Expats in Poland: Are you going to live in Poland long or short term?

Living in the long term is a definite option. If u know the ropes, Poland is a fine country to live in

came here for a 3 month IT contract nearly 6 years ago now. I've made some great friends, met some lovely girls, bought a flat and a car, joined the golf club, am learning the language and am quite content really.

I came to Poland a year ago to live (Fiancee) and do enjoy it most of the time, but I still work on the rigs so dont have a problem with the lower wage scale here (compaired with the UK)

hey mac how do I go about working on the rings ? would you care to shere any info
I would like to do that hard work but good money so i hear could shere some tips

cheers

im here for the long term, and intend on staying for longer:) only if i dont get a chance to go to china next year for a year or so:)

Thread attached on merging:
The difference between an expat in Poland and an immigrant?

How would you define the difference between an expat working in Poland and an immigrant (apart from the work situation, an expat obviously is not planning to stay) ?

I came to Poland to stay probably forever (if not for a very long time), gave up a safe 17-years job in Belgium to live with my Polish wife who under no circumstances wants to move out of Poland. Came here without a job or even the prospect or getting one. But that ended well, thanks God :)

Most of the people I know are Polish. (Though my true friends are Canadian and French) All my colleagues at work are Polish. Who treat me as some kind of weird import :)

I watch the Flemish TV news only occasionally these days (in the past more than daily).
In "Dziennik" I reach first for the city news. I speak Polish everywhere.

I do not go to any classic expat haunts in Warsaw. My local pub is not described in any tourist guide.

Not an expat I think?

Welcome to the board Mr. Lonman 8)

I have lived here for 8 months and intend to stay indefinitely. I moved here because my Polish boyfriend, who i met in London, had to move back for his business so i came with and so far its been great. Iv been attending a school for Polish (really hard language to learn....) and teaching English.

Positives: Most people under 35 are generally friendly and speak basic English, a night out doesn't cost the earth like it does in London, you get 4 proper seasons (its currently not rising higher than -5, but the summer was long and warm with a beautiful autumn in between) food and booze is quite cheap and the family and friend networks are very close and supportive.

Negatives: Utilities bills are pretty high, and wages are pretty low, for many this = debt. you cant drink the tap water. In my area (gdynia) the local council decide when the cities central heating is turned on (generally between october - march) but if you get a cold snap sooner, it spells thick jumpers and extra blankets. the older generations can be rude and difficult to foreigners, im not sure why. Theres so much red tape with everything (various codes and numbers you need, health care, registration, owning a car etc) to the point im probably technicaly an illegal immigrant, because i dont know where to go and who to ask for the correct info!

Hope thats of some help.

Good luck, and come! its fun.

Hi, ukpolska: i av recent move to poland wiv my wife and daughter , I want to setup a business. I need some tips please e-mail me @ bentuman_29@yahoo

thanx

re - Wroclaw; I also strongly oppose to the Cash comment as some person above.
An expat is a person who has chosen to live in another country for a long period of time. I agree with that. Cash?
PLS! Of course it helps, but really hardly relevant if one makes up his/her mind to relocate.
But not here to argue.
Going to use caps here, please do not b offended; just want 2 b noticed.
My question to all of you is: REGARDLESS OF RELATIVELY CHEAP LIVING . WHAT IS SO ATTRACTIVE ABOUT POLAND? This is a genuine question. Be honest! Thanx.

Came here ten years ago (planning to stay for a year) and liked it. Opened a business, so here long-term. With every year that passes I have fewer ties 'at home' and more here.

It seems almost surreal that five years after I came from the UK to Poland, thousands of people started to move from Poland to the UK. The world is getting smaller.

Hard to say what I like/dislike about PL, being here feels normal and my life is here whether I like it or not - it would be an enormous upheaval to leave. I suppose I ended up here by chance, though I don't regret even one minute of my time here.

Jonni
You said you set up a business.... do you know anything about setting up a non-profit?

Im planning on living here mid term, i have recently realised my fate and am comfortable with the current situation.

