Not long ago I added my email address to this blog so people could make contact and apart from the friendly 'hellos' (which I always enjoy) a few people have been asking more general questions about living in Poland.
Therefore, Welcome to my new series of posts titled
"Living in Poland tips for beginners"
First up 'Finding a house'
Dan from Norwich ( I assume U.K.) - asked 'What are the best accommodation options for me if I'm thinking of moving to Poland? Where do I begin to look?'
0. Tip number '0' is not even a tip, it's common sense. Do your research first. Newspapers and the Internet will give you the background knowledge you need. Learning the absolute basic associated Polish words i.e. Dom, will also help you.
1. I would firstly recommend looking around at local Polish community websites where you live now. Most big citites or even small towns will have some kind of Polish community in the U.K. and obviously large cities in the U.S and other places will have the same. Go into Polish shops or look around in local newspapers. I remember when I lived in Stoke, quite a few Polish shops had a small notice board offering services or even accommodation back in Polska. It's a good place to begin because odds are; you can meet somebody and arrange everything face to face PRIOR to leaving the country. So you get the peace of mind value. Plus you can find out about associated services such as movers or people with a van driving across the continent in your general direction.
2. Check out and post on sites like PolishForums. The community on sites like PF is pretty strong and is very regional. If you post a question about 'Looking for a house in Oława' - Somebody from Oława will point you in the best general direction to start. Try Facebook and search for 'Wrocław expats', 'Łodz expats' etc... to find other online communities you can pester.
3. Consider 'Hostelling' for the first few weeks. This is a popular option by many people I know in Wrocław. Come to Poland lightweight at first, stay in a hostel and then get your feet on the ground and talk to people. Meet other expats, meet the locals and ask if they know anybody. The friend of a friend scenario in Poland always works best and you can find yourself a reliable good deal this way or if you're inclined, find accommodation with other expats with your native tongue... If you don't fancy jumping into the deep end straight away. When you're in the city you want to live in, just by walking around and looking out for the little home-made ads on lampposts or notice boards will also be your best opportunity to find a good value room.
When everything is sorted, pop home and get ready for the big move.
4. Maybe you want to buy a house? If you have any kind of equity from your home country, it's possible to find a very cheap but decent home in Poland. In my experience villages offer the lowest house prices (plus a more authentic cultural experience). This option may be suitable for people wanting to live in Poland for the longer term but obviously there is shit loads more hassle and worry involved. But it's possible. And I dare say 30% of the expats I know here are all fully fledged home owners. Companies like 'Connect Overseas' will help you with the finance as for the paperwork... I have no good advice, get the help of a local lawyer then grin and bare it.
5. Advice on Price. This is impossible to give because in varies wildly. From my experience, last year I rented a two bed room apartment in a town for 700PLN but I know people who rent shared rooms in big cities and pay 500PLN. Generally, I think it's easily possible to find yourself a nice place in big cities for around 1500PLN but you need to add another 500PLN for rates. But everything is subjective; my idea of nice might be your idea of shit or even luxurious.
Warsaw will obviously be the most expensive and generally, the further east you go the cheaper (everything) gets.
There you have it, my advice for newbies but as this is a dynamic blog (or I like to think it is), If any readers want to contradict or share there experience, please feel free.
Therefore, Welcome to my new series of posts titled
"Living in Poland tips for beginners"
First up 'Finding a house'
Dan from Norwich ( I assume U.K.) - asked 'What are the best accommodation options for me if I'm thinking of moving to Poland? Where do I begin to look?'
0. Tip number '0' is not even a tip, it's common sense. Do your research first. Newspapers and the Internet will give you the background knowledge you need. Learning the absolute basic associated Polish words i.e. Dom, will also help you.
1. I would firstly recommend looking around at local Polish community websites where you live now. Most big citites or even small towns will have some kind of Polish community in the U.K. and obviously large cities in the U.S and other places will have the same. Go into Polish shops or look around in local newspapers. I remember when I lived in Stoke, quite a few Polish shops had a small notice board offering services or even accommodation back in Polska. It's a good place to begin because odds are; you can meet somebody and arrange everything face to face PRIOR to leaving the country. So you get the peace of mind value. Plus you can find out about associated services such as movers or people with a van driving across the continent in your general direction.
