Life / Polish people and racism. [943]


Why would any typical fascist support a political party that isn't fascist?

Completely illogical!

News / Poland in ruin or flourishing? [35]


He certainly did enjoy a nomeklatura lifestyle, as witnessed by his parents enjoying successful careers at the university.


What are you on about? Law school (until the reform of the system to abolish entry exams) was unbelievably corrupt - you needed connections to study law, especially in the early 90's! It's changing now, but back then, it was very much the domain of the connected and the corrupt.


Come on, 2 million people had PZPR ties. It would be impossible to punish (or "lustrate") the entire nomeklatura as the country would have collapsed.

Life / Living Expenses in Krakow [42]


Yes, you might have had different salary expectations, but remember - in Poland, a Master's degree is nothing special because everyone has one. New graduates are really only worth around 3000zl gross - I wouldn't pay more, particularly for one that graduated in something that doesn't give any particular skills. The SSC's are essentially modern day factories - providing employment for young people that partied too much and holidayed too much rather than actually focusing on their future.


It's not normal in Poland (or in fact, most places) to have your own place. So I'm not sure why you think that a young graduate with no experience and no skills should have one.

Life / What are the things which cause culture shock in Poland? [164]

I don't wear such things, so why would a child?

If it's truly dreadful (below -15c, snowstorm), then I'll throw on a pair of ski trousers on top.

Life / Reaction regarding Pakistanis respected in Poland [54]

Don't react Mike, that's just Levi, our resident Brazilian troll.

Work / Salary: 24,000zl a month - how much I will I have after tax in Poland? [29]


Still waiting for that payslip...

Work / Salary: 24,000zl a month - how much I will I have after tax in Poland? [29]


There's trolling, and then there's using PF after a bottle of vodka.


Hahaha, please do. Given that the Presidential salary is 20k a month brutto, it seems rather unlikely that you were getting 24k a month netto.

Work / Salary: 24,000zl a month - how much I will I have after tax in Poland? [29]

Sure, sure.

Ah, you meant annually, right?

Life / Reaction regarding Pakistanis respected in Poland [54]


What kind of person can't pick up a 5-6PLN job?

Amazon is literally hiring anyone with a pulse in Poznań/Wrocław for 13zl/hour.


Fortunately, I think rather Poland owns him.

Life / What are the things which cause culture shock in Poland? [164]


Likewise, never ever ever. Unless he was becoming an athlete, in which case, it's acceptable.

Life / What are the things which cause culture shock in Poland? [164]


HOW DO YOU PEEL GRAPES?!

But yes, this mollycoddling is ridiculous.


I don't understand it at all :D Have you ever visited a Polish nursery? You'll often see boys running around in those dreadful boy tights and a t-shirt. What's wrong with a pair of trousers or shorts?


I'm pretty sure it's exactly that. If you think about times of old - peasants wouldn't have had heating, so keeping the doors and windows closed and wrapping up warmly would have been the only way to fight the cold.

Life / Catholic idol worship in Poland [29]


Well, except that most of us have never seen anyone doing the stuff that the OP describes.

Life / What are the things which cause culture shock in Poland? [164]


Me too! I'm always wearing them, especially as winters in Poland tend to be bright and clear - if the sun is shining, why wouldn't I wear sunglasses?


Wow. I wouldn't agree, and if they insisted, they wouldn't see the children.


It's a huge myth! Cold air cannot by itself cause sickness - you need to come into contact with the germs in question. Otherwise, if it were true, how could anyone work in a cold environment?


It still requires contact with the bugs in order to infect. Bear in mind that some of the responses to heat/cold are absolutely normal physiologically and the response by itself is a good sign that everything is working well.

I drive to work in shorts in the middle of winter (it's warm in work, why dress for about 20 seconds outside?) and I don't get sick - my only problems come in autumn and spring with sinusitis and the dramatic change of temperatures in Poland.

