Do Poles integrate well into British society?

With such large numbers of Poles influxing into the UK, do the indigenous local communities find they integrate well and do the local communities make alot effort to integrate with the Poles?

I would like to think that in my part of the country they do, officially through local government funded "welcome packs" and socially by inviting them to join in things like weddings, nights out etc. ( During the last world cup the local corner shop went Polish - decked out in Polish flags and red and white everywhere - might just have been to sell more beer tho ! )

Culturally I find a lot of common ground with Polish people.
Why do they come ? Examples such as the one in the link here are commonplace.

25 year old Polish worker gets £80, 000 backing to start bisiness. A POLISH baker persuaded his boss to back him in a new wholesale bread business while he was working in an Edinburgh kitchen.

news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1508&id=1332032007

And if you fancy a drink............

Polish beers bring drinkers pouring in

news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1372802007

For British humour read the comments that accompany the articles.

My favourite - an oldie but a goodie -

....are you a Pole Vaulter. No, I`m German. How did you know my name was Walter ?

So far so good in oxford, They seem to mix very well in our community here, in my local we have about 4-5 regular polish drinkers, who know and get on very well with everyone. 95% of the Poles i have met here also talk very good English and can communicate on a very good level, with exception to the odd wrong word or missunderstanding, so yes I think they have intergarated very well.

Hmm.. where I work, I would say no in general about integration. BUT, in time, yes. I'll explain: I hear a great many racist remarks in my workplace, directed at all varying races. This is mostly done behind their backs though. I think the biggest problem is my Scottish cowrokers find it hard to embrace them - for they rarely include them in anything. One supervisor came up one day and asked the name of a Polish worker, not because I speak to everyone in the factory and she had seen me speaking to that erpson in particular, but because she knows I am one of the few who speaks on a regular basis with the foreign workers at all! It is not surprising that a supervisor would not know her entire workforce's names - right? But the particular man she was asking about had been there months before I had!!

I say this, that I think in time this passes (and I am beginning to look slightly differently upon my Scottish coworkers in their racism and excluding habits) that the separation fades, for there are two (good-looking --comments I've heard make me think this helps matters strangely, or not strangely however you see it) Polish workers that nobody has a bad word about and whom are spoken to and laughed with quite often. When I hear a racist remark about any other worker, I point out how they get on with these two guys, and here my interesting (yet still unfair) response is:

"aye...but they've been here two years, are young, they talk to us and try to join in"

This is true of the two people in question, and I imagine that it wasn't the same for them when they began as it is now. Both are outspoken and speak good english (well, in rather good Scottish dialect).

Therein is my take on it - integration where I am takes time, but can happen with a little effort on both sides (I only wish one side--Scot workers [[only where I am, I know nothing of other areas]]-- would do so less reluctantly to begin with!).

in my opinion Polish guys integrate less than girls.. they tend to work and socialise together, sometimes its down to language problems and sometimes they are just happier doing this as they are here only to make money and dont really want English friends.. this is also not helped by the mentality of some English people towards immigrants.. most girls I have met speak much better English than the guys and they are more likely to work in jobs where they come into contact with the general public, such as shops and cafes. Of course I am generalising widely, but I did say in my opinion. If I can give a eg. my partner had been here for 4 years when we met and didnt have a single English friend.. and his English was terrible because of this.. as he hadnt needed to make the effort since he was living in an ex-pat bubble.

My girlfriend is Polish and at the start of our relationship she was hanging out with mostly Polish people. She worked with Poles, she lived with Poles. So did her brother.

She's now a lot more comfortable hanging out with my English and Aussie mates and I'm sure her brother speaks better English now.

I think a lot of the London-based Poles tend to stick together and it's only when they finally meet some friendly non-Poles they start to come out of their shells.

My gf speaks English quite well but the people that live in all-Pole households don't tend to speak such good English as they aren't exposed to it near enough. This language barrier probably means they will tend to stick together and so the cycle continues..

I am researching for a tv feature about Polish people living in the UK. Have you suffered racist abuse since living here? Have you experienced racist tension between Poles and Brits? How well do Poles integrate within British society? If you think you can help please email me at jonathan.samuels@five.tv or call 0207 800 2731. Many thanks, Jonathan Samuels

You could try something different. Brits living in Poland.

That's interesting...do you know any?

If you are serious there are many on the forum. You could look at their reasons for being here, work, bureaucratic problems, housing, property market, investment, intergration, style of life etc. Then maybe compare it to Polish people in the UK.

But count me out. I've had my 15 minutes of fame.

what was it? were you Jerry in Tom & Jerrry or Dangermouse perhaps??

"The narrator voice on television and films in Poland" thread. Post number nine explains all.

Those who stay in a large group of their own community will always find it easire not to integrate.
I've met a few Polish people who go it alone, usually to get a better job, and they seem to find integrating much easier.

It's one thing to risk moving to another countrym
but another thing to risk moving into a different culture.


You're not selling DVDs of your work?

I have no problems at all, Ive been here for 3 years now and all this time I worked with the English that helped me a lot...

Searched, can't find it. Do tell, please.

Quite possibly this...

https://polishforums.com/archives/2005-2009/life/poland-narrator-voice-television-films-12559/

scroll to post 9