Poland is one of the poorer and cheaper countries in Europe, so many people wonder whether it is worth moving to Krakow. Is it good to live in Kraków? What are the pros and cons of living in Krakow? Is Krakow a good place to live?
If you are thinking about moving to Krakow, it is worth getting to know all the pros and cons of living in Krakow. The text about whether it is worth living in Krakow will be divided into pros and cons.
Pros: with a western salary it is cheap in Krakow
Krakow is one of the cheaper tourist cities. Renting a flat, taxi or Uber fares, prices in shops and restaurants, and prices for services such as dentist or hairdresser are among the lowest in Europe. If you are earning a western salary, it is worth living in Krakow because prices here are much lower than in Amsterdam, London or Paris.
Krakow is one of the cheapest developed cities in Europe so the advantage of living in this city is low prices. If you are a freelancer or for example you live from rent from flats rented in London or Vienna, it will be cheap to live in Krakow and you will have a high standard of living.
Pros: Krakow is a small city
If you rent a flat in the centre of Krakow not far from the Main Square, you can easily survive in Krakow without even having a car and without using Krakow’s poor public transport. Cracow is a very small city, with not even a million inhabitants. All major attractions and monuments or good restaurants and shops are concentrated in one district so everywhere is close. It is worth remembering that there is no underground subway in Cracow, but due to the fact that it is a small city this is not a problem if you live in its historic centre.
Pluses: party and tourist centre
If you are looking for a place in Poland where the parties last from Monday to Sunday, and the clubs and cafes are full of young female students eager to have the time of their life with a foreigner living in Kraków, then Kraków is the perfect place to live. The girls in Poland are famous all over the world for their hospitality, and on every street in Krakow you will find a club or bar open every day where alcohol is cheap.
Disadvantages of living in Krakow
If you are wondering if Krakow is a good city to move to and live here and work for the same salary as most Poles earn, then Krakow is not a good place to live.
It is very expensive for Poles
Krakow is one of the most popular tourist cities, so people earning a wage that fits Polish conditions do not have the opportunity to frequent quality services, restaurants, hotels or to rent a flat in an attractive location. For Poles and people earning wages on Polish terms, Krakow is very expensive.
Krakow is a transport nightmare
For many years the authorities in Krakow have been closing streets, reducing the number of parking spaces and creating a real nightmare on Krakow’s streets. Krakow is jammed every day, often even at weekends, not only in the centre but also on the outskirts. Public transport in Krakow is useless, there is no underground in Krakow, and driving and parking is a nightmare. If you don’t live in the centre of Krakow and you need to move around different parts of the city, the only solution is to take a taxi, but not everyone can afford it.
Poor air quality
Is there smog in Krakow? We have written about it before. There is, and there is a lot of it. Krakow is one of the dirtiest cities in Europe. Smog and polluted air accompany Kraków citizens from autumn to late spring. All this is due to the inhabitants using outdated technologies to heat their homes and the lay of the land in which Krakow is located. Krakow is located in a valley, which sucks in the pollution emitted by the inhabitants of villages near Krakow. Unfortunately, there is no help for this. The air in Krakow is disgusting.
As residents of Krakow we advise against moving to Krakow to live here. There are many cities in Eastern Europe that are as cheap or even cheaper to live in that are not as dirty and jammed as Krakow. Krakow is a perfect place for a city break, a week trip or a few months stay in summer when the air is clean. It’s good to take advantage of quality service and low prices, cheap alcohol and nice restaurants in Krakow and then move elsewhere.
To live and work here for a longer period of time, Krakow is not suitable and as long term residents of Krakow, we definitely do not recommend moving to Krakow.
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