UK, Ireland / Ive been in the UK for 6 days to relocate and im going back to Poland. [281]

I didn't quite get the point, Skrymcz. What were you trying to say, that teachers are racist?

Life / My own thoughts about life in Poland (have lived here for two years) [133]

Well, delph, you are fighting a lone battle here as the accuracy of his statements are very evident.

First, the only way I got cheaper blades for my Wilkinson Sword was through Allegro. Otherwise, I'd've been paying through the nose for them. Also, convert your salary through kantor rates and tell me you earn a lot. I'd be on 11,000 pounds a year if I thought that way but your money can go further if you are careful.

Media Markt here deal in electronics and they are not cheap. Many other places charge disproportionate prices.

Salaries, not wages. Salaries are for permanent work whereas wages are for temporary and seasonal work.

Delph, that figure doesn't apply to all contracts. Also, strictly enforced? That's bull as many here get under 1000PLN gross and they don't claim as litigation is vexatious. Ask those that distribute fliers how much they get. I did and was shocked. Ask some cleaners and others that do ancillary jobs. The list goes on and on.

Also, delph, don't take such a minimalistic approach. PIP often don't represent your interests well and where is the small claims procedure to give those who want to win amounts under 750 pounds (c3800PLN)? Are workers informed as to their rights?

Throw in a palliative and you have decent tax figures. I have a lot of invoices which lowers my tax. Without those, it seems to be around 13% but they take it down to around 11% effectively (1/9th typically). ZUS is expensive into your 3rd year and beyond. 840PLN does sting, delph, you can't tell me otherwise.

NFZ works well enough and is full of consummate pros. The NHS has been burdened by people beyond return. Yes, hypochondriacs burden NFZ here but it's on a different scale.

Polish roads aren't littered with mines for a start. They are not dirt tracks like in Afghanistan. There is no comparison.

There is a fair bit of racism here but it lies latent. It wasn't as overt like in Britain through the BNP and football fans. Homosexuality is frowned upon and it's pointless denying it. However, it can change and many don't take such a hardl line on it.

It depends where you are, delph. The same opportunities don't exist around the country.

UK, Ireland / Ive been in the UK for 6 days to relocate and im going back to Poland. [281]

He didn't mention money so directly, WB. He was just talking about getting into work with the right qualifications.

Life / My own thoughts about life in Poland (have lived here for two years) [133]

I disagree. His post contained many things which I have been thinking for some time. Posters like delphiandomine and SeanBM are free to disagree with me but I've seen prices rising across the board. I've really needed to tighten my belt due to work changes, meaning I get less than before. It makes you budget and prioritise.

Salaries are ridiculously low in relation to all the costs you incur here. I'm decidedly above the average but still don't consider myself as doing that well. I can't imagine savings accounts being overly common here ;)

As for anti-Semitism, I think Poles are largely impassive here. I don't hear much mention of Jews, apart from this forum. Racist? Yes. When I tell people that I listen, from time to time, to Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, The Four Tops etc etc, I get slated for siding with those nig*ers. I have the utmost respect for so many black artists and that's not gonna change. They have made sterling contributions to music :)

ZUS and taxes = theft. I typically pay 1300PLN together and that's an absolute farce. I told the doctors here that they could forget me paying for anything due to me paying 840PLN a month against my will. I'd be prepared to take the risk of staying free of illness.

Oh yes, and materialism runs rampant. I've never encountered a more money-obsessed society. The Japanese virtually never mentioned it!! It's embarrassing!

Love / Polish girls hard in relationships [156]

Not really, I just know Polish guys who have ordeals to tell ;) ;)

Love / Polish girls hard in relationships [156]

The thing is, more and more are experiencing nouveau-riche culture. Give them some cash and they're off and running. There is NO WAY you can tell me that some of the potato-headed, karki boys that they hang out with pleasure them beyond the superficial. It's a case of dumb and dumber. I'm glad the dumbest isn't in that equation ;) ;)

They are incorrigible at times. Short-termists with gnomes dancing the can-can in their heads. They should petition for the oompa-loompa fake tan benefit to be introduced.

Love / Polish girls hard in relationships [156]

Hard is an understatement! Too many are self centred and spoiled brats with the Princess Syndrome. Where would they be without their men that prop them up and are their rock? I can tell you, flat on their backs. It's one thing maintaining a house well but it's quite another to carve out a consistently focussed career :)

It's like living with a child sometimes, I kid you not! Now, where's that duct tape? ;)

History / Norman Davies - the Brit who loves Poland and becomes one of Us [250]

Oh yeah, the guy that learned NOTHING from Piłsudski's wisdom from just before his death in 1935.

Life / Can a 17 year old, buy beer and cigarettes in Poland? [30]

And a 17-year old boy looking to find beer and ciggies the easy way ;)

Life / Can a 17 year old, buy beer and cigarettes in Poland? [30]

Nah, they are, like the babcias, alive and kicking ;)

History / Norman Davies - the Brit who loves Poland and becomes one of Us [250]

In 1933, that might have been valid but there was no archived evidence that Piłsudski went to France to discuss a pre-emptive war. I detect sarcasm ;) ;)

Poland received regular intel communiques from Britain. I believe that GB knew, to a fair extent, what Hitler was up to. Our Foreign Secretary at that time had a good nose and Poland, according to official accounts, was kept largely in the loop.

