Food / Butcher Shops in Poznan? [7]

There's a pretty big butcher's shop in Os. Czecha that seems to do all sorts of meat, though I don't do the shopping, I don't know if it will do that sort of thing, though.

(useless post, really)

Work / Poznan - Career Path [22]


Hahaha :)

It's a very European thing for the girls to end up orange, though it's way worse in the UK than in Poland. It does make me laugh though, watching some of the idiots in this osiedle walk around completely orange while it's snowing.

Having said this, some of the women around here manage the fat part just fine too... ;)

The one thing I'd mention is that with any sort of food business, make sure to make it recognisably American. You know, the kind of place that screams AMERICA to you - because many places (like those horrible Sphinx places) will do American food - but badly, and in a lousy atmosphere.

Law / Setting up a Chinese Language School in Poland - good business idea? [41]

Yeah, this is the thing...will people want to go to the hassle of learning Chinese when they could simply do business with English speakers?

Food / Butcher Shops in Poznan? [7]

Get yourself a weekly tram ticket (32zl, though only irritatingly available from MPK points rather than most kiosks) and explore!

What part of the city are you in? I might be able to give you some ideas on interesting places to explore that's nearby if I know the area.

First question : Absolutely no idea, I'm afraid.
Secondly : Again, sorry, but no idea. I think though, that the connection probably is the same.
Thirdly : Now, this is what I might know about. There's two places that might sell such a thing that I know of - Media Markt and Praktiker. (sp?). Both are in the M1 shopping centre in Rataje, and they do quite a lot of things like this - though I don't know if they will actually have outdoor cookers. But they would be your best bet, I think.

Travel / Poland/Ukraine Border at Medyka - Parking? [14]


Getting there from Poznan is a bit long winded without a car though :(

Law / Setting up a Chinese Language School in Poland - good business idea? [41]

I would say it is - Japanese culture in Europe is much more fashionable than Chinese culture, for whatever reason. Many young Europeans will also be ideologically opposed to learning Chinese, particularly the ones from the former East.

Work / gday everyone - i'd love to come to Poland to teach English, but... [15]

1) No issues at all. Obviously, a bit of common sense is needed - but generally, Poland is a safe place.

2) Nothing is 'required' - but the CELTA is pretty much considered to be 'standard' here for a good teaching job. But again, if you know your stuff, you can blag your way into a job easily enough.

3) I don't know any in Poznan, sorry :P

4) Very friendly, except those working for the government. Many in private businesses will go the extra mile - for instance, my favourite cafe, the owner always offers to translate the menu for me.

Work / gday everyone - i'd love to come to Poland to teach English, but... [15]


Especially if you live in Poznan ;)

I asked a bunch of kids today in the school what they thought of Warsaw.

'Legia', 'fuck' and 'bastards' were used liberally :D

Work / gday everyone - i'd love to come to Poland to teach English, but... [15]


35PLN/hour in your hand after tax/under the table should be considered an absolute minimum. Any less than that and walk away, you simply cannot expect to live on less than that.

If you can get 20 hours a week at 50zl/hour before tax, you'll do just fine :)

Travel / Poland/Ukraine Border at Medyka - Parking? [14]


People obey speed limits in Poland??!

Work / gday everyone - i'd love to come to Poland to teach English, but... [15]

See, it's a very strange market in Poznań. You'd think, with it being a business city, you could get away with charging stupid rates. But no - quite the opposite. I've seen a few adverts for native speakers, charging 30zl/hour - and with them offering to come to your place. I can't work out what they're doing, or why.

But to give some comparison, I get 35zl/hour after tax - and the teaching environment is fantastic. I would hold out for more - but effectively, I'm allowed to experiment with different teaching methods and to try different things. I don't have to pay for housing - so the money on offer is perfectly fine. I'm a new teacher though, so the teaching practice in a supportive environment is much, much more valuable than the money at this stage.

But it's relative - if I had to pay rent/a mortgage, I would be holding out for more. Likewise, if the school didn't have a fantastic setup, I'd be holding out for much more to cover the time spent preparing materials. As it stands, they have pretty much everything I need.

Life / Just cross the damn road...Is Poland strict about road crossing rules? [13]


God, I used to do that all the time...I wouldn't risk it here, not a chance!

UK, Ireland / Formal Qualifcations in Polish- UK [10]

There's a GCSE in Polish, I know that much.

UK, Ireland / Formal Qualifcations in Polish- UK [10]


It's mindblowingly easy as well, I had a look at the past papers and I reckon I could blag a pass in it :/

Life / Living In Poland For The Expat [67]


I've never been to the United States, but people can be terribly rude here. But I think part of it is accepting it and being rude straight back at them. For instance, while waiting at Wrocławska in Poznań for the tram, some old guy decided to push pretty much right in front of me. So, I took advantage and when the tram doors opened, I pushed right back in front of him and claimed the only free seat. His loss :) The worst thing about it was that if I'd gotten on first and claimed the only free seat, only for him to have to stand up - I'd have given him the seat.

