Poznań, Tri-City and Wrocław turn out to be the top rated cities in a questionnaire completed by expatriates living in Poland. The survey at Morizon.pl shows though that foreigners still don’t really feel at home in Polish cities.

POLISH VERSION

According to the Department of Foreigners, Poland is chosen as second EU country to live in - only behind the UK. After Brexit actually takes effect, Poland is very likely to make it to the leading position. Is the country ready to receive so many foreign residents?

We decided to check it out by asking expats from 8 Polish cities about their opinion on living in Poland. Each city is commented on in a seperate article:

Expatriates in Poland

Let’s take a look at some data first. Among foreigners living in Poland there are mostly Ukrainians, Russians and Belarusians, but there are also a great number of inhabitants who come from Germany, Italy, China and France. In 2016 more than 234 thousand people got a Polish residence permit, but this is just the official quota that mainly concerns foreigners from outside the EU. The actual number of foreigners living in Poland may be even a few times higher, because there are those who never legalized their residence or those who got the necessary documents in the Polish consulates abroad (according to “Polityka,” in 2015 in Ukraine alone 925 thousand working visas were issued).

55% of the surveyees found a job in Poland; nearly one third are students who are going to spend here the next few years or months at least (till the end of the academic term/year). Every tenth respondent is self-employed. Others are still trying their luck at local job markets or live off their family members.

Most of the foreigners questioned (57%) have lived in Poland for at least a couple of years; the others arrived here quite recently (about a year ago). The vast majority of them declare they will get back to their home countries once the academic year finishes or their employment contracts terminate.

Why Poland?

Since for almost 57% of the respondents Poland is the very first foreign living experience, they took into account the standards they know from their home countries while rating the Polish cities. Every second foreign resident came here following a potential job opportunity, yet as many as 43% admitted that Poland is another place on the map which can become their new home.

As far as the job market is concerned, from the Ministry of Family Labour and Social Policy’s reports, a bit more than 270 thousand foreigners applied for a work permit last year. It’s no wonder, actually - Polish companies are developing rapidly and some of them are getting understaffed. Also, big international brands are opening up their offices in such cities like Warsaw, Cracow or Wrocław, which means a lot of new job opportunities for foreigners arise. Last, but not least, there is a growing market of temporary or seasonal jobs as well.

The second most popular reason for moving to Poland is studying - 42% of the respondents came here to study. There are approx. 57 thousand foreign students at state universities and private colleges from 157 countries. About half of them come from Ukraine, but there are also many students from Belarus, Norway, Spain or Sweden.

What plays an important role is family. The immigrants who feel Poland is their second home usually invite their nearest and dearest to join them here. A sizeable portion of the respondents moved to Poland either with the support of family, or they just followed a partner who got relocated to work in Poland.

Safety

Expatriates feel relatively safe in the streets of Polish cities, but only Cracow got 5 points on a 6-point scale - all the other cities scored around 4 points. Both Poznań and Warsaw got rated as second safest cities.

What definitely improves safety, according to the surveyees, is the general betterment of the public areas, but also the fact that in every city there are CCTV cameras together with the police and city guards patrolling the streets, squares and parks.

Cracow is clean, safe, and well-organized

The cost of living

The survey shows that Wrocław is considered to be the most expensive city to live in. The cost of living seems to be the highest of all, especially when it comes to flat renting. It’s not surprising though - the prices on the rental market are always going up and, if there are any good offers available, they are quickly chased down by thousands of students. Łódź is believed to be the cheapest to live; the next wallet-friendly cities are Bydgoszcz and Poznań.

Flats for rent in Wrocław are too expensive compared to average salaries.

Potential

The biggest Polish cities are so fast-developing that you may think at times that you are at a building site. For that reason it’s difficult to say which is the leader in this category as there are hardly any differences between the cities.

Yet still, Tri-City and Katowice tend to be ahead of the other cities with such investments like The European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk or the ever changing area around Spodek in Katowice, which definitely add up to the beauty of the urban landscape.

Łódź turns out to be the lowest rated city - there are still many areas or buildings which are old and neglected. That undoubtedly tarnishes an image of a thriving modern city.

Tri-city = fresh air, developing economy, and good public transportation.

Modernity

It can be concluded from the survey results that there is still much room for improvement - Polish cities are basically criticised for the poor condition of flats to rent, old-fashioned infrastructure or inconvenient public transportation. Poznań, the winner in the category, got barely 4 points; Cracow turned out to be the lowest rated city here. Is it all because of smog?

Cracow’s biggest disadvantages? Pollution of course, but also conservative and not-so-tolerant views of some people.

Friendly attitude

Where can you find the friendliest local people who would help a lost foreigner with a smile? According to the respondents, that’s true especially for Poznań. The capital of Greater Poland scored 4.41 points in this category, leaving Wrocław and Cracow behind. The findings show that the least helpful people live in Łódź, Warszawa and Bydgoszcz.

“I have been lucky and I could say Polish people are very helpful when you are in need.”

City maintenance

As far as cleanliness and general city maintenance are concerned, Poznań is the leader again. On the other end of the scale there is Łódź - old ramshackle buildings don’t appeal to the surveyees (they also point out that such dilapidated houses create an unsafe environment).

“Old decaying buildings in Łódź may detract visitors.”

Tolerance

Racism or discrimination against foreign-looking people are the problems that Polish cities must face. The respondents didn’t give any of the cities more than 3 points in this category. Katowice and Poznań turn out to be the most tolerant (both scored 3.84) while Łódź seems to be the least open-minded for non-Polish visitors. Expats don’t feel safe in the city and they often hear offensive, discriminatory comments.

There is a need for institutions that would fill the gaps in people's knowledge about different cultures, help with integration and show that racism is evil.

Cultural events and entertainment

Cracow has been crowned the most entertaining city with its numerous cafes, pubs, clubs and cultural events such as concerts, exhibitions and festivals. The very next in line are Wrocław and Poznań. Expats living in Bydgoszcz seem to be the most bored - although music has always been part of the cultural city life, Bydgoszcz is hardly ever a venue for international gigs. Local concerts are organised rather for the fans of opera or classical music.

Bydgoszcz is a boring city - nobody can speak English and there is absolutely nothing to do for Erasmus students.

Ecology

Our survey was carried out in winter when smog is common and particularly annoying. That must have influenced the respondents’ rating. No wonder that Cracow got the lowest notes - it’s globally infamous for its smoggy air and pollution. The surveyees gave the highest rating to Poznań though, which they believe is the best maintained city in Poland. It got ranked a little above Tri-City whose fresh sea breeze was something the foreigners highlighted.

The air pollution is a nightmare, Polish people must do something about it!

Overcome a language barrier

One of the greatest problem foreigners living in Polish cities must come up against is a language barrier. It impedes everyday communication with locals especially in Warsaw, Bydgoszcz and Wrocław.

Are expats good at Polish? Not really - nearly 57% of the respondents admit they are at the elementary level while every sixth expatriate questioned knows just a few basic phrases. However, as much as 44% would rather stick to English than study Polish. 14% of the surveyees are planning to start learning the language in the near future. Finally, 42% of those who are already learning do language courses or take private lessons.

What we found out: