USA, Canada / Traveling to Poland to study. Polish passport question. [11]

Legally, when you arrive on Polish territory, you are no longer a Canadian in the eyes of the law. Thus, legally, you cannot enter Poland on a Canadian passport. Once you are in Poland, you can stay as long as you want, you're a Polish citizen, with or without a passport. If you take up residency, you're obligated to get an ID card.

Bad news, you are breaking the law as a Polish citizen by entering the territory of Poland on a Canadian passport. Good news, no one will care because you will be leaving on your Polish passport.

USA, Canada / Traveling to Poland to study. Polish passport question. [11]

Don't worry about it, Schengen visa tracking is even worse than that of the US and Canada. Once you get your Polish passport, just make sure to use it when your traveling in Schengen, and use the Canadian one when you go back to Canada. The Canadians don't care about not having an exit stamp, and the Europeans will never see the Canadian passport again.

The only thing on that is that if you are a Polish citizen, you must enter Poland with a Polish passport. But in reality, there are no real checks in place.

Travel / From Poland to Kaliningrad: car rental and insurance required [6]


Green card isn't accepted, you can buy liability insurance at the border.

You'll have to fill out a customs declaration form which was only in Russian where we crossed. You might look for a translation online before you go. They print up a customs receipt thingy that you need to show when you leave with the little exit slip of paper.

If your name isn't on the registration, you need a translated and notarized power of attorney from the owner. If you don't have this, they turn you around and you get wait in line to enter Poland.

Translated copies of the registration and the technical document would be a good idea too, you might be able to get across the border, but it's a fine when you get pulled over. Make a copy of the IDP and your license and give that to the police when they pull you over. Don't let some ******* traffic cop try to hold it for ransom.

Beware of GAI. There are always little control points at the entrance to the cities. Remember to obey the speed limits, don't cross any solid lines no matter how faint they are, and keep your seat belt on until the cop asks you to come to his car to pay your "spot fine". Don't part with more than 1000 rubles unless you've run someone over. If they persist, ask to go to the station to pay your fine.

I don't know of anyone that rents cars to Russia. You would need full coverage insurance which is ridiculously expensive in Russia. It would be cheaper to buy a beater and drive it over.

Life / Handguns Not Needed in Poland? [44]


Here's a better solution. Seeing as 90% of gun crimes are committed with stolen weapons, how about imposing life sentences on possession of a stolen firearm (plus a requirement to register stolen weapons with the police)? This wouldn't infringe on private sales as anyone can make a call to the police station and perform pre-buy due diligence. The NRA supports this position.

That would make selling or receiving a stolen weapon much more risky, and ultimately drive up the price. The laws on the books right now for possession of a stolen firearm are more or less a slap on the wrist.

How about life sentences anytime a gun or other deadly weapon is used in a crime? The NRA also supports strong sentences for people that break the law.

Enforcing and strengthening exisiting laws seems a much more logical approach than putting new ones on the books.

Life / Handguns Not Needed in Poland? [44]

reloading isn't rocket science

Some sad news today from the land of no guns

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/8433756.stm

Food / Kebab Meat = Baranina? [10]

Vote with your money, go to the place that has identifiable meat. Or accept to eat any crap that's given to you.

Life / Handguns Not Needed in Poland? [44]

The real question is why are our societies becoming more violent in general? Violent crime is on the rise in the EU at a crazy rate. Trying to blame guns is avoiding the issue.

The murder rate in San Jose is 3.3/100,000, 10 miles away the murder rate in Oakland is 28.6/100,000... exact same gun laws, that is, fairly restrictive by US standards.

Lets take a look at good ole Tejas where gun laws are a bit looser. In Dallas, people are getting murdered at a rate of 13.3/100,000, while right next door in Fort Worth, the rate drops to 7.0/100,000...drive south a bit further and you get to Austin with 3.1/100,000.

Why are the rates for San Jose and Fort Worth so different to Oakland and Dallas? That's the question that needs to be answered. Apparently guns don't really make all that much of a difference.

edit

Just to throw some more statistics, took a look at the census information for Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth. The most interesting is Dallas and Ft. Worth. Right next to each other, Ft. Worth is poorer, about the same level of education, close to the same demographics, but yet your chances of being murdered are almost twice as high 15 miles to the east in Dallas.

Austin
percentage white 65
percentage black 10
percentage identifying themselves as hispanic (or mixed hispanic) 36

percentage with high school diploma 83
percentage with at least bachelors degree 40
personal income per capita 24,163

Dallas

w 50
b 26
h 35

hs 70
ba 28
inc 22,183

Ft. Worth

w 59
b 20
h 30

hs 72
ba 22
inc 18,800

Life / Handguns Not Needed in Poland? [44]


Like in the UK? Switzerland? The Czech Republic? Jamaica?

But in all honesty, if a government has to take guns away from its populace in order to attempt to bring down gun related deaths, it means that the police force isn't doing a good enough job protecting the people in the first place.

I think one of the important things to look at in places like the UK is not only the number of gun deaths that are now occurring (and the overall violent crime rate for that matter), but how many people are intimidated by the guy with a gun.

