Different countries have different rules, and the new EU members may/may not have harmonized all their laws yet. When I lived in Prague, for instance, foreigners couldn't own property, but they could own corporations, and corporations could own property. Kind of strange. Any decent sized city, and Poznan certainly qualifies, will have an American Chamber of Commerce ("AmCham"), that'll have regular get togethers where lots of your fellow expats can help out. You can find out the details via the local consulate, or if there isn't one, through the embassy in Warsaw. Also, find the expat. bars (you'll find them pretty quickly ), and start asking around - there's a bunch of standard newbie questions when you hit the ground, and folks there will answer them for you over beers, always the best way...