USA, Canada / Info on moving to Krakow from USA [13]

I'm an American living in Gdansk. You've only got 90 days from the time you arrive until your visa expires, and gone are the days when you could make a border run to extend your visa for another 90 days. To stay longer you'll need a residency card valid for a year. You need to have 45 days left on your visa when you apply for this. It's a bureaucratic nightmare but it can be done. Fortunately my school helped me with this so I don't know all the necessary steps you'll have to follow.

BTW, I know of 22 Americans currently living in Poland. I'm sure there are more we don't know about. Check out myspace.com/americansinpoland

Travel / Gdansk at Easter [15]

Everything, and I mean everything, will be closed on Easter. Monday is also a holiday so don't expect to find much open except maybe a few few pubs, and I'm not even sure about that. Buy whatever you need when you arrive on Saturday because you may not see anything open until Tuesday. And check the weather forecast. It;s March, which means it's unpredictable. We've had more snow this month than we had all winter, as well as a lot of rain.

Life / Who has moved to Poland in the last year? Swap stories. [115]


A friend sent me Polish in 4 weeks. Ha! But better than nothing. It's got a CD so you can listen to dialogs and exercises to do. It helped a lot and I still study it along with a couple of other books. Just a few words at the beginning will make your life easier here.

What city/cities are you thinking about? And where in Canada are you? I think that'll make a difference in your choice. For me Gdansk was the only choice -have to be near the sea plus the Old Town is just beautiful-different from other Polish cities because of the Hanseatic League and connections with Amsterdam. You'll have to see it to understand what I mean.

Work / I'm moving to poland; I got sick of the London lifestyle. Find work? [27]

Sell it before you come and buy a car here. Very simple and very obvious. I've seen one RHD car in eight months. That should tell you something. If you bring it and have it converted you'll be out the cost of the conversion. That makes no financial sense. Just sell the dang thing.

Life / Who has moved to Poland in the last year? Swap stories. [115]

Yes. I moved to Poland in August 2007, spent five weeks in Warsaw getting my CELTA, then moved to Gdansk where I'm teaching now. I love this place. I work for an excellent school which helped me get my residency card (I'm American) and I started studying Polish on my own while still in the US. I'm still learning slowly but I can get around OK and every day I get a little better.

Obviously Gdansk is very different from San Diego, which I call home after living in a lot of different places. Weather, food, language, pace of life, etc. I had visited Poland briefly the year before to see if I really liked the place or whether it was just a fantasy of mine to live in another country again. It's no fantasy and I intend to be here a long time. I doubt that I'll return to the US again except for an occasional visit.

Poland's not perfect-no place is-but I'm beginning to feel very much at home here. I don't get annoyed at the lack of customer service or things like long lines. It is what it is and I've accepted that those are just parts of my daily life. Poland's not for evryone, but it is for me.

Travel / Weekend breaks outside the 3 cities [7]

You might check out Hel on the peninsula.

Travel / hotels Gdansk [14]

Poseidon is good, although it's about 20 minutes by train from there to Old Town. Check out Wolne Miasto. Nice place, great location. I know a Dutch engineer who travels the world and has stayed in most of the better hotels in Gdansk. He prefers Wolne Miasto for its anbiance and location.

Travel / Visiting Gdansk / Sopot for first time [27]

Don't sing, try to keep it relatively quiet and you'll have no problems.

Monte Cassino is the main drag in Sopot. It runs down to the pier and there are lots of places to go on this street. Don't go to Ul next to McDonalds. It used to be a cool restaurant but now it's a fashion bar-whatever that means-and it's very overpriced.

Travel / Visiting Gdansk / Sopot for first time [27]

You haven't mentioned your budget so I'm not sure what to tell you. If you want to be close to beaches, check out gdansk-life.com and search for places to stay. Poseidan hotel (spelled a little differently in Polish) is good but I don't know about summer rates. Once you've decided on a place to stay I can give some more tips on places to go near you. If you come to Gdansk Old Town the hotel Wolne Miasto is nice but small and I don't know if they'd have rooms for all of you. Book soon; you'll be coming in peak season. The Absinthe Bar in Old Town is a don't miss for my money. I don't do the club scene but Yesterday in Gdansk is supposed to be good and I'll ask a friend about the club he goes to in Sopot.

