Moving to Poland to work at a company (Warsaw or Lodz). Average expense per month?

Hello,

I am moving to Poland in the month of January. I will be moving for an year or so. I am a bachelor so will be settling in probably a single bedroom apartment.

My company currently wants me to stay in Warsaw but they might later move me to Lodz.
I am a vegetarians (i.e. no egg, no meat, no seafood) - no vegetarians bashing please :) I am happy the way I am
I do not know Polish language

Could you please let me know what is the average expense for a month ?
Thanks in advance for your replies

Regards,
Paritosh

Average expense per person in a month in Poland (children included) is 804 zł (2011). In £ódź perhaps 1/3 more, because it's a big city, in Warsaw perhaps 1/2 - 1 more.

Hello Paritosh,

Average expenses for renting a flat You can find here gumtree.pl/fp-domy-i-mieszkania-do-wynajecia/warszawa/c9008l3200008

I'm not a vegetarian, but i had to do some shopping today and for full bag of chives,parsley,leeks,cucumbers, potatoes, carrots, lettuce, radishes here i paid 21PLN, so its around 5€

Best regards from Lodz :)

Apartment 30sqm 1000zl-2000zl depending on location and age.
Bills 600zl-1000zl
Phone 50zl-150zl
Food monthly 400zl - 800zl
Transport 100zl to 200zl
Those are the basics. So from a minimum of 2150 zl per month. Unless you are getting 5000zl netto per month from your employers. Think again.

I agree. If you are not bringing in at least 5000 PLN a month net, there is little incentive to move to Warsaw, unless you are satisfied with the idea of slumming it for a year to get work experience, for example. As a working foreigner who doesn't speak Polish, you are probably going to find it impossible to survive on less than 3000 PLN net, and at that level, life will be spartan, uncertain and joyless. You will not be able to save up any money to have a rainy day fund to fall back on should you fall ill.

I have a (graduate) friend who works a major city for a Global company using English as their workday language and gets 2300zl netto.

Mortgage 900zl
ground Rent 400zl
Bills 400zl
Phone 100zl
Petrol 400zl
food 400zl
so that is 2600zl a month in outgoings. 300zl more than their earnings.
They supplement their wages by giving private lessons.

Rent, bills are usually 25% of one's income sometimes much more...

sorry guys but when i take a look on posts with numbers like 5000, 3000... it makes me mad... most of Poles does not make it, most of them live for 1600PLN gross (~1100 net)... somehow they survive and carry on with children... stakes like 5k or 3k are only for corporational workers

So his or their?


According to statistics most earns around 2000 zł gross and 50% earn more than 2900 zł (in 2010)

Michalek: could you please tell us what the minimum wage in Poland is? Thanks.

Are these figures reliable (sorry, did not find one in English)?

wynagrodzenia.pl/moja_placa.php

Right now it is 1600 and is about to grow to 1680 next year


Yes, somehow they are, but this page is just making surveys, so some may lie... people dont want to talk about their earnings... and especialy in surveys they always increase their incomes.

Such is the reality of most of Europe, which is a two earner society.

So michalek, you want us to believe that most Poles earn legal minimum wage? Really?

No no, You get me wrong. I said about situation that i see everyday...
I work in a factory so i know all the people who are called "blue-collar-workers", and they complain about their wages in the smoking room. Everyone gets the minimum, and if the factory has 1000 of them it means for me that the randomly selected person gets 1600gross. Trust me, this is sad reality :(

Thank you for all of your comments
I will be getting some thing around 5000-5500zl
so i guess people who mentioned that expense can shoot up to 5000 zl , i guess i could save very less than :(

What i got to know by some research is
Rent - 1500 - 2000 zl which includes all sorts of bills (electricity, water and other )
Food item - 600-800 zl
Travel - 200 zl
Other expenses - 300 zl

That sums up to around 3000 -3500 zl

Please let know if this is correct calculations

Regards,
Paritosh

Is it net? Lodz has much cheaper rents comparing to Warsaw (40% cheaper), so if you can move there and keep the same salary, then you will save more.

this salary is minus taxes, if that is what you are aking

that means You're the master of something :) im just R&D engineer and im getting less than half of it ;P

