A predictable "Is my salary high enough post" - Krakow 13,500PLN GROSS Month

I have been offered a job paying between 13,500 (Gross) in Krakow and would expect to eventually negotiate 14,000-15,000.

My question, worse case scenario is 13,500 ok for a single guy in Krakow. I am english, so flights home are reasonably cheap. I've used this calculator to work out the net which is about 9.500 per month (calculla/salary_in_poland)

A little about my situation:

* I will be renting a small flat initially preferable Bronowice or somewhere similar, and then will buy a flat outright once I find the right area. So in reality after 6-12 months i'd have no mortgage of rent to pay

* I would like to run a small car as I'll be making weekend trips to Silesia
* I don't drink much

Yea, you'll be good on that.
Consider that the minimum wage in Poland is around 2000zl per month.

Cars are pretty cheap in Poland and insurance is very cheap when you compare it to the UK.

You might find it hard to get a mortgage though, usually you'd need 3 years of clean credit history.....unless though you get your mortgage from home. With, though awkward as a pig reversing is doable.

G'luck

Krakow is a great place.......except for the tourists and the insufferable smog that is. But, sure other than that it's cool. G'luck.

Hi Smurf. Thanks for the wishes. I won't need a mortgage. I have savings and should be able to buy a place outright if my research about what flats cost in Bronowice/Krowodrza is correct.

Good to hear I will be ok, but I was surprised about your post. I thought the average salary in Poland is 3.5k per month, however obviously that's Poland as a whole so would be interested to know what it currently is in Krakow.

Fair enough so, well done :)


COuld be, but the minimun is around 2000zl.
Depend on the area, where I live the average is more like 4500.

Numbeo is a pretty good website for comparing different cities:
numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=Poland&city=Krakow+(Cracow)

From my own experience, I came here 6 years ago and lived on around 2500zl a month, I didn't save feck all, but I was fine. That lasted about 2 years but since then it's the gravy :)

Hope you enjoy it........and don't forget; Winter is Coming :D

Haha yeah moving to PL for winter probably isn't the smartest move. Will be a test of me for sure.

Ah sure look, you can go skiing pretty close to Krakow and you'll have an excuse to drink hot wine.......avoid hot beer though, that sh!t is sick :D

You'll have a lovely Xmas market there too.
I'm sure you'll love it....I've not met a foreigner yet that hasn't loved Krakow.

That's not bad at all. It depends a lot on how old you are and what your expectations are.

You should be fine on that salary. Many professionals in Poland don't end up making that, even towards the end of their careers.

It's not bad for living in Poland.


I'd starve to death.

Merged:

Is 8300 PLN per month ( the net salary) enough to live in Krakow, Poland?

I am a Chinese, now I have an opportunity to work in Krakow. The NET salary per month is 8300 PLN. The company will rent a small apartment for me, so I don't need to pay for the rent. I will work as a software Project Manager of IT. Could you please tell me the salary is OK or not? I'm looking forward to your replay. Thanks.

Yes, that's more than enough to live on. Just for your information though, if you were a Polish national you would be getting around double that amount as a software project manager. So be aware that they're getting your services very cheaply. Just see as it as a way to get European experience on your CV if you don't already have any. Then you can look at moving on to better paid work in other European countries in the future.

I think I saw a reply to that post by Atch, but it has strangely gone away. She said that a Polish national could be paid twice as many for this kind of job.

Well I won't comment on if a Polish national would be being paid twice as much, because I don't know, but these questions about whether it is possible to live off x amount in Poland are hilarious.

8,300 per month and no rent to pay? Of course you can live off that in Krakow. The average wage in Poland is about 3,000 PLN per month as far as I know, and people on that wage have to live in Krakow too, and pay house costs, so yes, you are earning more than enough to be able to live a comfortable lifestyle.

I'm sorry, the previous thread has been joined to another thread and this Chinese dude who is so badly scared that 8300 PLN won't be enough for him to live in Kraków has just opened up yet another thread in which Atch has't replied yet.

@WielkiPolak
Firstly, Thanks for your reply.
I have never gone to foreign countries, so it's not strange to ask someone about this. If I don't know about the salary in Krakow, How can I ask for my salary?

I also searched Google for information about Krakow. For true information, I ask all of you in this forum for help. Wrong?

Merged:

Is it worth moving to Krakow with a gross pay of 21K per month?

Hello, my net income in India Pune is INR 1.85 lac per month. Is it worth moving to Krakow with a gross pay of 21K PLN? My kid is a 5th grader. Please advise me

21K PLN is a lof of money.

So is 1.85 lakh. With cost of living and cost of schooling for the child taken into account, he may be better off staying in India, at least as far as quality of life is concerned, especially the quality of life of his wife and child.


Probably not. Your chances for advancement are probably higher using India as a base than using Poland as a "foot in the door" to the richer countries of the EU. Living in Poland will probably not increase your chances of finding work in a richer country that is more receptive to Indians. As for staying in Poland long term, very few Indians do. By far the overwhelming majority either move west, legally or illegally, or return home within a few years at most.

