Work / 5 months looking for a job in PL and nothing! suggestions? [22]


There's a saying in the UK that it's often easier to get a new job when you're already employed. In this case, seeing as you are seemingly unemployable, I'd be taking the 4000zl/month job and seeing if you can move on once your language skills have developed.

Certainly, I'd say that someone with a 5 month gap on his CV who is actively turning down jobs is certainly unemployable.

Life / What are the best shopping cities in Poland? [4]

Poznan :)

Law / Start IT business in Poland [17]


It depends on what he wants to do. From the sounds of things, he wants to set up a small company - in which case, it's pointless if he can't communicate.


No no no. This is what's wrong with the entire IT repair/sevice industry in Poland - people promise quick, cheap repairs and then can't deliver. It's far more important to deliver on what you promise - if you tell someone "two weeks, guaranteed, or you pay nothing" - then you'll get business. It's also incredibly difficult to use good parts and yet a cheap price.


NO. This is the other big problem in Poland - treating the customer like an idiot. The 'specialist' IT sales places are absolutely dreadful for this - and they're always prone to sulking if you walk in (especially if you're female!) and tell them exactly what you want.


And for this, he'll need Polish.

Incidentally, there's no money in quick fixes. Everyone and their dog is doing this in Poland - if he's got the money, then it makes sense to go into more high end things - such as guaranteed 24 hour repairs and so on for businesses where time is money. There's just no point trying to compete with people who will work for 5zl an hour.

Life / B1 Driving License - A couple questions [6]

Good question. I imagine that common sense would prevail and any diplomatic worker with a posting of more than 185 days would be allowed to sit the driving test.

Study / Son wanting to go to school in Poland [7]


A lot? You can travel for as cheap as 30zl for unlimited use of PKP PR trains from 6pm Friday until 6am Monday - 30zl being about $10.

Life / Big foot trouble in Poznan [7]


Hmm...have you tried GoSport in Galeria Malta? I've no idea if they'll do the right size, but they're very good on prices...

Life / Please tell me about life in Elbląg [6]

Are you considering taking up a teaching post at a certain school which always advertises for teachers? If so, don't bother :)

Life / What to bring, ship, pack for our move to Warsaw [67]


No wonder they won't stock it, who wants to drink and eat American food? ;)

Life / B1 Driving License - A couple questions [6]


Which means you need to have the right to stay in Poland for more than 3 months - which is impossible to get if you don't have a reason to be in Poland.

The PESEL requirement may vary from office to office - but bearing in mind that the PESEL is printed on driving licences here, it wouldn't surprise me if they refused a licence on the grounds that they can't print the number.

Law / Temporary Residence requirements in Poland [12]


Never heard about anyone having to do this from the EU. Non-EU is fair game - they're entitled to ask for anything they want, really.

Life / B1 Driving License - A couple questions [6]

I'm not certain that Poland even has a B1 test. But assuming they do...

You must be resident in Poland for 185 days of the year. To define this, you need to have legal residency for more than 3 months - so if you're EU, you'll need the 5 year temporary residence card which entails quite a bit of effort. It's not as simple as turning up off the plane and booking the test.

The theory test can be done in English in certain test centres.

The practical test language will be Polish, so you'll require a sworn translator for this part of the test. How this would work on a quad bike, I'm not sure - it may require a sworn translator to follow in a car and to communicate over radio - but you cannot take the test without a translator if you aren't fluent in Polish (or at least fluent enough to take the test! - which will require good spoken skills at least).

Why would you want to sit the B1 test when a full B licence gives you the same entitlement?

And assuming that there is a B1 test, you'll have to undergo mandatory training and driving training. I assume that as it's category B, you'll have to do 30 hours theory and 30 hours practical training first. And you'll need to pass medical checks and a first aid course too.

I've also got a good feeling that B1 in Poland (if it exists) will be age 18 - same as a car.

Life / What to bring, ship, pack for our move to Warsaw [67]


Mąka kukurydziana can be found in supermarkets quite easily - just look in the 'healthy' or 'organic' sections of supermarkets. Or in those kind of shops full stop.


Brown sugar is pretty common these days, I've never had a struggle with it.


I don't see much difference between Poland and the UK to be honest, except with the lack of Toys R Us (which is probably a good thing, they treat their staff dreadfully). Everything you'd actually want to buy a child is here at least - just that there's no one stop shop.


Empik is hit or miss, but the aforementioned American Bookstore is excellent. But to be honest, with Poland not being particularly well known for its foreign language skills, the selection in Empik isn't too bad. Omnibus in Poznan isn't too bad either, though I'm not sure if they're part of a chain or not.

Life / What to bring, ship, pack for our move to Warsaw [67]


No. No. Keep away from Kuchnia Swiat and look elsewhere. Many supermarkets are now stocking many of the same things as there, for half or even quarter of the price.

Life / What to bring, ship, pack for our move to Warsaw [67]

They're a chain? I went into their shop in Galeria Krakowska and was impressed by the range, and completely agree that they're vastly superior to Empik in terms of range. Prices are decent too - I found some really good history books for half the price of Amazon.co.uk.

Life / Wonderful Poland.......but the attitude of Polish people [150]

The attitude of Polish people has only one problem - they don't want to make money!

I've been trying to get quotes for what could be a decent return business for them (potentially 5000PLN/week!) , yet every time I call up, I'm told "e-mail for a quote". I do, and I'm still waiting for most of them to reply.

Absolute, complete joke. What's wrong with giving me a quote over the phone?!

Life / What to bring, ship, pack for our move to Warsaw [67]


Aha, this is definitely good advice. I'd also recommend buying electronics in the US - Polish prices are on the high side due to the instability of the Zloty, even compared to the UK.

