Hi, just joined up to this site and hoping for some information/opinion. Through working in London,where i live,in the construction industry i have met and worked alongside men of many nationalities.In doing this i have become friendly with several which led me to visit Poland twice in the summer....Gdansk and Torun.
I am 40 and considering living abroad,perhaps slovenia, bulgaria,but Poland i like though i wonder if the people are all as welcoming to the English?
Anyway,i could rent my home here and go to Pl with 30k,or sell my home here and with the equity take with me 100k.
I am guessing there would be little or no work for my trade,so i doubt there are many opportunities there for me................am i right?
It depends on what you are looking for and the reasons that you want to leave the UK?If you are solitary and independant, its possible to make a life here in Poland.
Anyway,i could rent my home here and go to Pl with 30k,or sell my home here and with the equity take with me 100k.
I thnk with this kind of money you don,t need to work as builder, buy a place that you can attract tourists to , and maybe a place to rent to tourists , or you could work doing up places that other Brits have bought......
I have lived here two years , and been made very welcome by all the Polish people around me......
Thanks for the comments thus far guys........sorry to hear that the English are not welcome Grzegorz.And i should have been more specific when i mentioned construction,i am a stone restorer,i fix new stones to buildings or repair them......like on Houses of parliament,Windsor castle etc.Whilst i have pondered a new country for a while now,it would mean an entire career change(in fact it would mean starting a business).And my 2 visits to Poland,i forgot to mention a few days on the beach in Mielno........i loved the country.
Merry christmas to you too Spiritus(and everyone else). Ok........having lived near London most of my life,and indeed working there for many years i have as i said considered moving abroad for quite some time.I have just got to a stage in life where i seek a slower pace,a quieter life,a safer enviroment.
I guess being in Torun and Mielno during the summer to me seemed like heaven,though i'm sure Pl has good and bad areas such as we have here.And so its the same for me,i cannot understand peoples attraction to London.
So further to your question,it was in fact much more than i expected..........my perception was of a cold,gray place full of poverty,but in fact(whilst i accept i saw some fine areas),it was in the main a nice place full of prospect,fine people,fine food.
It would be of great benefit if you started learning some Polish, or the language of the country you eventually decide to settle in. What are your main reasons for wanting to leave England, and why Poland in particular ?
I'm also from London, but of Polish background, so I have this pull towards Poland - I love everything Polish which is why I am moving my family to Poland in the next year or two :o)
Hi, Thanks for offering to help(to pm you).I think in previous posts i outlined my reasons for wanting to quit the uk,i've just needed the proverbial kick up the backside.Furthermore if i dont go soon,i probably never will,and i find my work harder and harder,London busier and busier.My body needs a change of direction,and its financially viable.
As for my location,as i say my work is in the city,though i have moved further and further away from it,from east london,to romford,now chelmsford.Yes i have sacrificed more travelling expense and time just to be further away from london!
Poland was for no specific reason other than i have employed and worked alongside several poles,indeed that initiated my trips during the summer.
get in touch with wildrover and follow his advice if you are thinking of a carreer change anyway. he seems to be a good bloke and might give you some valuable hints on how to get started...
most important though... don't rush into things...
hotrock68, I moved here seven years ago and I would say it's the best move that I ever made.
It would be of great benefit if you started learning some Polish, or the language of the country you eventually decide to settle in.
I would totally agree with this, as you will need this to work.
You skills as a stone mason are becoming more and more popular as I know of many projects in the area that I live; the south-east of Poland, Pulway, near Lublin, where they have a lot of money from the European Union to repair a lot of the listed buildings that have fallen into disrepair.
This is to encourage tourism to the area, and some form of Polish language is a must in this line of work, unless you can find a trustworthy worker to translate.
This an example of the sort of building they are doing at the moment, and it is a Castle in Janowiec, where I hope you can see that over the years they have tried to repair it but they have used house bricks and all types blocks that looks awful.
My advise would be to move to Poland but only part-time for a start I am sure you could work in london and fly to a new home in Poland at the weekends this way it gives you time to adjust.
I moved to Poland (Gdansk) about a year ago and so far so good
Ukpolska.........indeed a Merry xmas to you.I've read many pages/topics on this site,some encouraging and some not so positive.However i am grateful for you taking the time to send your post............very interesting and most encouraging.My heart wept when i saw the state of repair on that castle,shocking..........if i did that when i worked on Windsor the queen would have had me hung i'm sure.
Anyway you and Macduff are right,i should speak the language thoroughly,even though i worked alongside several Poles,i know only a couple of words.....whilst i speak both cockney and french haha,i actually found the Polish language very difficult.
So be it................that is my next target,many thanks
My heart wept when i saw the state of repair on that castle,shocking..........if i did that when i worked on Windsor the queen would have had me hung i'm sure.
You have to remember that these "repairs" were done with limited funds, as a stop-gap in order to stop the destruction any further, and now they have secured founds to try and restore and repair the castle in a correct manner.
Don't be too hard on the Poles, it's amazing that they managed to do this with the limited resources and funds they had :O)
If you are moving over here perhaps the first thing to do you be try before you buy. Perhaps rent out your house for a year. Commit yourself to living in Poland for a year. plan a budget and perhaps a travel itinary travel the place and experience the life style. I advise learning some of the language (check out BBC learning.co.uk)and prepare yourself carefully. Do your research read up on Poland, just as you are doing now. If you invest wisely in the property market you can definately make money. If you are a skilled craftsman, then I'm sure you could renovate properties, this is a money earner.
However, you need Polish friends, people you trust and who can help you find your feet. Without a support net work of buddies, you will struggle. The paperchase out hereis rubbish, and as Wroclaw Boy as demonstrated in other threads you can become exceptionally frustrated. If you have friends, and people you trust around you then your chances of success increase tenfold. Again check, check and check again when you are a foreigner know you facts things are not always as they seem, when you're a stranger in a strange land.
