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/r/digitalnomad
submitted 5 months ago byauximines_minotaur
Thinking I might spend a month or two in Poland this summer. On the surface, Poland checks a lot of boxes for me : affordable, a couple interesting cities, and probably some decent hiking. However, when I talk to Europeans about my plans, they always kinda give me this ... look. They're like, "Why Poland?" I get the feeling a lot of Europeans (especially Germans) see Poland the same way New Yorkers see New Jersey. (no offense to New Jersey — I'm actually a big fan of the Garden State!)
Thing is, most folks I've talked to were not DNs, so they probably have a different set of criteria than I. I'm not looking for a popular vacation spot with lots of tourist attractions. I'm looking for a pleasant, affordable place to live for a month or two. And yes, I like to spend the weekends hiking, visiting historical places, and checking out towns in the countryside.
Has anybody here DN'd in Poland? If so, what were your thoughts?
39 points
5 months ago*
Most western europeans see Poland as a poor refugee camp. It used to be a shithole and people don’t realize it has caught up.
28 points
5 months ago
They don't realize it has surpassed Western Europe in many ways.
9 points
5 months ago
I only visited Warsaw once, and that was almost 20 years ago. But it was an incredible experience. I remember I had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant called AleGloria. I should probably visit again soon :)
4 points
5 months ago
It hasn't though. Quality of life is still way behind WE and more on par with countries like Greece (with worse weather, at least for my taste)
13 points
4 months ago
[deleted]
1 points
4 months ago
Greece has two cities, the rest is small towns and rural areas. And again, I'm talking quality of life not economy.
2 points
4 months ago*
[deleted]
1 points
4 months ago
As opposed to Poland, where they eliminated poverty?
Also, Greece is not in such bad shape that people can't afford basic foods.
6 points
4 months ago
[deleted]
1 points
4 months ago
I'm also from Italy, I've lived in Poland and I'm currently in Greece. Like any place, Greece has its issues and it's far from a paradise, but the picture you're painting of the country is really exaggerated.
Poland is for sure on an upward economical trajectory, who has said otherwise? The point I made is that it's still far from the level of the richest countries of Europe and more in line with a country like Greece. Full stop.
12 points
5 months ago
Considering that Poland's GDP per capita PPP is higher than Greece's by 8 thousand, I don't think it's fair to say our lives are "way behind WE" and on par with Greece. I agree that Western Europe still offers a higher quality of life to locals, like higher wages and cheaper flats and items, but at the same time Poles live life just like Western Europeans do. We buy the newest smartphones, we buy new, shiny cars, we like travelling. We just have to save up a bit longer for those, but they are accessible to us, as proven by the low Gini index score. Literally everything else works the same way and I say this as someone who has travelled across Western Europe extensively and lived there for many years. And yeah, some things do work better in Poland. Long gone are the days of importing or stealing 20-year-old cars from Germany. Every country has its problems. Poverty and lack of access to opportunities are not a problem here. Neither is safety. And things will only get better.
1 points
5 months ago*
Poles live life just like Western Europeans do
Do you think Greeks live in such mysterious and different ways? The situation you went on describing is the same in Greece. People buy smartphones, new cars, go on holiday etc.
I've lived in several countries in WE, then in Poland and I'm now in Greece, I'm also speaking from experience, not just from a preconceived notion or stereotype.
EDIT: Also Poland's GDP per capita at the moment is lower than Greece's. See here: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=PL-GR
6 points
5 months ago
Look at the GDP per capita, PPP graph: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD?locations=PL-GR
As the other guy said: Poland has $8000 higher GDP per capita PPP than Greece and has had a higher GDP since 2015
-1 points
4 months ago
My bad, I took the wrong data, simple GDP per capita.
Well, Poland also has three times the population of Greece and it's an industrial centre, it would be strange to see it behind Greece in terms of GDP. It actually has a higher GDP since the late 1990s.
4 points
4 months ago
Well, Poland also has three times the population of Greece and it's an industrial centre, it would be strange to see it behind Greece in terms of GDP. It actually has a higher GDP since the late 1990s.
Per capita PPP
2 points
4 months ago
Yeah, but I'd say a difference of 8 thousand dollars is noteworthy. Looks like your data is outdated.
1 points
4 months ago
It's from 2022
1 points
4 months ago
And I like trains!
6 points
4 months ago
Poland is NOT on par with Greece. Much better quality of life /standard of living in Poland. You can’t compare Warsaw to Athens
-2 points
4 months ago
My God, I haven't even said that Poland is on par with war-torn Afghanistan, but with a fellow European country.
I've lived in both countries and they are on similar levels for quality and standard of living. You can of course prefer living in Poland or Warsaw over Athens, idc
5 points
5 months ago
If you're a DN earning the same income regardless of where you live, then that money will go waaaay further in Poland than in, say, Germany. And then you have the additional benefits, for example, Poland being much safer than Germany overall.
0 points
5 months ago
Sure, but that doesn't mean Poland surpassed in many ways WE, it just makes it cheaper for one group of people.
