Is Poland a poor country?

Stick to the essential requirements of life and move on from there.
Car, Petrol, Mortgage/rent,children;then decide how different Poland is to France,UK, Germany etc...Talking about the price of clothes and vegetable is..............dfghjklsdfjnhgdlfbhklj

Aren't clothes and food basic essentials of life?

Who thinks it's a wealthy country? not poor doesn't mean wealthy. Nonetheless we already established that poor means not being on a par with Western Europe, so yes by this definition Poland is poor. I would say dirt poor.


Often brand clothes are simply pretty. There's nothing wrong with wanting to look good.

Not label clothes,waste of money. Basic food is cheap here,there is no arguing that;but!! its not 4 times cheaper than the West - considering the average industrial wage is.

Car, Petrol, Mortgage/rent,children are what is crippling the average Pole. That's why the population of Warsaw emigrated in the first year of joining the EU. Why else!! If Poland isn't poor why have several million emigrated and not returned??

Why is the population decreasing at a rapid rate; what is it??'predicted to be 29 million or something in 15 years from now'.

I don't think you know what you are talking about.Poles would be more than happy to pay Western European (not to mention North American) prices for global brands.

That remainds me of a funny (I think) incident.When my mom visted me in the US,I took her to Tangier Outlets and among others we went to Tommy Hillfiger store.She bought some stuff and we left.Then in the car she looked at the change she got from cashier and said "I think this lady gave me TOO MUCH change",I looked at the change she was holding,then at the receipt and said "No,everything is right",my mom said "Really???Lets go back there!".She's on Polish teacher salary.

Because Poland is poor comapring to Western European standards and no one say otherwise.

NO NO they are, its not their imagination.

If Poland is so poor than why are so many new apartments, cars and other big ticket items still being purchased? They aren't cheap.

Why?


Comparing to Western Europe or Canada it is poor, don't you agree?

Pip, as noted earlier, many Poles may be "asset-rich, but cash-poor". Mostly likely, young couples pay for their first new apartment on credit, NOT in cash, therefore increasing their credit rating by upping their debt. The banks naturally take full advantage of this and later have to foreclose when it comes time to pay up, as most first-time home buyers simply can't afford it(;-

Not exactly. Compare Warsaw to a grim ex-mining town/village in the UK and it's far better off, for instance. Jonny will tell you more than me, but in general - there are parts of Poland that are far better off than parts of the UK.


In Poland, it's not so much of an issue now - the rules that surround the granting of mortgages have tightened up, and pretty much ensures that no-one will get a mortgage that they can't afford to pay back.

I emigrated because I don't want to feel screwed. ******* VAT,ZUS,akcyza,personal tax,CGT.And where is all that ******* money? **** that and **** EU taxes too!Now I pay 0 (zero,null,nada) % sale tax,no ZUS (well some SS but that's little money),no akcyza,15% CGT IF I reach certain treshold.Give me just universal healthcare and I will be a happy camper.

Warsaw is a capital city, so don't compare capital city of any country to some backwaters. If you want to comapte ex-mining towns try to compare it with Katowice, Zabrze, Gliwice... how do they look comparing with English ex-mining towns?

yes and no. I don't think it is a fair comparison - the war and communism didn't have the same effect so these countries didn't have to start from scratch. I think a more fair comparison would be as compared to the former eastern block countries.

I also think that Poland has an inferiority complex when compared to other countries- people have always left Poland to greener pastures so it is hard to imagine Poland as a rich country.

I also think it is easier to be poor in western Europe or Canada (not U.S) because there are social systems set up to help these people where as in Poland they don't exist to the same extent.


so basically you want to work, pay no taxes and get free healthcare? interesting concept however taxes pay for health care. and who is responsible for your retirement and disability if you are injured?

Easy question---Poles abroad.

we compare facts. And fact is the current state, not the past.


Nothing wrong with saying the thruth.


Of course they have. Do you know why? Because a person who works labour can actually earn enough to carry a decent life on those greener pastures, while in Poland many people who do white collar jobs can't!


Don't paint everything with the same brush. Poeple have business and earn money sometimes too.