Also, Poland has become a less attractive destination for Indians, and Indians have become less attractive employees to Polish companies over the last five years. This forum hardly ever gets questions like yours anymore, whereas five, ten years ago it got several a week. The golden age for Indian workers in Poland is long past.

On what do you base this opinion of yours?

@Ziemowit

The massive influx of Ukrainians, in the last five, six years for one. Ukrainians are less hassle to hire than Indians. And, of course, the practical disappearance of questions about jobs in Poland from Indians on this and other forums. And the added difficulty for Indians to get a work visa to Poland. 90% or more of the questions Indians ask on forums nowadays are directly related to the difficulty associated with getting a visa. It's really difficult for the to get even a appointment at the embassy. Companies are less motivated to help because they can always hire a Ukrainian instead.

Also, I suspect a good bit of the earlier employment of Indians in Poland was on the shady side, or at least not as promised, and it certainly spawned many, many employment and immigration scams. I think that Indians have caught on about that, too. And also to the fact that working in Poland doesn't really help get a job in the UK or other richer countries than staying in India would.

Don't know about that - I see more and more Indians, not just in Warsaw.

In any case this guy is obviously highly skilled to be getting that money so not sure you would find anyone with the same skills at a loose end on the streets of Vinnitsa or Donetsk. 20k a month is easily enough to look after a family and still save plenty.

I also see them more and more in Warsaw.


The question is: how much is


?

A little more than 10,000 PLN. Twice as much pay sounds great, until you realize that the cost of living for an Indian expat with wife and school age kid in Poland are going to be a lot more than twice the cost of living for an Indian native living in India. It's also going to be a good bit more than for a native Pole with a wife and school are kid living in Poland.

Things to take into account:

Expenses related to travel and relocation. Not only tickets, but visas, days of from work to travel to embassies, etc, all add up. If he stays in India, this expense is, of course, zero. Depends on whether he gets a relocation bonus or not, and how generous it is.

Loss of home court advantage. A Pole can live a lot cheaper in Poland than an foreigner, who doesn't speak the language, know how the "system" works, or have a network of family and friends.

Tuition for the child. That's going to cost a whole heap. ISK costs 60,000 PLN a year. That's 5000 PLN a month, each and every month of the year. He might opt for something cheaper, but that would probably represent a huge drop in quality compared to what he is currently getting in India. That drop in value has to be figured in as a cost.

Travel back home. Going to visit the folks and the in-laws will cost a LOT more than it would had he stayed in India. A funeral or wedding or two can wipe out any savings.

Keeping the wife occupied. In India, she has friends of her own ethnic/language/social group who she can socialize with. It's going to be hard if not impossible for her to find anyone in Poland. He will have to keep her occupied somehow from going stir crazy, and that's going to cost something.

Job networking. It's tempting to think that, being in Poland, an Indian would find it easier to break into the job market of the richer Western countries. It's probably harder, though, because back home, he has, or should have, an extensive network of colleagues who have worked in the West or even are working there right now. Poland doesn't make as much sense as a "stepping stone".

Infact they have decreased as there was a influx.You see them more cuz now they are becoming prominent in main stream.Before Uber eats was the main work now they are spreading in Micky Dees,burger King, and carrfourr etc & restaurant kitchens.I met couple of Indian girls driving cabs like Free now & I taxi.MPT and other cabs cost 45 Pln to airprot whereas those cabs cost 20 Pln from centrum(lol without tip as I dont tip but give good reviews,even if the car smells of incense/curry paying by card).I know a Indian and Polish guy who made millions importing them in thousands as workers esp from Bangladesh.

I also found out that Polish employers are done with Ukranians as they change so often,whereas Southeast asians pay to come and stick to there work.

Of course she will make new friendships with native Indian females who reside in the same Polish city. She will easily find them online. E.g., indiancommunityofpoland.org/english

Indian women do not socialize with other Indian women unless they are of the same or compatible language/social/economic/cultural/relgious background. Caste is very important. So the pool of compatible native women in Poland who she can befriend is very limited, and maybe even zero.

Hmm, I know about caste divisions in India but I thought emigrants drop that silliness when abroad. If they don`t, then you are right - the pool is limited if there are about 3000 different castes. But saying zero is a bit farfetched. Never lose hope! :):)

Some do, most don't. Especially married women don't.

It's not only caste. The other factors I listed are also very divisive: language, ethnicity, religion, economic status, and other cultural factors. Much more so than in other countries. India is by far the most stratified and segmented society in the world.

How about political factors? If I went abroad for a long time and had to contact Poles who, e.g, were fanatic PiS supporters, I would do anything to stay away from them. Do Indians also have such problems?

Genetic research has recently found that the caste system in India is very old and goes back as far as four thousands years back in history, if I remember correctly. Dismantling a system that has survived for so long would not be an easy task, if anything. In addition, it has been considerably strenghten by the British rule in India.

An even older caste system has survived in Ethiopia.

It's a good salary