Law / Start IT business in Poland [17]

Do you speak Polish?

In my opinion, the marketplace is saturated with such businesses. You might be able to get a niche if you can deliver incredibly fast turnaround times and back it up, as many of these companies have a dreadful attitude towards actually getting the things repaired quickly.

If you don't speak Polish, forget it. It's simply not a business that you can do without the language.

Life / What to bring, ship, pack for our move to Warsaw [67]


Doesn't Empik do basically that? At least in the Stary Browar one in Poznan, the English language section isn't too bad and there's a cafe section...but I may have misunderstood this.


Where do you think the Poles get their winter clothing from?


Sure. Poland has cafes everywhere, catering to your every need or desire.


Of course. Poznan has something like 12 large supermarkets and countless small ones - and I imagine Warsaw to have significantly more. Again, they can cater for your every need, from bargain basement quality right through to high end.


You can't move for pizzerias in Poland.


No idea about takeaway/restaurants in Warsaw, but it's easy to pick up the ingredients to make it yourself.


Is 100% beef enough for you?


Of course.


You'll be spoilt for choice.


Likewise. You'll be spoilt for choice.


Olives are cheap and plentiful, though you'll probably have to do the slicing yourself.


Exactly the same as you'd expect from the States, except possibly with the exception of no Toys R Us. Countless small shops catering for toys, along with a decent selection in supermarkets.


Poland isn't Africa. You can find clothes at countless tiny stores along with all the usual retailers that you'd expect.


More choice than you can shake a stick at.


Sensible people in Poland drink real fruit juice which is cheaper than soft drinks. I've seen both Dr. Pepper and Root Beer - at a price.


Freely available, at an extortionate price designed to lure in ex-pats.


Poland is a developed country. Whatever you want, you can get. If you want ridiculously priced furniture, it's there to take. If you want cheap nasty Tanie Meble, it's there too.


What do you think high flying Warsaw businesmen are wearing?


Irish bars exist for one reason in the world - to fleece the tourist and the expat. You'd be far better off going to the bars that locals go to - as they'll certainly be more like Irish bars than any Irish bar itself.

Dance clubs? Of course, Warsaw is a major European capital!

I'm sorry to be narky, but Poland is no different to Western Europe and indeed America when it comes to what's available. There may be small differences, but really, the world isn't so small anymore.

Life / What to bring, ship, pack for our move to Warsaw [67]

Everything you can find in an average American city, you can find in Warsaw.

UK, Ireland / Sending money from Scotland(Aberdeen) to Poland [4]

Easiest way is to use moneybookers.com :)

Study / From India, hotel management courses and studying in Poland [29]

I've known people to work full time management jobs alongside studying, so it can be done.

But you're right, he has posted on this forum asking if he can make 20zl an hour working in Poland, which is completely unrealistic.

To the original poster - you still haven't sent your CV to the e-mail address I gave you.

Life / Public Swimming Pools in Poznan [12]


"basen poznan" should get you plenty of google results ;)

But the AWF pool is one of the best.

Travel / Driving In Poland ( scooters ) [11]


I can't see any way round it - the UK wouldn't recognise the "karta motorowerowa" as it's not a full EU licence. Exactly the same as Poland won't recognise UK provisional licences.

Study / From India, hotel management courses and studying in Poland [29]


It's not about managing, he just won't get the offers from anywhere well paying.

You can live on 5zl an hour - many people do in Poland, why should he be any different? You can probably share a room with someone for around 300zl a month. Add in food costs (cheap if you can cook and use seasonal produce) of around 200zl a month and voila - 25 hours a week at minimum wage should see him ok.

Law / Raising Investment in Poland [7]


Temporary resident in what sense? Are you EU or non EU? If you're EU, then you'll need the 5 year permit before you can even think about accessing investment money.

What kind of share are you willing to give up in exchange for the investment?

How much have you already invested, and what prior experience do you have?

Study / From India, hotel management courses and studying in Poland [29]

Contact jobs@ventrus-solutions.com and attach your CV and a cover letter :)

Work / Advice needed ELS-Bell Szczecin (is it dodgy?) [45]


And yet you can only get a 1 year residence card? Just too funny... :)

To be honest, no-one cares how much money you allegedly have. The fact that you can still only get a 1 year residence permit says that money can't buy everything ;)

Study / From India, hotel management courses and studying in Poland [29]

Call centre work, in English.

Work / Advice needed ELS-Bell Szczecin (is it dodgy?) [45]


To be fair, teachers are starting on 20.5K (or even higher?) these days, so it's not really that high. Even my friend in London who checks tickets for Virgin Trains is on 20K plus commission!


It's rubbish when Polish teachers can make the same money despite there being vastly more of them. My school pays new Polish teachers with no experience 25PLN net an hour to teach from the book - so in this case, he is well and truly being ripped off. As people are saying, you can make better money elsewhere - certainly, 35PLN/hour net is doable, even in a Callan school (which would have no lesson preparation!).


It's different for EU citizens, as it's much more painless. I'm still not convinced there's actually any merits for bothering with residency for EU citizens except for the purposes of obtaining credit.


Wrong yourself. It applies to all EU citizens at least - and if it doesn't, why are many people (including on this forum) benefitting from reduced payments? In this case, the poster is from the UK.

As you say, you opened a Sp.K - are you sure that you should even be paying the same ZUS as a sole trader is?

As Harry says, perhaps it's time to find a new accountant.


To be fair, until you actually get the place up and running, I can see why they would only give you a 1 year permit - it's no guarantee that you'll actually have the money to open the place and keep it open. As for the amount paid for your car - neither here nor there.

Study / From India, hotel management courses and studying in Poland [29]

As I said, I know someone that may be able to offer you a job for 5zl an hour plus commission.