For me the reason to live in Poland was simple - change of scenery and money. I thought the business potential was huge in certain areas. It will be sad when i leave for some reasons but hey, onwards and upwards, im really excited about moving on. Next stop Canada..

Been here for three years and moved here to be with my polish husband :)

But do you enjoy your stay in Poland? How is your Polish? Big city or small?

I thought this was an interesting BBC article. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8066680.stm

I am becoming an expat one year in Krakow then who knows.

I'm going to be here for at least a year. Why can't I say further than that? Other factors still at play for now, which might become irrelevant. Those won't take me back to the UK though, and already I'm feeling like they are becoming less alluring.

Besides, if I look BACK a year I'd never have believed what has happened in that time, how can I know what will happen in the next 12 months? Especially, I came here cos I wanted to, I might meet someone who makes me want to truly stay without even any thoughts of going anywhere else next.

My only concern is keeping myself with enough money I think, but that would be my worry wherever I was. I already know England will be a strange place when I go back for a wedding in September, Poland feels like home again now in the way it did when I first came here and loved it enough to leap across the water to my father's homeland :)

I am just about to leave Poland in 4 days.
After almost 4 years it was enough for me. Will I miss Poland? Maybe, but not necessarily the people, at least not the majority!! As I am moving to 15 million inhabitants city, certaintly that I will miss some of the quieteness, but I will finally be close to the sea.

See you..

I came here in September 2007 as a volunteer for five months but decided to stay longer because I wanted to travel around more and know more about the Polish culture. However at the end of this year, I shall be returning home...the pull of an easy going life in Australia is becoming stronger and stronger each day and I want to cotinue my education at uni.

I made a promise to myself to move to Europe by the time I was 30. When I was offered a job in Wroclaw, I took it without any hesitation. Six years later, it was the best thing I ever did. I honestly love it here. I don't miss the States at all.

I've been here 2 years with work, When i've finished what i came here to do I'm planning on going to the south of france for the long term or perhaps dubai just for the experience.

sorry for the late reply. I enjoy it somedays and others I'd rather hide under a rock in order to avoid everything and everyone. My polish is semi-fluent and living in Warsaw at the moment. Are u in poland??

I have lived in Poland for five years...experianced the good , the bad , and the ugly , had a tough time , but also had some great times....whatever happens , i am staying here...no wish to return to the UK at all....

If you define long term as the rest of my life, I'd say I'm here for the long haul.

mind if I ask why?

Not at all.....I guess the Polish way of life , although harder is better quality , it has a certain something that we in the UK lost fifty years ago...i feel i belong here...and thats kind of important...

Me too. I live in Gdansk, a beautiful city. When I came here two years ago I didn't have a job, didn't have any money, didn't know anyone, and barely spoke Polish. Now I have a job that I love (I teach English), still don't have any money, have lots of friends, most of whom are Polish, and now I know three Polish words: piwo and, uh, I forgot the other two.

I plan on basing my self here perminantly... i am happy here.. i love the lifestyle..

OK as all countrys there are some good and bad points.. but thats the same in all countrys. since i moved from the UK i havnt wanted to go back and dont see i will. i have great friends all over Poland and have made some great friends at work and even with some of my students!

I came with a few thousend... spent most of it... earn ok money but give a great life style!

Shame the languge is so tuff.. all i can say is "po prozse jeden lech, dzienquear" Well thats how it sounds to me anyway!

:)

I've been in Kraków for over a year. During that time, there hasn't been one day that I have wanted to go back to the states. I feel great here...in America, not so much.

I have been a teacher my whole adult life, so maybe it's about the students: in America, they are generally uninspired and unappreciative; however, in Poland, they seem genuinely interested in learning and grateful for guidance. Are there any other life-long teachers on this forum who agree with this sentiment?

Sorry for the delay in replying. The answer is not much. I know you have to register not-for-profit organisations at the KRS (court of registration) and the rules are a bit stricter than in 'western' countries. Some lawyers will advise for free if it's a genuine not-for-profit operating on a small scale.

I admire your outlook scottie. To land in a country and make a go of it, then i take my hat off to you. :)