What is the cost of living in Poland? Not much compared to the UK or USA. Is living in Poland expensive? No. Many people from Poland say that things are more expensive in Poland than in the USA. I think this is false. Living in Poland is cheap and low while low cost.
Living costs in Poland compared to the USA
What does cost of living mean? Living in Poland or the USA means:
- Rent or mortgage payment.
- Food expenses per week.
- Utilities.
- Transportation costs
- Extra day to day things, like vitamins or herbs or jeans.
- One off expenditures and large purchases, like computers.
- Vacations and events.
Clearly he first four items on the list is 99% of your budget. I would say rent and food is your biggest perhaps 90%. So why do people focus on the other items when making a comparison?
Cost in Poland is lower than most countries
Cost of unusual expenses in Poland
What Polish people do is go to the USA and see a computer selling at Best Buy and it it a full 50 dollars cheaper than in Poland. They say wow, things are so cheap here in the USA and Poland is expensive. I think this is untrue.
I have compared computer prices in Poland and the USA and they are the same price. You can get a 400 dollar computer in Poland or the USA. However, when you do the comparison remember to calculate the US sales tax into the price (Polish VAT is already in the quoted price). Further, it is sometimes cheaper in Poland. If a computer part is more expensive I just order from ebay UK or USA.
In almost every case it is cheaper on Allegro the Polish online store. Polish people are very clever and this is a global market. If there is a way to get it cheaper, Polish people will figure this out.
I shop at Auchen’s a French Walmart in Poland. If you are low cost you can shop there. I can get blue jeans for a little over 2 dollars there.
But the real question here is how often do you buy a computer? I still have my Sony Vaio from seven years ago and I am an IT guy. Therefore, when considering cost of living in Poland you have to look at what your real monthly cost are in Poland.
Furniture expenses in Poland
On one hand I bought a little wooden hand made chair for 5 dollars. Anything in the USA is from China. This was from the Polish mountains.
However, on the other hand IKEA prices are about the same, maybe a couple of Złoty more.
Cost of rent or real estate in Poland
This is the real cost. I pay about 400 dollarsfor my rent in the old town of Krakow. I paid in Boston for the same flat 1,800 dollars. How can you tell me that Poland has high cost or is expensive?
Food cost about 1/3 the price in Poland than the USA. People will disagree with on this but I downloaded the USDA price list and compared it to a Polish market list. The prices cost less in Poland. I compared apples to apples if you may.
Food and rent are your biggest costs in Poland because you are not buying the other things everyday. This is what it really means to price out costs in Poland.
Food costs in Poland
Cheddar cheese is about 2 dollars a pound in Poland. Potatoes about 10 cents a pound, eggs a dollar a for ten. However, it all depends where you shop. If you shop at Alma or some little expensive shop of course you will pay, but still a lower costs then then USA. But if you get things from the farmers or a large super market food is a fraction of the price of the USA.
Also when you make a comparison remember that most of the stuff I buy is organic farmers produce, you would have to pay whole foods prices for anything to come close to the quality.
There is no way you can tell me that the food you buy in the USA, most of which comes from huge Mexican agribusiness farms is the same quality as food grown on local organic farms in Poland. My wife’s parents are farmers. Most farms are organic and in Poland and most people I know have relatives in farming, up to 25 % of the country. So again regardless of the costs, Poland is a better place to buy food.
Doctors in Poland – costs
It costs about 25 dollars for a doctors visit in Poland. Or it is free if you pay taxes as I do.
Education cost in Poland
You have three kids that want to go to University and get a masters or PhD? What is the cost in Poland. Free. Cost in the USA is about 25k a year and that is only undergrad.
America is an expensive place. Poland is a low cost country.
How much does it cost to live in Poland
You can live quite well on about 10k a year in Poland. Can you do this in the USA?
If you live in Poland with a total cost of 20k a year that is a very good life.
Is Poland a poor country if costs are low
Polish costs? A very old Polish house, something from the past. Poland is not a poor country like people imagine, Low cost in Poland and good income make it relatively rich.
Poland is a normal EU country. It is still not at the standard of if you are a London money manager. However, the economist magazine compared costs in Poland and if you are a senior manager all costs and salaries considered you have a better life in Poland. Income has to be seen in relation to costs.
Since I live here in Poland as an American in Boston, I could have told you that. Poland is a beautiful place to live. The only problem is you need an income. However, that is the problem anywhere you live.