Where to eat? Depends on what you want. Funky and inexpensive or upscale? You can find pretty much everything here although the Polish palate doesn't take to spicy food and there's only one Indian restaurant that I know in Gdansk and it's just OK.

Decide where you want to stay and I'll have more info for you.

Work / Americans teaching english...your help please! [51]


Harry gives sound advice.

A CELTA is a CELTA regardless of where you get it and the quality of the course is not a function of its location. CELTA is four weeks so no matter where you take it you'll have to pay for a place to live (my flat in Warsaw was 1000 zl for the time I was there), food, transportation and whatever extras you want.

Travel / Traveling to Tczew [6]

The cost of rooms depends on whether you plan to stay in a hostel or a hotel. It ranges from not very much to a lot, depending on your budget. More info from you would make it easier to answer this question.

How much is a taxi ride? Again, it depends on how far you're going. From the airport in Gdansk to Old Town should be around 30 zl. I've only taken taxis twice in the seven months I've lived here; both were short trips and cost only 10 zl-tipping isn't common here unless you feel generous.

Trams and buses are very inexpensive and will get you around Gdansk easily. I bought a map of the trojmiasto (tri cities_Gdansk, Sopot and Gdynia) for 20 zl. It shows all the bus and tram routes and you don't have to read Polish to understand a map.

You don't need an interpreter unless it's going to help you research your family and I'll bet you can do that on line. Just learn a few words in Polish before you arrive. You'll be surprised at how many Poles speak at least a little English.

Where are you coming from? You didn't say. It'll probably rain while you're here so bring appropriate clothes. Be prepared to walk a lot.

This is a beautiful part of Poland. Make sure you visit the Old Town in Gdansk. It's a wonderful place. Enjoy your trip and if you have any questions my email is scottie1113@yahoo. I don't know if I'm supposed to post that or not but I guess I'll find out soon.

Travel / Visiting Gdansk / Sopot for first time [27]

Sopot has good beaches; both Sopot and Gdansk have good night life. I don't know what you're lokking for so I won't give any tips yet, but my night life is centered in Old Town in Gdansk because I live only five minutes from there. Do you want pubs, clubs, or what?

Travel / Traveling to Tczew [6]

When in Gdansk you can find some hostels near Gdansk Glowny, the main train station. From hostels you step up to more expensive hotels in Old Town, just a five minute walk from the train station.

Or, if you want a little less luxury, I have another possibiliy. Email me for details.

Travel / Your favourite Polish region/city, etc [32]

Gdansk-I live here

Work / For all English teachers in Poland (who work for only $1000 a month) [102]

My experience is similar to bushman's but I teach a little over 20 hours a week and take home just a little less. It's more than enough.

I did my CELTA in August at Bell in Warsaw. While I was there I asked if they had anything available in Gdansk and sure enough, they did. You can also check out tefl.com and view the current opportunities in Poland, or you can just go from school to school with yiour CV and see what shakes out.

Food / Eating out in Poland [43]

Ah, golonka! I love it. The first time I saw it on a menu the translation was knuckle of pork. I thought that meant something like pig's feet so I didn't order it. Pity. There are a couple of restaurants in Gdansk that serve good golonka but the best I've had was at a restaurant in Warsaw. I wish I could remember its name...

Also love golombki and pierogi z miesem.

Life / Polish Green Card [23]


I'm an American working for a school in Gdansk. When I came to Poland in August it was on a 90 day visa. When I got my job in Gdansk in September I had to make a border run to Germany because I didn't have 45 days left on my visa and you need that to apply for a residency card. You don't need a work visa if you have that and you don't have to return to the US to apply.

My school helped me with this and in December I received a proclamation that my residency card had been approved and I would have it soon. Soon is a relative term in Poland and because I began the process last year I'll probably receive the actual card in February.

It'll be valid until October and before it expires I'll have to apply for another one. You will need a contract from your school, proof of insurance and some other papers. I didn't have all of them-didn't know I'd need them-so I had to sign an affadavit that I'm not an axe murderer (really I'm not!) and a couple of others, but those sufficed in lieu of the actual documents. It helped to have the school's support during this process.

If you're coming for less than 90 days you don't need anything but a passport.

