Salary & cost of living in Warsaw, Poland

Hi All,

I have been offered 8000pln gross per month in Warsaw. I'm planning to move from India. Is it sufficient for a family of 3 adults & 1 infant? Currently I'm earning 120,000 INR per month net in India.

We would need a decent 1 bed flat in centre & a good lifestyle.

Please suggest.

@Jaz

That's barely enough for a couple, and even then it wouldn't be easy, For three adults and a child, it would be impossible, even if all you ate was rice. You would need more than double what you are making.

@Jaz

With gross salary 8000PLN
You will get net salary 5639.91 PLN. x 18.20 = 1,02,646.36 INR
* Gross/net salary calculator : zarobki.pracuj.pl/kalkulator-wynagrodzen?Salary=8000&SalaryType=2
* Exchange rate 1pnl = 18.20 INR.

To my knowledge Cost of living in Poland is cheaper than most other European countries, but not cheaper than India.That doesn't mean that you couldn't save some. But I think, if you save properly in India. you could atleast save 50,000 INR + per month in India. While you surely have to struggle a little bit more to save same amount in Poland with Gross Salary of 8000PLN.

Instead, I think you can easily afford Europe tour with 120000 INR per month income.
Chill, Relax, ghumo, ghumao, kyu bekar ki tention mai padneka?

Nevertheless, you can bargain the more salary.

Cheers

On that little money, you couldn't save a penny, not even for a tiny rainy day fund, no matter how much you struggled. Just putting food on the table will be a struggle.

@DominicB

Jaz is an Indian. He/She knows how to save. For your information, getting 120000 INR per month in India is for those only who have potentiality. Its not a cup of tea for everyone.

@DominicB
I think I have said this...
"That doesn't mean that you couldn't save some. But I think, if you save properly in India. you could atleast save 50,000 INR + per month in India. While you surely have to struggle a little bit more to save same amount in Poland with Gross Salary of 8000PLN."

not
"That doesn't mean that you couldn't save some." Only!!

Do you believe that if a third world (so called) person (in labor category) gets 2500 PNL. Then he/she will save atleast 1000 PLN per month.

You may wonder how? But I shall only tell you at the moment that, this is a very sacred art that is perfected by years and years of dedication. And this doesn't mean that he will be living rat life in Poland.

Chill. Cheers.! :)

@NabaP

The OP is an Indian. Indians know how to save money.... in India. They have no clue how to save money in Poland. They do not speak the language, and they have no network of friends and family. Life will be much more expensive for them than for a Polish family, especially in Warsaw. There will be zero savings.

Also, unlike a Polish family, they have to pay for their relocation to Poland and residence permits, and that has to come out of their wages.

So no, supporting three foreign adults and a child on 8000 PLN a month is not possible.

No. They would not be able to save anything at all, no matter how frugally they lived. You are forgetting about the costs associated with relocation that have to be deducted from the wages.

The average wage for a young family in Warsaw would now be above 8000 - both partners might earn 5000. In this case with his wife unable to work Dom is right and it would be a struggle to have even 500 zloty left at month end.

@DominicB

OK.
I have some questions.
Just after getting approval/ permit to work/ invitation from voivode, the candidates have to apply for National Visa.
When they arrive to Poland, what documents or procedure they have to fulfill?
Do they have to legalize their stay further or have to apply for Temporary resident permit?? Or does the work permit from voivode office is OK to stay and work?

and the beauty of migrating from one country to another is to learn. Not only person from India, but if You also migrate to India or in other cases, you will surely learn the language in some time. You don't have to be professor level expert. Till then you will have your job to take care of you.

Yes, 8000PNL in Poland is not so much enough compared to 120000 INR. But Jaz can consider requesting salary hike.!

No matter how much they struggle, even 500 PLN a month is way beyond their reach. Again, they have to pay off their total travel and relocation costs, and that is going to be somewhere around 1500 PLN a month alone if amortized over twelve months.

appreciate all the responses.

One more question -

What would be the hike (%) year on year in Poland ?

@Jaz

You can count on zero percent. They have little incentive to give you a raise at all. At those wages, you would be basically stuck working for them even without a raise, and they know that. You would be trapped with no way to get out.

How are the job opportunities for hotel industry candidate in Poland who can speak English?

@DominicB

Also, forget about any ideas that the other two adults will ever find work in Poland. That is not going to happen. And life for them will be like being in jail. They are not going to be able to do anything but sit at home and stare at the wall.

Your plan is completely unrealistic. Like I said, you would need twice or more than what you would be earning to make it even worth considering.

Temporary work and residence permit is issued by the Polish embassy in your home country based on the letter from wojewoda. Once you arrive to Poland, you only need to register your place of residence.

Very few Indians who come to Poland even bother learning the basics of the language. It would be a waste of time. Practically none of them have any intention of staying in Poland for long. The goal is to get into the richer countries in the West, particularly the UK. Legally if possible, and illegally if not. Even learning the basics of the language would take longer than they intend to stay.

