Expats in Poland
Dec 29th 2015, 2:28 pm
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2015
Location: Warwickshire
Posts: 120
Expats in Poland
I have a job offer for customer service in Lodz. They asked me what salary I'm expecting and they said the average salary is 3500 zloty per month in Poland, so I'm thinking of asking for 4500 as I'm having to move country.
Would 3500 be enough for a single person to live in Lodz with a rented flat, food/drinks and some left over for going out/clothes shopping etc?
Also I have a long-term illness (colitis) - is prescription medicine expensive/free in Poland?
I would appreciate anyone's help/experience!
Thanks!
Would 3500 be enough for a single person to live in Lodz with a rented flat, food/drinks and some left over for going out/clothes shopping etc?
Also I have a long-term illness (colitis) - is prescription medicine expensive/free in Poland?
I would appreciate anyone's help/experience!
Thanks!
Last edited by mah88; Dec 29th 2015 at 2:31 pm. Reason: missed detail
Jan 5th 2016, 8:22 pm
#2
Just Joined
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 3
Re: Expats in Poland
I'm Polish and I used to live in Canada and the UK for 15 years. Back to Poland since 2013. I can try to help based on my personal experience. 4500 before taxes (unless its after taxes) will give you about 3200 zlotys on hand.
It will be quite a challenge for you to make ends meet. Small apartment (40 -50 sq m) will cost you a min 1500 to 2000 to rent. Maintenance will eat up 300-350. You can get older apartments for 1200-1300 plus maintenance.
That will give you about 1200-1500 of available money to spent on living costs. Food is not expensive if you buy in discount stores like Lidl or Biedronka but even with 1200 could be challenging. In my view you can consider moving here only if you get 9000-10000 zlotys before taxes (6500 on hand) but I understand it that the customer service job probably won't pay that much. I remember that financial advisors sugest that you should not spend more then 30% of your take-home salary on rental/home expenses. In my case it was 25% when I lived in Toronto,Canada but about 50% when in London, UK. That's why I happily moved back here and I spend about 27% on accomodation. It's quite comfortable living here and people are very friendly but you should ask for higher salary, look for a different job or have a partner who will share living expenses with you. My son got a decent job recently in the city of Lodz for an international company. He is moving from London to Poland in 2 weeks. Will earn 6500 (after taxes) as a manager, will spend 2000 on a decent flat (build in 2010) and will live there on his own for now or with a new partner starting June. I don't know what medicine you are after but when I visit my doctor most of the prescribed drugs are not refunded and they are not cheap either. Hope this helps. Are you in IT field by any chance ?
It will be quite a challenge for you to make ends meet. Small apartment (40 -50 sq m) will cost you a min 1500 to 2000 to rent. Maintenance will eat up 300-350. You can get older apartments for 1200-1300 plus maintenance.
That will give you about 1200-1500 of available money to spent on living costs. Food is not expensive if you buy in discount stores like Lidl or Biedronka but even with 1200 could be challenging. In my view you can consider moving here only if you get 9000-10000 zlotys before taxes (6500 on hand) but I understand it that the customer service job probably won't pay that much. I remember that financial advisors sugest that you should not spend more then 30% of your take-home salary on rental/home expenses. In my case it was 25% when I lived in Toronto,Canada but about 50% when in London, UK. That's why I happily moved back here and I spend about 27% on accomodation. It's quite comfortable living here and people are very friendly but you should ask for higher salary, look for a different job or have a partner who will share living expenses with you. My son got a decent job recently in the city of Lodz for an international company. He is moving from London to Poland in 2 weeks. Will earn 6500 (after taxes) as a manager, will spend 2000 on a decent flat (build in 2010) and will live there on his own for now or with a new partner starting June. I don't know what medicine you are after but when I visit my doctor most of the prescribed drugs are not refunded and they are not cheap either. Hope this helps. Are you in IT field by any chance ?
Jan 6th 2016, 12:20 pm
#3
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2015
Location: Warwickshire
Posts: 120
Re: Expats in Poland
I'm Polish and I used to live in Canada and the UK for 15 years. Back to Poland since 2013. I can try to help based on my personal experience. 4500 before taxes (unless its after taxes) will give you about 3200 zlotys on hand.
It will be quite a challenge for you to make ends meet. Small apartment (40 -50 sq m) will cost you a min 1500 to 2000 to rent. Maintenance will eat up 300-350. You can get older apartments for 1200-1300 plus maintenance.
That will give you about 1200-1500 of available money to spent on living costs. Food is not expensive if you buy in discount stores like Lidl or Biedronka but even with 1200 could be challenging. In my view you can consider moving here only if you get 9000-10000 zlotys before taxes (6500 on hand) but I understand it that the customer service job probably won't pay that much. I remember that financial advisors sugest that you should not spend more then 30% of your take-home salary on rental/home expenses. In my case it was 25% when I lived in Toronto,Canada but about 50% when in London, UK. That's why I happily moved back here and I spend about 27% on accomodation. It's quite comfortable living here and people are very friendly but you should ask for higher salary, look for a different job or have a partner who will share living expenses with you. My son got a decent job recently in the city of Lodz for an international company. He is moving from London to Poland in 2 weeks. Will earn 6500 (after taxes) as a manager, will spend 2000 on a decent flat (build in 2010) and will live there on his own for now or with a new partner starting June. I don't know what medicine you are after but when I visit my doctor most of the prescribed drugs are not refunded and they are not cheap either. Hope this helps. Are you in IT field by any chance ?
It will be quite a challenge for you to make ends meet. Small apartment (40 -50 sq m) will cost you a min 1500 to 2000 to rent. Maintenance will eat up 300-350. You can get older apartments for 1200-1300 plus maintenance.
That will give you about 1200-1500 of available money to spent on living costs. Food is not expensive if you buy in discount stores like Lidl or Biedronka but even with 1200 could be challenging. In my view you can consider moving here only if you get 9000-10000 zlotys before taxes (6500 on hand) but I understand it that the customer service job probably won't pay that much. I remember that financial advisors sugest that you should not spend more then 30% of your take-home salary on rental/home expenses. In my case it was 25% when I lived in Toronto,Canada but about 50% when in London, UK. That's why I happily moved back here and I spend about 27% on accomodation. It's quite comfortable living here and people are very friendly but you should ask for higher salary, look for a different job or have a partner who will share living expenses with you. My son got a decent job recently in the city of Lodz for an international company. He is moving from London to Poland in 2 weeks. Will earn 6500 (after taxes) as a manager, will spend 2000 on a decent flat (build in 2010) and will live there on his own for now or with a new partner starting June. I don't know what medicine you are after but when I visit my doctor most of the prescribed drugs are not refunded and they are not cheap either. Hope this helps. Are you in IT field by any chance ?
Ahh and with the medicine I need for colitis it will make it even more expensive...
I'm not in IT, no. I'm in translation services. Why?
Jan 6th 2016, 6:33 pm
#4
Just Joined
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 3
Re: Expats in Poland
No worries, glad you found it helpful. Re IT there are number of IT business centers that moved their operations from Western Europe to here and they are looking for people with good foreign language skills. Companies like Nokia, IBM, European banks etc. - and they offer good salaries as well. Check this out : IBM - Employment - IBM Wrocław - Applying to the IBM Delivery Centre Poland in Wroclaw - Polska
