Job Discussion Forums

kyivprep · Joined: 08 Jan 2007 Posts: 4

I've been offered a job in Bydgoszcz and would like information about what the city is like. Also can anyone tell me what the cost of living is like there? what kind of salary should I bee looking for

bje · Joined: 19 Jun 2005 Posts: 527

Surely if you've been offered a job you ought to know the salary attached? Do a search on Google and see what it brings up regarding this city.

Will. · Joined: 02 May 2003 Posts: 783 Location: London Uk

Bydgoszcz can be aptly described by its situation on the main road from north to south, Gdansk up there and Warsaw down there and along the way there is a small town of 400, 000 odd souls. There is a ring road which allows travellers to bypass Bydgoszcz, some may say this is fortunate.
I stayed there 3 years.

It is what you make of it.
below 20 degs C in winter and 30 odd in summer ...if you stay.
As long as you don't expect to return back home with a fortune ...you won't.

Can be lonely if you are not a drinker or unable to exist in smoky drink soaked hell holes called clubs.

nocturnalme · Joined: 11 Aug 2004 Posts: 73 Location: Gdansk, Poland

I spent 2 years in Bydgoszcz and loved it. I still miss it! There again, I like drinking in smoky places! There isn't much else to do, except the gym or cinema.
It's a very friendly place, which makes up for its structural ugliness.
Private lessons are easy to get, it's quite cheap, but you'll come back skint.
What school are you thinking of?

afowles · Joined: 02 Jan 2004 Posts: 85 Location: USA

I have known several people who lived there and reactions were mixed. One guy referred to it as Big-Dump and another guy absolutely LOVED it there.

It's a small city, for sure, but it has most of the amenities of any city in Poland. They have ice skating in the square in winter.

You're also close to a few other cool places like Torun and Poznan.

There is a really good place for nalesniki, if I remember correctly. A few cool bars, too.

philyyy · Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 93 Location: Wroclaw

and have just been back for a visit to see some friends over the last couple of days.

I now live in Wroclaw and it is obvious that this place and many other places in Poland are superior architecturally and for certain amenities. However Bydgoszcz is much less touristy and people i.e. students are much friendlier and appreciative of your presence there.

I find it hard to understand why people think it is smokier than anywhere else in Poland, Poland is a smoky country.

There are about 30 pubs in and around the town square, which is pretty enough but nothing remarkable. Outside the centre the buildings are probably nicer than the ones here in Wroclaw to be honest. It is not 100% concrete tower blocks in Bydgoszcz like it is here.

As far as money goes, last year I earnt 1,575zl with a free flat thrown in, that was with International House. People will tell you that's not enough but unless you have a drink problem or you're just a complete idioyt with money then it is. With I.H. (if that's who your job is with) you also get free medical cover, holidays paid for, sick absence paid for - not all but some per centage - so it often works out better than an hourly rate or whatever.

If you want any more info send my a message.

philyyy · Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 93 Location: Wroclaw

and have just been back for a visit to see some friends over the last couple of days.

I now live in Wroclaw and it is obvious that this place and many other places in Poland are superior architecturally and for certain amenities. However Bydgoszcz is much less touristy and people i.e. students are much friendlier and appreciative of your presence there.

I find it hard to understand why people think it is smokier than anywhere else in Poland, Poland is a smoky country.

There are about 30 pubs in and around the town square, which is pretty enough but nothing remarkable. Outside the centre the buildings are probably nicer than the ones here in Wroclaw to be honest. It is not 100% concrete tower blocks in Bydgoszcz like it is here.

As far as money goes, last year I earnt 1,575zl with a free flat thrown in, that was with International House. People will tell you that's not enough but unless you have a drink problem or you're just a complete idioyt with money then it is. With I.H. (if that's who your job is with) you also get free medical cover, holidays paid for, sick absence paid for - not all but some per centage - so it often works out better than an hourly rate or whatever.

If you want any more info send my a message.

kyivprep · Joined: 08 Jan 2007 Posts: 4

thanks for replies.Sounds like more or less any other place, some people hate it and others love it.
I'm coming from Kyiv so I expect things like the weather will be similar, I'm not too worried about that. Confused

cezarek · Joined: 29 Aug 2005 Posts: 149

philyyy · Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 93 Location: Wroclaw

I know you get medical cover for the E.U. part but that only entitles you to the state system as I understand it, which can be slow, especially if you need something major doing.

