I want to tell you about my second job in Europe, seasonal farm job. This job was different from warehouse, but it saved me a lot of money because housing was free and included with job. This is perfect for EuroJobLogis because job + housing together.
After warehouse job, I was tired of heavy lifting. My friend from Ukraine told me "Come work with me on apple farm in Grójec, near Warsaw, 3 months, good money". Grójec is famous for apples in Poland, biggest apple area in Europe.
I thought farm work is easy, just pick apples. Truth is harder, but money was good because no rent.
Here is how farm job works:
You work 3 to 6 months, seasonal contract, called Umowa o pracę sezonową in Poland. You work only in harvest season, June to October. You need to apply early, March or April, because farms fill fast.
Salary: They pay per hour or per box. On my farm, they paid 22 PLN per hour, around 5 euro per hour, plus bonus if you pick many boxes. I picked around 15 boxes per day, each box 15 kg. If you pick more than 20 boxes, you get extra 10 PLN per box. Some days I picked 25 boxes and made 300 PLN per day (70 euro). That was best day.
Average monthly salary: I worked 26 days per month, 10 hours per day, 260 hours. 260 x 22 PLN = 5720 PLN = around 1320 euro. Minus tax, net around 1200 euro. Plus bonus around 200 euro extra if fast. So I made 1400 euro net in good month.
But biggest saving was housing. Farm gives you house free. Our house was old but okay. We had 6 people in house, 2 rooms, 3 people per room. Shared kitchen, bathroom. Owner gave us free electricity and water. So I paid zero for rent. Zero for transport because farm is where you live, you walk 2 minutes to field. So my costs were only food 200 euro and phone 15 euro. So from 1400 euro salary, I saved 1185 euro per month.
In 3 months, I saved 3555 euro. That is more than I saved in warehouse job in 6 months (because rent was 350).
Work is hard though. You wake up 5 AM, start 6 AM, work until 4 PM with 1 hour lunch break. Sun is hot in summer, 30 degrees, you sweat a lot. You pick apples from trees, need ladder. Your arms get tired. Your hands get cuts from branches. You need gloves and hat. Farm gave us gloves but not hat, I bought my own for 20 PLN.
Also you live far from city. My farm was 50 km from Warsaw, in village with only one small shop. No cafes, no nightlife. After work, you just eat, sleep, watch phone. Some people feel bored. But I liked because I saved money and was quiet. On weekend, we took bus to Warsaw for 15 PLN to buy things and see city.
Food: We cooked together, 6 workers. We bought rice, chicken, vegetables from Lidl, cheap. We cooked big pot and shared. Cost per person 150-200 PLN per week. Cheaper than eating alone.
Contract and papers: Farm owner did all papers. He made work permit for seasonal workers, called zezwolenie na pracę sezonową. He also made meldunek (address registration) in his house, so I had legal address. Very important for residence card. Good farms do this, bad farms don't. Ask before you go "Czy robicie zezwolenie i meldunek?" If they say no, don't go, because you will be illegal.
How to find seasonal farm job with free housing in 2026?
1. Search on http://OLX.pl "praca sezonowa z zakwaterowaniem" means seasonal job with housing. Many ads. Also on http://praca.pl.
2. Search for jobs in Grójec for apples, Sandomierz for berries, Mazury for vegetables. These areas always need workers summer.
3. Ask in Facebook groups: "Praca w Polsce dla cudzoziemców" or "Egyptians in Poland". Many farm owners post there.
4. Don't pay agency fee for farm job. Farm should be free to apply. If someone asks 300 euro to give you farm job, it is scam. Real farm pays you, you don't pay them.
5. Check housing photos before you go. Ask owner to send photos of house where you will sleep. If he doesn't send, it might be bad housing.
My experience after 3 months farm:
Good: Saved 3555 euro, learned how to pick apples fast, met good people from Ukraine, Georgia, and Nepal. Had free housing, no stress about rent and transport. Got strong body from physical work.
Bad: Hard physical work, far from city, same work every day boring, housing with 6 people not always clean, no privacy.
Would I do again? Yes, if I need to save fast. For new workers coming from Egypt who have no money for deposit, seasonal farm job with free housing is best first step. You work 3 months, save 3000 euro, then you have money for deposit for your own apartment in city and you can look for better job like warehouse or factory.
For EuroJobLogis readers, my tip is: Don't look only for warehouse jobs in big cities. Look for farm jobs with housing included. They are not comfortable but they give you start without big money. Job and housing together is key. If housing is free, you save double.
Now I work again in warehouse but I have 3500 euro saved from farm, so I could pay deposit for my own room and have buffer if job stops. That buffer is very important in Europe. Without buffer, if you lose job, you lose apartment in one month.
So if you are in Egypt now and have little money, consider seasonal farm job as first job. Work 3 months, save, then move to city job with housing money ready.
Good luck.