Life /
Reasons for moving to Poland [291]
Merged thread:
Expats in Poland, what were your real reasons for......firstly going there and then deciding to stay?
Seems likes some of us may have interesting stories that might change our opinions about certain members.
Right PGTX thanks for that! :P
Well I'll get the ball rolling then...
I first came to Poland about 8 years ago. Of course it was for a reason quite a few expats I have met before came (a Polish lass). I had been working in Glasgow at a private Psychiatric hospital for about 2 years when I met a Polish girl who was one of my auxiliary nurses, long story short we lived together for about a year in Kirkintilloch outside Glasgow before she had to move back to Krakow to finish her uni. We were not on the best terms when we moved over and shared her flat with her mum and dad in Nowa Huta. They both slept in the living room and we had the only bedroom. After a week of searching I found a job teaching English which she got pissed of at because she was a little jealous that my new earnings would be higher than what her parents made combined (her dad was a policeman and her mother was a clerk at Phillip Morris). Give or take a week or 2 we split up cos she didn't like her life in Poland and couldn't find a job, she moved back to Scotland but I decided to stay in a city completely unknown to me. I continued living there for about 7 years, in that time moving from teaching to proofreading and various other projects I done. I eventually moved back to Ireland first of all not because I got fed up with Poland (I still consider Poland as my home and wish sometime in the future to settle down there forever) but because I took a few months off work but got stuck in Scotland after accepting a high position due to being offered a management job in a well known Hospital/hospice after drinking with a friend of mine.
There are certain questions I get asked all the time by my Polish work colleagues, for example why do I prefer Poland to Scotland? Well truth is I don't prefer either of the countries. Scotland is my true home and it's the place I'm staunchly proud of. But in Poland the way of life, the priorities of life are better. Most my time here in Scotland for my fellow Scottish friends involve working themselves to the bone, only to spend their free time off getting lashed or partying. After staying in Poland I use my free time (which I don't get much of) much better.
Polish women? Ah in my opinion they are the same as any other woman when you are in love.
Polish food? some things are great (traditional meals, stews, pierogi, ect) others not so (cheese, pizza, seafood).
Polish education? The need for it is much higher in Poland, I mean that more people tend to go straight into higher education after school, though there is still this void of what happens next after graduation. I often think trade skills (plumbing, joinery, building work) are often overlooked and since Poland is developing more and more each day these skills are ones that will be of greater need in the future and possibly demand much higher fees than many of the University courses.
Family life? Families are more tighter knitted in Poland than here, I'm not saying that here families are more distant but the problem here is that everyone is spending so much time with their careers and own lives that they sometimes forget about their families. I always warmed at the fact when I was in Poland that families made a much greater effort to be with one another during holidays, Easter, Christmas ect and how willing they were to accept somewhat outsiders into their family groups.
Money? Aye ok, so while I lived in Poland I earned around 4x the national average so I can't really base much on that. My ex fiance who was a chartered accountant dealt with my finances, right down to the nitty gritty of where to buy my fruit and veg. I was always carelessly spending far too much money while I lived there and often forgot to save some cos I new at the end of the month i'd have more coming in but I did learn some lessons while I was there. Here in Scotland you have to make as much as possible cos everything is so expensive. A 1 bedroomed flat in downtown Clackmannan (small village where I live near) cost a staggering £420 pcm, add to that council tax £120, then bills and food £250 then you will see why so many people simply can't afford to live on minimum wage. Luckily I'm not in that position.
The future? I've said it for many a year that some time in the future Poland will become another European powerhouse. HR is huge and costs are relatively low (now that is). My future remains in Scotland at the moment, my job is one that is hard to get away from. But I know one day I will be sitting on my balcony in the Polish countryside sipping an ice cold beer and feeling grateful that I made the decision to settle in Poland.
Right bla bla bla who is next?
I wanna here from...
Seanus
SeanBM
Wroclaw and Wroclaw Boy
Harry
Delph
Olaf
Sausage
Convex
Wildrover
JonnyM
And many more....