Not really - a person who does a physical job in the UK is often better off being unemployed. It's not an easy life, especially if they live somewhere expensive.

As for white collar jobs in Poland - the issue with this is often that they perceive themselves to be of a certain status and demand the status symbols to fit. They then drown under a mountain of debt. I've seen it happen to someone who was earning around 4k netto - not horrible money, but she bought a very nice flat and car, then struggled to live. If she'd bought within her means, she would be fine.


Katowice is definitely better off, but I've never been to the others so can't comment fairly.


Recent comparison I can make is with the Czech Republic. Prague is behind Warsaw, and there doesn't appear to be much construction going on (unlike in Poland). It certainly seems like the statistics are heavily skewed in Poland because of the existence of many poor small farmers - which didn't exist in Czechoslovakia. I'd actually say that Poland is developing faster these days - I really saw little sign of construction in Prague, and places like Nachod are absolutely horrible.

Say what?Sooner a cactus will grow on my hand than I will spend any serious money in Poland.No money for crooks from Grubas.Hell no!

Do you have any statistics for this? My husband deals with white collar every day -in fact he is white collar- we are not poor- and my husband is 100% Polish. There is big money in Poland and a lot of it is Polish.

Walbrzych is an ex mining town and probably my second least favourite Polish city.

Lovely jubely

Milky - Poles abroad. Some people (like me) leave for adventure, novelty - you name it. When I was leaving Poland for SA I had bucketful of doubts. But I still did it, even though at that time there was not much of financial advantage. You will always have people like that. Not because they had bad life but because they want to check if grass really is greaner on the other side of the fence. Is it?

Isn't there a shitload of foreign investment there at the minute?

I was reading something a few days ago about the place, but I might have got mixed up...

yes- but there are shiitholes like this all over the world. Canada has Hamilton, the U.S. has too many to list and then there are the mining towns in the U.K. If you grow up in a shiithole then there is good reason to leave. My husband grew up in Tri city- it is beautiful and always wanted to come back. He never lived in a block and because his father was an officer on a ship(staunch anti communist family) he always had access to western items. For him leaving Poland was a tragedy- but for somebody who grew up in, lets say, Pruszkow Gdansk- you might have a different feeling.

Not necessarily Pip, I grew up in Kielce:-) For me leaving Poland had nothing to do with not being happy in Poland, it was not a tragedy but not a blessing either. But then I was told many times I'm not typical Polish woman :-)

Not that im aware of. Its a horrrible dirty looking city, lots of crubling old buildings, depressing people, Swidnica on the other hand about 15 KM's closer to Wroclaw is lovely.

Pip you seem to base most of your opinions on what you and your direct family have experienced, thats not the real world.

It's useless in this discussion. We comapre wealth regardless history. The OP doesn't ask why but whether.


No, but it's a common knowledge.

why because you say so. total bullshiit. sorry. White collar workers in Poland make good money. I know this from living in Warsaw and also my husbands cousin in Tricity. Perhaps in Lublin and Bialystok they make less but that is typical.

common knowledge- please give me a link.

Exactly, but hey


my turf, and a fine up-and-coming place which has seen amazing progress in the last ten years, especially since the previous corrupt President was ousted. Come and have a look. A great place. Don't you dare say Poland B!

I do not consider any of these "essential", sorry :D


Naaaah. It's totally not like I had to take a small loan to pay for my first mp3 player :D
Your mum might have been delighted with Hilfiger prices in US because they will be significantly higher in Poland. Bargain by comparison. Still crazy expensive when compared to an average salary in Poland.


Agree.
There are also rural areas with 90% unemployment rate and if you are lucky enough to eventually land a job you get a great salary of 1,200 - 1,400zl (and spend 500 on petrol / tickets / commuting to the nearest city). I also personally know white collar workers earning similar money in well-established international companies. I actually know PhDs in biology working for less than that (in Kraków, to be precise, not in Białystok).

(having said that I also know white collar workers earning easily five-digit figures monthly. They do exist, however rare they are).

That all reminded me a recent job ad I've read. An engineer needed - salary: 2000 - 2500 PLN lol