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Capital life - London's bright lights attract young Poles

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Inside Out joins a group of young Poles on a night out and discovers what it means to be young, free and Polish in London.

London's clubs are increasingly hosting popular Polish nights to cater for the influx of young people from the country.

The Poles have come to London to start a new life - and they are keen to prove that there is more to being young and Polish than plumbing and construction jobs.

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Bright lights, big city

Julita is 24-years-old - she's a trainee journalist and has been living in London for five years,

"I love the going out scene. I love the career opportunities we have here," she says enthusiastically.

Julita has come to the capital for its bright lights and big city buzz.

In fact the only thing she misses about her homeland is the food.

But with more and more eastern European restaurants springing up all over the capital, she's never far from a bowl of borsht.

She's also impressed by the friendliness of the Londoners:

"When I compare people in London to people in Poland, they are very friendly over here!

"People in Poland are very miserable. I know that for saying that I will make quite a few enemies but that is the truth.

"I'm not going to stay in Poland just to contribute to the well being of my country, you know - I want to make the best out of what I have."

Liberal London

London is one of the most expensive cities to live in the world.

Even so young Poles find it much easier to make ends meet here than back in Poland, as Julita explains:

"In Poland you might have the greatest education - you even have experience of what you are doing, but still at the end of the day it is very difficult to survive and live just like a human being should," says Julita.

She also likes the fact that attitudes in England are more liberal:

"There is much more pressure put on the girls in Poland because you are expected to have children and get married quite young.

"So I am 24 and whenever I go back home I get all these questions, 'Have you got a long term boyfriend? Are you going to get married? Have you any plans to get kids?' and well, I don't."

Land of opportunity

Another Polish immigrant, Elzbieta, has lived in England for 18 months.

She's 29-years-old, and she's a culture loving accountant:

"I like the cosmopolitan atmosphere that is here in this place."

Elzbieta is working in London to further her career as an accountant.

Polish adverts in a London high street c/o Getty Images

She speaks good English, a must for any Pole looking for a professional job in the UK.

"In Poland I was looking for a job for four months whereas when I came to London, within three weeks I got a job in accounting," she explains.

"I was amazed. I don't see myself in Poland at the moment.

"In know that my friends are still struggling to get better jobs and some of them are unemployed.

"In relative terms I'm earning four to five times more than I was getting in Poland.

"I love travelling and whenever I have opportunity I go abroad and I wouldn't be able to do that with my Polish salary.

"I was able to buy a car here which I was only dreaming about in Poland."

New opportunities

Dariusz, who is 30, is looking for a job in office administration.

He has just arrived in London, but his first impressions are positive.

"Everyday brings something new - possibilities for adventure," he enthuses.

Night life - liberal attitudes are an attraction for young Poles

Dariusz is still finding his feet and he's riding something of an emotional rollercoaster:

"Being here in person it is absolutely something different - it is something overwhelming."

His reason for coming here has nothing to do with getting a better job or making more money.

In Britain he's happy to say, quite openly, that he's gay.

"I came out in England as a gay person so I found my own new life. Basically as being reborn," says Dariusz.

It's not something he contemplated in his staunchly Catholic homeland:

"I wasn't prepared for it because that was imprinted in me as well that being gay is something shameful, and something unpopular and unnatural.

"It is a fantastic feeling. It is a feeling of being in the right place - this is my place, this is my time, this is great, this is life."

This feeling that Britain is a land of opportunity was echoed by almost every young Pole Inside Out spoke to - the feeling that London is full of possibilities.

What struck us most about meeting these young Poles was that they are not in London to make quick money and leave.

London is now the centre of their universe and they plan to enjoy life in England's capital city.

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