Moving from Ireland to Poland

Hello members..I'm an Irish dude who's married to a Polish girl..I've become totally disillusioned with my country and i would dearly love to move to Poland permanently..I work as a Paramedic here in Ireland and would like to continue with my career but realise this may be very difficult as i don't speak alot of Polish..I have been to Poland many times and i love your country..It reminds me of what Ireland was like 20 years ago..My dream is to relocate somewhere near Katowice, purchase some land (to build a home) or buy a house, then try and secure some kind of employment. Can anyone advise me on costings, availability and possibility of this happening. I understand that if i buy a house i will have to pay, each month or yearly, some kind of tax??? Can anyone explain this fee to me? Also what is the average cost of living per month? What is the average salary per month? Any and all information would be greatly appreciated. As i've already said i've become disillusioned with Ireland. The Goverment and Banks here have destroyed our way of life and have caused the ordinary person, be they Irish, Polish, Slovakian, alot of heartache. I along with my wife want out of this way of life..Many thanks to anyone who can help us with our quest

Hi

I do not want to sound unwelcoming but can your fiance and her family not explain this to you?

What way of life? Ireland was down and out on the floor for most of its existence, except for the last 15 years when the government decided to pump the economy up arteficially. It's a dearly wrong statement to say that now you're going back to your normal level that the way you lived for the past decade was your normal way of life. I hate the arrogance of the current generation of Irish who think that the way it was over the last ten years was the normal mode for Ireland. Well, it wasn't. Welcome to reality of economies going up and economies going down. We from the continent have been used to that for the past 100 years already, we know it can happen. But when you're down on the ground like Ireland has been most of the time and never experienced economic growth before you just have to get used to economies going down as well. It's normal. And besides: liberating multinational corporations of corporate tax for ten years only works for ten years. After that they will just leave. There's no such thing as loyalty within those corporations. And they are leaving as you can see. Only thing you can blame the govt for is that they arteficially created an economic boom without creating a sustainable infrastructure. They should've done so while they still had the chance. Now it's too late and Ireland will go bancrupt (bailing out banks for too much and having to pay the EU finally sth back) by 2013.

But all this doesn't take away the sheer ignorance of the current generation of Irish. Born with a mobile in their hand and thinking Ireland has always been the richest country in the EU and forgetting that it was because of that EU, else you'd still be one of the poorest countries in Europe. So don't gimme that nonsense that you're disillusioned with the govt. You should be grateful to them for allowing you for a short period of time to experience what it's like living in a Western European country and to be part of the EU.

>^..^<

M-G (haec hactenus)

Good luck Mate - we've done a similar thing, living in Poznan since January with our newborn (a far more conducive environment than South London, believe it or not).

Can't comment on work availability as I'm telecommuting at the mo but as far as land and house goes:


Yep, that's czynsz - analogous with our (UK, not sure about Rep of Ireland tho') notion of ground rent & rates. It's supposed to cover some utility services like waste removal and so on, but I remain convinced the vast majority of it is used to finance the permatans of the girls 'working' at the wspoldzienia mieszkaniowa (housing association is nearest equivalent) who oversee these things if you live in an urban house, flat or block. If you're planning to build I'm not sure how that plays out but there is for sure a similar levy. Ours (monthly) on an 80 square metre urban flat is around 450 zl or £90 sterling at today's exchange rate.

If you want to build you could do worse than a barn conversion or similar set-up. Starting from scratch would be a beaurocratic nightmare I imagine, and you're not protected from capricious changes of mind by the local planning committee about the height of your chimney on a new build in the way that you are on an existing (and often listed) building.

Go for it - it's great here!

Best, AlexW68

PS the bleeding obvious thing really, but I'll say it: generally speaking, outside the big cities expectations from Poles about foreigners' level of Polish isn't that high. A few well-chosen words and they'll love you - and vice versa.

All I can say is, it ain't all it's cut up to be. I did the same thing, and after the honeymoon period is over, you will begin to face reality and understand why lots leave. When you first move there it will feel like you are still on holiday, but once settled down, you will begin to experience the reality.