Life / Handguns Not Needed in Poland? [44]

NOLA and Dallas.

Food / Looking for Cider around Poznan Area [16]


ehow.com/how_2093695_make-apple-wine.html - This is a good one to follow

I follow pretty much the same steps except I don't add ascorbic acid or wine tannin and use lemon juice as the acid blend. I like it cloudy, so I skip the campden tablet and drink it straight away (if you do this, make absolutely sure that everything you use is sterile, good way to make yourself sick!). I'd also suggest pressing your apples instead of buying store bought. You can play around with the type of apple to get what you like.

You might have to order some stuff, but it will last you forever because you don't need much of it for a batch:

burgundy wine yeast
yeast nutrients
pectic acid

hydrometer
airlock

The good news is that you'll be placing that order with a place that more than likely sells beer making supplies... so you can make it a christmas order and get everything you need to make beer too. Applewine is a lot easier than beer, but once you get beer brewing down you start getting snobbish because you can make exactly what you like at home. Beware, it's addictive.

Life / Handguns Not Needed in Poland? [44]


It's really sad. Extremely sad actually.

Life / Handguns Not Needed in Poland? [44]


Likewise, I don't leave the house in the states without my browning. Here, I have never once felt the need to carry. Our neighbors to the south in the Czech Republic have the right to carry, but I never felt the need to in the 4 years that I lived there.

Food / Looking for Cider around Poznan Area [16]


I make applewine at home. It's really easy and if you give it a shot of carbonated water, a little sugar if you're into that kind of thing, and you've got good cider. Takes about 3 weeks...but it's way cheaper, tates better, and you get a whole jug of it.

Food / Looking for Cider around Poznan Area [16]

britishcornershop/shop.asp?action=search&uid={FDB201E 0-E5F7-4B61-9362-882B5C33DB1B}

Real Estate / Is it normal to pay 22% tax on renting a flat? [15]

From what I understand, you have to pay VAT on housing if renting from a company, not from an individual (it's taxed as income on their behalf)....BUT, it should already be included in the advertised price. Just like buying a car, groceries, etc.

Edit: Alright, seems like jonni is much more competent on this...

Food / Polish cocktails [7]

that's looking like a winner

Love / A suitable birthday gift for a Polish lady? [26]

In Wroclaw, public school teachers start off at 1800 a month before taxes. Yea, it's pretty low. It's still better than what train drivers...and tram and bus drivers make.


amen.

only thing is, a lavish gift to a married woman from a foreign guy might cause a bit of tension...

Love / A suitable birthday gift for a Polish lady? [26]

birthday is different than a nameday

as for the gift, i personally enjoy chocolate on my nameday or birthday, always a winner. books work too..

high school teacher in wroclaw starts off at about 1800 a month before taxes.

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


Just out of curiosity, do you speak polish?

UK, Ireland / Poles working and living in the UK [25]


That is interesting, because most of the foreigners that live here are on a local salary, no expat contract, legally registered... That indeed sounds like an immigrant to me...

Travel / train @ bus from warsaw to budapest? [17]

no prices online for international trips, you have to fill out a form

polrail.com/sections/store/quoteprice.html

If you're feeling sadistic, eurolines will take you there for 70pln

Life / out of interest how many uk citizens are in wroclaw [4]

I hear a British accent every once in a while. Quite a few Americans, fair amount of halfbreed Canadians for some reason, even a couple of Aussies.

Love / What do you think of Polish women who swear in English? [15]

For dutch and german being so close linguistically, cloggies definately have it down when it comes to swearing.

Food / Polish Restaurant Prices [20]

You forgot about the cost of the flight to Poland, time off work, taxi, hotel (if there are no return flights same day).

If you calculate all that in, £6 seems like a winner in the UK.

Law / Starting a distribution business in Poland [11]


They're not very expensive. You can get a shelf z.o.o. for €2500, ready to go immediately. It would be more hassle than it's worth to go from an "IchAG" to a z.o.o.

News / HUMANE TREATMENT FOR CHRISTMAS CARP in POLAND [55]


Really? Seriously? Kids might be somehow harmed if they found out where their food came from? Scary the way things are going...

Real Estate / Prices of apartments in Krakow are collapsing further down in 2010-2011 [150]

Personally, I hope that Polish wages will go up so that housing becomes affordable, everybody would win in that situation. I'm not sure how that will happen without destroying the export market and all the "cheap labor" jobs. The US and the UK (among others) are proving over and over again that an economy that is powered by consumer consumption of imported products isn't sustainable in the long run.

Just to dig a bit deeper, do the people on the forum who are bullish on polish real estate see it as being affordable at the moment? What is the main reason that you would invest in the polish real estate market right now? Is it the supply and demand situation? The low interest rates on mortgages? The weak zloty (if you're investing from outside). Overall economic growth? What makes the Polish real estate market attractive to you right now?

Real Estate / Mortgage default rates in Poland [10]

Do you know what happens when someone can't make the payment? Do banks usually change the terms? Force a sale? Go straight for other assets?