Life / Would anyone be interested in English Magazine For Expats in Poland? [9]

You can subscribe to NWE to get a weekly PDF sent to you with the weeks news. Also, if you are interested in more detailed political analysis, check out Poland Monthly.

Life / Deadly Roads - "Are polish roads really THAT dangerous?" [139]

One of the key things i see every day is the speed of polish drives..even in housing estates on narrow roads, there is this need to put the pedal down without and concern for the consequences. I think we can blame bad roads etc until the cows come home but ultimately it is the responsibility of the person behind the wheel...and unfortunately, there are far too many who act irresponsilbe.

News / POLAND'S CREDIT CRAZE [34]

Agree with you 'theblueenigma'. (..as an irish man)
I cannot get over the amout of banks that have openend here in poznan, 2 coffee shops have closed and in their place new banks have opened.

I have heard though that getting a mortgage is getting harder.

Life / 26th December are shops and restaurants in Poland open? [7]

From what i can remember from last year, they are defintely not open on the 26th. Not sure about the 27th.

Real Estate / Is it now the time to buy a flat in Warsaw? [10]

Thanks for the comments Poznan Kasia. I am living in poznan and interested in buy bur felt that a wait of a few months might not be a bad idea. Also, interested to hear you opinon about the developers. Could i ask you to give a brief navigation for the gratka. website?

Vincent

Life / Cost of seeing a 'professor' in his private medical practice? [8]

hi. Thanks for all the information. I am currently paying 150 zlt per visit. He does seem to know his stuff. But i have to go back to him quite regularly at the moment so i just wanted to make sure i wasnt being taken for a total ride.

Life / Cost of seeing a 'professor' in his private medical practice? [8]

Thanks GTD. Just wanted to make sure.

UK, Ireland / Irish Tax / Polish Tax [3]

I am an irish man, living in poland and working remotely for a company back in irealnd. i had to go through a lot of hassle with the HR area in the company and this is what was finally agreed:

- They would not let me invoice them through my self employment, which would have worked in my favour as it is a much smaller tax rate.

- So, i am an employee of the bank.
- They obtained a tax exemption for me so i dont have to pay tax in ireland. i dont intend to move back there any time soon.

- To make sure i am a good boy and pay my taxes here, it was put in my contracxt that i have to use a certain accountancy firm who remits my returns every month to polish tax and ZUS. And i make the payments.

Your situtation may be different to mine and the HR section in this company are very picky about the tax thing. But just thought i would let you know what my situation is.

I would suggest that you try set your self up as self employed and 'Invoice' your company back in ireland.
It also might be no harm to get some advice of an accountant as the whole 'tax residency' thing is a minefield.

Work / Little Help finding out right to leave 1 yr contract. [15]

In relation to your contract, what does it say about termination of emplyment. Nornally there is some clause for both parties to get out so long as a certain amount of notice is given. I would be very surprised if you were 'forced' to work for the full year of the contract.

Life / Can an American in Poland renew American Passport here? [18]

Where can you get a 'proper' passport photo done in poalnd?

Work / Little Help finding out right to leave 1 yr contract. [15]

Its a tricky one....If it says that you should be getting 20 hours a week then that might be a way of getting out. Not a lawyer here so dont want to say it is for definite. Unless you give in your notice stating that you want the 20 hours per week. And if that is not forthcoming, you are leaving in a month. It all depends how much of a nasty individual the guy is....do you think he would come after you? Failing that, just be rude to all the students so he sacks you. Best of luck.

Work / Teaching English in Poland, no degree just certificate [41]

Hi. I live in poznan and the main english schools are here: Berlitz, Profillingua, etc
Here is a website to one. I have not had any interaction with them so dont know if they are any good but you might be able to hook in with them for a bit of info.

program-bell.edu.pl/english/index.htm

I am not a TEFL teacher but there are 3 main areas i think you can work in:
- School
- Private teaching
- In house - This can be in companies, colleges etc. There seems to be a bit of this type of business about.

Probably best if you can find a school for a few months while you get settled and then you can suss out what is available.

Good luck.

Work / Teaching English in Poland, no degree just certificate [41]

By the way, check out tefl.com. You can search for jobs by country i.e. poland. If anything, it will give you the names of a few schools here in poland.