Firstly, good luck finding work, especially one which pays you as well as you get in Ireland. Here, the most important thing is to Learn Polish!!!!. Don't rely on your wife to do everything for you. Learning the language, and speaking it with your wife is extremely important. Especially if you value your own independence.

You will be shocked at how hard some things are compared to Ireland. Bureaucracy is often a frustrating process especially if you don't speak Polish or don't know somebody who can help you with everything. Also be prepared for a culture shock when you experience customer service here, a smile is a rarity (Unlike in Ireland).

As for the average cost of living, it all depends on where you want to go. I believe you could live comfortably of 3-4000zl a month. If you move out of town, then the costs will be less (But then you have less chance of finding work).

Buying land and a house is cheaper than it is in Ireland, and I would highly recommend you stay in Poland whilst the home is being built (To checkup, etc..). Once done, I would recommend you go back to Ireland to pay of your mortgage. (At least then you will have something to look forward to).

I'm only being frank with you, but unless you have something really good to offer on the Polish job market, you are much better off staying in Ireland. Also, ask yourself, why did your wife leave Poland in the first place?

Sorry if I sound like a killjoy, but I'm only sharing my experience. Others may have a very different experience than I have. Good luck

Good! More Irish here the better - maybe we will finally have Polish Hurling League ;)
(I really miss watching GAA since I left Ireland.) Why Katowice though? May I recommend the central Baltic Sea coast? It's beautiful in here (especially in summer), the air is clean, the cities (Słupsk, Koszalin) have their unique charm and holiday resorts (Ustka, Kołobrzeg) are the best in Poland. If you're looking for a place to live somewhere outside major cities and their constant rush, then central Pomerania is one of the choices you should consider.

Disillusioned with Ireland. As an Irish person i can safely say its great in Ireland economically compared to Poland..Their gangster banker politicions etc are big bad wolves as well. The way I look at it is that if you have to work and pay a mortgage over there you will be enomically f0cked for the rest of your life. Even to build over there is as expensive as Ireland and the wages there are 4 to 6 time lower...

hi aligator..my mrs and her family have explained some details to me, but i wanted an unbaised explination regarding my queries, especially from people who had already done what i would like to do..thanks for your reply

Tusk promised that Poland would become the same as Ireland

And he has fulfilled his promise......... it,s getting worse.

M G..thanks for your reply, if i can call it that..seems like it was more of a criticism than anything else..i won't apoligise for wanting to get out of a country that is on the brink of collapse, caused, not by me but, by the banking sector and goverment of this nation..i was not born with a mobile in my hand, i am 40 years of age and have worked since i was 18..i have paid my way in life and never went cap in hand to the goverment looking for free handouts..i have no problem paying MY debts but i have a major issue with paying debts created by greedy private developers, dodgy bankers and corrupt goverment officials and i have an issue with the future generations having to pay these debts too..why should i or they have to pay for the mistakes of others??? Ireland has suffered major ecenomic difficulties in the 50's and the 70's but not on the scale seen in the last 2 years..anyway i didn't enter this forum to get into a debate regarding the ecenomic situation of my or any other nation..i wanted advice about moving to a country i like and respect, a country that reminds me of what ireland was like in during my childhood..a country that respected all it's inhabitants, be they nationals or non nationals, that had real family values and were a proud and desent people..but again i thank you for your reply

many thanks alex for all the info..i'm green with envy already..sounds like you made a courageous move and it has worked out for you and your family..i wish you the best of luck with your future in poland..maybe, with some luck we too can experience a simular outcome..i'll keep working at learning the lauguage and see where it takes us

hi tonywob..many thanks for the reply..some interesting points..as regards the language i can speak some, but i know i have to learn more..as regards rates of pay, i understand the comparisons..but its not the want of making money that draws me to poland..i understand that you can live on alot less over there as the cost of living compared to ireland is alot less..i know the essentials such as electricity, water, gas and fuel are simular to ireland, but i feel that if we can establish a base in poland, secure some kind of employment and make ends meet that we could stand a chance of developing our family situation in an enviorment where we would feel happy and secure..we just want a chance to live without the constant worry of where our future in ireland is heading..my wife left poland, as many other poles did, to find work and save some money with the hope of saving enough to buy a house when she returned to her home country..things changed somewhat when she met me..her intentions have changed somewhat as she still has a well paid job here and she thinks that i dont have a hope of finding a job (especially as a paramedic) in poland, probably wishfull thinking on my part, but there's no harm in dreaming.. but i keep telling her that i'm not interested in getting rich, just getting by but without all the worry accociated with this country

Alright

I moved to Kato last Sept and at first it was a bit of a shock, even though i've been here before, you gotta be prepared that its....well, its a bit crap.

