What do the Poles Living Abroad Think about Their Host Countries (the UK)

When, for one reason or another, you move abroad, you bring with you, whether you want it or not, your expectations and your ideas about what it will be like to live in a foreign country. But unless you have experienced living abroad before, nothing can really prepare you for the real, often harrowing, experience. Your preconceptions shatter and you have to go on with the reality. Some can do that, but some can’t.

Nowadays, you can go back at your pleasure, but the –often-political - expatriates of the past could not, and had to get used to the new life or suffer. Still, it is no piece of cake to get used to everything foreign. No wonder Poles look for Polish products – the sweet taste of home - in the shops.

But the food is only one part of it, since there is much more to be happy or unhappy about. Your flat, your income, your boss, your work comrades, your relations in the workplace and outside, communications, the prices, the “lack” of culture, you name it.

Anything can be annoying, while most things can be intolerable. Nothing is like home, but the best advice is to take the bad with the good and persevere, at least for a while when waiting for the things to improve.

After all, humans can get used to anything, and given some time, you might even start to tolerate the soft, spongy bread from the supermarket or the crowded buses for a pound a ticket on the way to work.

As an example, how does a Pole feel about everyday life in a foreign country like the UK? Although not far from Poland, geographically the British islands might well be a world away. It can be all that different.

According to the Poles, there are small but potentially annoying things as the proverbial British phlegm - or beer without foam. It is worth remembering that the Polish are notorious when it comes to complaining, so not all the complaints should be taken too seriously.

According to Lukasz: “Almost every compatriot I met here is unhappy with most things here, we are here only for the money”. Consequently, the Poles complain about most things (just a few examples below):

Prices:
Anna: “The rents are high, and so are the prices of food. Also, better furniture costs a bundle. It is not easy to save, because most of the stuff is so expensive.”

The Food and Drink:
Roman: “The food simply tastes bad and it has strange taste. Bread is like a sponge and the alcoholic drinks are not sold after 11pm, which is a bit early for my taste”.

Anna: “The English kids eat unhealthy food. A cake or lollies instead of an apple. No wonder there as so many fat kids here.”

The Weather:
Krzysztof: “It is terribly cold, the humidity is bad and nothing dries out. And the wind goes through your clothes. The winter is very depressing. No wonder many people have depression here.”

The Language:
Anna: “People think that if you don’t understand the language then you are idiot.”
Jurek: “The English they speak, especially Irish, is totally incomprehensible.”

The Religion:
Ewa: “People do not have any religious signs or pictures in their homes. I haven’t seen a cross anywhere. The churches are also not as filled with people as the Polish ones.”

The Traffic:
Rysiek: “The English bus drivers drive like crazy, accelerating from the bus stop, braking at the last moment when stopping. They drive like madmen through the narrow streets and I thought we would crash at any moment.”

The Work:
A Polish economist that accepted an offer of working on a building site mixing concrete complains, “I never knew work could be so hard I have pain in every single muscle.” He adds “We can only get the worst, low paid jobs that no native would accept.”

Behavior of young People:
Anna: “I was appalled by the drunkenness of the young. Every Friday and Saturday the bands of young drunks roam the street. It’s shocking.”

Inhospitality:
Robert: “Poles are hospitable, but the English never invite anyone home. How do you make friends here?”

Stinginess:
Anita: “English are very stingy and count every single penny. If someone has to drive you home, you can almost see how they calculate how much the petrol will cost them.”

Washing Your Hands!
Ilona is exasperated: “There are two taps in most places, one for hot, one for cold water. It is impossible to wash your face without getting scolded. It’s really primitive.”

Standards:
Roman: “Electric and phone outlets are different, so you need an adapter. Also the sound on your TV from Poland won’t work because they have a different PAL standard, than the rest. Why can’t they be like the rest?”

Anna: “Although the English are a part of EU, the measurements are still the traditional English ones: stone, pound, ounce, gallon, pint, foot. It takes some getting used to.”