Life / Last Will and Testament - need to arrange in Poland [4]

Hi Englishgirl,
I bought an apartment in poland some time ago. I live in poland but do not live in the apartment. In case anything happened to me, i wanted to make a will to leave the apartment to a familyt member. I was able to do it with the Notary who organised the sale of the apartment. One thing i remember is that i was unbale to make a general will i.e. i leave all my belongings to X. I had to specify what items were being left to my niece. So in this case i had to state that i was leaving the apartment to my niece.

This was just my experience. If the same rules are in place, you may need to specify all of you relatives belongings and who they will be left to. Though dont quote me on this. in relation to City hall, i do not know what needs to be done there.

In relation to dealing with goverment officials.....prepare yourself for a new experience!!!
Your best bet is to consult a notary who should be familiar with the process.
Best of luck.

Work / Teaching English in Poland, no degree just certificate [41]

Delphiandomine,
i am in poznan and have been for a few years. i currently have a day contract job but would be interested in doing a bit of teaching. i would be very interested in hearing your advice and which schools to avoid. I did a telf course a number of years ago for what its worth.

vincent

Real Estate / Wroclaw real estate prices and agencies [17]

Check out mdesign.com.pl
They are a marketing company but are also involved in the property game a bit as well.

Work / Teaching English in Poland, no degree just certificate [41]

delphiandomine,
Thanks for all you comments. Nice to have them from someone who has been through the process.
Vincent

Real Estate / Accommodation - Legal advice request [15]

tonykenny, Not including all polish women in this but there are certainl y some serious nut-cases out there. Seriously hard work.
by the way, make sure you change the locks when she is gone as you never know about secret visits when you are not there.

Life / Dec 25th - is public transport or Taxis in Poland operational that day? [10]

Great. Thanks for all that info.
much appreciated.
vincent

Life / Dec 25th - is public transport or Taxis in Poland operational that day? [10]

Delphi....
I need to visit Lawica in order to get a flight in the evening. Normally the reason why someone would go to an airport.

Life / Dec 25th - is public transport or Taxis in Poland operational that day? [10]

YEah. I was surprised as well. Charter flight to Egypt. Very strange flying out on xmas day.

Law / Business plan needed for residency requirements - suggestions? [6]

HI. If you do a search for 'business plan' on google you will get up a number of sites. I just checked and there are a lot o Business Plan template results which might be able to steer you in the right direction.

Good luck

Law / Business plan needed for residency requirements - suggestions? [6]

Ok. Very sorry that i did not check every result to see if it was up to your requirements. I will know better to try and assist next time.

UK, Ireland / What do Polish people think of Ireland and the Irish? [50]

hi. I am irish and living in poland for nearly 3 years. i have never had any issues due to my irishness. Only the occasional idiot who do not want any foreigners in poland but you will meet them anywhere. i really think you have nothing to worry about. Good luck.

Life / Good Gym's in Poznań? [23]

Hi . i used to be a member of Nautilus and it is a nice gym and would recommend it. i changed to REmplus purely based on location as it is down the road from me.

Law / WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO BE ABLE TO INVOICE PEOPLE/COMPANIES? [9]

All the information given on tax is very intertesting. One thing that stood out was the price you were paying for accountants. i have an accountant who looks after the tax for a property i rent out (rental about 2500) and he also looks after the tax for my business. Currently there is nothing to do relating to the business. He charges me 200 zlt monthly for doing my return for the rental on the property and 300 zlt for doing my business return. Am i being fleeced??? I am registered in Wroclaw for my tax but live in poznan.

Language / Has anyone experienced Polish language learning homestays..? [4]

Hi Bernadette.
I dont know anything about the homestays but i thought i would let you know about my my recent experience.
I have just finished an intensive 3 week beginners course in warsaw. It was for 5 days a week, over 3 weeks and lectures were for 4 hours in the morning. i found it very good.

i have been living in poland nearly 3 years and trying to learn a bit but getting nowhere. The intensive course gave me a good kick start. if you want more information on it let me know.

One thing that the experience thought me was that if you want to learn polish, you really have to be doing it on a daily basis. A classe once or twice a week, will make the process very slow.

Regards
Vincent