Life / Moving to Gdansk. Tuition, community, apartments questions [23]

Something I'd consider yes, I'd prefer someone qualifed to teach me though so me offering English in return might not be suitable.

Good idea though, thanks.

Life / Moving to Gdansk. Tuition, community, apartments questions [23]


Just checked this out and it looks very interesting.

Especially the 15 week course which would give me 3 months to get going and then evaluate. Anyone been here? can recommend this?

Life / Thinking of relocating from Ireland to Poland! [5]

I'm planning the same but moving to Gdansk for 6 months, I'm not going for a few months yet but I'm planning already to ensure the transition goes smoothly.

Here are a few of the things I've taken care of so far, this mainly applies to people from the UK.

European Health Insurance Card:

You may know it as E111, this has now been replaced by the EHIC, simply apply online and they sent you out a credit card style plastic card with your details on.

Apply Here: dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Healthadvicefortravellers/DH_4135688

International Driving Licence

"An International Driving Permit (IDP) allows you to drive a private motor vehicle overseas when accompanied by a valid UK driving licence. IDPs are valid for 12 months from the date of issue."

Just take your current drivers licence to Post Office that offers the IDP service and complete the form and play a small admin fee.

Info here: theaa.com/getaway/idp/motidp002.html

Polish Bank Account

I've spoken to MBank who appear to be a popular online bank, it seems you need to be in Poland for them to open you an account, the way it works is an agent comes to visit you, takes some ID and forms and confirms your identity and your application is sent for processing.

I've arranged on my next short trip for this to happen, hopefully it will go smoothly.

mbank.com.pl/eng/index.html

Euro Visa Card

As well as my normal visa card I've gone for a pre-paid Euro credit card from Lloyds TSB, I can top it up from my online account and the fees are relatively low.

lloydstsb.com/travel/travel_money_card.asp?WT.mc_id=TM01070131prepay_cardGoogle&WT.srch=1

Learning Polish

My Polish isn't too bad, I'm enrolling at the Sopot Polish school for a few months of lessons, there are plenty of programs online that can help. The best one I've found is at byki.com just download the Polish version for free.

Best of luck!

Travel / Low cost airlines from the Midlands to Warsaw, when, anyone know? [28]


wizzair.com

Travel / Poznań to Gorzów - taxi cost? [7]

Can certainly consider them, I’ll be travelling a fair bit that day though so want the quickest possible route but without paying a fortune, if a taxi is a reasonable price then that’s my preferred method.

And as you’re from Gorzow… I’ve had a look at hotels and Qubus seems to be nice?

Good choice or not?

UK, Ireland / Night school - Polish language classes in the UK [8]

Sparky,

Where abouts do you live? I know a few...

Love / The polish girl, and the life partnership [40]

This is probably a bit of a generalisation but here are my experiences and the things I've found more prevalent with a Polish girl based on a 3yr previous relationship.

1) Don't forget important days, I'm from the UK where name days and woman days are unheard of. Write them down somewhere and don't forget them. They also have a knack for remembering the things like the date you met, the date you first kissed etc etc.

I used to dread the question "Do you know what day it is today?" and then rack my brain to decide if it was an anniversary, woman day, name day or special occasion.

2) Try and get a balance with your social life, my first Polish girlfriend was a real stunner and I put my social life on hold for pretty much a whole year as she didn't like going out or meeting my friends and she hated being left alone (kind of understandable as she'd moved over from Poland to be with me and didn't know anyone).

It got to the point where I needed to get back in touch with my friends and meet them sometimes which didn't go down too well. Even once a month was too much. I should have clarified all these things before agreeing to let her move in but I was blinded by love.

3) Again this might be a more general point applicable to all nationalities but try to take notice of what she's into and what she is doing, If my previous had a new hair cut/nails/clothes she wouldn't tell me and wait for me to notice and if I didn't I be in trouble.