TV:
Jan: “TV is boring with lots of violence. English series are only something an Englishman can get excited about. Definitely not better than Polish TV”.

On the other hand, some are very happy with their hosts, especially when comparing their current situation to where they came from.

Iwona says: ”Maybe because we live in a small town, the people are friendly, everyone greets you in the street, the food is not all that bad, and only the rent is expensive. It’s super, I am happy to be here, and I can’t stand Poland.”

Marian agrees: “At last, a normal country with normal people. This is a country for the people - not against - like Poland.”

There are other positive things. According to Anna, one should bring a bike coming here: “There are special roads for bikes everywhere, and if you happen to drive on a normal road, no one beeps at you.”

Jan is impressed with the English job-centers: “They are all computerized and offer a free phone. Not like in Poland, where there are only endless queues.”

Stefan points out how cheap the communications are compared to the Polish ones: “You can make a call to Poland for 2p per minute, which is great,” and he adds “and you can arrange most things, even with the authorities over the phone – no need for queuing like back home.”

And according to Ilona who is a university student: “The universities have excellent facilities and there is an excellent support for single mothers and handicapped, also in society. Health care is free for students. In general, people are also more tolerant here.”

Whether living abroad is for you is another question, but for the Poles, it is a serious consideration. Most, if not all, have considered going overseas for at least some time, and as many as 20% want to move permanently. It is sad that Poland has become a country that cannot provide for its own people, and the fact that 750,000 Poles live in the UK alone already, is the best proof that something is wrong with the state of Poland.

Source ?

<i>"750,000 Poles live in the UK alone already"</i>

Source: news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article344755.ece

marketing.networkpl.com/750%20000%20and%20rising-%20how%20Polish%20wor kers%20have%20built%20a%20home%20in%20Britain.pdf - Full text in PDF

I have other sources..

Polish ministry of labour

- 169.700 between 2004 and 2005 - inclouding those who were working for a short period and then came back.

mps.gov.pl/index.php?gid=5&news_id=259

- 204,895 - 350.000 - in 2006 according to timesonline - inclouding those who were working for a short period and then came back.

timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2179440.html

"probably 500.000" - BBC

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/5129224.stm

"over 2.000.000 - according to Gazeta Wyborcza (a Polish commie newspaper - which has been proven to had made up some of its articles)

serwisy.gazeta.pl/metro/1,50145,3413455.html

...

So - what is the real number of Poles living in the UK ?

Most likely (average): 170+277+500+2000=2947/4=737.000

Well I guess that this is the way that the Independant calculated it - but this way of calculating is BS

The official number is around 200.000.. If there would be indeed around 1000.000 (not speaking of 2000.000) of our citizens living in the UK - then this would have a serious impact on our economy (just like after WWII - when our labourforce shrunk by some 2.000.000) - there would be a crisis - but there is NO impact - and as a matter of fact our economy is growing faster than previously estimated.

The real number of Poles living in the UK is most likely around 400.000..

c.a. 150.000 - 200.000 of those are the people who WERE in the UK illegally since the 1980s (inclouding their children that were born in the UK) - They haven`t left Poland now - they were in the UK since at least 20 - and after we`ve entered the EU - they`ve onle legalized their status.

The rest are people who are circulating between the UK and Poland..

According to statistics some 1.300.000 Poles had traveled to the UK since 2004 (incloudin tourists) - but they are comming back after few monts and they re going again - creating another tavel entery - in many cases those are the same people who travel between Poland and the UK - over and over again - So there is a constant number of around 250.000 - 200.000 of our citizens in the UK - but in most cases those people are traveling forth and back between the countries - hightening the statistics - a large part of those who travel are new travelers who stay a few months to be replaced by newones after a few months - and only a small portion of those is deciding to stay.

