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To: xropotkin who wrote (62746)	4/25/2005 2:06:22 PM
From: Elroy Jetson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

The Deutsche-Welle "European Journal", which I watch on a PBS channel, had a story about a month ago about Germans moving accross the border to Poland and this story below about Polish citizens moving to towns accross the border in Germany where German citizens have left to find jobs in Western Germany. deutsche-welle.de Direct from the DW-TV studio in Brussels, "European Journal" focuses on political and economic developments in the EU and the rest of Europe. They're a very sober show not given to exaggeration, although simplistic. I think the German government's message "the European Union provides wonderous benefits" is fairly obvious, along with delicate coverage of the problems created. .

To: xropotkin who wrote (62746)	4/25/2005 2:34:46 PM
From: Elroy Jetson	Respond to of 74559

After a quick search, it certainly seems that most of the activity is Polish citizens buying cheap homes just accross the border in eastern Germany - where Germans moved away after reunification to get better jobs. Two great examples of income density determining real estate price. Even castles aren't safe as the Poles invade Germany Telegraph UK - By Kate Connolly in Penkun Germany - 11/03/2005 telegraph.co.uk Wealthy Poles are invading the border regions of Germany and snapping up properties at rock bottom prices in what estate agents call a dramatic reversal of historical roles. The widespread expectation that after Poland joined the European Union its cheap homes would be bought up by Germans has been turned on its head as the Poles search for "lebensraum" in the west. For centuries Germans have headed east - as knights, traders or, most notoriously, builders of a Third Reich. Now the Poles are going in the other direction, not just as migrant labourers but as house buyers. They are attracted by average prices of around £12,000 for a family home in good repair. A run-down cottage can be bought for as little as £200 and a "chic manor house with indoor pool" comes at £220,000 The trend says as much about the desperate economic state of east Germany and the exodus of locals as it does about the Poles' entrepreneurial zeal and desire to catch up with their richer neighbours after decades of communism. Michal Wojtysiak recently became the owner of a quaint, century-old building in Penkun. The 42-year-old Polish catering manager bought the village butchers, family house and florist's all for a ridiculous £3,700. A few streets away a retired doctor, Andrzej-Jerzy Wroblewski, 62, proudly strolled the grounds of the derelict Apostolic church, now his for £970, as is the old bakery nearby, a steal, even by Polish standards at £730. Both are from Szczecin, 10 miles from Penkun, a shipbuilding boom town whose citizens can no longer afford to live there. More and more are buying property in eastern Germany and commuting to their homeland over what was once a tightly-controlled border. "I would pay at least four times this if I was fortunate enough to find anything similar on the outskirts of Szczecin," said Mr Wojtysiak. He expects to spend £8,000 on his property before he can move in. Penkun is not a rundown dump but a picturesque village flanked by two lakes and a peach-coloured castle. Like most towns in former communist east Germany, it was thoroughly renovated four years ago and has a modern sewerage system, new power cables and freshly-plastered facades. On the surface it does not look economically depressed. But the money spent on its revival has failed to deter two thirds of Penkuners from moving elsewhere and leaving a third of local houses empty. "The properties on offer are nothing less than giveaways, even if they need a little investment," said Magdalena Pysz, a Polish estate agent. She has sold seven houses and rented out 10 since the local authority began targeting Poles as potential buyers in November. "The point is to have someone living in them, who will stop them from going to ruin and might breathe a bit of life back into communities virtually bereft of young people. "The Poles love the Prussian order, the cleanliness, the lack of corruption and the neat, cobbled streets." As he pored over the sales contract, Mr Wojtysiak was amazed to discover that the Germans had bent over backwards to lure him to Penkun. As long as he drops a plan to replace wooden window frames with PVC, the state will pay him 40 per cent of his renovation costs even if Polish labourers do the work. "I think I might be able to stretch to their request," he said with a grin. The campaign's publicity proclaims: "I study in Poland but live in Germany, hey, how about you?" This has attracted most interest from professionals and their families. "All of a sudden, rather than the feared cheap labour the Germans expected, Poles are coming with the money and giving the area a sense of hope," said Miss Pysz. Worries that locals would resent the newcomers from the east have so far proved unfounded. Irmgard Prinz, 76, said: "We welcome the Poles with open arms. So many people have already left - doctors, dentists, the butcher, young people. "This town, which was our pride and joy, is going to die out unless we let them come." .