2. Check out and post on sites like PolishForums. The community on sites like PF is pretty strong and is very regional. If you post a question about 'Looking for a house in Oława' - Somebody from Oława will point you in the best general direction to start. Try Facebook and search for 'Wrocław expats', 'Łodz expats' etc... to find other online communities you can pester.
3. Consider 'Hostelling' for the first few weeks. This is a popular option by many people I know in Wrocław. Come to Poland lightweight at first, stay in a hostel and then get your feet on the ground and talk to people. Meet other expats, meet the locals and ask if they know anybody. The friend of a friend scenario in Poland always works best and you can find yourself a reliable good deal this way or if you're inclined, find accommodation with other expats with your native tongue... If you don't fancy jumping into the deep end straight away. When you're in the city you want to live in, just by walking around and looking out for the little home-made ads on lampposts or notice boards will also be your best opportunity to find a good value room.
When everything is sorted, pop home and get ready for the big move.
4. Maybe you want to buy a house? If you have any kind of equity from your home country, it's possible to find a very cheap but decent home in Poland. In my experience villages offer the lowest house prices (plus a more authentic cultural experience). This option may be suitable for people wanting to live in Poland for the longer term but obviously there is shit loads more hassle and worry involved. But it's possible. And I dare say 30% of the expats I know here are all fully fledged home owners. Companies like 'Connect Overseas' will help you with the finance as for the paperwork... I have no good advice, get the help of a local lawyer then grin and bare it.
5. Advice on Price. This is impossible to give because in varies wildly. From my experience, last year I rented a two bed room apartment in a town for 700PLN but I know people who rent shared rooms in big cities and pay 500PLN. Generally, I think it's easily possible to find yourself a nice place in big cities for around 1500PLN but you need to add another 500PLN for rates. But everything is subjective; my idea of nice might be your idea of shit or even luxurious.
Warsaw will obviously be the most expensive and generally, the further east you go the cheaper (everything) gets.
There you have it, my advice for newbies but as this is a dynamic blog (or I like to think it is), If any readers want to contradict or share there experience, please feel free.
Thanx for the email back and all the info you provided. Hopefully we move to katowice in August. Very nervous!
ReplyDeleteand it's norwich england!
Sato Travel-yes thx for this post because i am very upset how to create this but i read this post i am very happy thx for amazing post.
ReplyDeleteNo problem Dan, thanks for the email, and I wish you all the best, you'll love Poland believe me!
ReplyDeleteand MrButt... thanks I guess...
@waseembutt your english is painfully bad
ReplyDelete@teflsecretagent is waseembutt one of your students?
lol, just joking! and I like the 'tips' ideas for newbies to Poland, you should do another series about the Ukraine after the summer =)
Informative post. It's good to see bloggers responding to what readers want. Moving country can be a nightmare and it's so easy to get lost in conflicting info sources. bloggers are providing a valuable expat service.
ReplyDeletePolish Forums is a good website but often when I need some good advice or pointers the thread can get hijacked by people talking about other shit.
ReplyDeleteFrustrating.
Wow, you're recommending people by houses? Considering your audience is mainly tefl workers I doubt many can afford to actually BUY a place. But then you did so maybe i'm just under freaking paid
I would suggest Mamdom.pl as a good website for finding propery in Poland, plus it's bilingual!
ReplyDeleteThanks
Thanks Polish property, I've checked out Mamdom - Seems ok!
ReplyDelete@little expat - I agree but where else is there? defo the only place which can possibly get you an accurate reply within 30mins. If you wait too long to check back then yeah, the thread gets stolen!
@Anon - Yeah why shouldnt people think about buying in Poland? Land is cheap, houses are well built? Good value for money I think!
buy houses in the south west of Poland and your situated in the best part of europe, close to mountains and close to four big capitals, wien, Prague, Berlin and Warsaw.
ReplyDeleteThis is the great post here..and well good thinking of this one..
ReplyDeleteselling a house privately
wow,,
ReplyDeletenice your information.. i like it..
thanks for shearing blog..
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ReplyDelete