Poland, a new promised land

“Poland offers great opportunities. The situation on the labour market is surely much better here than in Spain,” says Oscar Charro, 35, who moved to Poland a year ago. That was a well thought-out decision: he wanted to start a business but in Spain, where a dozen or so small and medium-sized businesses go bust every day, that hardly seemed a good idea. That is why Mr Charro decided to launch his venture in one of the EU countries enjoying faster growth than Spain. He ultimately chose Poland because here, he says, you have space to grow.

“Warsaw is a truly European capital. When I’m here, I feel I’m in the right place at the right time,” he beams. Mr Charro has started a solar energy business. “I’m seriously considering staying in Poland and pursuing my career here,” he adds.

Diego Garea, 32, an IT systems specialist, moved to Warsaw in August last year. He visited the city for the Euro 2012 football tournament, only to learn upon his return to Spain that he had lost his job. He came up with the idea of sending his CV to IT firms in the tournament’s host country. It worked. Since September 2012, he has been employed at a small digital design company. Next month, his girlfriend, who has failed to find a job in Spain, is also coming to Poland. At first she will be using her skills as a native Spanish speaker to find work. Then perhaps her friends will come too and together they will be able to open a Spanish restaurant.

“For us, getting a job in Poland is a great thing. We want to live on our own, feel responsible, have our duties and expenses. We want to be independent,” says Ines Ribas Garau, a 25-year-old from the south of Spain. “Work gives us a chance to grow up,” she adds seriously. Ms Garau believes that work is not just an economic issue but also a psychological one. “Joblessness burns you out mentally, paralysing your social and emotional growth,” she says.

* Via Presseurop.eu, read the original article here.