Standards of Living in Poland

♂

Edited by: MareGaea Apr 19, 10, 15:00 #1

Well, life is strange, sometimes: I didn't apply, but some head hunters got wind of the fact that I am about to switch jobs. Anyway, I actually got a job offered in Poland! Yes! Never thought I'd see the day this would happen :) It's supposed to be in Szczecin and is meant to be building yet again a new call centre for a well known American company. Targeted income would be about 2100-2300 Euros (don't know how much that is in Zlotys, they only mentioned it in Euros) ex bonus and bens. I have a feeling though that I would go backwards salary wise, but I haven't decided yet. But just out of curiosity, I had a few questions:

- how much would I get to keep of this after tax? My contact says it would be somewhere around 1400-1500 Euros; is that correct?
- with what salary level in Western Europe would this be comparable?
- would this be enough to make a decent living in a city like Szczecin?
- how about insurances, like life insurance, health insurance and so on (these are very important to me!)
- how about communications? Will I be able to manage with my English, German and handful of Polish words, or do I need a full blown Polish course in order to merely survive?

I'm sure I have much more questions once the decision has been made whether I take this job or not, but for now, these are the basic questions that will help me form a decision (besides the obvious questions of do I want to live there and so on)

Any answers on these questions are appreciated. Thanks guys!

Edit: the mentioned salary is per month of course - before some jokers get the wrong idea ;)

>^..^<

M-G (miraculous ways)

♂ [Suspended]

Edited by: Sokrates Apr 19, 10, 15:10 #2

MareGaea:

- how much would I get to keep of this after tax? My contact says it would be somewhere around 1400-1500 Euros; is that correct?

1350-1400 Euro or 4500-4800 zł if you earn 1500 Euros.

MareGaea:

- with what salary level in Western Europe would this be comparable?

A 5000 Euro salary in Germany or 3500 Pounds in UK.

MareGaea:

- would this be enough to make a decent living in a city like Szczecin?

Its high enough to live comfortably (alone, and i know you dont have a girlfriend since you're a fag) anywhere in Poland.

MareGaea:

- how about communications? Will I be able to manage with my English, German and handful of Polish words, or do I need a full blown Polish course in order to merely survive?

You're in a sh*tter, unless you're working with a team thats fluent in english, also everyday life would be a bytch, in other words dont move here :))))

westminster 293	Apr 19, 10, 15:15 #3
MareGaea: I didn't apply, but some head hunters got wind of the fact that I am about to switch jobs. Mr MareGea. I thought that you were part of the music industry, not the call centre scene. What happened? surely you should be discussing this with your potential employers and not Polish Forums? What do you think?

♀

Apr 19, 10, 15:15 #4

MareGaea:

- how about communications? Will I be able to manage with my English, German and handful of Polish words, or do I need a full blown Polish course in order to merely survive?

hmmm....it all depends, but Szczecin is visited by many tourists, so I don't think that that should be a problem since you might find some who speak English , but not to a large degree. You need to ask yourself if you can live in a country where English is not the first language first.

Szczecin is a fairly nice city, close to Berlin, so if you need to get away you can always visit it on weekends - it is 1.5 hour away from Szczecin.

Sokrates:

1350-1400 Euro or 4500-4800 zł

not bad at all, as Sok said that would be enough to have a comfortable life including rent and all necessities.

♂

Apr 19, 10, 15:18 #5

MareGaea:

2100-2300 Euros

It's 3.9 to the Zloty, so 2100-2300 Euros would be 8190-8970 PLN, so yeah that's a very good wage here. The average wage is about 3500 gross or something (I don't know exactly now).

MareGaea:

1400-1500 Euros

5460-5850 PLN is enough to live a very comfortable life but it really depends on how you use money. I know people who come out with nothing after 8000 per month but that can be said for any country.

I don't know much about Szczecin, so I am not sure if I am qualified to answer questions about it.
Doing a Polish course is a good idea anyway.

MareGaea:

- how much would I get to keep of this after tax? My contact says it would be somewhere around 1400-1500 Euros; is that correct?

I'd have to check and I'll get back to you on this but it is about half.

Good luck on your new adventure, you probably know more than most, my advice is to go to Szczecin for a holiday and see if you like it.
And if you get to krakow you'll love it :)

♂

Edited by: MareGaea Apr 19, 10, 15:18 #6

Well, the team is gonna be fluent in English anyway as it's an American international company and English will be the business language. Also, since it's gonna be a dependance of the Warsaw centre, there's gonna be boys and girls from all over (Eastern-) Europe, so English would be necessary anyway. The majority of the hires would be Polish though and I am sure they will help me find my way around as long as I don't speak Polish decently. But I haven't received the operational blueprint yet, but it would mean employment for at least 125 locals.

So I could live comfortably off this salary. Good.

How are the insurances arranged in PL?

Thanks for the info, btw.

westminster 293:

I thought that you were part of the music industry, not the call centre scene.

Music is my hobby, I make a living building call centres. And actually I already work for this company, so there is no prob there.