Hehe , I wont say master
but I am a SAP consultant , so I guess it is like that , I am not sure, though

That's approximately correct for Warsaw. Note that this is for a pretty basic, frugal existence. With practically all meals cooked from scratch at home and few, if any, modest frills. To make it worthwhile moving, you should be earning about 1000 to 2000 PLN a month more, net, so that you are able to save money and have a rainy day fund. Also, during the first month, you are going to need an additional 1000 PLN or so to buy things for your kitchen and apartment, depending on how well it is furnished, and don't forget that you will have to pay for your residence permit, unless your employer does so. The same with health insurance, which you failed to itemize. That would put your minimum earnings at about 4500 to 5500 PLN per month NET, or 6000 to 7500 PLN GROSS. If you're not getting that, there is no point in coming to Poland.

I know very important transaction called LS24 to check the stock on the warehouse :D

Hello Dominic

My Medical insurance is also provided by the company , so i guess that expense i can remove
But I understand what you are implying here
I think I will be able to cook for myself 4 -5 times a week
so I can save a lot there
Can you give me some more information regarding rent agreement and other formalities?

michaelk

you are just one step away from becoming an SAP consultant yourself... ;)

Paritosh

It would be best to leave finding an apartment for you to your Polish colleagues. Finding an apartment on your own, with no knowledge of the city or the local language, is going to be quite a daunting task. Otehrwise, going through a real estate agency is probably going to be more practical than looking on your own, though that will cost you about one month's rent. Also, I forgot to mention that, the first month, you are going to have to pay about one month's rent as a security deposit, so add another 1500 to 2000 PLN to your first month's budget.


In that case, budget about 1000 PLN a month for food, considering you will be eating out two or three times a week. Yes, cooking at home from scratch saves a lot of money, though it can be time consuming, and least until you learn how to organize your time in the kitchen effectively.

Average rents in Warsaw:
35-50 m2: - 2196 zł
50-75 m2: - 2676 zł
more than 75 m2 - 4919 zł.

Do you know this website?

And as a SAP consultant you can negotiate 50% - 100% higher salary after few years of experience in Warsaw.

I don't want to identify their gender. internet can be a small world.

I think since I will be alone there so I guess will have some time to cook.

Also, you are right , I will ask my Polish colleagues to help me with the house or will post an ad here itself, so if owner may respond and provide me the apartment for rent


Thanks for the website, it kind of sums up all the things - necessities.
I need to plan as to how much I will spend

minus car cost and accommodation the rule of thumb is 100 zl per day living expenses. I have my own flat keep in mind water electricity and rent fees this might add up to 2000zl a month, have 5000zl a month for basic living

Ohh so you mean to suggest that my 5000zl will be spent for sure , any how :(
That is not a good news on the perspective of doing some saving

If you live VERY frugally, with VERY modest accommodations, with 5000 PLN net a month you could theoretically save up to about 1500 to 2000 PLN a month. That means you had better like potatoes and cabbage. You're probably going to grow rather weary of that type of monotonous lifestyle very quickly, and reduce your level of spending to increase your level of comfort. At best, you'll be putting just enough aside to provide a very modest rainy-day fund, that will cover, at most, a month-long illness, for example. You will certainly not be able to do any serious saving. Don't forget that during the first month or two, you won't be able to do any savings at all, and will probably have to rely on the money you bring with you to pay for your apartment deposit, residence permit and supplies for your apartment. So look at a realistic figure of saving up at most 10,000 PLN (about 2,500 Euro or $3,300) by the end of the first year, and probably somewhat less. I would make my plans on the basis that you would save up half that amount, or about 5,000 PLN. That's only one months wages. Not very impressive.

If you're coming to Poland to earn enough money to save up a substantial amount, forget about it. That isn't going to happen, even if you do live like a monk on a diet and live in a cave.

I don't know how you do your calculations, just a point if the gentleman purchased a car this would put a different light of expenses. I know that you would need around 5000zl a month to enjoy a average lifestyle, if you content with basic food and watch tv all day it is much less. I know many will say that that the average wage in warsaw is 3000zl, the fact is most poles don't go out and don't spend much on clothes and good food.