But at least its not Warsaw man :P

You;ll need a ton of Polish to get that job man and there may be some law about hiring a person that's just moved to a country, like at home you need to live in Ireland for, 3, or 5 ( I dont remember)years before you can apply to become a cop.

You'll need to find out if there's something similiar, And if they do hire foreigners, there's prob a proficiency exam.

One more thing about Kato, do not move here in the winter man. Like, I much prefer snow holidays to hot summer ones but it's a royal pain in the hoop to have to go to the sklep for some feckin mleko...you'll soon stop putting milk in your tae as well.

Re: Wages, sorry, but I've no idea what you could expect if you work as a paramedic,
If you get a decent job you'll get a decent wage that's what I've seen in Poland.

There's a school for medicine in Ligota, maybe they'll have something coz your knowledge of all the medicial language would probably be good, if not at least they'll know something about the paramedics.

Sorry, looks like I've written a feckin essay...oh and the pubs......man, I really really miss Irish pubs, the banter here ain't he same. The pubs are never full, everyone sites down....it's crazy :P

Anyway best of luck.

hi torq.many thanks for the reply..not too sure about the hurling but i'd give rugby a go if ya wanted ;-)..yeah i've been to the baltic coast (£eba)..fantastic area..beautiful beaches, countryside and people..the reason i'm interested in katowice is airport and in laws not too far away, but still far enough away if you know what i mean lol..thanks again

Those two cities have no charm at all! They are both utter toilets!

don't let it get as bad as ireland..don't sell out your country for the so called mighty euro..keep your own country, your own identity, your own currency, your own traditions and customs..no money can replace them and once their lost they can never be replaced..don't let your goverment make tha same mistakes as ours did

You haven't had the pleasure of dealing with Polish bureaucracy yet. It's not as bad as people say it is, but they will still lie to your face and tell you the wrong information just to get rid of you.

Real family values? Well, if going to church on Sunday and then beating your kids/wife afterwards is your thing, well. Remember, here, it's still acceptable for a man to drink-drive.

Even if you found a job as one, the salary is so low that you would be unlikely to earn enough to "get by". It's quite common for paramedics in Poland to work in an additional job just to pay the bills.

In all honesty - if you don't have something that Poland needs and wants, you will find it very difficult here.

milky..not too sure about what you've said about it being as expensive to build in poland as it is in ireland, but maybe you're right..if we did decide to move to poland we would be buying with our savings, not taking out a mortgage, so straight away we wouldn't be in the position we are currently in in ireland..i realise that wages are significantly less than in ireland but as long as we could make ends meet and be happy with it then that's cool..and as for the gangsters, well they're everywhere..thanks for the reply..cheers

Once again you prove your complete and utter ignorance, Harry. Of course, a peasant like
you wouldn't know that Słupsk used to be called "Little Paris" (Klein Paris) by its former
German inhabitants, precisely because of its charm and character. Under Polish rule
the city has developed even more and is truly a pearl in the crown of central Pomerania.

thanks D for that info..not sure about going to mass and then coming home a beating the wife..i do this every day..stop stop stop i'm joking honestly..would never do that and i probably wouldn't go to mass either..polish bureaucracy, yeah we've had a little dealings with them and as long as i've been with the wife i just put on a little irish charm and things generally work out ok..i've heard a para's salary in poland is very very low compared to what i earn here..but if we made the move with enough money to build or buy i'm hoping that we could survive..i have a pension worth almost 500euro a month which would help greatly with surviving over there..but as i've said thanks for the info..arrive alive..don't drink and drive

And a moron like you will overlook the fact that little of that Slupsk remains.