>^..^<

M-G (tiens)

aphrodisiacThreads: 22 Posts: 3,998 Joined: Apr 15, 09 ♀	Apr 19, 10, 15:25 #7
SeanBM: my advice is to go to Szczecin for a holiday and see if you like it. good idea, this way you will get a feel of the city.

♂

Edited by: MareGaea Apr 19, 10, 15:27 #8

Indeed a good idea, I have some days left anyway. But it has to wait until the planes start flying again...And right now that doesn't look too good as they have found glass in some engines of militairy planes, due to the ash of the angry volcano.

SeanBM:

5460-5850 PLN is enough to live a very comfortable life but it really depends on how you use money. I know people who come out with nothing after 8000 per month but that can be said for any country.

Well, I'm at an age in which you don't hang out in nightclubs every freaking weekend anymore :) Besides, I'm pretty good with money, so I don't think that will be a problem.

>^..^<

M-G (thanks again)

westminster 293	Apr 19, 10, 15:27 #9
MareGaea: American international company and English will be the business language. Well theres a shock! An American call centre where everyone speaks Swailli! Come one MareGea you did not have a job offer you have just made it up, come clean!

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08 ♂	Edited by: SeanBM Apr 19, 10, 15:28 #10
aphrodisiac: good idea, this way you will get a feel of the city. It looks very pretty. Use the search thingy on this site too e.g. Anyone living in Szczecin?

♂

Apr 19, 10, 15:33 #11

westminster 293:

Come one MareGea you did not have a job offer you have just made it up, come clean!

If you have nothing to vent besides jealousy, I'd rather have you didn't participate in this thread. I have built up a very good reputation in this industry and if you have, yes, it happens that you get offers like this.

Indeed, Sean, it looks very prettty, yes. I will have a look at that search thingie...

>^..^<

M-G (tiens)

lowfunk99Threads: 18 Posts: 435 Joined: Jan 7, 08 ♂	Apr 19, 10, 15:35 #12
Its supposed to be a nice city. One person I know said it was dirty but everyone else really liked it.

southernThreads: 116 Posts: 10,955 Joined: May 17, 07 ♂	Apr 19, 10, 15:35 #13
aphrodisiac: Szczecin is a fairly nice city, close to Berlin, Don't give him ideas. MareGaea: Targeted income would be about 2100-2300 Euros (don't know how much that is in Zlotys, I could sponsor 8 Polki with this amount.I cannot believe a person like you gets in such a heaven.Life is so unfair.

convexThreads: 46 Posts: 7,185 Joined: Nov 25, 09 ♂	Apr 19, 10, 15:38 #14
€1500 on €2200 I think there is a guy in Lodz on here that builds up call centers and can probably tell you if the salary is decent.

♂

Edited by: MareGaea Apr 19, 10, 15:39 #15

lowfunk99:

Its supposed to be a nice city.

It's close to the sea as well - I like that.

southern:

I cannot believe a person like you gets in such a heaven.Life is so unfair.

You think this has fallen just out of the blue sky? I've been working for decades to come to the stage that I actually get offers like this. And like I said, I am not sure if I will take it.

convex:

I think there is a guy in Lodz on here that builds up call centers and can probably tell you if the salary is decent.

Guess I will wait for him to come around.

>^..^<

M-G (has to shop now, see you later and thanks so far!)

westminster 293

Apr 19, 10, 15:40 #16

MareGaea:

If you have nothing to vent besides jealousy, I'd rather have you didn't participate in this thread. I have built up a very good reputation in this industry and if you have, yes, it happens that you get offers like this.

Sorry, I don't really mean to be belligerent, I apologise. I was just a little surprised that you discussed salary online, rather than elsewhere. I wish you well and am please for you really.

Westminster offers olive branch!

aphrodisiacThreads: 22 Posts: 3,998 Joined: Apr 15, 09 ♀	Apr 19, 10, 15:41 #17
southern: Don't give him ideas. what ideas. The hight point of living in Szczecin is the proximity of Berlin. Good for shopping and entertainment.

southernThreads: 116 Posts: 10,955 Joined: May 17, 07 ♂	Edited by: southern Apr 19, 10, 15:43 #18
aphrodisiac: in Szczecin is the proximity of Berlin. Good fo You mean full of gay bars and clubs and a city where even the Burgermeister is gay. I would stay in Sczeczyn in any case or try to visit Poznan clubs in weekends full of Poznaniankas.

jonniThreads: 26 Posts: 4,181 Joined: Nov 27, 07 ♂	Apr 19, 10, 15:51 #19
southern: You mean full of gay bars A few godd ones in Szczeciń. Though not nearly as many as in your country. MareGaea As for the money, Szczeciń is a little cheaper than 'Western' Europe, but the gap is narrowing and the taxes are high - also good accommodation isn't cheap. Have you considered living just across the border and commuting?

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08 ♂	Edited by: SeanBM Apr 19, 10, 15:53 #20
jonni: Have you considered living just across the border and commuting? Are you saying it is cheaper for him to live in Germany and commute to Poland? Really? I thought Germany would be more expensive, unless you have family there.