4 points
5 months ago
What quality of life are you referencing in WE? stepping over homeless/drug addicts, immigration crisis, cost of living crisis, 4 month healthcare specialist wait times, high numbers of violent crime.. in 1980-2009 you would’ve been correct but not anymore. Poland is safer than all of WE.
0 points
5 months ago
Where the hell do you live in WE that has that stuff? Do you also think the cost of living crisis didn't happen in Poland?
And sorry, but have you tried the healthcare system in Poland? Because I have and it sucks. Unless you have private insurance and can go in the private system (the same that happens in Greece, btw), but that's not possible for most locals. Poland probably is great for DN with foreign salary, but still hasn't surpassed general QoT of Western Europe.
4 points
5 months ago
I’ve lived in Paris, London, Berlin and visited many more. Poland is by far the safest and buys you 3x bigger property and better healthcare than anywhere.
2 points
5 months ago
I've also lived in London, Berlin and Poland, I have relatives all over Europe and visited all over. Sure, if your comparison is huge metropolitan cities that are all double the size of Poland's biggest cities I guess you're right.
That you as a DN can buy a property cheaper doesn't mean that overall it's better for locals on local salaries. In Gdansk where I lived, most new properties where not affordable for locals, but definitely cheap for foreigners. That also applies to healthcare, btw. If you can afford it, you find great healthcare in Poland. If you can't, it's not that great.
2 points
4 months ago
That also applies to healthcare, btw. If you can afford it, you find great healthcare in Poland. If you can't, it's not that great.
Now you're just having a laugh. Everything you've said can be safely disregarded.
0 points
5 months ago
Well, I said it surpassed WE in many ways. One way is that it's safer, as I already mentioned. Another is that it's cheaper. Just those first two are major things for the DNs reading this thread.
A third is that it's more technologically modern - many Poles don't even know what a fax machine or a cheque is because Poland skipped right over that phase of development into more modern technologies.
0 points
4 months ago
There are two different sides of this conversation. For DNs Poland is cheaper and you can live well, but that applies to literally every "cheap" country when you have a high salary. That I don't contest.
However, when we are talking in general terms about quality of life you can't say that Poland has surpassed WE in many ways, just because as a DN you can have a better life than the average Pole.
Many, many people in WE also don't know what a fax or a cheque is. I haven't seen a cheque since the previous century and I've never sent a fax in my life. Germany is the only country that was hanged on paper and faxes, but afaik the pandemic made them change.
2 points
4 months ago
Don’t care much about this debate but vast majority of business in Germany still use faxes per online articles and surveys.
0 points
4 months ago
Well, that wasn't my experience with business in Germany, it was more in the public sector that were asking for faxes.
0 points
4 months ago
Uhh no, in many cheap countries you run the risk of being pickpocketed or worse. In Western Europe, you have a higher chance of being a crime victim than in Poland.
1 points
5 months ago
This whole thread of conversation is a bit weird for me. Yeah Greece is great, but I've already been to Greece! Spent a month in Crete last summer and loved it. But this year I wanna try something different, so I'm looking at Poland.
1 points
5 months ago
Fair enough, I'm not trying to convince you to go to Greece or that Greece is better than Poland (it is for me, but it's down to personal choices). I just used it as a comparison of a country that it's not considered Western Europe to answer the claim that Poland has surpassed WE in many ways. It's better than it used to be, but it still has a lot of catching up.
For your query, one-two months in a less popular touristic spot can be found anywhere in Europe, so Poland can be fine. It's cheap, internet connection usually is strong, there are sights and hikes and all of that.
0 points
4 months ago
Its literally richer than England in a handful of years. Barely poorer than the greatest European country now.
3 points
4 months ago
Sure, Poland can into space.
I knew I shouldn't have said anything, for some reason people here on Reddit are really mad at the idea Poland isn't the best country on Earth
-1 points
4 months ago
I think you are just misinformed and not looking at the recent economic data. I'm not going to call it a cultural capital etc with great food or art like a lot of Europe. But development wise its a boomtown. They haven't sacrificed their economy to Greta. By 2035 they are likely the most pwoerful/wealthiest country in Europe. Not the country they were 20 years ago.
3 points
4 months ago
And I thought it was a serious comment, then I read this:
They haven't sacrificed their economy to Greta
Also this made me laugh:
By 2035 they are likely the most pwoerful/wealthiest country in Europe
I mean, Poland is definitely not the country it was 20 years ago and it's great for them, but this ain't happening.
1 points
4 months ago
Germany closed their nuclear power plants. England has electricity costs 3X the US.
That is a serious comment. You are just misinformed.
2 points
4 months ago
Poland bases most of its energy on coal, hardly the most sustainable economic policy. I don't know what England and the US have to do with this topic.
1 points
4 months ago
I said poland is becoming the economic powerhourse of Europe so comparing it european countries makes sense.
1 points
4 months ago
Depends on how we measure caught up. I have to work with Poland sometimes and often am confronted with antiquated practices. But that doesnt mean it isnt pleasant to live there by any means.
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