Travel / I'm off to Gdansk at the end of January [24]

Soda cafe also got a thumbs up from my younger friends, but only on Friday and Saturday nights. They like the Rock Cafe as well but it's a hit or miss proposition and every time I've been there it was a miss. Then again, I don't stay out until the very wee hours like they do, and by this I mean until 05.00. But I've got early morning classes four days a week and they don't so all sins are forgiven...

wightlion, where are you going to be staying while you're here and with whom? How long will you be here? If schedules permit I'd be happy to meet you and give you an orientation to the Old Town area. I live not far from it, only about five minutes by foot. If you have a Gdansk map I'm across the street from the main train station between the Holiday Inn and Madison, a big shopping center.

Travel / I'm off to Gdansk at the end of January [24]

There's a beach in Gdansk too and even a pier although it's not as long as the one in Sopot. Even in winter it's a nice place to walk and there's a nice little seafood restaurant at the foot of the pier. Tacky decor but inexpensive.

Travel / I'm off to Gdansk at the end of January [24]

I'm way too old to hit those clubs but the younger guys I work with like Yesterdays in the Old Town and a couple others I can't remember right now. There are some good pubs though. My favorite is Absinthe right by the armory. It can rock at night. I've hears BarBados across the street from the train station is a good place to meet people, although when I've been there it's been pretty quiet.

Snow? Who knows? It's been a mild winter so far with only two days of light snow. For a five day forecast check out wunderground and type in Gdansk before the magnifying glass.

Have you been to Gdansk before? I love it but BubbaWoo is right about Sopot. Oh, and trains run from Sopot to Gdansk until very late. Some of my friends have caught trains as late as 3 am or later.

Work / I'm from Canada. Becoming an English teacher in Poland [8]

I'm taking my CELTA at Bell schools in Warsaw in August. 4990 zl plus 1200 zl for a flat a utilities. I know that many schools require both CELTA and a university degree. You'll have to check this out yourself.

Travel / I'm going to Poland in September! [33]

LOT is fine. I flew from O'Hare to Warsaw and back last summer and really enjoyed the flights. I bought my tickets from Orbitz-the price was good. I'm flying again August 8 and after a month in Warsaw getting my CELTA I'll head to Gdansk via train to find a teaching job. I love the tri city area.

Work / Some questions about moving to Poland, I am to teach English [12]

Keatsgray, I hope you have heard of winter in places other than Florida. Gloves, jackets, boots and a warm hat will be nice to have. I'm taking mine.

Take as much money as you can but convert dollars to zl when you get there as the dollar has dropped about 10% since I was there last summer.

You'll be fine.

News / What can Poland do to maintain its Ethnic Integrity? [118]

I'm an old white guy who spent a few years in the Marines. Lots of non whites in that great gun club and you know what? Race doesn't matter one da** iota. It's character that counts. I also lived in San Diego for 25 years before moving to a small town in Northern California four years ago. When I left San Diego whites had become a minority. Blacks, Latinos, Asians etc outnumbered whites. That isn't why I left. I had friends among all races and rubbed shoulders with others every day at work and in public. The county I live in now is about 98% white and I miss hearing the polyglot of languages I heard in San Diego.

I'm moving to Poland in August to teach. After a visit to Poland last summer I was struck by the almost complete absence of people from other cultures and I'll miss the multicultural experience I have lived with all my life. Life is change. Change is life. Welcome to 2007, Poland. The world gets smaller every day.

There's a popular bumper sticker that reads One People, One Planet, Please. We're a long way from achieving that but if we're going to survive as a world we'd better be working for it.

Work / Some details about Teaching in Poland [51]

I have two American friends who teach in Poland. The one in Warsaw has a CELTA; the one in Gdansk does not. Both do well. I met them face to face last summer. I can't imagine teaching ESL with NO training so I'll be doing the CELTA in Warsaw in August before heading to Gdansk to find work.

There's a lot of information in the Poland forum on esl cafe.

History / How long was Poland "lost in history"? [21]

You might try reading a book on Polish history. I recommend The Polish Way by Adam Zamoyski.

Travel / Eating out in Gdansk [9]

Try Harnas in Sopot. Rustic, traditional, and reasonably priced.