♀

Edited by: aphrodisiac Apr 19, 10, 15:54 #21

southern:

You mean full of gay bars and clubs and a city where even the Burgermeister is gay.

well, in case you did not notice, or failed to notice since you always concentrate on shaggin and other similar perspectives, Berlin is a capitol city of Germany, with lots of museums, art galleries, great restaurants, great music clubs, great underground scene, great shopping, used to be one of the largest construction sites in Europe and as a result, some interesting architecture - new, renovated and old. Oh, and one does not need to know German go get around really, which the OP speaks anyways.

So there is more to the city, but if you go there to get you gay fix- good for you.
jonni:
Have you considered living just across the border and commuting?

that is a good suggestion as well, but the renting prices need to be compared and in this case I am out of touch. There have been cases of Polish people moving across the board and commuting to Poland since at one point the real estate prices were more attractive then n Poland, but that was in the past.

jonniThreads: 26 Posts: 4,181 Joined: Nov 27, 07 ♂	Apr 19, 10, 15:55 #22
SeanBM: Are you saying it is cheaper for him to live in Germany and commute to Poland? Really? Better accommodation for his money. And shopping trips on the Szczeciń side of the 'border' for those (increasingly fewer) items that are cheaper. A lot of people do that.

convexThreads: 46 Posts: 7,185 Joined: Nov 25, 09 ♂	Apr 19, 10, 15:58 #23
jonni: Better accommodation for his money. Ossi panelaks are nicer than Polish panelaks?

aphrodisiacThreads: 22 Posts: 3,998 Joined: Apr 15, 09 ♀	Apr 19, 10, 16:01 #24
convex: A lot of people do that. true. There is also more variety. convex: Ossi panelaks are nicer than Polish panelaks? Only part of Berlin was Ossi, there is a huge Wesi population, or rather original Berliner population living in Berlin, it is really a mix of both worlds and I find it really interesting. Great city overall.

westminster 293	Apr 19, 10, 16:03 #25
In my opinion Berlin is quite a repressive city. Children are allowed in the city on certain days of the week, preferably not weekends, only if they sit outside, even when temperatures are below zero. Dogs are allowed in the city by invitation only, (no mongrels of course). Apart from that some good things to see, but only for a weekend.

♂

Edited by: convex Apr 19, 10, 16:08 #26

aphrodisiac:

Only part of Berlin was Ossi, there is a huge Wesi population, or rather original Berliner population living in Berlin, it is really a mix of both worlds and I find it really interesting. Great city overall.

Talking about over the border, Berlin is a bit of a stretch for commuting. West Berlin is a wet dream straight out of the 60's. Like a bunch of little brothers to the monstrosities in Marzahn. And then you have the crown of west berlin....Neukolln. Seems like most of the older nice apartments are in the East. I lived in Pankow, loved it.

westminster 293:

Dogs are allowed in the city by invitation only, (no mongrels of course).

My lab didn't have an invitation.

♀

Apr 19, 10, 16:15 #27

convex:

Talking about over the border, Berlin is a bit of a stretch for commuting.

I agree, but he is better off living in Szczecin then is some Ossi small town on the border.

convex:

West Berlin is a wet dream straight out of the 60's.

so true.

convex:

Like a bunch of little brothers to the monstrosities in Marzahn. And then you have the crown of west berlin....Neukolln.

Cannot agree more. I spent many weekends in Berlin and there is never enough time. Not many people know that there are many water channels and taking a boat trip, even though it is quite tacky is a lot of fun.

convex:

Seems like most of the older nice apartments are in the East. I lived in Pankow, loved it.

ha, how I envy you!!!!!

westminster 293	Apr 19, 10, 16:43 #28
convex: My lab didn't have an invitation. Ah! he was probabably born in Berlin. I forgot to add that any animal of Berlin decent has the automatic right of residency in the city, over and above any migrant to the city, and especially any child of Berlin decent.

convexThreads: 46 Posts: 7,185 Joined: Nov 25, 09 ♂	Apr 19, 10, 16:47 #29
westminster 293: Ah! he was probabably born in Berlin. Economic migrant from the Czech Republic. I wish it were true what you said about kids though. I would move back in a heartbeat. In fact, any city without hordes of little sex trophies walking would be great.

aphrodisiacThreads: 22 Posts: 3,998 Joined: Apr 15, 09 ♀	Apr 19, 10, 16:50 #30
convex: In fact, any city without hordes of little sex trophies walking would be great. ha, ha.....I presume you referring to Poland lol good one. ha, ha..........don't forget the single red rose .......so true.......

POLAND . The Unofficial Guide	Unanswered \| Archives
POLAND . The Unofficial Guide	Republic of Poland Online	Witamy, Guest \| PF Members \| Gold Members

Home \| Unanswered \| Archives \| Random \| Statistics	Time in Poland: 13:10 / May 26
About Us \| Contact Us \| Rules, Privacy \| Poland Advertising	© 2005-12 PolishForums.com