Expats – why did they fall in love with Wrocław?

They come from all over the world to work here. However different they may be, the majority falls in love with the city and its atmosphere. Expats, to whom this article is devoted, stay here for good increasingly often and have a great influence of the city’s development.

Wrocław – The meeting place

„Wrocław – The meeting place”, the city’s official motto, is not an empty slogan. According to the Office for Foreigners, in the capital of Lower Silesia live approx. 15 thousand foreigners. As much as 59% of them come from non-EU countries – with the highest share of Ukrainians, Russians, and Belarusians. Among representatives of EU countries, Germans, Spanish, Italians, French and British prevail.

Why is the city so appealing to the foreigners? Considering international corporations opening their departments here, the reason is quite obvious – good location, convenient land and air connections and excellent infrastructure. But there are other reasons. The strong asset of the capital of Lower Silesia is its unique character, as those interested themselves underline.

“I liked Wrocław from the very beginning. It has not only a unique architecture, but also wide cultural offer. Besides, they call it Venice of the North” smiles Carl, employee of a big bank, who came to Wrocław from Italy some months ago.

Amandine, freelance graphic designer from France, shares Carl’s opinion. She has lived here for 4 years and provides services to the clients from all the West Europe. “I fell in love with Wrocław at first sight. Whenever I have some free time, I enjoy long walks through the streets hiding amazing stories. I also appreciate the openness of people which are very kind, which reminds me of France, where I come from” she says.

Good cost-quality relation

According to the foreigners living here, it is important that Wrocław is a city where business prospects are numerous. “My company has bought here some apartments in a very appealing location, nearby the Wrocław’s Rynek. They are an investment for the future. As far as I know, it is planned to hire more employees soon” adds Carl.

Not only companies buy apartments in Wrocław. Amandine, who wants to settle down here for good, every time more seriously considers a purchase of the apartment: “Day by day I am more convinced to stay here indefinitely. The prices of apartments and maintenance, comparing to the city’s advantages, are very reasonable. Adding the charm of Old Town and pre-war aura of Wrocław, I am sure that there will be more people like me every year”.

Wrocław and nothing behind

What is the key to the appeal of Wrocław? The portal Morizon.pl in a survey on the attractiveness of the city asked the foreigners why they appreciate Wrocław. As it turned out, the majority of surveyed considers Wrocław a safe (4,67 out of 6), friendly (4,35 out of 6) and interesting (4,55 out of 6) place.

It is evidenced by numerous prizes received by the city. The capital of Lower Silesia took 6th place in the global ranking of rising markets cities and 9th in the classification of cities with best strategies of attracting investments in the Global Cities of Future 2014/2015 ranking organised by the fDi intelligence from the Financial group. In turn, Tech.co portal recognised Wrocław as one of ten best cities for “digital natives”, describing the city as a safe place with a moderate climate and lively nightlife.

Continuous growth

What are the prospects of Wrocław as regards the inflow of employees from abroad? In 2016, the record activity of business real estate developers was observed, i.e. 141 500 sq.m. of new areas in 15 architectural projects. For comparison, in the period 2011-2015 the average new supply was three times lower – 54.6 thousand sq.m. a year – according to the propertynews.pl portal. The apartments are in the analogical situation. Newly constructed investments are the guarantee of the continuous development of the city.

Our expert

Teresa Witkowska, Sales Director in RED Development

Wrocław is, without doubt, one of the most promising cities for the developer market, especially in terms of the foreigners who work in the capital of Lower Silesia. We see a growing interest in the purchase of apartments by companies for its employees. While operating here for stable, the companies often opt for the purchase of apartments as they consider it a more rentable solution in the long-term perspective.

Currently, we are in the process of sale of the last pool of apartments in Nowa Papiernia investment located in the very heart of Wrocław. This project combines the charm of historic Wrocław with modern solutions. Considering the sales at the previous stage, I am convinced that in this case, the future residents will not only be citizens of Wrocław, but also foreigners who come here for work.