Life / Good Gym's in Poznań? [23]

The remplus place previously mentioned has good reviews from people, so it's probably worth checking it out. I haven't been personally, though.

Life / Daily comute from Warsaw to Lodz [14]

I wouldn't rely on the train for such a commute - PKP are hardly known for their reliability. If you were driving, it's probably doable - but by train will just be too risky to rely on.

....and you really don't want to be going anywhere near £ódz!

(sorry, personal hatred showing through :P)

Travel / Advice for English guy on travel in poland; is it safe to travel alone? [3]

£ódz is quite a scary place for me, vast parts of it are incredibly run down and it just doesn't 'feel' comfortable for me. I know others will disagree, but that's my perspective - it's not really a great place to visit. The whole city seems to be based upon one huge shopping centre, so it's really not a great place to go! It should be nice and cheap, though. I should say though, I've never seen any signs of trouble in £ódz - it just seems absolutely run down to me.

Poznań on the other hand couldn't be safer. As long as you avoid the knucklehead bars/areas, you really won't have a problem - ie, if you stick to the beaten path, then it's very unlikely that you'll see any issues. Poznań doesn't have the same trouble with British drunks too, so people are quite happy with them here. People certainly don't get aggressive when they hear English - in fact, as long as you have some knowledge of football (and especially Lech Poznań!), then no-one will bother you except to talk nonsense about football. The other thing is that Poznań is studentville - so many people you can expect to meet on a night out will be students and therefore not particularly interested in beating you up.

I'd advise going to Wrocław instead of £odz - it's just a much nicer place and far more geared up for tourism. But of course, the Brit-Drunk problem is common there.

Travel / An experience on the train in Warsaw [30]


Oh come on, haven't you ever dealt with some of the knuckleheads that work in the UK system?

Out of curiosity, what photo ID did you get? As far as I understood it, they stopped issuing any sort of official ID to EU residents.

Incidentally, in such cases, just give them a UK address. If they won't accept it, then get the police involved. The police simply won't bother you - they realise that it's more hassle than it's worth to try and enforce a fine against a non-Polish national. Of course, they probably won't want to get the police involved if you do have a valid ticket.

I once had similar problems in Poznań with a particularly alcoholic ticket inspector. He tried all sorts of threats, including that I'd get a 360zl fine if the police got involved. I told him 'ok' repeatedly, until he gave up :)

But one word of advice : never, ever, ever give up your passport in Poland. Give them a photocopy, or even better, carry around a UK driving licence (provisional will do!) - but do not hand over the passport. It's simply too valuable for some idiotic ticket inspector to even touch.

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


It depends. I think though, that Callan is a good start to the language - it's easy and it does give people an introduction to English that isn't dreadfully dry. But it falls down miserably after the first 4 stages or so because of the need to introduce grammar. Callan clearly didn't realise that it's absolutely impossible to use his 'method' to teach grammar - and I suspect that he didn't understand it himself.

I think the best teachers (and consequently, the best schools) are the ones which mix Callan with other forms of teaching depending on the need. My school does this - and while Callan gives them the base from which to learn new words, all sorts of different materials are used to make sense of the grammar/etc.

Anyone who follows the Callan 'rules' rigidly should also be shot, in my opinion. You're right - anyone who follows Callan (or similar) blindly isn't teaching. This is why new people to the job should insist that they're allowed to mix up lessons - and if the school is so rigid that they cannot accept that someone might want to teach something different, then they shouldn't work there.

The one huge problem with Callan in my view is that 'bad' students will go away and never look at the books between lessons. Or they'll memorise the books off by heart, but never do any outside learning. Until someone writes a method which forces people to work independently outside of schools while still allowing them to learn quickly, there'll always be the same problem.

But I go back to my original point - Callan is good for new teachers. It allows them to try different things out in the classroom (if the school is good!) - with the crutch of the book if whatever they've tried hasn't worked. It's obviously hopeless to those with experience - but this is where a good school should allow teachers a free reign to use whatever materials they feel are appropriate.