Wujek you are talking b*s.Read the link below about the polish braindrain

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/5129224.stm

Hmmm... Haven`t I posted that link ?

btw. why is the BBC saying that we have a 17% unemployment when the number of registered unemployed is 16,4%... and why does it publish the earnings after tax saying that a doctor in a province here earns 200 pounds per month (which is BS).. and it dson`t mention that the costs of living in the province in Poland is c.a. 20-30% of that in the UK..

..is it cheap sensation seeking ?

or is becaouse the BBC is being run by a bunch of incompetent idiots ? :

video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4483884504463267193&q=BBC

..just as it proved to be over and over again in the past when they were writing various hilarious articles about Eastern Europe i.e. by putting Lukashenkos state controlled press as a creadible source of information.. or writing about the religious conflict in the Ukraine not knowing that there are two separate Orthodox patriarhates - the Moscow patriarchate and the Ukrainian patriarchate - which turned the story they were covering into a compleate nonsense.. as well as many.. many other stories they were showing..

However many there are, it's always likely that only some of those who went to UK will be happy there. My bet is that those who speak good English and got decent jobs will be the ones. Those who complain are in a worse situation and probably complained even more before they left. After all something must stop them from coming back, right? Always the most intelligent ones adapt more easily and the less gifted - well...

I agree that Poles are an ever complaining nation. I've never met any Pole saying "I'm perfectly happy". So divide what they moan about by two and you may get somewhere close to what things really are like.

you talk the rubbish wujek:)

^^^ Perhaps it would be better if you`d learn proper English, Polish or some other civilized language before attempting to write something.

------a little off topic-----------

Today I saw an article on the BBC titled "Russia: Key Facts"

Economy

Russia's economy went into precipitous decline with the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. While state-owned industries were auctioned off to entrepreneurs at rock-bottom prices, people on fixed incomes faced a sharp drop in their standard of living.

The low point was 1998, when an economic crisis led to a big devaluation of the rouble. Recently, soaring oil revenues have boosted state coffers and led to an economic recovery, with Russia paying off its international debts.

But Russia's economy is still much smaller than other G8 countries, and measured by income per capita, income is less than one-tenth of G8 levels.





---------------------------------------------
And here`s the question - what`s wrong with this article ? What did the BBC managed to screw up again here ?

Maybe they provide selected statistical data (which is manipulating for the readers)..?

Yes - but it`s not all.

According to what they have presented here:



...and I`ve measured it very precisely, according to World Bank the Russian

GNI in 2004 was $375 billion

and the GNI per capita was $3333

...lets look at the World bank statistics

According to the World Bank statistics - expressed according to the COURENT EXCHANGE RATE the Russian:

GNI in 2004 was $488 billion

and the GNI per capita was $3400

devdata.worldbank.org/data-query/

Which means that they had drown that graph incorrectly..

But why in the world would someone take the GNI number expressed according to the courrent exchange rate to compare the economies of two different countries (you have to remember that $3400 in Russia is worth a lot more than in the US) - and not mention this fact in the article - and why would someone take 2 year old data knowing that (well asuming that the BBC reportes know what they are writingabout) Russia had its biggest economic growth during the past two years ?

Why haven`t they used newer GDP data expressed according to the purchase power parity - which is being used to compare the actual size of different economies.

I mean com`on BBC - is it really so hard to go to the IMF website:

France GDP(PPP) per capita = $29316.419
France GDP(PPP) = $1830.110 billion
Germany GDP (PPP) per capita = $30579.396
Germany GDP (PPP) = $2521.699 billion
Russia GDP(PPP) per capita = $11041.070
Russia GDP (PPP) = $1575.561 billion
UK GDP(PPP) per capita = $30469.843
UK GDP (PPP) = $1832.792 billion
US GDP(PPP) per capita = $41399.428
US GDP(PPP) = $12277.583 billion

I have also no idea why they havent mentioned that Russia had large budget surpluses over the recent years - and that it is also one of the least indebt countries in the world right now.

cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2186rank.html

...So is it simple stupidity or is it cheap sensation seeking ?

