Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE

Well, we would need to know where you are from (citizenship and residency), how old you are, what your qualifications and experience are, whether your husband will be working, too, and generally why you want to come to Poland, and to Katowice in particular.

Generally, if your husband does not find a job BEFORE he comes to Poland, it will be difficult to find one once he arrives. So unless your husband is proficient in some exotic, in-demand IT skills, don't count on him finding a decent paying job. Generally, wages he will receive for a job that he finds once he is in Poland will be significantly less attractive than for a job that he finds ahead of time in your home country before he arrives in Poland.

Also generally, 6500 gross is OK for a single male at the start of their career, not attractive for a couple, and out of the question if there are children involved. Cost of living is significantly higher for females, who generally do not want to continue a student-like existence after they enter the work force. Single males simply deal with privation and fiscal discipline a lot better than females.

Katowice is (rightly) considered one of the ugliest cities in Poland, if not the ugliest. On the upside, the cost of living is a bit lower than in the attractive cities like Wrocław and Kraków.

If your husband will not be working, he is going to hate Katowice unless he is able to keep himself occupied. That is going to cost.

Really, 6500 gross for a couple is not attractive for a foreign couple unless they are fresh out of school. That is only 21,000 USD per year, which is below the minimum wage for burger flippers in some places in the US. You are not going to be able to save more than a token amount on that pay: a couple of thousand USD at the most, if anything at all. Hardly worth relocating to Poland for, even if you are fresh out of school. Forget about building up a nest egg for your future home and family.

Explore better paying opportunities in the richer countries of Western Europe or the English-speaking countries, where you will be able to SAVE as much as you EARN in Poland, or more.

Dominic you seem hell-bent on deterring anyone from ever coming to Poland. In thread after thread after thread her, as if it was your life's mission. You don't even live in this continent! A form of trolling really; and I note that you have admitted that you troll websites.

People's lives and personal circumstances are different and people choose their jobs for different reasons. Not everyone is a nakedly ambitious careerist - in fact most people aren't.

By the way, Katowice isn't that bad - it's an industrial city as many are, and it has a lot of good points.

To the lady who asked, 6500zl is a little above the average salary in Katowice - many couples get by on not much more than half that, however an apartment will cost 1500 to 2000zl.

Pretty much irrelevant, as the rules for native Poles are a lot different than the rules for foreigners relocating to Poland. 6500 PLN may be good for the former, but lousy for the latter, as in this case.


Not really. Most people who come to Poland to work in serious jobs are primarily concerned about earnings and savings. The OP is not a backpacker/slacker who is looking for "adventure". She is looking for good earnings and savings potential and opportunities for advancement, both of which are poor in Poland.

You also forget that I lived for twelve years in Poland, and just returned to the US last year.

There is no good reason to booster Poland to foreigners seeking earnings, savings and advancement. As I've said many, many times before, if someone thinks Poland is their best or only chance for work or study, then they have failed miserably in exploring the many much better opportunities that exist in richer countries. Chances are that the OP has not explored at all, but is just responding to a random recruitment email.

Don't assume that they are looking for an expat life.


Again, don't assume.


Not everyone who looks for change and interesting experiences is a "backpacker/slacker".


Yet you try your damndest to deter others from doing the same.


So many assumptions about the OP.

I happen to know Katowice (was there last Friday) and honestly I would not live there. Although there have been (few) changes for the better in the Center, the city is still most unattractive. If husband on top of that does not work, he'll get crazy or turn into an alcoholic. Another bad thing there is the air; after a few hours there on Friday, I cleaned my face and the cotton disk was all black (normal there); imagine the sh##### in the lungs after several years there ;).

If one wants to come/work in Poland, there are far better places than in Katowice.

They are very, very safe assumptions. So safe that they are practically a certainty.


My situation was fundamentally different. There is absolutely no "same" about it. For someone in the same position that I was, I would wholeheartedly recommend a stint in Poland.

Sorry, but except for a very select few, Poland is not the best place to work or study by a long shot. It's nowhere near the top of the list. Better opportunities exist in abundance elsewhere. Even for those seeking romance and adventure or whatever you seem to think they will find in Poland.


Even in attractive Wrocław, the wives of foreign workers I have known were supremely unhappy, socially isolated and bored to death. And yes, there were a few that turned to alcohol, especially among the Koreans.