Seanus - your point about the grammar. I managed to negotiate two things with teaching Callan classes - a) I don't teach the grammar, b) I don't teach stage 1/2. Needless to say, it makes life much more enjoyable...although it does make Polish teachers want to murder me when they discover a huge chunk of grammar to be taught :P

Work / Non Polish nationals living in Poland - What do you do for a living? [23]

No reason why someone couldn't be a tour guide in a major European language without speaking any Polish, no?

Likewise, washing dishes/collecting glasses is probably doable with no Polish.

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


See, this is where we differ. I don't do it, the school as a rule doesn't do it - unless the person is actually struggling to answer. It's completely 'wrong' according to all the rules, but it makes classes a lot more laid back and enjoyable for most people. I do do it sometimes though, just out of boredom.

It's probably fair to say that Callan is also a good way of showing someone what teaching is about - if you can't control a Callan class, then you shouldn't be teaching full stop. Although it does depend on the school, I guess - again, students in my school are encouraged to ask questions - but in many schools, it seems that it's banned.

Life / Good Gym's in Poznań? [23]

How much is remplus out of curiosity? I keep passing it every day on the tram and I've finally decided to actually do something about it...and sign up somewhere :P

Work / Staying in Poland after Work Permit Expires [7]

Apparently you can, as you have 90 days visa-free access to the Schengen zone outside of any visa entitlements. But I'm not certain how this will be seen in reality - you might have to do a border run to get the all-important stamp to show that you've been granted tourist access for the 90 days.

I would suggest going straight to the relevant local authorities to ask. It's simply not worth the penalties if you actually get caught overstaying - a ban from the Schengen zone could happen, and that would make life very awkward in future when trying to travel here.

Travel / Where to go in Poland that has good nighlife but not "touristy"? [10]


Pah, it was mentioned in The Independent as one of the 10 up and coming places to go on a pissup. Or something similar...

Poznań is your place. Hardly any British tourists, not many Germans (unlike Wrocław :P) and plenty of places with ??? opening hours. And most of all, it isn't terrifying like £ódz is. The downside is that accomodation is pricey here, though.

Life / Satellite type connections in flat in Poland [18]

This reminds me - one thing I like about Poland is the way that they're still offering analogue cable connections. A box is fine and well, but given the slowness of cable boxes to change channel - then analogue is far preferable.

Having said this, INEA Poznań offer absolutely nothing worthwhile on digital cable anyway. Anyone used to Virgin Media's offering in the UK will know what I mean :(

Life / Satellite type connections in flat in Poland [18]

Cable is pretty cheap - at least, TV+internet here is pretty cheap :) But...there still is absolutely nothing on cable :/

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


Actually, and this is a common misconception by people - there's actually a huge amount of grammar in Callan. It's badly explained and taught in the 'method' however - as it seems that Callan realised that he needed to explain grammar, but didn't have any sort of experience and so forced it into fitting the 'method'.

My school uses Callan more as a frame in this sense - while the Callan explanation for the 'past progressive' will be used to begin with, it'll be backed up with proper teaching of the relevant grammar. It seems to work well - Callan gives the quick guide to it, but they will be given exercises and more exercises until it's thoroughly understood.


This again is where individual schools differ. For instance, in my school - giving the 'wrong' answer according to the book is encouraged, provided it's correct. But when you get schools that insist on the answers only being 'book' answers - then they're quite clearly dreadful and exist solely to make money.


Everyone is trained properly at my school, thankfully. But we are encouraged to put our own slant on things - which means preparation. Essentially, we mix Callan and other styles as appropriate - which is entirely down to us as teachers. Obviously there's communication between the secretarial staff and the teachers as to what people are thinking, but generally speaking, it works rather well.


Likewise, many of these problems are solved in my school through careful teaching. Generally speaking, those who rely on memorising the book are weeded out quite quickly - as we're allowed to change the questions as we see fit. It's always rather satisfying to nail the 'memory learners' with changing a question around - or even asking 'why?' when they're least expecting it.

