like SAP or HBase.
On the results of the above calculation, you won't save up a substantial amount, but you'll have plenty to live in modest comfort and have enough to save up for a rainy day. If you're offered less than that, politely turn it down and keep looking, preferably in a Western European or English-speaking country where earnings and savings potential are far higher, and quality of life for an Indian or Pakistani is also much better.
There is little chance that you will get a substantial raise after you take the job in Poland. Furthermore, opportunities for advancement and self-improvement are very limited, there is little, if any chance, that your spouse will be able to find work, private education in English is not cheap, and Poland is not a viable back door to the EU or to the corporate structure. At best, you'll get a couple of years of professional experience to put on your CV, for what that's worth. Don't expect anything else, and you won't be disappointed.
Ask for 15,000 PLN a month gross, and see where it goes. If it goes any lower than 10,000 PLN gross, it's probably not worth relocating, especially considering that your wife will not be able to contribute to the family income, and that you are expecting to save up money. Your time would be better spent looking for a job in a Western European or English speaking country.
It depends on your needs, size & quality of accommodation you want, lifestyle. Broadly speaking if you are good at being frugal -- just about, if you're noticeably modest in your requirements. Tax is approx. 1/5th of your income excluding ZUS (social security contributions) which is another bite out of your salary. Some may advise you to go self-employed for tax breaks, and that's been covered in other threads, maybe do a search.
Take note that some experienced schools of thought suggest 7500PLN is the minimum workable figure for Krakow, see: polishforums.com/work-study-43/cost-living-salary-details-krakow-70340
Someone asked the same question about 13000PLN, see: polishforums.com/work-study-43/cost-living-krakow-pln-gross-job-salary-enough-60881
Cost of living discussion for Krakow: polishforums.com/everyday-life-7/average-cost-living-krakow-person-67042
I'm looking for advice, do you know how much money could you expect for an internship at UBS in Krakow ? I'm a foreigner...and they asked me what I expect as salary... I have really no idea what would be a reasonable request ?! I have an university degree and I speak french/german/italian/polish...what are the average costs of living in Krakow as a young person with a simple lifestyle (let's say, rent a room in a shared flat, public transportation costs, no fancy restaurants etc.)?
Oh God no, that would be a terrible wage. I wouldn't even dream of moving to Poland for less than 5000zl per month. Rent is around 1000zl alone, plus bills, electricity, heating, gas, phone, tv....around another 1000zl.
thanks for your opinions everybody! well I wouldn't mind 5000 zl but after reading the other threads it seems impossible to get so much for an internship, as I think interns are underpaid in any country :/
