Expatriating to Poland... good career move for a young male?

Dude stay away from that in Poland,unlike states one cant just go to costco or BJs to buy a cash register and declare what you want on taxes.In Poland cash registers are registered with the tax dept.They have learnt from states and developed it.And unlike states the tax department legally dont have to make a appointment to come check you,they just hop in:)Plus vat is 23% in Poland unlike the sales tax in NJ is 7%(dont know whats in chicago) so the tax dept collects significant amount.Laws are stricter there as all cashiers have to legally give you receipt of merchandise you purchase or they can be fined(owner is not charged)In an incident with my friend his employee refused to operate because his receipt printer was not working.

Plus instead of buying a property you can rent it with option to buy.

WOW I did not know that the tax authorities were that harsh in Poland... and here I thought the IRS was hardcore... So what you're telling me is that in the targ (aka bazaar) now the vendors have cash registers that are registered with the Tax Bureau? Wow.... that is insane! Is it the same for services? Like say if you get a haircut, take your car for a tune-up, etc.?

I did ask my friend about the whole shipping thing - he will usually send it in a package with clothes like say jeans, t shirt, and like a box of chocolate and the watch will be in the pocket or something. Sometimes it is shipped in parts so like the bracelet will be in 1 package and the mechanism in the other. He did have his package held by customs one time and had to pay the VAT plus a fine. He said that lately business has been extremely slow since the Zloty to Dollar rate make imported products, especially US ones, very very expensive. But yeah, for the most part it's been pretty easy for him to just ship the package as present of clothes for a friend with the watch inside. He stated he does take a risk though by not insuring the package but he has not had any issues with confiscation yet. Also, sometimes he will pay someone to fly to Poland or go himself with the watches but with this he'll usually have them take 2-3.

I'd also like to add when I flew to Poland recently the price was VERY cheap. Last time I flew in the summer I believe the tickets themselves $1800 for a round trip from Chicago to Warsaw to Wroclaw. This time I paid $1,650 for roundtrip PLUS 10 nights at a 4 star hotel in Wroclaw. I couldn't believe how cheap it was.

Yes if I did move to Poland I would definitely rent at first. I really want to leave the US for a while, perhaps even permanently and add some international work experience to my resume. I have a bachelor's with a dual major in International Business and Marketing but most of the jobs I've had since graduating were all sales. It's mainly because I could make much more money as a salesperson than say like a marketing associate or whatever. I don't necessarily enjoy it but weirdly enough I am good at it. I'm not going to make money although I want to make enough to live on and perhaps save some. It'd be more for experience and adventure and also to add something unique to my resume. Of course, having a good salary doesn't hurt but it's not a requirement.

If I did move to Poland I'd have to most likely continue in sales as it looks like I wouldn't earn nearly as much money teaching English. I think it would be rather difficult to live on a teacher's salary in Poland. I have looked into teaching in other countries though - mainly S. Korea, China, Japan, and Kazakhstan. Surprisingly, there's a group of elite schools in Kazakhstan and they actually pay English teachers the most out of this group - $80k USD annually with 10% income tax. The jobs in S. Korea were very attractive and it seems as long as you're a native speaker, have a 4 year degree, and a TOEFL certificate you're good. Although the average salaries are higher in countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, etc. I don't think I'd like living there very much. I have considered teaching English in Germany or working in another profession especially if the job was close to the Polish border although with all the changes in Germany I wouldn't want to go there anymore. Czech Republic is still an option. Prague is actually my favorite city in Europe. I absolutely love it! If I could find a job in Poland that even paid $30k a year I'd move right away but it's been a challenge finding a job that pays this let alone getting an interview and offer.

On another note, I did get a job offer from a large Polish fraternal organization/insurance company with their hq in Chicago and I am considering taking it. They are in 35 states in the US and have a lot of contacts in D.C. as well as Poland. They frequently have dinners, galas, dances, etc. If I accept this job I know I'll be able to make a lot of contacts in high places, especially within the PiS government as they are very friendly with this organization, and that could perhaps open some doors to good jobs in Poland.

Yes, meat was considered deficit good in communist times and those who produced it were quite well-off.

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  Empty butcher`s
  
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  Meat ration card
  

Yes, being on friendly terms with PiS is crucial to get a good job now, especially in state enterprises - PiS hotshots promote their close and distant relatives and mates onto VIP positions they could only dream of years ago.

Nope, in Warsaw they offered me just 600 Euro a month! I made 1300 Euro in Bratislava. Go to Bratislava or Plzeň.

Yes, but it was toy money from a board game. You are naive like a child.

No both salaries are from multinational companies.

Exactly! And the board game is called Millionaires. I also played it many times.

Oh Mr British teacher is again at it. Poland is the worst country of the Vishehrad group to live.

Of course not. Poland is the best coz in other countries you can die very easily.


yes, I am a proud British English teacher. But it has nothing to do with the subject matter here.

95% of Poland's flat as a pancake and they have the worst air pollution, climate and food out of the 4 Visehrad countries.

Prove it, liar! :):)


Prove it, liar! :):)

^See the map!
Even Germany & Czechia have more hills.
As for food Treska, brunzove halušky, goulash, paprikash, Marlenka cake are tastier than any Polish equivalent.

Yes, I did, and I see that you are a liar! haha


Of course not. They are certainly tasty but not tastier. Ha!

Maybe because you were worth only that much to them cuz there standards are way higher then in Slovakia,ever thought of that?

Or maybe Poland's just less developed and more rural than Slovakia and CR. It's like a backwater.

Maybe....so what ? Do you have a point or you are being an a-hole!


I doubt that, they offered you 1800 ZL per month. Which really not that much for W-w.
Wouldn't that be even a minimum wage? You must have dazzled them with your skills lol!

Of course, that`s logical coz there is more arable land in Poland, isn`t there?

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Poland - 62% arable land
Slovakia - 33%.

And yet it's the defacto head of Visegrad...


Those countries also have a much smaller population. Slovakia has always been poorer than Czechia, even when they were Czechoslovakia. It's like East and West Germany. The economic disparity exists till today.

And actually, if you go to Poland's cities you'll find plenty of well to do people especially in places like Wroclaw, Warsaw, etc. There's as many new expensive cars per capita as even in the USA or a Western country. And property values have soared - there's tons of houses selling for 250, 500, 1mln Euro and up - and Polish people are buying them.

This isn't 1990's Poland where people made a few bucks a day and everything was cheap. Poland is just as modern and developed as its western neighbors. Yes, the average salaries are lower but the cost of living is also lower. And actually Poland's average incomes are now higher or on par with countries like Greece, Portugal, Spain, etc. The economy as a whole has a higher nominal GDP than many other western EU countries like Belgium, Sweden, Spain, Netherlands, Switzerland, etc..