But these people are encouraged to learn through other methods of teaching too. For instance, I always try to introduce new things which get people thinking in/about English. My latest trick was to make people give a presentation with absolutely no notice about a certain European landmark - and made them ask questions and give answers. Given that even the worst Callan class will have one or two confident speakers, it worked beautifully in terms of getting people to talk. But that's my style - everyone is different.

All those negative things you've mentioned are definitely huge problems in a 'real' Callan school. I can name a school in Poznań which is actively putting people for the FCE exam after completing the 'Avalon' course - yet because of the complete lack of preparation that it provides, they are basically putting people forward to fail. It's disgusting to watch, as it really is purely about money.

I think ultimately, Callan (or any other method)'s success is in getting beginners to talk in a comfortable environment. But once they can communicate in English (no matter how badly), Callan falls down badly - and as you say, only succeeds as a moneymaker.

Travel / An experience on the train in Warsaw [30]

A hunch tells me that you might've went to the Grammar school, judging on that comment :P


Have you heard some of the tales coming from the South East about 'Revenue Protection' types? There's plenty of examples of their disgusting behaviour - though it must be admitted, they don't resort to physical violence.

However - read this. guardian.co.uk/money/2006/apr/29/moneysupplement1. Just as bad as the Poles - except it's done entirely under the cloak of respectability.

But wheel clampers, for example? If that's not extortion (and indeed, it was ruled extortion and theft in Scotland!) - then what is?


Who's it issued by? I wouldn't hold out much faith in it being accepted by anyone official if it's not official itself.

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


Very tough question.

I would target businesses who will deal with China first of all - maybe offering them a couple of weeks trial before they have to commit. They may very well sign up if the quality of the lessons are high enough - but you very well need to provide a Polish speaker on top of the Chinese/English speakers.

It's a tough question, because Wrocław is similar to Poznań - yet there's nothing similar here to the best of my knowledge.

Study / TEFL Test Centers and TEFL blogs in Poland [7]


Nothing in Poznań - the best bet is IH in Wrocław to do the CELTA if you want to do it in Poland. But in all honesty, there's absolutely no point in doing it now - the March intake will be the first opportunity to do it, by which time, you'll struggle to find absolutely anything before summer.

Your best bet is just to find a Callan/Avalon/whatever school and tide yourself over until summer. :)

Travel / Indian/Oriental Visiting Poland [2]

In all honesty, it's pretty unlikely that you'll meet trouble. I would certainly recommend to keep your wits about you, don't go to the bad parts of town and don't draw attention to yourself in situations where knuckleheads might notice - but apart from that, I'm pretty sure that you'll be fine :) That advice actually applies to anyone really - skin colour doesn't really come into it.

Do be prepared for some stares - but this isn't always rude or offensive, as it can simply be curiosity. You might get some muttered comments - but to be honest, this applies to all tourists, not just ones of a different skin colour. I take particular pride in winding up people on the bus to my school - there's one guy who we always see that clearly hates English speakers, yet he's far too polite to actually do anything but move seat.

Where about in Poland do you intend to go?

Law / A FREE PIECE OF ADVICE, look into recruitment companies in Poland [12]


A bit naive, no?

As far as I can tell, the ordinary Pole will simply go up to someone and ask for a job. He/she has no need for a recruitment company at all - and unless you set up a specialist firm that will headhunt people, it seems pretty unlikely that you could attract much business.

Law / A FREE PIECE OF ADVICE, look into recruitment companies in Poland [12]


Have you actually seen how many British nationals there are (officially) in Poland? The number is very very low. Certainly, nowhere near enough to build a business - and it's not like the wages in Poland are going to be high enough to attract all the whining unemployed in the UK at the minute.

Law / Internet Banking in Poland [9]

mBank are also worth a shout if you're in Poland, simply for the lack of fees and ease of use.

Study / WHICH IS THE BEST CITY TO LIVE IN FOR A FOREIGN STUDENT in POLAND? [7]

As above.

You will struggle to get a job here with an Indian accent - even though many Indians are 'native' English speakers, the accent will likely pose huge problems for you. It's not an issue of racism, but simply the reality - the accent isn't a great one for teaching with.

