5 Polish Cities That Are Similar To America (Life In Poland vs. USA)

The history of Poland and the United States is a long, close, and overall friendly relationship.

The relationship of the USA and Poland often gives us many pleasant surprises, and as an American living in Poland I’d like to give you perhaps even a BIGGER surprise by telling you:

Many Polish cities can actually remind Americans of areas in our country back home.

So, if you’re a native of the amazing country of Poland or if you’re a “Yank” like myself who is fascinated by this lovely culture, sit back relax and enjoy a list of the similarities between these Polish cities and their American counterparts.

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7 Reasons Americans Love Life In Poland:

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TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Introduction
1:06 #5 Warsaw Is New York and Chicago
4:31 #4 Kraków Is Austin, Texas
6:24 #3 Wrocław Is Boston and Pittsburgh
7:45 #2 Katowice Is Atlanta (And Silesia Is “The South”)
10:01 #1 Zakopane Is Aspen, Colorado

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5. Warsaw Is New York and Chicago

Now, forgive us for starting with the most obvious comparison, however I believe that by adding “Chicago” into the mix, we can add some unexpected insights here.

Additionally, Chicago, as every Pole knows, not only has a large Polish community… but the city itself often calls Chicago the “largest Polish city outside of Poland” with an estimated 1.9 million people of Polish ethnicity in the area.

Of course the fact that Warsaw is the financial capital of the country and one of the most diverse helps draw the comparison to New York City…

However again much like the Chicago skyscrapers, indications of American industry such as Warsaw’s well-known “Coca-Cola” sign, and overall “faster pace” of life compared to anywhere else in the country, also helps draw similarities.

4. Kraków Is Austin, Texas

Much like Austin, Texas, Kraków is what we call in the US a “college town” wherein a major university or universities are one of the defining characteristics of the city’s culture…

And you can’t think of a college town without thinking about how the student life and youth culture affects it.

With this in mind, I would compare Kraków to Austin, Texas in many ways.

3. Wrocław Is Boston and Pittsburgh

Now it’s time to talk about one of the other major “college towns” in Poland…

Wrocław.

Boston is probably the city most known for being full of “smart students” due to Harvard University, Tufts University, Berkelee School of Music, and many other colleges being located in the area…

And yet Boston also has a “working class” history and a rougher edge associated with it due to its class divisions and immigration history.

Wrocław is a city full of some of the best universities in the country including the Uniwersytet Wrocławski, Politechnika Wrocławska, Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wrocławiu and many others…

In addition to its well known industrial past and history of being a battleground in major wars. You can’t learn about Wrocław without learning about the history of countries fighting over it.

2. Katowice Is Atlanta (And Silesia Is “The South”)


Lastly, I compared Atlanta to Katowice since Atlanta is generally considered the “capital of the South” in the sense that it is the largest metropolitan city in the south and when people in the South make a bunch of money they often move to Atlanta.

Additionally, I think that the actual architecture of Atlanta and Katowice are similar, since they are mixture of modern 20th and 21st century buildings right next to historic industrial buildings from the past.

1. Zakopane Is Aspen, Colorado

Although there are many cities in the United States that are well known for their skiing, wood cabins, and so on…

I think the easiest comparison for many Americans will simply be Aspen, Colorado.

This is because when you think of skiing in the United States… you’re always going to first mention the state of Colorado but more specifically if you ask most Americans to think of the first word that comes to mind when you say “Aspen”… you will think skiing, mountains, or winter.