I'm Somewhat Furious

I’m somewhat furious, and I guess I’m at that point in my life where — when I look around — I’d like to see a bit of that fury in other people too.

And — I’ll be honest — I do see some, but from a perspective where it’s me who’s the nutcase in the eyes of everyone around.

Well, maybe I am.

But first, the facts: I come from a fairly poor family — we never went on any exotic vacations, we never had a new car, in a word: we weren’t exactly rolling in it.

I’ve been working since 1998. The late 90s in Poland were tough on the job market: it wasn’t until 2001 that I found a job where I could prove myself, and back then I felt like I’d hit the jackpot — my salary suddenly doubled and it was very pleasant: I could breathe a sigh of relief, all the more so because at home my young spouse was waiting for me, taking care of our first son, just a year old.

Right: at home. Back then I considered it the natural order of things, but we lived in a microscopic studio of 25m² in a communist-era apartment blocks that didn’t exactly spoil you. Even so, I felt that if we loved each other and stuck together — we’d make it through whatever life threw at us; and someday, eventually, by working hard, we’d get to a reasonably comfortable life. That’s what our parents and grandparents had always taught us anyway: “Hard work pays off"In the original is a well-known rhyming Polish saying (“ciężką pracą ludzie się bogacą”) which translates to literally “hard work makes people rich” they’d say.

Spoiler: they lied to me! ;)

Today the end of 2026 is approaching. All this time I kept building up my skills, tried not only to grow professionally but also to launch my own business, to be guided by rational choices, and to keep working hard the whole time. Today I’m the father of two wonderful sons and the husband of the same beautiful, intelligent woman I got together with more than a quarter century ago — in a word: a life full of success!

There’s just one teeny little snag: my house. I don’t have one, and I’d really like to. I’d like to be able to step out on a cool summer morning and, together with my spouse, eat a delicious breakfast or drink our morning coffee while looking at the green of the grass or trees. I’d like to be able to install solar panels with a battery to lower my electric bills and protect myself against power outages. I’d like to have my own garage.

Imagine: for 25 years I’ve been earning more than the average person in this country, my wife works too and has no complaints about her paycheck — and still, we can’t afford a damn house in damn Poland! Not even in Warsaw, the capital of Poland — we can’t afford a house with a garage even out in the countryside!

What went wrong?

Housing crisis?

The direct inspiration for all this grumbling was a report published on September 2, 2026 on the Taylor and Francis Online website . The report tries to compare European countries by answering the question: “What size home can you buy if you set aside 1/3 of your salary toward buying a house with a 30-year mortgage”.

Now take a look at the little map below: the map shows, by color intensity, the floor area you’ll be able to afford in different regions of European countries: the darker, the smaller the floor area.

You’ve probably heard that Poland is relatively cheap compared to the developed countries of the West, huh?

Well, now take a look at this map. Then repeat to yourself once more: Poland is cheap. Then look at the map again.

Feel dumb?

I felt dumb.

But on the other hand I felt a bit relieved. Because for the past few years I’d been living sort of on the edge of two (mismatched) worlds: on one hand, friendsAlso from the IT industry (so with good salaries), and some of them even older than me struggling with their mortgages, on the other hand, all around me I see tons of people renovating their houses while at the same time swapping their cars for ones whose servicing costs alone make my knees go weak.

Still, I felt I had to do something. The following options took shape:

• I’ll hustle for a better job, take out a mortgage and finally buy myself a house out in total bumfuck nowhere
• I’ll follow in the footsteps of the richest people: stop meekly paying all my taxes, start running scams, maybe steal a little, make my millions and casually buy myself a house in California
• I’ll give up on my lust for ownership, but at least I’ll put together a souped-up analysis of what’s fact versus what’s being said publicly on the subject.

Of course — without thinking twice — I went for scenario number three, because I am (and none of you should have any doubt about this) a nutcase unfit for life in society 💪