We sent our first teachers to Poland in 2020. Six years on, we’ve noticed something we don’t see with every country we work with: almost nobody leaves and doesn’t come back. They’re either still there, well past their first contract, or they’ve gone home and keep finding excuses to fly back and visit the friends, colleagues, and city they left behind.
That’s not the kind of thing you can fake with a good marketing page. So we asked ourselves why, and pulled together what we’ve actually heard from our own teachers over six years to answer the question properly.
Do Teachers Who Go to Poland Actually Stick With It?
Yes, more than we see elsewhere. Of the teachers we placed in that first 2020 cohort, a good number are still working in the same city, and the rest treat Poland as a regular stop on their travel calendar rather than a place they visited once and moved on from. Some have gone on to promote within their school, or move between our partner schools in different cities without ever leaving Poland altogether. When teachers keep going back on their own time and their own money, years after their contract ended, that tells you more than any survey could.
Is Poland Safe to Teach In?
Very. This is the single most consistent thing we hear from teachers, and it’s not just a feeling. Poland recorded the biggest improvement of any country in the 2026 Global Peace Index, jumping from 45th to 22nd place globally, with the report specifically noting that Poland’s homicide rate is among the lowest in Europe. That improvement has followed a period of domestic political stability, so it’s not a one-off blip in the data. For a first-time teacher abroad, or a parent asking questions before you go, that matters more than almost anything else on this list, and it’s the reason “is it safe?” is usually the shortest conversation we have with new applicants.
Can You Save Money Teaching in Poland?
Less than you would in parts of Asia, and we’d rather tell you that upfront than let you find out after you’ve signed a contract. Saving potential in Poland doesn’t match what teachers can put away in China, for example. But what Poland does have going for it is a steadily strengthening currency and a growing economy. The złoty has appreciated meaningfully against the dollar over the past year, and the EBRD expects Poland’s economy to grow by around 3% in 2026, with inflation easing at the same time. Day to day living costs are also considerably lower than the UK. Numbeo’s July 2026 data puts a single person’s monthly costs, excluding rent, at around 3,069 złoty. So while you’re not going abroad to build a big savings pot, your money goes further and the currency itself isn’t losing ground the way it might elsewhere.
What Are Polish Schools Actually Like to Work For?
Small and personal, in a good way. Most of the schools we place teachers with in Poland have a hands-on owner and a team of ten to twenty foreign teachers, rather than being one small part of a huge corporate chain. That means you’re not just a number on a spreadsheet. You’re working somewhere that feels more like a family than a franchise, with a group of colleagues who are going through the same adjustment as you, at the same time. It also means the owner usually knows your name, your timetable and your problems, which matters a lot in the first few months when everything else is unfamiliar.
What’s It Like Living in Poland, and Getting Around Europe?
This is where Poland has an advantage most other TEFL destinations can’t match. You get big cities like Warsaw and Kraków, skiing in the south, beaches in the north, and centuries of culture and history in between. But the real draw for a lot of our teachers is location. Being based in Poland puts you in the heart of Europe, with cheap flights and easy weekend trips to countries most people only get to visit once in a lifetime. If you’re the kind of person who wants your year abroad to double as a base for exploring a continent, this is hard to beat.
How Easy Is It to Settle in Poland?
Fairly easy, especially compared with Asia. English is widely spoken in Poland, which takes a lot of the daily friction out of things like banking, shopping and getting around. If you’re coming from the UK or the US, Poland will still feel culturally different, but it’s a smaller leap than Thailand or China. For teachers who want an adventure without a completely disorientating first few months, that’s a real selling point.
So, Why Is Teaching in Poland So Popular?
Put it all together and the picture is consistent: teachers feel safe, their money stretches further even if it doesn’t stretch as far as in Asia, the schools feel like communities rather than employers, the location makes European travel easy, and settling in doesn’t take long. None of that is a single knockout reason. It’s the combination of them all that keeps teachers there or keeps bringing them back.
If that sounds like the kind of year you’re after, have a look at our Poland program page for the details, or email us directly at info@impact-teaching.com and we’ll talk you through what to expect.