Probably the author of the article was trying to prove some thesis and used true but selected data.

I guess that's just British point of view. They always think in terms of "strong currencies" and although they realise that costs of living are also lower, they worry about those who don't earn enough pounds annually.

Nowadays, you can go back at your pleasure, but the –often-political - expatriates of the past could not, and had to get used to the new life or suffer. Still, it is no piece of cake to get used to everything foreign. No wonder Poles look for Polish products – the sweet taste of home - in the shops.

It is quite international. What about British having English pubs , restaurants serving fried breakfast ....lookig for quality street before Christmas ( quite overpriced) in Spain.

Each nation is similar trying to create a little bit of owm country abroad.

guest-iwona


I think the better educated the person - the easier it is to adapt to a new country without wanting familiar things.

My name is Katya Lightman and I am a 3rd year geography student in Southampton University. I am currently undertaking research for my dissertation regarding the experience Polish workers working in the UK. Please could you take a few minutes to answer the following questions to help me with my research? All information given is anonymous and confidential and no information will be released to employers or authorities.

soton.ne6.net/survey

-------- You posted about 10 the same messages and it equals spam. Admin -------

what happened today is that a polish car with polish people inside decided they wanted to try to undertake the car i was in and eventually succeed and they nearly caused an accident. as the polish car went past the car i was in they started giving racial abuse and then gone off. now why have us britains got to put up with yet another endangerment to our lives.

it aint so much about their ability to drive its how they drive. i dont even like the stupid chavs who drive mostly in chavy cars and for a foreigner to come over here and endanger somebody's life is taking the bisquit (a lovely chocolate bisquit with a cup of tea you cant beat it)

so cead and roy i would love to see your views because this thread is all about racial abuse to the british the proper british.

you re little amusing , what do you mean by proper British?

There are proper British here like Shelley, Truebrit, Hobbitual,Blur.....and they never make big issue of it.

And they are foreigners in Britain who also don't make issue of it.They are foreign that is all.

But you seem to have some problems with your identity."You are true brit but all foreigners are secon class people and should go away?"

:) :) No way. she can't be. the truth is unknown cuz she always lie. She deserve to live in poland not UK

We don't want woman like her in UK. Iwona take her back to real motherland (poland)

Mother born in England Father born in England, Grand mother born in England Grand Father Born in England, Great Grand Father born in England Great Grand Mother Born in England on both sides!! I think that makes me English dont you???????????????? I dont lie about anything you bafoon as for deserving to live in Poland - I'll tell you now, If I was offered the right money I'd move to Krakow tomorrow, beautiful place.....

No way. she can't be. the truth is unknown cuz she always lie. She deserve to live in Poland not UK

We don't want woman like her in UK. Iwona take her back to real motherland (poland)

Uk, Why do you have so many complexes? She deserve to live in Poand not Uk? is it fascist theory? Is Poland full of under-people and UK of super -people? ( with sure some of them super size :))

You never being there, you know nothing about our culture.....

What is your problem that you are from mixed background and don't really feel British?

I think that uk wouldn't have any problems with britishness of Shelley if she would prefer Istanbul to Krakow. :)

spotted.

I was thinkg the same thing. Ok, I am going to sound rasicst here but I ain't gonna give f*** about it: maybe uk is just pissed off that there are some western women who aren't drooling after "southern" (=mideast/mediterranean) men.

He should come to Finland: it is a nookie heaven for German and Southern men. Hell for the rest....

LOL....very funny..........Maxxx, I take it that its hell for you too?

You are correct.:(

what a stupidly once i asked a old lady "what time is it?", nothing more she said: "Just leave me alone", and after a moment her daughter came and I had to explain that I had "beautifully intentions", or another situation, an old lady in shop (lidl) can say about you: "Seems dogs are doing shopping", which in Poland is INADMISSIBILITY (especially Old woman can say that! sic!), and why Poles not add that almoust everyone Pole in UK consider British men as racists