@ dovla

You have said that "Temporary work and residence permit" is issued by the Polish embassy.
Once you arrive to Poland, you only need to register your place of residence.

This means after registering your place of residence, wojewoda will issue a identity card so that the employee don't have to carry passport all the time. Am I correct?

@ DominicB
Its a very complicated situation. There is always a loopholes in the system. It's said you can't do that legally, but the loopholes shows how can you do that legally or if not illegally.

However, May I know what is the situation of Human Trafficking in Poland? Like, employers not paying their employee what is promised to pay in employment contract, holding employee's passport, not providing minimum good working conditions, forcing employer to do extra overtime (more than the law of Poland) and not paying accordingly (especially for the employee who will be working under PLN 6000 gross)?

Who is the governing department to solve all these matters? Voivodeship office or does Poland has other specific department?

Unfortunately, it does happen, particularly for unskilled workers. There is absolutely no demand for unskilled workers from outside of the EU or the Ukraine in Poland, so if you see that type of work advertised, be very skeptical. If an "agent", "consultant" or "recruiter" is promising you a job that does not require a degree and experience in IT or finance/accounting, chances are that the job is not legitimate.

Run if any "agent", "consultant" or "recruiter" asks you to pay a fee to find you work or get you a visa. These are always criminals.

There are a lot of scams that prey on desperate, gullible and ignorant poor people from third world countries. The worst is when criminals tell job seekers that they will arrange to work for them in Europe. When they arrive, they are killed and their organs are harvested and sold on the black market.

If 2 other adult folks don't work then no way.

From India? Essentially zero. Your dependents would not be able to work in Poland, so forget about that.

Maybe. Did they collect your fingerprints in the embassy? If yes, it is likely that you will get the plastic residence card after you take the address registration to the urzad wojewodski. It may however happen that you only get a sticker in your passport and no plastic card. In that case you may apply for the card at urzad wojewodski after you arrive to Poland. It is not a mandatory document, you can get by without it. I had only a passport sticker during my first year in Poland and, no, I didn't carry my passport around unless I had a reason.

@NabaP
How much minimum I would need to live good life for 3 adults & 1 infant?

Let's break down the costs.

First is your total travel and relocation expenses: airline tickets, visas, residence permits, shipping and all other travel and relocation related expenses. Spread that out over your first years income, and that comes to 1500 to 2000 PLN a month right there, just so that the four of you can be in Poland.

A two-bedroom apartment is going to cost from 2700 to 3200 PLN a month, all inclusive except for TV/Phone/Internet, which will cost from 100 to 200 PLN a month extra.

Transit tickets for three adults will be around 300 a month.

Food and regular household supplies for three adults and a baby is going to cost from 1500 to 2500 a month. Less if you cook all meals at home from scratch using cheap local ingredients in season, more if you eat away from home. eat beef or lamb, or cook with more expensive foreigner ingredients or produce out of season. Baby food and baby formula are rather expensive.

You'll need to budget about 500 PLN a month for occasional expenses like furniture, bedclothes, clothing and the like.

And you'll have to budget about 1000 PLN a month for entertainment, recreation, hobbies and babysitting. The two non-working individuals will need some diversion from sitting at home all day and taking care of the kid. Otherwise, they are going to go stir-crazy, especially in winter.

So you're looking at at least 12,000 PLN a month gross right there, and that's without any saving or return trips to India. To live a good life, meaning with modest savings, you will need at least 18,000 PLN a month. More if you expect to take trips back to India.

Thanks for your detailed explanation

Merged:

Cost of living in Warsaw

Hi,

I am moving to PL from India. the cost of relocation like flights and visa/permit etc will be paid by the organization. I will be getting 14k gross and wife will get 6.7k gross

What is the cost of renting a 3 room or 2bhk apartment in Mokotow/Ochota/Ursynow? How does one usually rent? Is the tenant expected to pay commission to the middlemen usually?

How much is the cost of grocery considering vegetarian diet? Fruits/vegetables, lentils, rice etc? Are there Indian grocery stores and restaurants?

Is public transportation well developed and the cost? Are other curricular activities well developed like sports? Also would be good to be get an estimate to the potential savings I can hope to make. I will calculate the cost of annual trip to India separately. Is travel costly to other parts of EU? I think Eastern region is usually much cheaper than Western ones like France/Germany.

There are lots of threads on this forum with answers to all of your questions. Use the search function. (merged)

Hi,
I have been offered 12000 PLN per month in poland , initially i would be alone without family.
How much can i save? and what would be per month expenses there?

Regards
-Satya

Hey! I have been offered an internship in Warsaw for six weeks. The internship covers my accomodation and one meal a day. Assuming I will have to spend on some entertainment, one meal and travel for six weeks, how much money should I assume would be sufficient?

You could survive on 100 zloty a day. Live comfortably on 150