According to a recent study published by the portal Wszystkoconajwazniejsze.pl, Poles have been consistently returning from emigration for the seventh year in a row, and Europeans are increasingly viewing Poland as a desirable place to live.
Since 2016, the number of Poles in Ireland has decreased by 24 percent, from 122,000 to 93,000. In the U.K., from 2016 to 2022, their number fell from 911,000 to 691,000.
Moreover, the study notes a rising number of French citizens choosing Poland as their new home.
Factors such as Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic have influenced Poles’ decisions to return, as reported by the London’s Sunday Times. Additionally, a growing awareness that Poland, in many aspects, is becoming a more comfortable place to live is diminishing the allure of emigration.
Agnieszka Uby, quoted by Sunday Times, shared her U.K. experience: “In most of my U.K. apartments, I had single-pane windows. It was dreadfully cold in the winter and I had mold on the walls. In one place I even had rats.”
Uby left her position at Google in London in 2019 and returned to Warsaw.
Many IT specialists, who once left Poland seeking higher wages, are now coming back. With the flexibility of remote work and several IT giants relocating their businesses or opening branches in Poland, these professionals no longer see the need to be tied to overseas locations. They are drawn by opportunities at home that promise international careers and competitive salaries.
Historically, French citizens came to Poland primarily as corporate managers overseeing the interests of their companies in the emerging market. Today, more are relocating to Poland to escape increasing safety concerns in French cities.
Recent reports also indicate a similar trend among German citizens, many of whom, for various reasons, are displeased with the situation in their homeland. As a result, they’re purchasing land and properties in Poland, with many choosing to settle there permanently. Poland is now seen in many parts of Europe as a “land of opportunities,” attractive for the quality of life it offers.
Such a perception would have been almost unimaginable just a decade ago.
