Moving to Poland Part-Time (probably Katowice)

Hi guys,

I've read a few of these threads already but none which relate to my situation specifically. I'm looking at buying a flat / house in Poland in July. The reason is partly work but mainly because my girlfriend is Polish and will be moving back to Poland in July, currently she lives in Valencia, Spain. I live in the north of England and will be keeping my house here. And we met in Norway just to add to the confusion!

So I'd like to know a few things really.

1) I'm not really fixed to Katowice, so suggestions for a good place to move to? For work it's important to be close to factories and allied industries. I read about somewhere called Mysiadło on a previous thread which looked lovely. Also, katowice is good for flights and I'll be doing a lot of flying back and forth.

2) Good tips for learning Polish...websites, cd's etc.
3) Any advice about buying a house / flat...is is the right time, where to get mortgage, what I could expect to pay?
4) Any advice on cultures and customs...besides learning the language is there anything else I can do to to bridge the gap with her family...apart from eating kaszanka or flaki.

Thanks,

mysiadlo is not lovely. it is a hole in the south end of Warsaw. Katowice for the most part is also an industrial hole.

your post is kind of vague. Depends what kind of work you do and where you need to be. Warsaw probably has the most business opportunities for foreigners- but it is not a hard and fast rule.

kind of like pulling a rabbit out of a hat, no?

If i were you i would not want to move to Katowice. Its like PIP said an idustrial hole, with rough neigberhoods and not in my opinion a very pleasent place for expants.

If I were you id find a job somewhere first, and then decided where to move afterwards.

Don't mind them lad, I've been living in Kato for more than 2 years and it's great. Place is gonna be the richest city in Poland within a few yeasr, loads of investment going on here and loads of jobs too.


Cant help ya there, it's a pure bastard of a language, near impossible to learn...and there's a dialect here in Kato, but that's far easier, grammar isn't so difficult and the words don't look like they were written by an autistic blindman whacking a keyboard.


prices vary a lot according to the district you want to live in so have but for a house you shouldn't pay more than 1,000,000zl and an apartment from 250,000zl upwards


Tell people you hate Warsaw and Sosnowice and they'll love ya :P

1m zloty for a house in Kato? Bizarre

You can get houses much cheaper than that in other cities.

well, up to 1,000,000, it'd be a pretty awesome house for that price, a normal sized gaff you could prob get for 350,000

If you're considering Kato, then why not the Kraken? It's only 1 hour away, and boasts more than Kato. Property in Kato is cheaper though, so it depends on your priorities. Personally, I would choose a nice quiet, well located, mountainous area with idyllic views and clean air. Spring and Summer are particularly nice in Poland, but you need to be in the countryside to fully appreciate the weather. This isn't everyone's cup of tea, just my own opinion.

Have to agree with Smurf - Katowice is a massively under-rated city. If you want to be close to factories and airports then I don't think there's anywhere better. Those other cities are better places to visit (i.e. they've got ryneks and restaurants and bars) but Kato has more opportunities for the people willing to stick it out.

If you want some background on Katowice (and the rest of the agglomeration) from an expat's point of view then I've written a lot more here: silesiaconnect.wordpress.com

+1

That district behind and above the station, going up to the tennis club is an architectural gem and should be heavily protected.

Nice people round Katowice too.

I'd prefer normal sized, the thought of the housework in a 1m zl job fills me with dread, I hate the Hoover as it is

Just want to point out that, although I agree, it wasn't me who wrote the above. I would never (consciously) use the word 'awesome' :)

Hi,

I am Tim and my wife is from Katowice We live in central London at present but have had business in Katowice for the last few years. We own a coule of properties in Katowice, two of which we are currently planning to sell. If you would need some advice from us regarding Katowice itself or purchasing/ renting the properties, please do ask ,as we are very familiar with the area. Regards. Tim

Kraków or Wrocław.


Right here. There is a great thread about resources on this very site. One book is 301 Polish Verbs: 301-Polish-Verbs-Conjugated-Barrons which helps you really get a grasp of how verbs conjugate.

Also the Michael Thomas Polish Course on audiobook is very good Michel-Thomas-Method-Polish-Foundation


Wouldn't have a clue, sorry!


Find out when the families name days are and observe woman's day with flowers for all of the girls.

naw, proper Silesian's don't do name's days, that's for the gorole :P

I've never been to a place in Poland where they don't do name days! Nie kłam!

I have a lot of friends from Silesia and they all do name days.

Which part of Sosnowiec are they from? :->
My wife is Śląsk on her birthday and Gorole on her name day....
Katowice is not a bad area if you need to be near heavy industry. and Śląsk (the language) has heavy German influence which makes it easier to learn for a native English speaker. Not so many szcz type phonemes.

Merged: Katowice, Moving to Poland?

Hi all,

i am negotiating with a multinational, and trying to decide if it's worth it for me to move to Poland.. So here are my questions if anyone can help

1- I have asked from 1400-1500euros (net) per month. Is this a good salary in Poland? On top of this, i'm not sure but i believe there might be an annual bonus

2- What is the cost of a house/appartment rental in the city center per month?
3- How is Katowice? Are there places for international people to meet, like pubs or events? One problem is that i don't know anyone in Poland so i would need to make new friends

4- Do polish companies usually pay a 13th and 14th month in the year? Where i live we call them a "holiday salary" paid normally in the summer and in christmas.

5- Are there good looking shopping malls in Katowice? Is it a modern city?
6- Just out of curiosity how much do Doctors, Veterinarians, Dentists, Teachers earn in Poland? Just to compare.