If you have a global income, you will live quite well in Poland where costs are low. If you have questions or comments please leave a reply. Or if you have ever thought about moving to Poland and curious about costs in Poland please write.
121 responses to Cost in Poland
This is what I was hoping to hear and am not to spoiled yet anyway but it all sounds good to me. It will probably be her moving to Canada but I do want to travel to her homeland for if nothing else to meet her family and have a better understanding of her culture. Thank-you very much Mark
Cost of living how much do I need to live in Poland
I am planning to work in Poland with salary 700 dollars equivalent to 2330 PLN. It is advisable to go there with my salary monthly and I have free accomodation and food?
If food and housing is free and all your 700 dollars is fun money then that is fine. It is not bad money for Poland. However, this depends on your expectations. I do not have high expectations about wealth, even though I am hard-working and a capitalist. If you are 20 or 30 something I would do it. It is not like the USA is the land of opportunity anymore. I was reading the Drudge report yesterday and the headline was “Unemployment is down… in Poland”
Not everything in life is about dollars and cents or zlotys and groszy it is more about accumulating experiences and the capital will follow.
Cost in Poland
Your Cost-of-Living in Krakow website
I hope you are still up and running, as it were. I, too, am a Bostonian, there are many Slavic people in the Boston area, mostly Russian but many Poles too.
I am thinking very seriously of retiring to Krakow in two years. I love the city; I speak fluent Polish. I also have cousins there, who deeply upset me today regarding the cost of living in Krakow.
Of course, they were measuring everything by Polish wages, retirement incomes, etc. And their comments went against everything I have already researched, including long chats with a Polish friend at the Polish Embassy in D.C. One of my cousins actually
had the nerve to say that life in Krakow was more expensive than in the U.S. – as if he ever visited
the U.S.
My cousins do not know that my retirement benefits will be paying me over $2,000 a month – wired to any
bank of my choice. They tried to find out – but got nowhere. Still, they came right out and said
that even if I had just 1,000 (dollars) a month, I would be living no better than a beggar. Nice.
I want to move to Krakow because living here (as you know) is a killer. I am paying $500 for a total dump, but only because I want to save money (got screwed really badly by my former employer – after 15 years.
My company picked just the right time to claim “no budget for your position.” I was in my 50s, and of course,
no one wanted to hire me.)
I also want to be in Krakow not just because of family, but because it’s Europe, and I want to live
in Europe. I can get to almost anyplace from Krakow – and Krakow is a beautiful city in its own right.
I would love to get your opinion about the cost of living in Krakow – even though everything can
go belly-up by the time I get there.
Cost in Poland
Krakow you will have a much better standard of life becuase of the rent. Boston is crazy with rent. Pole will tell you they have high rent also and it is true in relation to their income, but if you come over with American dollars, making 6,000 Polish Zloty you will be relatively rich. But it depends on your expectations of standards and life. I think Krakow will give you an amazing experience of European and Polish culture asnd the ability to travel all of Europe cheap. You can start to look on Gumtree for Polish apartments if you want to compare prices. Gumtree Krakow has an apartment section just like craigslist. For 1500 pln you can find a reasonable place in Krakow. For 2000 a high standard.
You can also teach English as a native speaker in Krakow or Poland generally, all you need to have to do is speak English.
Please as me any questions you want about Poland or Krakow in general.
Cost in Poland
Could a family of 4 live off the income of 1 wage earner teaching english? Native speaker teaching english in Poland.
Yes My friends do it, but it would be tight. OK so say you make 20 dollars an hour net teaching English and that yields 1600 dollars a month depending on your hours. Lets say 20 hours a week you work. You could also work in a call center or do other things. But lets say teaching normal lessons. Business English you can charge more. If you are living by Polish standards it is not bad. If you are living by US standards it will be just OK. You will have free medical and school and other things to keep your cost lower than the USA and good trams and things so you do not need a car. But on the other hand, it is not the USA but if you are OK with that it is great.
Also Poland is booming a bit and the cost of living is rising even as I have written this post. It use to be a cheap place to live but now not so much. But people have more money and you can make and charge more. So it evens out. If you teach English you do not ever have to worry about a job.
Cost in Poland
I would recommend that you try living there for a while. Also if you live there, live somewhere green and with fresh air as it is no secret that Krakow has air pollution because it is in a valley. However, the climite is cold there, so forget the expense, maybe it wold be better to be somewhere warm and sunny and fly to Poland for holidays?
