In European terms, Poland still has a relatively cheap standard of living. However, recent price inflation and worldwide economic struggles have worsened the living situation of many Polish low-income earners. Nevertheless living in Poland is still a very good option for expats since the standard of living almost compares to that of Western Europe while the cost of living is only a fraction of what it is in Western Europe.
Due to huge variations in the economic development of the different regions there are booming areas in Poland which have a short supply of housing. There you will usually only find apartments in one of the many concrete prefabricated buildings that were erected thousandfold all over the country in the communist era. Most of the time these buildings have not been renovated since their construction and therefore are therefore in a bad state.
Recently Polish constructors have started building many single-family home settlements on the outskirts of cities. Although they are cheaply built, since they are all prefabricated and there are only few different types of homes, rents in these houses are comparatively high. In addition there is very often hardly any connection to services, like schools, hospitals etc.
Buying a house in Poland instead of renting accommodation quite often is the better choice, at least in the long term. Therefore many expats consider this option. Nevertheless it is important to keep in mind that there are certain legal and economic risks connected to the purchase of property in Poland. It is therefore advisable that you rent an apartment first, which will give you enough time to work out the buying process.