Living in Poland with income from the US.

What IS the 'world view' of a Pole. Now asking just ONE Pole is silly, but one may get a bit of an idea from asking just one. And that is what I want. I know so little of the place where half of my family came from. On Ancestry.com, my father's side were signers of the Declaration of Independence. And they bred like rabbits. I have pages and pages of my father's ancestors. But on my Mother's side, my Polish side, I have only one possible cousin from Pennsylvania--and her search for her Polish relatives stops at the shores of the United States. The records are poorly kept. Names changed at Ellis Island.

Is there a Polish source for finding one's relatives/ancestors?

I am just talking pure living expenses. Taxes, savings, travel, ect...would be in addition to that.


The main motivation is cost of living. She is German but was born and grown in the US, so her ties to Germany outside of having relatives there aren't that strong. And there would be not cost of living advantage to Germany vs. USA. We like the idea of living in Poland on a (very modest) US salary, like we did South America for many years.


I appreciate this link. Any other good sites for finding rentals?

I have been searching on otodom as well.

I really appreciate the info on costs, differences on cities, ect. I can't quote it all here but it's all very helpful.

Hey there Buckeye. Here are some more listings for you:

gumtree.pl/s-mieszkania-i-domy-do-wynajecia/poznan/v1c9008l3200366p1

Bascially if you just google 'nieruchomosci' you'll get plenty of sites to explore.

Also if you take a look at the website 'numbeo' it's pretty accurate in terms of living costs. To sum it up, yes the two of you could live for 4,000zl a month. That would cover your rent, bills, public transport and food. But you want to get some enjoyment from life so allow yourself another 1,000 if you have it to spare so that you don't have to watch every penny all the time. That gets very depressing. Factor in extra for clothes, shoes, dental and medical expenses which are also necessities though obviously not monthly. Then budget for the occasional unexpected expense. For example your computer graphics card fails, or your speakers blow and need to be replaced. Add the odd treat on to that and total it all up divided by the 12 months of the year and you're looking at nearer to 6,000 per month.

You do need to understand though that Poland is in Europe, not South America and prices frequently reflect that. Many things cost as much as they do elsewhere in Europe and sometimes are even more expensive.

Hey Atch! Thanks for those site suggestions. I love numbeo and that's been a starting point for our research. I love budgets and tracking numbers, so I use a program called Mint to track and categorize all of our spending. I was able to plug those numbers into numbeo (they have a cost of living comparison tool) and use that to build theoretical budgets for various cites around Europe. It's all coming right in line with what everyone is saying here. It's nice to have some confirmation.

South America was probably an extreme version of what you are saying. Rent, food, transport, ect where all cheap cheap. I could live off of a few hundred a month if I wanted. But computers, the rare fast food place, cars, ect, were 3, 4, 5 or more times the cost of the US. A used car from the 80's would cost $3k or more USD. A cheapo computer over $1K. Gas $5-8USD/gallon. But my rent was $50US a month. A weeks groceries $20USD. Funny place that.

That's because in the country where you lived they're for the elite, not for the average person.

You might be interested in seeing how much you would need to spend in Poland if you wanted to buy a new laptop for example:

mediamarkt.pl/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw-o_bBRCOARIsAM5NbIM3A-EooUzFIJvW6Im7MS8L9-k8aLdlYAXYZ0tpSNvSawSa0JB-_d4aAi-0EALw_wcB

Mediamarkt is a big outlet with your average, bog standard electrical goods so it's a good example of a place where Mr and Ms Average do their shopping.

Atch is right... then again you'll pay a fat premium on most imports especially from the us. That's why the jeep Cherokees are considred baller cars as they cost 100k. But hopefully Trump will soon change that...

But as eith Guyana food rent public trans etc is cheaper. Although there's still quite a few restaurants that charge similar to us prices even in the market you won't end up paying like 30 40 50 bucks for a steak. At a nice restaurant you'll spend maybe 10 to 20 a person depending what you order. And there's also places where you can grab a good meal for even 3 4 5 bucks

Also speaking of imports, a good way to make some side money is exporting small amounts of high end goods to Poland... gold especially, watches, golf clubs, certain clothing brands etc

As the market of luxury goods in Poland is growing, prices are adjusted to prices in other European countries. This works both ways, however, because also basic goods adjust their prices, becoming more and more expensive. In a word, living in Poland with income from the United States is in the meantime not so different from living in other countries.

You mean the brand names?They are still way expensive than in the US.Levis jeans for over 100 bucks,Tommy,R L Polo shirts for 125$,Addidas,Nike shoes etc are priced 3 times.Even the I phones are 50% more forget computer prices ,then here.Income wise Poland and in fact whole Europe is way behind.My Godson as an Engineer with 10 yr exp,looked at jobs in the EU but they pay 30 to 50% less with more tax, In US he makes 175k and in the EU he was offered max 110k.Rents and cost of living is also way higher in the EU with small flats.

Saw half price at Van Graaf today.

Still expensive Levi's in 20$ regular price here

And how much do Boss or Armani pants cost. They are under 100€ in Europe.

I Dont know,I am a cheap guy as per my family and I do try to cut corners,That is why I love cheap high life in Poland:)lol my wife hates it when I pick cheap tomatoes off the lot:)

I understand, but at least there are no more illegally counterfeit luxury products in Poland, which are plentiful in Turkey or even in Italy.

LOL thats why I miss stadion,lol 100Pln Rolex lol,Monte Blanc pens,belts for100Pln lol and good cheap russian/Ukrainian food.I bought a fake VERTU cell for 250$ which still works with a sim.