My first Polish girlfriend was into nail art and design so I surprised her on her name day with a huge bag of nail goodies I'd found in stores or on eBay, plus I'd made a mental note every time she'd looked at things she liked when shopping and picked up a few of those.... there was tears of joy and 1am phone calls to her mother to tell of this.

4) Do not lie to her, at all… under no circumstances even if it’s a little white lie that you think would not matter. She will find out and it’s not worth it. One day a few months into a relationship my girlfriend used to make me sandwiches to take to work which was very sweet, this went on for 3 days and on the fourth day I was so busy in work I didn’t get chance to eat them. On meeting her after work she asked how my sandwiches were and not wanting to hurt her feelings I told her they were lovely.

My nervousness obviously set her spidey sense tingling so the next question one millisecond later was “What was in them?” I tried to backtrack but the damage was done, I confessed and she didn’t speak to me for a few days and I got no more sandwiches to take to work.

It can be hard work but there is nothing like love from a Polish girl, when its right it's like you are the only person in the world for them and that's a great feeling. I'm sure people who favour ladies from other countries (my friend is mad on Asian ladies) think similar but I love all things Poland, the language, culture, food and especially the ladies so I'm biased.

Again the above are my experiences only and of course not all Polish girls are the same.

Best of luck with the marriage!

Love / The polish girl, and the life partnership [40]


Yes little stuff like that is really sweet.

The first 3 days they were ham and cheese, I was so tempted to just say "they had ham and cheese in" but I'd at least learnt not to dig myself deeper in it when getting caught out.

I'd left them at work and checked the next day, it was just cheese... maybe it was done to check if I was actually eating them!

Language / How do u guys learn polish? [20]

I'm learning on my own at the moment, I've a few assorted books and some software. The best software I've found so far is from byki.com

I've been to Poland 10+ times so picked up quite a bit on each of my visits.

I'll be attending the Sopot Polish school for a few months this summer to get myself to a good enough level to manage for the rest of the year (I'll be staying on in Gdansk or possibly Gorzow for a while).

I can just about get by with my level of Polish at present but need much improvment and learning the verbs is a nightmare!

Travel / How much złoty would be enough to last 3 weeks in Poland? [25]

Yes Visa Electron is widely accepted in both ATM's and in shops/restaurants.

Does your 3 weeks include hotel or travel costs?

I'll be spending 6 days in Poznan & Gorzow and am taking £250 (for spending only) cash and my cards but I intend to do a bit of shopping

News / Man from Zakopane who cut off his own genitals [53]

Law / Residency Status Questions - EU citizen and Poland [7]

Thanks glowa!

I'll try report back with exactly what I did, who I saw etc to get this sorted out.

Law / Residency Status Questions - EU citizen and Poland [7]

Thanks!

Most useful

Life / Moving to Poznan in August [4]

A few here...

Rentals:

poznan.gumtree.pl/poznan/poznan-mieszkanie-wynajme_4411_1.html

Rentals and Buying:

nieruchomista.pl

Buying:

homesonsale.co.uk/index.php?page=search&s_res=OR&stype=any&q=poznan&ci d=6

Travel / Poznan in July during one month [8]

Only change what you need for that day at the airport.

I was at Poznan airport yesterday and the rate is a lot worse than you will find in the many "Kantor" (money exchange) places around Poznan.

I was changing Sterling Pounds

Airport Rate was 4.9zl for £1
Kantor Rate was 5.4zl for £1

So change enough to get you a cab to the centre and change the rest at a Kantor

Work / 3000 PLN netto this a good pay [11]

£700 a month doesn't go very far in London.

Figure bills of £100 a month
Travel £100 a month
Food £50 a week

So already you are close to spending £500 a month.

Depends what you are doing exactly in the software testing industry... A permanent position should pay minimum £30k+ and a contract should be minimum £250+ a day in London.

Poland I'm not sure of the pay scales for Testing as I've only worked as a Tester here in the UK but 3000zl a month with no rent to pay seems like your money will stretch a lot further.

Work / 3000 PLN netto this a good pay [11]

It varies greatly.