Cost of living
Hi Mark,
I was wondering how current are the prices that you quoted? I looked at some websites to get an idea of rent prices and I saw that most are in between $800-1200 per month. Are these prices inflated? Thanks.
I also wanted to mention that it’s nice to see someone who is passionate about Poland. When I read expat sites, I notice that people usually complain about where they are. It’s refreshing to see someone who is positive about the country. Although I was sad to learn that you are planning on moving away from Poland. But I guess that is a life of an expat… life is too short to be living in one place all your life, eh?
Cost in Poland
Food expenditure
Hi everyone !
I’m planning to come to Poland (krakow) where I’ll be staying for 7 weeks. It’s an internship program. I have accommodation provided by the organization which recruited me, but I’ll have to buy food by myself. So, I’m interested in hearing some opinions- how much money do you think I’ll need to cover my expenses on food during those 7 weeks ? ( I don’t eat much, and I’m not choosy when it comes to food
Thank you a lot
Cost in Poland
If you buy high quality food shop at Alma. almamarket.pl Galaria Kazimierz is a nice one for example. It depends what you eat. I mean in the USA we are a family of 3 and we spend about 500 dollars a month on quality food. But we prepare it all. Homemade chicken soup etc. In Poland we spend more because we had more money in Poland. But if you want potatoes and beans and chicken soup and things like that healthy and cheap you could live on 3 dollars a day if you eat light. If you are a Sushi person you will pay.
Icelandic Salmon is about 12 pln a package, Potatoes lets say 3 pln a kilo. Do you want the prices in dollars or pln? Do you want the weight in lbs or kg? Let me know and I can guide you.
Cost in Poland
Moving to Krakaw
Hi Mark,this is indeed helpful but wondering when it has been posted ? is it still valid ? specifically the apartment rent (1 bed room )..
The real estate market has been flat since 2008. In Krakow I was renting 70 meters for 1000 pln in the center, but maybe it is now like 1500 pln. If you want a high standard you can pay 2500 but I would not. I think 1500 for a nice place is reasonable. You can get 800 pln places to rent in Krakow but I would not recommend it. If you need roomates check gumtree. Ask me any questions on price as I am an expert on prices in Krakow and Poland in general.
Cost in Poland
Property
Poland has been pegged against the EU for the past seven years. Poland is a bit slow in adopting the common currency and there are many cultural reasons for this, especially based on the attitudes of the old-guard.
However, it will eventually roll over to the EURO.
My strongest advice to 20 and 30 somethings is to disregard all of the hyperbole and if you are able to or want to head in a positive capital future direction for yourself then the next several years are definitely the time to buy property in Poland.
Cost in Poland
I think your advice is right about the positive capital position an be positive in outlook, but I think Polish real estate for me is over valued. I would not touch any of the construction build but would rather build my own. The construction build were by developers building blocks of flats in unimaginative designs for inflated prices.
There is no way someone is going to convince me that Polish real estate is of any value when I live on an island in Florida in a historic two and on the beach and it is cheaper here in warm sunny USA on the beach than in cold, dark Poland. I think you are better off building in Poland not buying real estate developers units in a block of flats.
About the Euro, the UK does not have it nor does the USA. Why does everyone need the Euro. I do not even believe in a national currency and central bank as macro management of money has caused almost every economic cycle in this and the last century.
Money should be controlled by supply and demand in money market not by a government issuing authority.
Cost in Poland
Education in Poland
Hello and Greetings for the New Year
I am a resident of India and exploring an opportunity in Krakow, Poland. I have a 7 year old son and he is in 1st standard (studying in an ICSE school).
My main concern is about his education post my relocation. I am told there are English schools in Krakow, Poland but would like to know more with respect to their affordability (fee structure and admission pre-requisites) and adaptability for an Indian student.
Thanks in advance
Regards,
Hemanth
Cost in Poland
You want to go to the International school in Krakow. iskonline.org this is the website for the English speaking school for children in Krakow, Poland. I think it is a couple of thousand but worth it. On the other hand the Polish school system will have English and if your son learns Polish he will have a life long advantage. Poland has a very good edcation system. They even have a English speaking public school (basically) and private ones to. For example search, “prywatna szkoła podstawowa salwator kraków” szkolasalwator.pl/ and tell me if this helps.
Cost in Poland
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