@Dominic: even in Warsaw, expats' wives (and also husbands when their wives work and they don't) can be bored to death. Katowice is of course much worse ;) and very soon couple shall face hardship. The wife shall go to work (and what about if not happy with her work?) and the husband shall turn around all day in lousy city and to do what? At best, they'll hang around 1 or 2 other foreigners and that's it.

What bugs me is that people thinking about coming to Poland only ask about salaries! When moving abroad, there are a lot of other factors besides money to consider.

In other words, considering Warsaw, Cracow, Poznan, Wroclaw, Gdansk (with great conditions), OK but NOT to move to Katowice and other Poland B sh@@@holes (unless coming from similar sh@@@holes ;)).

That bugs me a lot, too. Even from a financial perspective, earnings are much less important than savings potential in absolute dollars. Quality of life is important, too. Why anyone would even contemplate moving halfway across the planet to work for a measly $21,000 a year without the ability to save more than a token amount in a grimy, depressing industrial hell-hole is beyond me.

I always advise the engineers who post here to go where the R&D dollars flow in broad swift rivers. Believe me, for a technical person, R&D dollars are veritable milk and honey that make the sun shine brighter, the grass grow greener and the birds sing sweeter. It's the best predictor of quality of life for engineers and scientists that I know of.

Well, this is the thing. Poland's startup scene is really taking off, and Katowice has immense potential due to the sheer size of the place. I wouldn't move to Katowice because of the pollution, but there's a *lot* of money floating around Katowice, despite appearances.


Well, sitting around at home doing nothing will do that to you. I know one wife elsewhere in Poland who started a very successful business in the food industry - but of course, that involves being more than just a mere trophy. However, there is a general pattern for these women to sneer at Poland and treat it like some sort of plaything.


Dominic, has it never occured to you that many people considering Poland simply won't get such jobs? More to the point, there is certainly potential for advancement in Poland - 2/3 years working for one of the big names in Poland can easily land you a better job in Western Europe. But if you try and get in the door straight away without language skills - forget it.

Let's put that into perspective. Well less than 1% of the R&D dollars floating around Cupertino or Mountain View. In fact, all of the R&D dollars flowing in all sectors of the whole economy of Poland are well less than 1% of the R&D dollars floating around in Cupertino or Mountain View. There are dozens of universities in the US that have more R&D dollars floating around than in all of Poland.


Of course they'll get such jobs, if only they try. What makes you think that they wouldn't? Problem is that few of those posting here have actually actively explored opportunities in Western countries. Few, if any, of them found these jobs as part of their own job search. They just received a randomly sent recruitment email promising good jobs in Poland and mistakenly believe this is their best opportunity. As I've said time and time again, if someone thinks that Poland is the best or only opportunity for work or study, then they have failed miserably at exploring the abundant, much better opportunities in richer countries.


Agree. Most of them were not happy with the move, and a lot of them leave within a few months. or linger on in loneliness and depression. Few have the ambition, knowledge, experience and wherewithal to establish, per your example, businesses like restaurants.

[quote=delphiandomine]More to the point, there is certainly potential for advancement in Poland - 2/3 years working for one of the big names in Poland can easily land you a better job in Western Europe. But if you try and get in the door straight away without language skills - forget it. /quote]

Strongly disagree here. The time would be better spent in their home country beefing up their qualifications or working for one of the big names there. I haven't seen much evidence of Poland being a particularly useful "stepping stone". As a matter of fact, a complaint I heard daily from engineers in Poland is that opportunities for advancement were lousy.

Cobblers.


How can you say that when you don't know their reasons for wanting to teach in Poland?


Many find the International Womens' Group (based at the LIM centre) to be a great way to spend time.


Most important of all is happiness.


Quite. As I've said before, there are a lot more jobs in the post room than in the board room.

@Jon: I know about those women's associations in Warsaw but no everybody can fit in such circles ;). Nevermind, it won't concern the OP since husband shall be concerned and it'll be in Katowice.

Although I have strong emotional ties to Katowice, I would not live there as it is very limited in terms of everything, still underdeveloped (need to leave the 2 or 3 streets in "downtown" area and the new shopping mall at the new PKP station), the pollution is awful. Like Dominic says, people got quickly recruited by an obscure language school and that's it, they are on their way to Kce. Of course, 6,500zl even gross is a fabulous salary in Kce if compared to salaries earned by most locals but money is not everything. One needs to consider the quality of life (including social interacting or most often isolation for foreigners) and unless coming from worse shi####thole, nothing to be excited about.