Why dont you guys google that stuff out?There have been answers about all that on this forum here before so check it out and about the malls I tell you they better then Portugal or America in Katowice..8000Pln are pretty good to live on until you have drug or hooker hiring habbits:)

It's OK for Kato, but depends on what you do. Ask for more, they obviously want you...plus are you an employee or a contractor?


Depends on the size and if you live alone etc...budget for 1000zl if you're gonna live alone...but that would be a pretty cool apartment. On a budget you could get somewhere for 600-700zl


Kato...is...well...it takes a bit of getting used to, It ain't Paris. It's industrial but there's a decent music/arts scene too. You get a lot fo foreign Med students around Ligota and of course there's the usual TEFL teachers, but not so nearly as many as in the bigger Polish cities like Warsaw, Krakow, Wrocław.


AFAIK, no....but I'm on a contractor contract..not an normal employee one...but I reckon it's 12 months of pay.


Yea, there are loads. Katowice is one city among a conglomeration of 13 other cities/towns. Total urban population is around 2.5million, ,so yea, there's loads of shopping centres around.


No idea on this.....although if you're an English language teacher you'd prob be on anything from 2500-4500 per month, depending on your qualifications and how many hours of torture you're willing to do

If I can give you 2 pieces of advice before coming here...
1) Driving license. Katowice...indeed Poland is huge, you'll need a car. Public transport runs on time for the most part (except trains), but the service is crap and the trams and buses can be extremely cold (if they aren't new) and about 50% of trams/buses are the old one

2) Take up a Polish course. It's not like Krakow/Warsaw etc....where many people (under 30) can speak some English. Katowice doesn't have a history of tourism so many...indeed...most people do not speak English. OK, your colleagues will prob speak English, but I can gaurantee you that the people you'll need to meet, post office, bank, tax office, local shop, Tesco etc will not speak a word of it.

Hope that's helpful, if you've any questions send me a private mail :)

I work in Finance, and it's a multinational that is establishing in the city in 2013. What do you mean by OK? :) I did some simulations per month and got this:

400€- for an apartment (next to Silesia City Center)
50€- house utilities (electricity, gas, water)
50€ - cable tv
200€ - food
440€ - maybe for a car (i am still paying for mine, so i don't know exactly how i will do regarding this.. )
100€- hiring someone to do the laundry and house cleaning

so this tops 1.240€ monthly expenses. If i earn 1400-1500€/monthly i will be living with 160€ free per month, which is not that impressive :)

What can you say about these values in Kato? are they realistic?

telheiras:
6- Just out of curiosity how much do Doctors, Veterinarians, Dentists, Teachers earn in Poland? Just to compare

No idea on this.....although if you're an English language teacher you'd prob be on anything from 2500-4500 per month, depending on your qualifications and how many hours of torture you're willing to do

If I can give you 2 pieces of advice before coming here...
1) Driving license. Katowice...indeed Poland is huge, you'll need a car. Public transport runs on time for the most part (except trains), but the service is crap and the trams and buses can be extremely cold (if they aren't new) and about 50% of trams/buses are the old one

2) Take up a Polish course. It's not like Krakow/Warsaw etc....where many people (under 30) can speak some English. Katowice doesn't have a history of tourism so many...indeed...most people do not speak English. OK, your colleagues will prob speak English, but I can gaurantee you that the people you'll need to meet, post office, bank, tax office, local shop, Tesco etc will not speak a word of it.

Hope that's helpful, if you've any questions send me a private mail :)[/quote]

I would say quiet realistic. Though your car expenses are quiet high? Are we talking since you need to spend at least 200 EUR pr. month to pay it off or?

the car would be the main problem here. Tax level in Portugal is one of the highest in Europe at the moment. I'm paying 440€ per month at the moment and i don't know what i would do if i go work in another country.

I wish i could take it with me, but it's a new car and i'm also afraid that a foreign exotic car in Poland, will be vandalized sooner or later :(

Do you have any idea how much costs to "legalize" a car imported to Poland ? My car is a Mitsubishi ASX

Why don't you just sell it and buy a new one here?......well, by new one I mean one imported from Germany :P


You would waste 400zl on that when you can do it yourself???
Dude, if you pay me 400zl a month I'll feckin do that (^_^).....but I'm not touching your underwear :P

re: car, my diesel is usually between 100-150zl per week, and a year's full insurance is 1400zl
and you'll never spend 800zl on food in a month for one person, unless your addicted to lobster that has been reared on cocaine and truffles :P

I've just saved you 200euros man, that';s an extra 800zl in your pocket

hahah don't make me laugh :)

I have never washed anything in my life, and i assume i will totally ruin my clothes if i try!! :)

Well.. i'm spending 200€-250€ /month on food where i live, but yes i think in Poland that will be about 150€/month

Regarding the car... selling is the most obvious option here yes. The problem is that economy in my country is really bad at the moment and i'm not sure if i will be able to sell it. But anyway, if i manage to sell i will be free of a monthly 440€ expense and that will make all the difference.

anyway just give me your contact. please let me know on which days you are free to do some laundry :) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You gotta get those preconceptions outta your head before you come to Poland.
And that car is nothing special in Poland nowadays.

that's ok, everyone knows Polish are rich people.

i know the car is "nothing special" in Poland.

I was referring to a car with a Portuguese license cruising Katowice ;) Now THAT'S Exotic! ahah

Obviously you dont care about advice, but you might be in for a rude awakening with your prejudice attitude.

obviously i care about advice or i wouldn't be in this forum and what are you even talking about?

geez, im talking about your preconceptions...