Quality of Location and Living Conditions Poland & Krakow
Living conditions
On a regional level, 83.9% of the households have access to broadband in 2019 (76.1% in 2016). On the national level the rate was 86.7% in 2019 and 80.1% in 2016 and shows an increasing trend in comparison to the previous year (77.9%).
The distribution of income in the population per quantile was 4.9 in 2014, 4.9 in 2015 and 4.8 in 2016 – nationwide.
Cultural climate
Krakow is considered to be one of the pearls of Polish culture and national heritage. It used to be the capital of Poland and the home of kings. To this day the city has rich cultural offerings varying from cinemas, theatres, through philharmonic and opera to stand-up and street art. It is difficult to count the exact number of cultural activities per year. Nationwide there are about 7,800 (in 2018; 6,500 in 2016) mass events (gathering more than 300 people at the same venue at the same time), region-wide it is over six thousands.
The share in national public expenditure on culture was 10,3 bn PLN in 2017 – the number has increased in relation to 2015, yet the share has not (8,56 bn PLN, 0.48% of GDP). On a regional level the public expenditure on culture was 848 M PLN (556,98 M PLN in 2015).
Public safety
The crime detectability rate on a regional level is 98.2%, while the number of crimes is almost 74 thousand.
Quality of life
The cost of living in Poland varies depending on exact location. A house or flat in Krakow will be significantly more expensive than in smaller cities and towns of the Małopolska region. The average housing rent including heating and service costs per square meter on a regional level is 2,342 PLN/558€ (renting flat in Krakow, 38-60 m²) + 620 PLN/144€ (utilities) + 45/10€ PLN (Internet), monthly (2019).
There are many childcare places – kindergartens or nurseries. On the regional level there are 2310 institutions (2018) with 132 495 children.
When it comes to health care, nationwide 2.4 medical doctors take care of 1,000 citizens (2019).
Transport
In Poland there are 15 commercial airports. One of the liveliest ones is the airport in Krakow-Balice. In 2019 it handled 8 410 817 passengers. On a national level, all airports in a first half of 2019 have handled 22,3 M passengers. In both cases the numbers are growing, as traveling by plane becomes more popular and cheaper.
The entirety of Poland is connected by a net of roads and highways, as well as railroads. Both old-fashioned and modern trains are in use. It takes about 5 hours to travel from Krakow to Gdansk (seaside town) by a high-speed railway. All major cities have both buses and trams to move around.
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Status: 2020