It's nicer than Koszalin, I'll grant you that, but only in the way that Herpes is nicer than syphilis.

smurf..many many points of interest there and plenty of food for thought..cheers brother..will think long and hard about what you posted..slan

Where did you get this idea, Delph? It is NOT acceptable and considered a crime for which
you may end up in prison for 5 years. The law that was introduced about 10-12 years ago
is very strict for drunk drivers (and rightly so.)


Oh, come on! That's just nonsense and you know it (or do you have any statistical data to
show us that domestic violence in Poland is more common than in other European countries?)

Jaysus, I forgot to mention the beaurocracy
nightmare, and i mean a proper hell raising nasty nightmare.

be ready to have loads of rows with the missus :P
I know I did, one day we went to 5 different offices to only go back to the first one the next week and find out they coulda done everything there in the first place.

While Polish people are extremely helpful and very patient with foreigners, the auld ones that work in govt. offices are proper toe-rags.

And dont come without about 6 months travel insurance, everyone has ZUS in Poland, it's basically like the VHI, even the govt pay for the VHI of the unemployed, however man, it took me about months to get my medical ID, even though I had been payin ZUS since I got here so it's safer to get some travel insurance, before you leave.

Also, Polish health system is really awesome compared to the shambles at home.

delphiandomine, mentioned religion and depending on your circle of friends, it can play a role, like my neighbour is always askin when me and the missus are gonna get hitched, AFAIC she can shag right off, coz it's none of her business, but some of the older crowd are a bit strict.

I'm lucky, none of my Polish friends even attend mass so I dont have to put up with any of that nonsense.

Oh I mentioned winter, yea dont move in winter, it'll break your heart, like last year, it got to like minus 22 and takin the hound out for a stroll in that aint fun on any level

And I dont wanna be all negative, I mean, I have a far better standard of life now in Poland, I've a far better job, I've made friends and the food and beer is fantastic, starting to finally like vodka too, miss Powers whiskey though. Anyway, now that the weather is getting good Kato has it's won certain charm.

House prices in Kato, I've looked before and it'd be in and around the 1million zl mark so thats around 250,000 euro, houses here are pretty big though, not like at home where 250000 will only get you a semi detatched outer shell of bricks and inner walls of plywood.

I know one things for sure, I wont be goin back to Ireland to work ever, but I dunno, maybe I got lucky and it's different for others

That was a great reply to the question, concise and informed as ever. Everything he needs in there!

Don't worry us Irish intend to crawl back under the nearest stone and put on our Leprechaun suits. Forgive us for trying to better ourselves, mistakes and all. What were we thinking, we should know our place and accept it right?

to be sure, to be sure lol:-)

Well, as a Pole I will not start to judging you decision. It looks strange because you know in Polish eyes Ireland is still rich island :-) well what do I know? I've never been there...

So if you are clear about this, then just a thought, you've said that you are a Paramedic. It is not best payed job in Poland but, Poland is quite competetive in terms of private healthcare to western countries. As far as I know it is growing bussiness and many foreigners came here for some private procedures, some private hospitals are being build etc. So maybe just maybe you should try find something in that part of the market, because your language skill could be an advantage?

Good luck!

Merged:

What does Polish people miss from Ireland?

Just wondering dose Polish people miss anything about Ireland when they go back to Poland?

I happened to be talking to a young Polish person who'd spent several years in Ireland (including going to school for a few years and suffering reverse culture shock when coming back to Poland) and asked them that (thinking of you).

The answer was more or less what you said earlier "the money".... They said their father liked some Irish food (mentioned fish and chips and some kind of roll with chicken(?) but mostly when they leave they leave.

IINM most Poles who go to Ireland are motivated almost entirely by money.

There are Poles who are interested in Irish culture and folklore (there used to be an Irish dancing scene) and the idea of celtic culture has some appeal but those Poles mostly don't actually go there...

And you can add England, Scotland and Wales,....
There is an old saying, and I think there is some truth in it.
"Poles know the cost of everything and tbe value of nothing"..
This is not true of most Poles, but many are guilty of this.

@johnny_reb

Ireland's a great country but the food's atrocious. My Irish pals, on the other hand, fell in love with Polish cuisine.

As for Switzerland... ekhm... make sure to let us know how you liked the Swiss when you come back xD

Maybe I'm just getting older, but the more countries I visit the more I appreciate Poland.