I work as a contractor mainly for banks/finance firms testing new systems/upgrades.

So say a bank has a new online banking website and wants to make sure it works before releasing it to customers I will make plans on what needs to be checked, write instructions or "scripts" to follow and then complete testing on the site going through all the functions and finding errors and working with developers to fix these.

Some projects take a few days others take many months, I could also be testing the performance of a program (user connections/CPU usage etc) or the security (checking any loopholes to prevent hackers/virus etc)

Testing now is often automated so I'll use various programs to run the tests automatically and then check the outcomes.

It's not something you can just walk into really, unless you are simply following a script someone else has written and recording the outcome. nowadays you need a little programming knowledge, SQL, Unix etc to get a good job.

If you want to know anything further just let me know...

Work / got a pay rise to 4500 netto not bad [4]

Did you get the software testing gig?

Do you speak Polish?

I move to Gorzow next month, not looking for any more testing work but wondering how you get on? is it what you thought?

Travel / Disposable Phone and Money Exchange in Poland [5]

Using your visa card you will most likely be charged a fee for a foreign transaction and receive a worse rate of exchange. Sometimes It can be quite significant especially the exchange rate difference.

When you spend on a credit or debit card abroad the exchange rate is based on the Visa or Mastercard wholesale rate which is normally good.

Unfortunately, if you read carefully the terms and conditions of your card, there will be a reference to 'foreign usage loading'. This is a commission that your card issuer charges when you buy something abroad.

The amount varies between card issuers and can be as high as 2.75%. So if you are buying something worth $100, using the credit card to do this could add $2.75 to the cost. Factor in the exchange rate sting and it can be 5% more expensive to use a card than cash.

Although if you are just using it at gas stations etc for a week it won't amount to a great deal.

Once you land only change a small amount at the airpot, the rates there are usually not very good, so I'd suggest getting enough to get you to where you want to go and a bit spare and then finding a local Kantor once you arrive at your destination.

The many "Kantor" exchange kiosks are usually the best bet for exchaging cash, you can sometimes negotiate a few groszy in your favour depending on how much you change. Just look out for the signs.

Most card types are accepted, Visa, Mastercard, Visa Plus/Electron both in ATM machines and in stores.

Life / Try it - move to Poland! [33]

I run an Internet business.

I was in the UK until recently but with my bills topping £1k a month I thought I could enjoy a better lifestyle here, as long as I have an internet connection I can pretty much work anywhere.

We've (my girlfriend is Polish) now got a nice flat in Gorzow and the money goes a lot further here. It does feel like I'm on a permanent holiday though which is a little worrying for now.

Travel / Finally arriving in Poznan on Sunday [3]

You will be chaged a usage fee for using the card abroad. for me it's £1.50 a time

Travel / Bus from Poznan to Gorzow Wlkp and Vice Versa - help please! [3]

Not tried the bus yet, be interested to know how it went. I've been on the train it takes just over 2 hours with a change in Krzyż.

It was about 50zl first class (First class just applies from Krzyż to Gorzow).

I've taken a taxi a few times, the guys in Poznan tend to quote me silly prices but can be bargained down to 250zl and the guys in Gorzow just offer 250zl without question.

Law / Do EU members need RESIDENCE CARD IN POLAND [29]

crasyman77, how long have you been in Poland now?

I'm coming up for 3 months and don't have a Temp Residence Card yet. I'd like to know if I can leave Poland for a few weeks and then come back and if my 3 months start again?

This Residency Card business confuses me!

Life / Moved to Poland - Came back after 6 months [11]

A few reasons made me move.

One was I was fed up with my job in the UK and fancied a change and also I'd met a Polish girl who was orignally from Gorzow.

I'd dated a girl from Czestochowa for 2.5 years previous to this and enjoyed my time visiting Poland and learning Polish. I met this new girl and was at a place in my work where I just wanted to get away (I worked in a high pressure city banking job).

It was like starting a new life but I was a bit too relaxed as I didn't need to work (my internet business provided a nice income without much work) so I was often quite bored.