Why live in Katowice?
Text from 2017. Laws, rates and prices may have changed since then. Ask an agent
For years Katowice had a poor reputation. It was associated above all with mining and heavy industry, and was considered not very attractive for tourists. True, Katowice is not Kraków or Warsaw, but if you look at it the right way, that may be an advantage. Why live in Katowice?
An attractive job market
There are jobs in Katowice! Statistics Poland recently published data showing that Katowice is among the counties with the lowest unemployment in Poland. Together with Sopot it shares 4th place in this ranking, with a rate of 2.9 (data for January 2017). Compared with, for example, nearby Bytom (15.9), Katowice looks exceptionally attractive!
Affordable flats
The property market in Katowice is buyer-friendly. It will come as no surprise that Katowice is cheaper than Warsaw. However, it is worth bearing in mind that Katowice is also a large city. The average price per square metre here is 4,936 PLN, and the average salary of a Katowice resident is 3,807 PLN. This gives them the purchasing power to buy 0.77 sq m of living space, which is the most in the country.
Why is Katowice cheaper? Because the city has no so-called prestige locations. In addition, there is a high supply of flats on the secondary market.
Culture in Katowice
The city also has a rich range of cultural and entertainment attractions. The NOSPR symphony orchestra is based here, and plenty of concerts and festivals take place, such as Rawa Blues, Off Festival and Tauron Nowa Muzyka. There is no shortage of film events either: we can choose from the Ars Cameralis Festival, the Cult Film Festival, the Katowice Comedy Carnival, the Puppet Theatre Festival… It would take too long to list them all. Nor can we overlook sporting events, such as the WTA Katowice Open tennis tournament, the Silesia Marathon and the Tour de Pologne. Katowice is also famous for the International Congress Centre and the Spodek.
Green spaces!
The city puts great emphasis on making its urban space more attractive, for the sake of comfortable everyday life. Of course, access to public transport, schools, hospitals and other urban infrastructure matters here, but the presence of greenery is also of enormous importance.
Greenery in mining Katowice? Absolutely! We have the Katowice Forest Park, the Three Ponds Valley, Kościuszko Park, the Ochojec nature reserve and the Murcki forests. According to estimates, green areas make up as much as 40 per cent of the city's area. The redevelopment of the city centre was also recently completed, so the city is much more visually attractive today than it used to be.
Why should Katowice be better than, or at least as good as, Kraków and Warsaw? Because it is a pleasant change from them. After all, the slogan promoting the city is "Katowice. For a Change." Katowice is a relatively young city and is really still working on its good name and image. It is still filling in its blank page, and is unpretentious and fresh.
Best regards, Marta Kulawik
