Expat Communities in Far-Western Poland

The political situation in Germany is deteriorating quickly with the uncontrolled migration, violent crime, media dishonesty, etc., leaving many German families worried and wondering if they should get out. A number of people have made the abrupt decision to move to Eastern Europe (mostly Hungary) without considering the financial impact of this decision beforehand.

A potential solution could be to relocate to a Polish town near the border and commute to work in eastern Germany (Berlin, Dresden, Görlitz, etc.), ideally with the option of frequently working from home. This would allow these families to maintain their standard of living and to raise and school their children in a much more traditional, conservative society.

A major issue here of course would be acclimatizing to life in Poland and attempting to fit in. Poles living in this part of the country tend to speak at least mediocre German, and some speak it very well. However, I imagine it would be very difficult to fit in without speaking Polish to some degree of fluency. This is why it would be ideal to find a town with some likeminded expats so that there would be people to relate to from the very outset while gradually growing accustomed to the Polish culture and language.

Anyone aware of a Polish (or Czech) town close to the German border with a discernible English-speaking or German-speaking expat community?

Nah...it's rather the other way around. Poles settling in Eastern Germany! :)

"How polish immigrants revive east german towns"

br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/polnische-zuwanderer-staedte-in-ostdeutschland-wieder-beleben,R2D7Exw

So you want to live a more traditional society but keep the benefits of the German labor market amd maintain access to the German social security ? Why not dive in with both feet and use the Polish system ?

In reality you will find few realistic options within an hours commute of the border - Szczecin maybe or Karlovy Vary in Czech which has quite a number of German retirees. But we are talking about maybe a few hundred people, not thousands.

If some German wants to find a place with conservative lifestyle, maybe it's better to search for some ... German village?

Yes, exactly.


I don't view my salary to be high by any means, but it seems exorbitant by Polish standards based what I've read on this forum.

Yeah...outside of some mega cities life is still quite conservative, and probably will continue to be so, especially with the young ones often leaving and joining the wild life in said cities...

(Sodom and Gomorrah seems to be much more interesting than church and kitchen!)

Which is great, there are many of us expats / returnees where I live we have a great social life, many of us are retired or are people of some means so we have plenty of opportunity to entertain organise trips out on the lakes or further afield skiing exploring the mountains, city breaks markets etc ,and all the rest that Poland has to offer.

Not having a pub culture we tend to take over a restaurant for the night or organise parties/ barbecues at home, many have palaces guest houses, hotels, boats, camper homes so there is always somewhere to sleep should anyone over indulge.

The great thing is if anyone has a problem there is always someone who knows the solution or the right people in the right places.

For me the great thing about being here is its safe to live here I often forget to lock the house up, the roads are empty so travel is simple (as long as you don't go during public holidays).

Recently, long weekend in Wroclaw doing the Christmas market food and drink, many of us are going to Gorlitz for new years party then watch the fireworks from the bridge, had to book all the hotel rooms early they are all booked up now. should be fun as long as I remember to take euros with me this time.

The conservative lifestyle is under attack by the German political system. It will only be a matter of time before the villages catch up in their political correctness, as they cannot opt out of the modern school curriculum. Home schooling is illegal in Germany.

What I'm talking about is a society where young people actively embrace traditional values.... and not a backwoods region of reactionary retirees within a progressive country.

Come 2021 Merkel will be out of the picture anyway, so it's only a matter of time before a more Centrist figure, for example Spahn or Merz, will seize control.

The latter especially has been written up in the SPIEGEL for some time now and appears to have extensive international experience, having worked for an American-based investment banking firm.

by Spiegel's star reporter Claas Relotius?
medium.com/@micheleanderson/der-spiegel-journalist-messed-with-the-wrong-small-town-d92f3e0e01a7

Good luck with that!

Young people are generally less traditional...being young and all that! They tend to rebel, wanting to explore, learning new stuff....THEY ARE YOUNG FFS!

Yeah....living in a picturesque little gem of a town...amidst a nice landscape...with empty roads...definitely also my cup of tea, as a future retiree...

Traditionalism is for the old! :)


Nah...better get used to the mini-Merkel: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer...or AKK for short. Most probably the next chancellor..