Work / Do I need a Health Insurance? Freelancer in Poland (umowa o dzielo) [22]

Basically, you would be better off putting the language teaching activities through the business. Then you'll only pay one lot of health insurance, rather than making two separate payments. There is a provision for those working on full work contracts (which you won't be) to only pay health insurance once if they also have a business, but it won't apply in your case.

The particular advantage for putting everything through your business is that you can approach corporate clients on your own and issue invoices, which is where the real money is in Poland.

From another discussion about Freelancing (umowa o dzielo) and health insurance in Poland:

Umowa o dzielo - does this contract pay for health insurance or not?


NO, it does not.

Work / Do I need a Health Insurance? Freelancer in Poland (umowa o dzielo) [22]

It is - unfortunately - one of the worst things about Poland. :(

Life / Catholic idol worship in Poland [29]


Might it not be Ukrainians doing that? They're ridiculously religious people (they even cross themselves after passing a church on the bus/tram!) - and there are plenty of Ukrainian tourists there.

Life / What are the things which cause culture shock in Poland? [164]


I think you're right, but I still can't understand why anyone would make their child suffer just because of what Babcia says.

I remember my boss telling the 11 year old girls in school to put their jackets on. I got a look from them that said "you must be kidding"... the jackets were removed two minutes later. I saw nothing ;) It was nearly 20c outside, but because it was October and therefore "it's cold".

It's a battle waged yearly, and the worst thing is that no-one thinks to ask the kids what they think. Fortunately, a few enlightened parents are very clear on the matter that their kid is perfectly capable of deciding for himself.

Work / Do I need a Health Insurance? Freelancer in Poland (umowa o dzielo) [22]

Terri, with all due respect, she's talking about the mandatory contributions to ZUS. It doesn't matter what private insurance you have, you are obliged as a self employed person in Poland to pay for health insurance via the NFZ.


Essentially, you're mixing two things up. While that PZU insurance is absolutely fine for those just living in Poland, self employed people are obliged to take (and pay for) public health insurance, just like employed people.

Life / What are the things which cause culture shock in Poland? [164]


I'm just begging for someone to say something, especially in spring/autumn. It's even dangerous - I've seen some children that were clearly overheating under all those clothes, yet the lightly dressed mother appeared to be oblivious to it. I noticed a particular trend (my work has a nursery attached to it) is for the grandmother to turn up, overdress the child completely, and then stuff a bread roll into the child's mouth. InPolska's comments about "bad diet" are all too true when you look at the garbage that the average Babcia buys in Biedronka. Nice prosciutto is out, and jumbo sized packages of parówki and 2 litre bottles of Cola with a huge bag of bread rolls are definitely in.

(thankfully my mother-in-law appears to be one of the few sane people in this country, as she mocks them as well)

Life / What are the things which cause culture shock in Poland? [164]


One explanation my wife has is quite simple - the educated middle class elite was wiped out in WW2, leaving a class of people behind that would have regarded cold as the enemy as they wouldn't have been able to afford to heat their houses. That's why they also try and keep windows shut on trains in June, and why there are all those stupid myths about the cold causing sickness.

It does seem quite plausible...


Actually, it's nothing really creepy. It was simply a way to introduce a unified population register, similar to the UK's national insurance number. It was introduced way after Stalinism, and wasn't used to control anyone.

Absolutely. I completely and totally agree with this - it's so unbelievably idiotic. The worst thing is that young people are guilty as well of doing it to their children. I keep seeing women dressed in very light clothes while the child is wrapped in a jacket, trousers and a hat!

Personally, I'm waiting for the day that some old person tries to tell me to dress my child properly. I'm looking forward to testing my range of Polish swear words ;)

Life / Catholic idol worship in Poland [29]


What has that got to do with Catholics worshipping idols in Poland?

History / Restitution Sought by US Holocaust Survivor Family of Expropriated Property in Zywiec, Poland [24]


Not only Lyzko, but I also find it very interesting. But unfortunately, the treaty was seemingly never ratified by Poland, which was probably one of the most stupid moves that the PRL ever made.

