Woodge

Reuters Monday February 11 2008


"House prices in Lodz have doubled over the past year and a new middle class is moving into newly built neighbourhoods on what was abandoned farmland. A factory has been converted to upmarket apartments.
And Lodz, with its population of around 760,000, remains cheaper than Warsaw. Housing prices have jumped across Poland over the past four years, but both rent and purchase prices in Lodz are still about half Warsaw levels: you can still rent a one-bedroom apartment in Lodz for under 1,000 zlotys ($400).
'I'm raising a daughter on my own and need to think about the future,' said Aneta Tomczyk, 30, who works in a newspaper kiosk. 'Here you have stability and a steady pay-cheque. I'm not a student anymore and can't just up and leave for the UK.'"

Poles trickle back to reviving city