Your only real hope would be to get a job in a large company - but these jobs are very, very rare. You certainly couldn't hope to come here and get such a job - you would have to land it from India. And with the hassle with work permits/etc for non-EU, it seems rather unlikely that you would be able to secure the kind of job where they would happily sort out permits for you.

I dare say you might be able to find a job washing dishes/other menial slave labour. But these kind of jobs simply won't pay you enough to survive - minimum wage would be likely, and 750 a month simply wouldn't be enough to live on.

Life / Polish Residency - Zameldowanie to be abolished? [49]

Okay, the first question of all - are you an EU citizen? If so, there's not much to worry about. There's no systematic register kept of entries/exit from Schengen - so EU citizens can effectively dodge the Zameldowanie requirement without effort. If you are asked by anyone (like the police), you just tell them that you're a tourist and there's no problem.

There's some great advice either on here or on eslcafe regarding how to strong arm your landlord/lady into registering you - but I cannot for the life of me remeber how. Something to do with the flat being rented for business purposes, I seem to recall - but I may be wrong.

You are correct about the Zameldowanie being abolished. It was supposed to happen on the 1st of January and be replaced with a 'registracja' (spelling?...) - the idea being that you simply had to register an address with the State and there was nothing special attached to this. But the trail has indeed gone cold - I can only assume that they're experiencing some opposition to this, particularly as it'll mean an end to the multitude of people employed to deal with non-Polish EU citizens.

But you don't need Polish residency in order to live here IF you are EU. It's reliably documented online that you can do lots of things in Poland without it.

I actually had a problem with getting registered in the first place. I asked what the punishment was for not registering (the law requires all the owners of the flat to be present, or to pay a ridiculous amount for a notary!) - and was told bluntly that as I was EU, they didn't care less.

Life / Polish Residency - Zameldowanie to be abolished? [49]


I find it absolutely ridiculous to be honest - why they didn't scrap the system as a priority after 1990 is entirely beyond me. I don't actually disagree with the concept of registration - it seems quite sensible to have an address where the State can contact you. But the nonsense required to actually obtain it is completely crazy - and completely ignorant of the reality of the situation.

I get the feeling however, that the whole EU registration process was put together rather hastily, hence the linking of the zameldowanie with the residence permit.


One thing that you should be aware of is that they really don't care less where you are registered. If you can find someone willing to register you at their place, then it'll do fine - I know countless people who are actually registered in an entirely different part of the country. But it does have some downsides - they tend to link governmental functions to the registered address, so registering a car for instance has to be done in the place where you're registered.

All in all, it's a complete joke of a system. The fact that it's still held up in the Sejm surely means that it won't be implemented anytime soon - and I wouldn't put it past the dear President to veto it out of spite.

Unfortunately though, if you can't get someone to register you, then you're stuck. But it doesn't stop you doing whatever you want to do in Poland ;)

Life / Polish Residency - Zameldowanie to be abolished? [49]

This thread should probably be merged with the other one, but here goes...


Nope. You could be if you willingly told the authorities that you were doing this - but in all honesty, they have no way of checking when you entered/exited the Schengen zone. The exit checks aren't comprehensive enough - so you can tell them any old nonsense and they have no way of checking.

But strictly speaking, yes, you're in trouble. Although I'm sure I read somewhere that British passport holders are given six months free access rather than three for the rest of non-Schengen EU. The golden rule is that if you ever get questioned about it, then simplytell them that you're on holiday.


Unless things have drastically changed, you basically get three months temporary registration. After this, you go back and obtain a five year residence permit. Or you can continue to register for three months at a time - it's entirely your choice. The system is a bit of a mess, because it seems to overlap with the non-EU system - but basically, you get automatically granted a permit to stay.


This doesn't sound right at all. I don't have the form to hand from Poznań - but I simply had to fill out a small form and bring the owners of the flat along, plus providing photocopies of my passport. There was certainly no proof of income required, nor health insurance. And the Polish bank account part sounds like nonsense to me too - they certainly didn't ask me for any.

I suspect that you might have been confused for a non-EU citizen, actually.

