Quality of life
Until recently perceived as the city of factories (known as "Textile Industry Kingdom" or "Polish Manchester"), Łódź is currently the third largest city in Poland and a modern one, open to changes and undergoing constant transformations. It is the industrial and cosmopolitan past that defined the unique character of the city.
Łódź is a city with an unusual history. Even though it was granted town privileges in 1423, it was not only until the 1820s that it started growing considerably, attaining economic significance. Within just 60 years, Łódź underwent a massive change. The tiny commune of craftsmen it was in the 1850s turned into a powerful industrial centre with a population of around half a million in 1910.
Nothing illustrates the dynamic growth of Łódź during the industrial revolution better than a 20-fold increase in population which Łódź observed between 1850 and 1900. The pace and the scope of Łódź's progress in these years can only be compared with the fastest growing cities in the world in that time, such as Manchester, Chicago, Los Angeles or Yokohama.
The rapid industrialization and the dynamic development of the textile sector contributed to the city’s status of a powerful industrial centre, and shaped its unique architecture which became the visit card of Łódź: red bricks factories, eclectic tenements houses and splendid palaces and villas of industrialists.
The ongoing changes in the city are having a profound effect on the attractiveness of Łódź as a place to work and live in. The inhabitants appreciate not only the city’s geographical location and transport connections, its specific vibe and lower costs of living than in other comparably sized cities in the region, but also vast availability of green spaces and Łódź’s broad cultural and entertainment offering.
- According to the report by Deloitte company, 64% of those not living in Łódź claimed to be open to the possibility of taking up employment in Łódź. Good transport connections significantly affect the frequency of visits to the city. Further development of the labour market in Łódź may make it attractive for Łódź-born people currently living in Warsaw who may become a potential resource of human capital. In the majority of cases, attractive financial terms and a promise of professional development could encourage the respondents to work in the place of their domicile. It should be noted that 20% of the respondents declared that they would even be willing to accept a lower salary, because the lack of monthly travel costs and reduced inconvenience would balance out the difference.
A city to live in
The ongoing changes in the city are having a profound effect on the attractiveness of Łódź as a place to work and live in. The inhabitants appreciate not only the city’s geographical location and transport connections, its specific vibe and lower costs of living than in other comparably sized cities in the region, but also vast availability of green spaces and Łódź’s broad cultural and entertainment offering.
According to the report by Deloitte company, 64% of those not living in Łódź claimed to be open to the possibility of taking up employment in Łódź. Good transport connections significantly affect the frequency of visits to the city. Further development of the labour market in Łódź may make it attractive for Łódź-born people currently living in Warsaw who may become a potential resource of human capital. In the majority of cases, attractive financial terms and a promise of professional development could encourage the respondents to work in the place of their domicile. It should be noted that 20% of the respondents declared that they would even be willing to accept a lower salary, because the lack of monthly travel costs and reduced inconvenience would balance out the difference.
A city to visit
Łódź is the heart of the creative industry, clubbing, art events and festivals. It is in Łódź that the Polish film industry has developed and the world-famous Łódź Film School (with Andrzej Wajda, Roman Polański and Krzysztof Kieślowski among its graduates) was established.
The attractiveness of the city is also increasingly appreciated by the tourism sector: in 2019, Łódź was recognised in the Lonely Planet’s "Best in Travel" ranking as one of the best travel destinations, overtaking, among others, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Maldives or Houston.
To find out more about Łódź go to: lodz.travel/en/
A green city
Łódź is already the second greenest city in Poland where green spaces constitute almost 19 percent of the area (5,405 ha). The efforts to make the city greener and greener are ongoing and include creating pocket parks, arranging large-scale urban revitalization works, and carrying out revitalization works in historic parks in the city centre.
Another large green investment is Expo Horticultural. The main topic of the Expo is “Nature of the City” which symbolizes perceiving the city as a safe and healthy place to live in. The modernization of the Zoo and the construction of the Orientarium are other large investments.
As greenery became very important for the City authorities, in 2012, the Urban Greenery Management Office was created. The authorities also hired the City Gardener and in 2019 the Department of Climate and Ecology came into being. Officers of the Department deal with low-emission transport, furnace replacement, and river retention.
In 2019 Łódź became the coordinator of the nation-wide EKOstrategia project developed by the Union of Polish Metropolises. The project aims at identifying various aspects of the condition of today’s environment, and devising a series of solutions which will allow for reducing their negative impact of climate change, and for improving the residents quality of living.
An open city
Łódź is famous for its multicultural roots and traditions. For years, it has been a pot of cultures and nationalities that built its greatness. Thanks to their coexistence and cooperation, a city of unique character in the scale of Europe arose a multicultural industrial centre in the heart of Europe. The traditions of openness and tolerance are still alive in our city. Łódź is an open city that welcomes everyone who wants to be its citizen and become a part of its society. The city is a popular destination for students, specialists and managers as well as for manual workers from abroad.
As confirmed by statistical data, in recent years, Łódź became one of the most common destinations for foreigners relocating to Poland. The majority of them are Ukrainian- or Russian-speaking newcomers from across the eastern border, but there is also an important number of Spaniards and Italians among them.
To facilitate the newcomers’ first steps in Łódź, the city authorities has launched an urban support programme for foreigners, including among others the creation of an information point at the Residents Contact Centre of the City of Łódź Office where all necessary information is given in Polish, English, Ukrainian and Russian.
Foreigners moving to Łódź represent various business sectors and expertises. Among them, there are both skilled blue collar workers with practical skills and professional qualifications as well as white collars, including for example IT specialists and experienced managers.
In 2019, 43 562 non-EU nationals were issued work permits. Łódź Voivodeship is third after Mazovian (capital city - Warsaw) and Greater Poland (capital city - Poznań) Voivodeships in issuing work permits. The graph below shows the number of work permits issued in selected voivodeships (Source: the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy).
The average time of issuing the decision on a work permits in 2020 does not exceed 30 days. In the Department of Citizens' Affairs and Foreigners in Łódź Province Office, which is responsible for issuing the work permits for Łódź Voivodeship was created a special call center dedicated for all who want to collect information on the legalization of stay and work of foreigners, including all companies interested in employing people from abroad.
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