Irish (live in London) moving to Poland

Dzień dobry :)

I have been living in London for the last 21 years
My partner is Polish and we have a little girl (4)
I have just been offered a job in Krakow want to know others experience of moving to Poland, not speaking the language etc
Obviously with current Covid19 situation it will be hard to relocate immediately but I have been offered the chance to work remotely until we can.

We have somewhere to stay for a few months but will look to buy/rent after few months.

Initial Questions are:
Any Irish/English that have moved, what your experience was/is?
What is 'good' salary to get by on? I've been offered 14,000 Zloty a month

Once you get over the initial shock and get used to the way things work here you will find it to be one of the greatest and safest places to live,

14000zl after tax you will live like a king, I find it really hard to spend more than 5000zl a month on the basics .

That's a rather misleading statement on your part Dolno. You have very low outgoings as you own your home and don't have a child to raise.

Hi Roibeard, I'm Irish, married to a Polish man. First came here in 2006 for a holiday, loved it, moved here later that year - hated it!! We went back to Ireland and came back to Poland in 2015, so this time round I've been living here four and a half years - I can tolerate it but I'll never really like it. However, many Irish people have settled here quite happily so maybe you'll be one of them.

Yes you can live well off 14,000zl net, if it's 14,000 gross (brutto in Polish), then about a third will go in deductions so 9,000 or so is ok, very good by local standards, but you'll need to have up to 20% of the purchase price if you want to get a mortgage and at least a year's employment under your belt. So if you're trying to save that deposit from your salary and pay rent as well, you'll have to watch the pennies.

One thing I'll warn you about is the air quality in Kraków which is literally toxic, especially during the winter months.

The other thing you need to be aware of is that Poland is very much a post-communist country with a right wing authoritarian government.


You will absolutely need to learn basic Polish for simple everday interactions. It's not easy to just 'pick up'. I'd advise you go to lessons.

Good luck with everything, hope it works out :)

Yeah there is a law that you need to wear leather shorts and salute a swastika flag which is on every street corner.

Atch I'm amazed you dropped this right wing garbage into your answer.

Politicians in Poland are no different to the British German of French, all of them are idiots. I am no fan of Polish politics full stop they are just as dumb as the British ones.

The fact is that you will not find Polish politics effecting your daily life here, the latest government started childcare 500 zl for a kid each month.

But seriously as Atch mentioned its no good trying to live here on a shoestring, only a fool would move here from wealthy Britain .

Best you have the cash to buy a house here, you can get a good one for £50,000, I paid £27000 for a farm and over a hectare of land, If you own your home here you 14000zl will take you a long way.

If you are starting out in life and do not have capital wealth behind you DO NOT move from Britain to Poland, why do you think so many Poles went to the UK to earn their fortunes, do not allow your partner to drag you here for "family reasons" you will find most Polish families a nightmare (mine were)

This is my opinion based on living here as a citizen for six years with my English wife.

Again do not come here if you are skint as you will find yourself being economically and financially trapped here forever especially if you have a sprog or two .

No... not really, it's a neo-PRL system of patronage and petty dishonesty and corruption where for the government connections count more than competence ---- but they're not jailing opponents or censoring the press, there are no violent crackdowns, in other words there are none of the things a normal person would expect from a real right wing authoritarian government. It's tawdry and embarrassing but not a real challenge to democracy (at least not yet).

I also had no idea you actually dislike living here.... maybe you need to move somewhere that you and hubby can both be happier... he didn't like the UK or Ireland?


Poland is not a user friendly country and your wife is unlikely to fully realize how alien and confusing things will be.... (depending on how long she's been in the UK she's liable to be having her own readjustment issues and won't necessarily be as helpful as either of you might like).

And... be aware that successful adjustment to Polish realities will absolutely depend on your ability to be assertive (not a general strength for English speakers ime). Arguing with people is not something people avoid and if you try to just get along you'll end up with footprints on your forehead....

Poland can be a great place to live if you can adapt, which includes not just the language (non-negotiable for longer term residents) but also lots of cultural issues. If you expect things to be like the UK (and or want to wait the country out to become more like the UK) then... it's not for you.

Your post was very eloquent and exactly what I would have written if I had a better education.

But I must say my wife and I love Poland very much and there is no where else on this earth that we would rather be now.

We have really great friends and contacts , there is nothing that they cannot sort out for us sometimes at the speed of light.

They are just about stopping short of it and only because they have neither the balls nor the competence to accomplish it.


Exactly. I wouldn't want to raise a four year old in this country because who knows what it will be like here 20 years from now. Ok, you could say that about any country I suppose, but Poland is not a long established democracy and there is no guarantee that they will even remain in the EU. Membership of the EU and having to conform to its standards to some degree is the only thing that prevents the place from turning into a complete banana republic.


There are plenty of things about Poland that are superficially attractive, but I'm afraid I can't like living in a country where my husband can't get an ambulance when he's lying on the floor in the worst pain of his life to be told 'do you think we can send an ambulance just for a stomach pain, take an ibuprofen'. He had kidney stones as it turned out - could have been a burst appendix or a burst ulcer as he has gastritis.......could have killed him Maf. So no, I don't like living here because everything here is random, always 50/50, you may be lucky, you may not.

Sorry Atch , you just don't get the Polish People, if you did you would know that we would never allow this to happen, Poland's suffering has always been a consequence of powerful external forces.

Atch if anything threatened Poland and its values an army willing to fight to the death would be born the very next day, of this I have no doubt.

Sorry about Mr Atch that was terrible , sadly this does happen in Poland, sometimes people should not be in certain jobs.