My school recently paid 600zl for a colleague of mine to have some tests done and it was all sorted in less than 2 weeks.

I don't have a mortgage as the previous typer has but I'd certainly not be in TEFL if I wanted a wage to bring up a family.

The flat we had was nice. Me and my girlfriend had a 70 square metre flat a 20 minute walk from school, close to lots of shops and walkable in 10 minutes to the centre.

caramel · Joined: 25 Aug 2004 Posts: 57 Location: London

Bydgoszcz is a fairly modern city. Compared to Kyiv (which I visited two years ago) it has a lot more facilities (but you do tend to get the same communist flats skyline), the transport is quite efficient, there are pubs, bars, Tesco Very Happy

... If you are going to work for IH Bydgoszcz then they will find a decent flat, support you in your teaching (unless of course you're applying for the DOS position Wink

, pay for your flight and the students are quite friendly overall and I think some of the teachers from this year are returning and they're cool bunch of people and they'll show you how to make the most of this place. Cool

biffinbridge · Joined: 05 May 2003 Posts: 701 Location: Frank's Wild Years

According to IH Bydgoszcz, the town is 'the Venice of northern Poland' at least that's how they described it when I went work for them back in 96.
The pay is pish poor.You need 3000 minimum a month to have an ok life in a city in Poland.IH invented the 'good local salary' expression and it really hides the fact that Poland is bloody expensive for eveything but food and drink and that's only if you consume it at home and live like a hermit.50 zl a day....taxi home as trams stop at about 10 will cost yo about 10-15 zl.A meal in Sphinx (a grill cheapo joint )20 zl a couple of beers 15 zl and that's you just about done.
I go to Poland about 4 times a year as my son is Polish and lives in Poznan. A night in a really cheap hotel is about 120 zl.Mobile phones cost more to run than the UK.Electrical goods and clothes are cheaper in England. A pizza costs about 20 zl.The cinema about 20 zl.IH's salary is an insult and always has been.They prey on young newly qualified teachers promising them 'development'.
Bydgoszcz is ok for a month or two but places like Poznan and Wroclaw are much better.
I drink loads as do most teflers in Poland but even if I didn't I couldn't live on 50zl a day....it's the bread line.

cezarek · Joined: 29 Aug 2005 Posts: 149

I can't help thinking about when I spent a few months in Poznan about 5 years ago, working for Target (desperately crap payers).

The main problem was that from the 3000 zl salary (paid in pounds, with an unfavourable exchange rate), the rent had to be paid, and the flat was a lovely new one in the old town, found originally for a teacher for whom money was not an issue.

Target paid for a few extras, czynsz etc, but I was left with about 1600 a month and lived in real poverty, unable to get back to Warsaw for weekends, travel, anything really. A miserable time.
Even in a provincial city, you can't eat less than about 500 zl per month unless you live like a student, can't go out to any half decent bars, can't travel.

Polish people often earn less, but they don't need to travel home to another country or pay high rents.

When people take IH type 'stopgap' jobs, they are undercutting those of us who teach English for a living.

Master Shake · Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 1202 Location: Colorado, USA

There is a serious discrepancy here between people claiming 1,575 net is the "breadline" and those who say that they couldn't live on twice that amount.

I don't know what you TEFL barons are spending all that extra money on. Granted, I do make a little more than 1,500, but I go out most nights, eat at restaurants a few times a week and have never had a problem making ends meet.

As soon as I find the 4K a month money-train I'll hop on board but until then...

The bottom line is this: Even on 1,500, you can have a better lifestyle than you did in your native country doing the equivalent job.

And nocturnalme, do you know of a girl called Barry White?

dynow · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080

i'm right with ya', shake. any native Pole would be reading these posts, shaking their heads. for one person to not be able to make it comfortably on 3,000 is just absurd to me.

yes, things are very expensive in Poland, but my salary, as a beginner in this profession, paying high rent in a major city, is more than enough for me to feed myself, eat out occasionally, and basically throw back a few beers any night of the week without even having to think about cost.

if I was netting 3,000, I could have a lifestyle far beyond what I had in my native country, and I had a white collar job in a mid-sized corporation.