But in some respects, people are much less rude - old people routinely get given seats on the tram, for instance. That happens much less in the UK, or at least in my experience.

Law / HOW DO I REGISTER MY BUSINESS NAME IN POLAND? [17]

To the original poster:

I'm not being funny, but you seem to have a lot of questions about some very basic things such as setting up a company and what permits/etc are needed. Do you really have the knowledge to succeed in Poland, particularly as the business culture here is quite different to the English speaking world?

I would put the business on hold for 6 months and research, research, research.

Life / Living In Poland For The Expat [67]


Oh yes. My favourite is when they stand and glare at you, while invading your personal space to make you give them the seat. Of course, I sit there and smile to myself like a lunatic, safe in the knowledge that with such rudeness, there's no way they're getting my seat.

I tend not to give my seat to any evil looking pensioners as well, but :P

Life / Living In Poland For The Expat [67]

You lucky bugger.

They 'lock' the validators in Poznan, so if you're caught without a validated ticket, boom, fine. But seeing as I carry my UK driving licence and a copy of my passport as ID, I still want to know what the consequence of being caught actually is. I was caught by some other bus company - but giving them 'no polish' and smiling broadly when they threatened me with the police if I didn't pay drove them crazy (and let me go for free!).

Life / Living In Poland For The Expat [67]

No no, not so high. 100zl on the spot, or 200zl if you pay more than 14 days afterwards.

But *how* are they going to fine someone who pretends not to understand a word of the language, who only has a foreign ID with a foreign address?

I'm told the reality is that they simply give up if the person persists in refusing to pay/understand.

Life / How much do you spend a week (or month) on food shopping in Poland? [19]


I want one :(

Alas, I've completely lost my appetite and seem to be existing on nothing but pate sandwiches and soup. Dreadful :(

Life / Passport stamped when leaving Shengen territory? [12]

On the basis of the Schengen acquis, a valid residence permit from a Schengen Member State, together with a travel document, can substitute for a visa. Thus, a third-country national presenting his/her passport and a valid residence permit issued by a Schengen Member State is allowed to enter another Schengen Member State for a short stay without needing a visa. This equivalence does not apply to residence permits issued by the United Kingdom and Ireland, since they do not apply these provisions of the Schengen acquis.

Basically - yep, you can travel, but only within the Schengen zone.

Life / Dog's life or what to expect when living in Poland with a dog [22]

Buses : some cities yes, some cities no. Just depends on the local bus company.

Yep, there's a dog licence. I think it's waived if the dog is neutered, or if you can get a paper from a friendly vet saying it is. Obviously this won't work for a male dog ;) But it's a tiny amount anyway.

No general rules, but a large dog barking might just make your neighbours try to poison it. Of course, all flats are different - ask the landlord or the administration for more advice.

Life / Passport stamped when leaving Shengen territory? [12]

I wonder how quick they would be to revoke a resident permit on the basis of crimes, alleged or real in another Schengen juristriction?

Life / How much do you spend a week (or month) on food shopping in Poland? [19]


It is bad when you've eaten nothing but that in 5 days :(

Life / How much do you spend a week (or month) on food shopping in Poland? [19]


Worse, I've got the flu and have absolutely no will to eat anything but soup and pate :(

I opened the fridge earlier and it's full of nice meats/etc. Apparently it all smells really nice, there's even a nice huge bit of bacon sitting in there. But of course, the smell of meat is making me want to throw up :(

Travel / Poland is becoming too expensive to visit. It is a nice country, but [46]


You've forgotten to mention the Union Jack shorts.

I propose a mandatory idiot tax of 100GBP on every idiot who wears such a thing.

Travel / Krakow or Warsaw?? Which is the best to stay in for one month? [10]

Come to Poznań, we have Stary Browar!

Life / Living In Poland For The Expat [67]


I declared war on the ticket inspectors on the 'other' bus company here.

Every single time, I loook veerry slooowllly through my pockets for my ticket, just to irritate them. One of them made the fatal mistake of talking about me in Polish (having assumed that because I was talking to people in English, none of us would speak Polish) - which pretty much guaranteed that I'm going to thoroughly waste his time from now on.

I'm comtemplating slyly photographing them and putting their pictures online for all the fare dodgers in Poznan to study ;)

Study / Looking for English Language schools in Katowice [48]

For me, I spend about 20 minutes for a two hour class. It can be much less - just depends on exactly what I'm doing. I've spent half an hour searching for just one thing in one textbook before.

For Callan, it's perfectly possible to turn up 5 minutes before. I don't, but I like to chill out and talk to people/etc - but if I wanted, it would be perfectly possible to turn up 5 minutes beforehand to teach a Callan class.

In my opinion, anyone new to teaching should try and find a school where they can do a mix of Callan-style and traditional teaching. The Callan stuff is good for getting used to teaching - and places less demands upon you as a teacher.

Food / Asian food - is it easy to find in Poland (particularly Lublin)? [39]

You tried all of them in Poznan?

You poor thing...I wouldn't risk some of them.