Moving to Warsaw

Today we look at moving to Warsaw in Poland from Muscat in Oman. We highlight cost of living and other major differences likely to be experienced in our series of short blogs on moving between different international locations.
In Warsaw people speak Polish. In Muscat people speak Arabic.

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. Muscat is the capital and largest city of Oman. Warsaw is home to many national institutions and government agencies, as well as to many domestic and international companies. Warsaw produces 12% of Poland's national income. Warsaw has the biggest concentration of electronics and high-tech industry in Poland. Muscat's economy is dominated by trade, petroleum and porting. The more traditional exports of the city included dates, mother of pearl, and fish.

The overall cost of living rank in Warsaw is 159 out of 300 global locations, which equates it with middle cost of living locations.  An expatriate moving from Muscat to Warsaw will experience a change in cost of living of 17.1%.
In terms of the hardship people are likely to experience, assessed in global terms, Warsaw is ranked as a some hardship location with a hardship index of 20% which is the same as Muscat.

Source: Cost of living Warsaw, Poland as at July 2011.