Makes for a peaceful life, I'm done with too much excitement and danger :).

I don't believe she's going to willingly give up for a second, her allies have a record of coming to bad political ends and I think there's still room for that with this newest lamb to the slaughter...

Hmmm....who says something about "giving up"?

Merkel is quite young for a politician. And still already with an incredible vita behind her...I believe she has set her sights at a new goal, the EU, maybe even the UN. She always preferred the international glamorous ball room to the often quite dreary domestic asylum. I wouldn't be suprised when she plans to leave her national legacy in AKK's trusted hands and starts a new career internationally.

Maybe try Pennsylvania - you can even a get a traditional low emission horse and cart.

According to the New York Times, the German (Far) Right is presently being "repackaged" or "rebranded", to quote the article, in order to make
ultra-conservative politics more palatable for the yuppified elite.

"rebranded" by whom?

By the Radical Right themselves, of course! Seeking to overturn the liberal policies in Germany over the past half-century, they want to become more appealing

to as yet undecided younger, especially first-time, voters and attempt to boot out Merkelism once and for all.

Hi, you may well wish to reconsider entering this asylum.

Yet, while here, can you explain in detail what you mean by Germany is "deteriorating quickly"?

There's no need to turn this thread into a political discussion. I could explain those things to you in detail, and you'd say none of it's true, and we could agree to disagree.

I would appreciate suggestions of Polish or Czech border towns that fit what I'm looking for.

Why not take a drive along the border and scope it out for yourself ? Assuming you are not a troll you sound very naive. If nothing else taking a drive you will see some nice scenery and drink some pretty good beer in the evenings.

The Czech border is far from conservative - until recently it was a mini Sodom and Gomorrah with hookers, drugs and cheap alcohol for German tourists. That has changed as Czech gets richer but it's not famous for a traditional way of life - the homes of departing Germans in 1945 were partly filled up with Slovaks and Roma and it's been a specific place ever since.

The Polish border is quite conservative but there are only a few towns that are within an easy commute of Germany - there are only a handful of bridges and rail and bus connections are very slow. Emigration from the Lubuskie region and the border parts of Dolny Slask has been quite high - both to other EU countries and to richer Polish towns.

Thanks for the insight. Just what I was looking for.

Definitely not a troll. Not sure why you think I'm naive. I've spend a good amount of time in other parts of Poland. I'm just trying to gather some information before scouting out the area myself.

There's also an ongoing meth epidemic in parts of the Czech republic (close to the Polish border, I don't think it's crossed though I think it's starting to be a problem maybe)

drugabuse.gov/international/abstracts/methamphetamines-in-czech-republic-history-current-situation

the Czech republic has never really been any kind of conservative place. Poland has some conservative-ish elements but they also tend to make it unfriendly to foreigners who don't speak Polish (esp from Germany)

Are you from Germany, Intermarium?

German has always been a sort of lingua franca, a tongue which prior to the Fall of the Wall remained the one language, almost the adhesive, which bound East and West! Russian was scarcely neutral as it was the language of the Soviet Union. English was studied by relatively few prior to the '80s, and so the historically practical language was clearly German.

To this day, I know many middle-aged Poles, other Central and Eastern Europeans as well, whose "schoolbook" German is much better than their English:-)

Incidentally, I agree with much of what you've said, up to a point.

Yes, from Germany.

More good insight here. I had no idea that Poland is more socially conservative overall than the Czech Republic. I definitely don't want to be around the meth users.

Now what about gypsies in western Poland. Are any particular towns/regions known to have a lot of them?

barely see any next question?, oh yes the few I have seen were in Legnica

I saw quite many in Swiebodzice couple years ago, and lately in the Tanvald town in Czech republic.

Can we remember that they have been living there for several generations and have as much right to be there as anybody from Germany does

the gypsy population in Poland is much smaller (in absolute numbers not to mention proportionately) than in the Czech republic (or Slovakia or Hungary).

Smaller numbers tend to mean they're a bit better behaved at home and so they tend to do the things that make them unpopular neighbors away from home... (like in Germany!)