Why is Poland so poor and still in the EU?

I am a French student, just over a month ago; I left my country to live 3 months in Poland as an Erasmus trainee. France is one of the richest and considered among the most advanced countries in Europe. Poland on the other hand, is a poorer and less developed country.

But is it really? To me, it’s just a country of contrasts. I’m staying in Łódź, a city that isn’t touristic at all. It used to be the centre of textile production in Europe until the industry was moved out of Europe. The city suffered a lot from those events. It looks a bit grey and sad. But like any industrial city.

On the other hand, Kraków, Gdańsk, Malbork or Warszawa are absolutely beautiful cities. Poland has this unique way of making you feel like you’re walking in a village when really you’re in the old town of a big city. It’s beautiful, very green and really nice overall.

That’s just tourism. Now let’s talk about transportation. All the cities I have been too had a wide bus/tramway network that allowed me to move efficiently anywhere. Warszawa has the most recent metro in Europe with the second line opened since 2006. Overall, the train network covers the country pretty well. The trains are modern and comfortable; they also offer power sockets, free Wi-Fi and free bottles of water for high speed trains.

The choice of food is just as large and the quality is equivalent to what we have in France. At the restaurant you can pay by card like anywhere else.

I am a research trainee and the university labs are very well equipped with high-tech machines and the education seems good.

I can’t tell anything about infrastructures as I haven’t used them. But what I’m trying to say is that if I showed you a picture of a street in Poland, you wouldn’t be able to guess where it is. Life is similar to France. I have noticed differences like the wide use of gas (nuclear energy is the main source of energy in France) and the price of life overall.

What makes Poland poor to the eyes of everyone is the level of life. The monthly salary is low therefore rent, food, restaurants and life overall is less expensive. But please, stop picturing Poland as an “uninteresting 3rd world country” (I’ve heard people refer to poorer country as it). It is a truly beautiful country with a rich and inspiring history, cool food and beautiful cities. A very nice country!

Edit: I’m tired of people mocking France in the comments. This post is all about seeing the good side of countries, why do you guys feel the necessity to just mock a nation? Besides, that is not MY point of view but just the statically point of view. If you look at stats, France is indeed wealthy and developed. But then again, I don’t care. What I do care about here is Poland!

Also to those saying I’m wrong, you’re right! As I am not Polish myself, I have a very narrow view on the country. But it felt like justice defending Poland when it’s looked down by so many