I am aware that not everybody wants to and can become "petroleum engineer" but ending up in a place like Katowice seems even cruel ;). Of course, people do what they want or what they think is right but if they ask questions on a forum it's because they are not sure...

Very true,


I really like the part of town uphill from the station. Some really nice pre-war architecture and a few nice bars (but lots of rough ones).


Yes - for someone from a nice cathedral city etc it could be a culture shock ;-)

Nevertheless for one year or two, it could be good. For an EFL teaching career, Katowice could be a good place to start.

A lot of nice people, too.

She doesn't want to teach. Do you even know which post this is about? Hint: Post number 60. And she's definitely in it for the money.


And many would rather be caught dead than coming in contact with fellow wives of the wrong sort. For Korean's, that means the wife of a subordinate of the husband. For Indians, it means just about any other woman.


What would EVER make you think that anyone should drag their sorry butox halfway across the globe to find happiness in ....... wait for it ...... Poland????????????? That is purely insane. Poles are not a happy people, which is why so many of them leave the country to find happiness abroad.

Name a single quality of life indicator where Poland is a leader. Name something that Poland offers to a foreigner that the richer countries of the West lack.


You do realize that by far the bulk of these posters have never even looked for a job, but are simply responding to a randomly sent recruiting letter? And that this is almost certainly the case with the OP.

If you are advising the OP to, as I said, "move halfway across the planet to work for a measly $21,000 a year without the ability to save more than a token amount in a grimy, depressing industrial hell-hole", then you are insanely cruel.


Again, this isn't an EFL discussion.

@Jon: as a matter of fact, I have rediscovered Kce for the past 2 years and I believe for emotional reasons, I'll go there once in a while. My first time there was in early ... 1990 so believe me, most different from what it is now. I don't know any bar, as now going there by myself, I don't have the guts to go to bars ;).

Fortunately they have renovated the Centrum areas and now, besides, some bars, Jon has referred to, there are shopping malls and quite a few shops, cafés....

I believe people are friendlier than for instance in Warsaw (I guess province vs. capital, like everywhere) and also, as to me, although I still have trouble to understand Polish as spoken in Warsaw, I have no problem in Katowice (probably because my first contact with the Polish language) but nevertheless I would never live there - too limited + too polluted.

@Dominic: It is true that in terms of seeking happyness, who the hell would consider Poland, and also Katowice???? I have noticed that 99.99% of foreigners moving to Poland are either of Polish origin or with Polish spouse (my case). Not only in terms of money but also in terms of life quality, Poland is far behind....

Of course, 6,500 (gross) per month seems a very good salary in Poland but what is it compared to Western salaries? 6;500 is the minimum wage in most Western European countries so coming to Poland, moreover in Katowice, for .... 6,500 unless desperate does not make much sense.

If somebody had told me, after 22 years living in Katowice, that TriCity has no pubs, inasmuch as I understand the word "pub", I would have stayed where I was and not moved:)

Katowice people are alright once you get to know them. The best sports academy, the prettiest girls, the most number of trees of any voivodeship (really), and good transport links (which I can't say for Gdansk for example)

The cleanest lakes (Pogoria/Nakklo Chechlo) and good nightlife for the young.
The OP wouldn't have a bad time there because he is not shallow as to drink himself to death :)

@Dougpol; 1. as to "pretty girls", since hetero woman, I don't really care ;).

2. When going now to Kce, it's only for 1 or 2 days, and as I am alone, I don't go to bars.

Hint, post number 60 doesn't specify what sort of job - look at the thread title she posts in for clues - hint hint


What makes you think that most of the members are Indians or the wives of office monkeys from Korea or elsewhere...


What would EVER make you think the lady is a. from 'half way across the globe' or b. the same sort of person as you...


You assume far, far too much here - basically for your trolling purposes...


Again, look at the title of the thread the lady has posted in...

Interesting that just about the only posts you make here are obsessively trying to deter anyone from coming to Poland, and trying to suggest that they should become office monkeys somewhere else, or do 'math' (sic) based studies, regardless of what their strengths or tastes are. You must have had a pretty bad time here.

OK.....everyone back on topic