A lesson in the drawbacks of passivity :(

Life / Can a 17 year old, buy beer and cigarettes in Poland? [30]

Well, in Gliwice they do :) It's conservative and they don't get rid of things easily.

Life / Can a 17 year old, buy beer and cigarettes in Poland? [30]

Well, in more than one type of place. Społem shops, Piast, supermarkets, Żabki and other places.

Life / Can a 17 year old, buy beer and cigarettes in Poland? [30]

Oh no, they have so many on the shelves here. Even Rossman has their equivalent in West Bull :) I can see many bottles and cans in my mind but forget their names. It would shock you, pgtx, they are everywhere.

Life / Can a 17 year old, buy beer and cigarettes in Poland? [30]

Pgtx, there are MANY more energy drinks than Red Bull. The market here is awash with all kinds of them. Bullet, Dominator, Tiger, R20 and MANY others. Even Piast Gliwice have their own one. I recommend the cheaper ones as they do the same thing. They have the same levels of caffeine and taurine. I'd recommend Isotonic stuff more. They have Powerade, Gatorade and even Górnik Zabrze have their own stuff.

Avoid Red Bull and Coca Cola's Burn, they are overpriced and only fine if you have no alternatives.

News / Newsweek's The World's Best Countries (Poland ranked 29) [128]

You are just British convicts looking for ways to shake off that tag ;) ;)

For cleanliness, food, technology, standard of living and women, Japan is no 1 :) :) As an all-rounder, it's in a league of its own :)

History / Norman Davies - the Brit who loves Poland and becomes one of Us [250]

LOL. Tourists being former occupiers of that very land, Danzig ;) There was just widespread complacence. I'd've been on my guard too if I witnessed sb as vociferous as Adolf.

Language / "który" - relative pronoun question [12]

True, SwP. I've amassed 8 years worth of teaching exp with a postgrad education lying behind that. I am CELTA certified too (insane ;) ;0). However, I feel like an amateur sometimes when my wife delves into the deeper recesses of morphemes and the like. She is far more aware of the stems of words and how language evolved than I am. I don't really need to know such things but they are useful nonetheless.

Language / "który" - relative pronoun question [12]

Thanks, Alan. My general knowledge of grammar and cases is sound as I'm an experienced teacher. However, my wife is far more proficient in the nitty gritty as she studied Philology. It gave her a whole new way of viewing things that us native speakers barely give a superficial sweep to.

UK, Ireland / Ive been in the UK for 6 days to relocate and im going back to Poland. [281]

True, you have a good point there. However, the recession brought with it a defeatist ethic, exacerbated by the press. No longer did we see too many gritty folk trying to stick things out but a realisation of the domino effect of the crisis. Many were resigned to loss.

Still, you have to roll the dice and teachers bring more than just grammar to the table :)

Life / What's the spiritual atmosphere like in Poland these days? [12]

Some are spiritually downtrodden but I like the fact that churches get a good turnout. This is an important dimension of life but should be for the right reasons.

UK, Ireland / Ive been in the UK for 6 days to relocate and im going back to Poland. [281]

Bolle, you have completely limited both the whole teaching process and the transferability of the skills involved. I've known teachers who have gone on to work for major corporations like Kraft. It's a very broad church and many have a wide range of options. They just need to find a company willing to take them on.

Language / "który" - relative pronoun question [12]

Not even a thank you for the effort! Alan, why do the the Germans say 'warum' instead of why? The French, pourquoi. The Poles, dlaczego. The Japanese, nande/naze etc etc. It's just different! It's hard to explain why the Poles use the dative here but którym is plural too. They don't do it to fox people. In English, the same. There are certain combinations that just are, often without any rhyme nor reason :)

UK, Ireland / Ive been in the UK for 6 days to relocate and im going back to Poland. [281]

Fishing? Now you are talking. Scotland was quite the country for fishing :) I enjoyed a bit of that, just like Gazza and Seaman :)

I didn't think you were heading back for the benefits in the UK? Didn't you want to work in finance or real estate in the UK?

I meant in Poland. What is a better station for a foreigner than what you had? I don't see it!

UK, Ireland / Ive been in the UK for 6 days to relocate and im going back to Poland. [281]

Don't you have a place in the rat race? Isn't finance a big area in the UK? I guess the culture of chavs put you off. Are you gonna step right back into your position here?

UK, Ireland / Ive been in the UK for 6 days to relocate and im going back to Poland. [281]

Was it really so unbearable as you presented it, WB? You even said England was your home. Don't you feel English anymore? Was it the people, the lack of jobs or sth else?

Language / "który" - relative pronoun question [12]

I think you are missing the fact that którym is plural as well as singular. The whole clause refers to ci and that's important. Ci, którymi here just isn't grammatically sound.

Language / "który" - relative pronoun question [12]

Którym refers to wiedzie się and that's about it :) There is gender agreement and case agreement :P

In Polish, you have to look at what refers to what. It could be których and którze, all depending on what comes after.

News / New cross war in Warsaw [530]

Hence the word fanatics, Am. They are not Christians and I don't identify with such people at all. Rebels without another cause!

History / Norman Davies - the Brit who loves Poland and becomes one of Us [250]

He did downplay the anti-Semitic sentiments as stirred up by the Endecja but I don't want to elaborate on this. We all know that Dmowski was a bit of a rat. I'd like to see a debate between him and Irving.