As for the Zameldowanie - the temporary three months registration is your zameldowanie. This makes me think that you might've went to the wrong place and were trying to apply for a non-EU Karta Pobytu - which would explain all the forms needed.


This is what convinces me that you've been trying to apply for the wrong thing. There's absolutely no need to prove anything work-wise when registering as an EU citizen - because of the EU freedom of movement, you can move to Poland for whatever reason you like. You certainly don't have to be employed to live here if you're EU.


Usually, a contract is required for non-EU in order to gain a work permit/residency. But again, it isn't required for EU.


Very common scam, it seems. The best bet is to get yourself down to the tax office sharpish and get a NIP - you don't have to be registered in order to get one, as you can be carrying out business affairs in Poland and wish to declare it without actually living here.

Once you get the NIP, ask the school to provide you with evidence that the taxes have been paid. You'll probably find that they've been creaming the 18% into their own pockets - though the usual trick in this respect is to tell them that you're taking your contract to the tax office because they want to see it. If they **** themselves and tell you not to do it, then you know they're upto no good.


I wouldn't put it past the Russians to have such a ridiculous requirement.

Basically, I can see that you're in need of some advice here.

First step, go to the Urzad Miasta (or whatever the correct spelling is!) for your city (Warsaw, presumably!). This'll be the place where you go to register your address - and if Warsaw is similar to Poznan, then there'll be a dedicated office there for the registration of EU nationals. I'm not sure what the Polish name is, sorry - but someone will surely tell you this.

Once you've got this form, and it should be a very simple form, then you have to get your landlady to agree to register you. This is the difficult part - but I'm sure someone can advise on the best way to convince her into doing so.

Make sure that you get given a PESEL number when you register - it's not required, but makes life much easier for you.

During all this nonsense, you want to obtain a NIP number. They probably won't care less about proof of employment/etc because of you being EU - they didn't in my case, anyway. But the number should come through after a couple of weeks, which will allow your school to start taxing you correctly.

But - and this is the important question. Do you know what type of contract you have? There are others on here who can advise as to the different types of contracts - but from the sounds of things, your school is effectively pretending to tax you 18% while creaming it off for themselves. It's a common scam, unfortunately.

Travel / Train Fares; train schedule in Poland has changed? [13]

Just to give the heads up, the PKP Regional site has the fares again.

You can do Wrocław to Poznań for as little as 22zl if you don't mind the Osobowy trains.

Poznań to Warsaw is horrifically expensive due to the reliance on the Berlin-Warszawa Express to provide a service - you're about 100zl one way, I believe.

But one thing - buy Osobowy tickets at and only at the PKP Regional windows. And likewise, do not buy TLK/IC/EX/EC tickets at any window apart from the PKP Intercity windows. There seems to be a huge squabble at the minute between the two, and they're prone to misselling tickets on purpose if it's for the 'other' company.

Life / Polish Residency - Zameldowanie to be abolished? [49]

Just an update.

I went past the registration office in Poznań and asked what the current requirement was for the inital temporary registration. All they want is a form, a passport, and at least one of the owners (the other owners can write a letter declaring that they give permission for one owner to give permission, if that makes sense) to turn up in person with the original deed proving ownership to the property.

But make sure that you do go to the EU window. In Poznań, there's nothing clearly indicating this - so you have to make sure to tell the guy that gives you the ticket that you want the desk for EU registration and not anything else.

Work / JOBS IN Hp AND GOOGLE IN WROCLAW [17]

Just an aside - you might find that they will demand proof of financial status before granting you a student visa. If you can't afford to come to Poland without working - then you might very well get rejected for a visa for that reason.

Life / Polish Residency - Zameldowanie to be abolished? [49]


Isn't it 3 months, then the automatic 5 years?

Life / Polish Residency - Zameldowanie to be abolished? [49]

Actually, this brings up a point.

The law in Poland is to carry your ID, right? So...for us that don't have ID cards, what's acceptable? I have no desire to carry around my passport...

Life / Polish Residency - Zameldowanie to be abolished? [49]


Pah, I'll stick with my driving licence and a photocopy of my passport then.