It's such a difficult situation that I think the current approach of the Polish government makes sense. Nothing else is possible - without causing a great deal of distress and financial hardship.

Study / Opinion about West Pomeranian Business School in Szczecin? Is it a good school? [24]

In the Polish language, it's fine. In the English language, it's garbage, especially from a private university. English language courses at private universities are at the very bottom in Poland when it comes to quality.

History / Restitution Sought by US Holocaust Survivor Family of Expropriated Property in Zywiec, Poland [24]


Yes, it just opens up a huge amount of problems. If you went back there, you'd have to look at the allocation of land during the 2nd Republic - which (you would find) involved some very dodgy dealings, especially in Kresy. I can understand why the Polish government essentially says "right, we recognise what happened in the PRL to a certain extent, but no more".


I think you'd probably have to look at the law of Nazi Germany to try and ascertain as to what actually happened. If it was stripped in accordance with the law (and Nazi Germany was very big on legal legitimacy), then I suppose that there's not much that can be done.

Having said that, Poland also traces her legal legitimacy back to the 2nd Republic and not the People's Republic, so in theory, they should also seek to return things as to how it stood on 1st September 1939.

At least from my rather netural perspective, I'm happy to simply not recognise any claims by anyone. The amount of dodgy "restitution" claims settled in the favour of the RCC should convince anyone that it's wise not to return anything to anyone.

Study / Opinion about West Pomeranian Business School in Szczecin? Is it a good school? [24]

Crap. Don't bother.

News / Poland in ruin or flourishing? [35]

Point of order : Duda has no real power to do so. He has a mostly ceremonial position, and cannot enact any legislation without the Sejm and Senat agreeing to do so. He can veto legislation, but that's not likely to be productive.


The funniest thing about this is that Duda enjoyed a nomeklatura lifestyle, managed to get into a law course in the early 1990's (when you almost certainly needed personal connections to do so) and enjoyed other benefits. Yet he pretends to care about them - when he should be everything that they should hate. Hilarious to those with a brain.

History / Restitution Sought by US Holocaust Survivor Family of Expropriated Property in Zywiec, Poland [24]

I think the situation is such that you have to regard the date of Poland's "liberation" as being a kind of Polish Stunde Null - it's just not possible (given the huge devastation in Poland) to recognise what existed before that date. But I think if anything, they should be chasing the German government for the loss of the property.


It's just impossible for them to do so. The country ceased to exist to all practical extents on the 30th of September with the government resigning, and although the Poles might recognise the Government-in-Exile as being the legitimate government of Poland - the reality on the ground was that the country had ceased to exist. Certainly, the Poles cannot really take any responsibility for actions committed by an occupying power - especially as the modern day German government traces its own history back to the Weimar Republic and before. West Germany used to recognise (legally) Germany as existing within the borders of 1937 for instance - which lends further evidence to the legal theory that modern day Germany is the successor state of Nazi Germany.

History / Restitution Sought by US Holocaust Survivor Family of Expropriated Property in Zywiec, Poland [24]


I don't think the Polish government has any responsibility for the actions undertaken by Germany/Russia during WWII, to be honest.

Classifieds / Help the little boy from Poland (he has cancer in his both eyes) Jesli mozecie pomozcie temu dziecku! [11]

The problem is the same as in the UK - the NFZ could spend a million zloty on one child, but then many other children might go without treatment just to pay for one expensive treatment.

What normally happens as far as I know is that the NFZ will fund treatment, but it won't be the best treatment available - so parents often decide to reject NFZ (or NHS, or whatever) treatment and instead try and raise money to go to the USA for experimental, private treatments. I've heard of one case where a child died before it could be treated in the USA because the parents rejected what was on offer in Poland - their conscience, I suppose.

News / Poland in ruin or flourishing? [35]


Did you see what happened in Nowa Sol? Szydło scored a massive own goal by holding a press conference in a ruined factory there - the only problem is that the mayor turned round and showed the media a huge amount of shiny new investments that far outweighed one ruined factory.


Plenty, given how university appointments worked in the PRL.