Poland did more to overturn communism that every other country in the region combined... and there's no shortage of public figures speaking out very eloquently against the government. I'm not as pessimistic as you are... Polish people, for all the static in the foreground have a better track record in favor of freedom than most countries in Europe....


I'm very sorry that happened to you both, how does he feel about that episode? Has it made him consider moving?

Hi All,

Many thanks for the replies.

In London right now we have no immediate family to help so we find it hard on our own especially with school due to start soon we need to make decision ASAP.

It's 14,000 Gross not net (Should have asked for more)
We have shared property here in London so once sold should have enough for deposit in Poland, but to start we would live with Grandparents for few months to save.

I know the customer service seems to differ from Ireland but to be honest in London, these sort of things are not great anyway
Polish Language... yep will be challenge but have to start somewhere!

Any other advise (Without anyone getting into Political debates) :)

It's hard to say, me I live in the country and you will be in the city so hard to make comparisons, but I will say if you do move all of us here will help answer your questions, sorry that we appears a bit back biting its years of Polish Forum cabin fever, we do love one another and do try and help others where we can. glad you have a house deposit , it will make a difference.

I love Irish people. They are kin. And they are wise.

Oh don't start me on that, if I was with an Irish girl I would be living near Waterford on our farm breeding horses and going to the races.

Every March we would fly over to Cheltenham in the helicopter to watch our horse win.

I'm not sure I'd agree - the Baltic States were really pushing hard in the late 80's too.

Totally agreed about how you need to stand up for yourself, and I would say one thing - Polish people have no concept of 'fair play'. Some of them do understand win-win, but the mentality of "I lose if I have to give up anything to you" is still incredibly strong.

As was Hungary in its own way (accepting 'refugees' from Romania was an extreme break from Iron Curtain diplomacy)....

But still, in terms of size and international profile it was Poland at least 51 %


Not quite sure if I'd put it exactly the same way but point taken. And things are just different here, ime I've often been able to come to constructive agreements with people I hate, and who hate me while finding agreement with allies is incredibly frustrating and next to impossible... learning to work with people you don't like (without ever actually coming to like them) is a valuable skill but it's not always fun...

Stick to the topic please

Actually, the best advice is to come and see for yourself. After some time you can tell us if you liked it or not. . :):)

When Mrs.Atch said:


You better believe it! You might want to visit before you settle on living in Krakow. The pollution would be a deal breaker for me. Its a nice place to take a vacation during the summer, but to live there.....Its the 2nd most polluted city in Europe. Perhaps, there is some nicer areas around Chernobyl this time of the year:)

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Even dogs wear masks in Krakow.

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Yeah Polish cities are a pollution nightmare in the winter, it can also be bad in the valley where I live in the countryside.

For that reason alone I would never live in a Polish city in winter., too many plastic bottles in the furnace, dolno and cyanide don't get on.

Thanks All

Tough decisions to make.
Aware of the air quality also. We would be living in Libiaz so not right in Krakow city but I've noticed it there also in Winter

The other issue i have now is to rent or sell my flat in London as right now that market is pretty much closed!
I will let you know how it goes :)

The only authoritarian governments were and are left wing where elections are like a bad joke. Poland has the government Poles elected voluntarily.

Can I get insured on a UK driving license in Poland or would need to have Polish only? Anyone done similar?

You have to exchange your UK license for a Polish one if you're going to be living here, but with Brexit, that may not be so straightforward. Previously, you were just exchanging one EU license for another. You'll just to have to wait and see what the situation is by the time you move here - you go to the Urząd Miasta and fill in the necessary forms (the equivalent of the town council) but don't expect anybody there to know their arse from their elbow as the whole Brexit thing will have them in a state of total confusion ;) That's the thing about Poland, Roibeard, the simplest things can take ages and be quite stressful but everything gets done eventually.

No need, nobody here is bothered certainly not the police , people have been here 15 years and still have their original UK or European licence.

Firstly Dolno, the law states otherwise and it would be plain silly to break the law on purpose.

Secondly, you might find that even if you got insured, the insurance would be invalid in the case of a claim.

Thirdly, after the end of this year, the UK will be a third country, not an EU country anymore and that makes a difference.

gov.uk/driving-abroad/driving-if-you-move-abroad

According to the above link:

If you move to an EU country before 31 December 2020 apply to exchange your UK driving licence as soon as you can to make sure you get one before 31 December 2020.

Obviously the advice above is given in order to make things easier for those with a UK license as it's still unclear what their legal situation will be after Brexit.

Ok point taken, tee hee.

Oh and its best to get a friendly pole to own and insure the car, you never get any hassle, you just say you borrowed it, In Poland the car is insured and not the driver.

An American Polish friend who moved here was fined 400Pln for not changing her license,years back.One has to have a Passport with IDP..I got mine,by taking the test with a translator(with her help) I passed and got the license good for life.They did take my US license,but I just went back and got a duplicate for 5 $.

Yes its different for those outside the EU, you then need a IDP. But Euro licences are ok no bother from the cops.

Dolno if you are intending to live here full time then I advise you to get cracking on a Polish license as it takes a few months to sort and a few visits to the Urzad.

No chance I cant be bothered with the bureaucracy nor would I ever part with my Brit licence for a Polish one.

Brexit won't make much difference maybe a IDP from the post office will be required., and this allows me to drive any Polish registered /insured car.

As for where I reside I have a few places in Europe and I travel between them , and no I won't start adding up how long I stay in each place, All financial interest is UK so I guess I always will be a UK entity.