Life / Where can I find English books in Lublin? [13]

ebay/allegro/abebooks
Far cheaper to get books from the internet than from bookshops.

Library is a good idea too, but the choice can be somewhat limited

Feedback / Is the Administrator of the P.F. a Native Pole ? [80]

I think Admin should place a limit on the amount of test allowed in a post.

News / Poland: A Successful case of low criminality in Europe? [97]


I just said 'traditionally catholic'
So countries, like Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal for example.

I don't see why you must attack always, I don't know why that's your default position on this forum. Yes, I'm presuming, so what. If you have figures on this then fine I'll accept them. I don't see why you must always resort to being so aggressive towards foreigners on this forum.


Exactly, as I posted above.


Why don't you google it Paulina? Again, you are pretty harsh on people who don't research, but then you don't bother your arse to do it yourself. Why is that?

But, hey, let me do it for you:


/wiki/Rape_statistics#Sweden

Swedish people are far more inclined to go to the police if they have a problem. That's not the case in many countries, including Poland. And we all know why the police aren't respected in Poland. But things are getting better and are vastly improved from the bad old 1980s. Sure, in Ireland some people used to get in touch with the IRA or INLA if a family member was raped, rather than go through the courts, they would get the IRA to kneecap the alleged rapists. Bad times and it's still happening, it's very rare, but The Ra are still active in many parts of Northern Ireland.


Less knife crime, less drunks on the streets at closing time causing mayhem. Poland's closing times of pubs is a far better system than that in Ireland where everything must be closed by 2.30am and you cannot buy a drink in a shop after 10.30pm. A really stupid system run by idiots.

I feel safer on Irish roads though, that's without question.

You're far more likely to be mugged on a street in Dublin than in Warsaw, Ireland has a huge drug addiction problem and junkies stealing stuff to sell or pickpocketing to raise money to buy drugs, it's a massive problem.

Ireland's murder rate is quite high for its population too, however, if we take drug-related murders out of it it's pretty low. The Police and the government seem quite happy to let the drug dealers and their associated blow the sh!te out of each other so long as innocents are involved, then they tend to come down very heavy.

News / Poland: A Successful case of low criminality in Europe? [97]


Do we have any figures to say these people are committing the 'extra' rapes.

The Norwegians also blame Muslims:
themuslimissue.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/norway-90-of-all-violent-rapes-in-oslo-committed-by-muslims

Although, that's a bullsh!t website run by rightwing nutjobs. But like I've already said, you can use statistics to prove anything, doesn't mean anything though. You are only going on recorded crimes, not on actual crimes. The second figure we'll never know. Things like women's charities have far more reliable figures than just plain old crime stats.

Regarding Sweden:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_statistics
So,
a)Sweden reports more figures to the UNODC than other countries
b)The definition of rape in Swedish law is different than most other countries
c)the EU placed Sweden below other countries when they carried out research
d) Swedish rape victims are more likely to report the crime than people from other countries.

So, just from reading this I understand that maybe Sweden is the only country in Europe telling the truth about rape and other countries should probably follow suit. Sure, it wasn't so long ago that in Ireland rape couldn't be committed if it occurred within marriage. I'm pretty sure it was similar in other traditionally Catholic countries.

News / Poland: A Successful case of low criminality in Europe? [97]


So many less reported rapes.

Look, it's pretty common knowledge that the percentage or rape across the Western world is pretty similar. The thing is that the statistics are only compiled on what is reported, they cannot represent all of the rapes that go unreported. For example, inter-marriage rape, incestual rape & child abuse, these are the least reported types.

Take Ireland from the 1960s the the 1990s, do you think that Catholic priests weren't raping children because it wasn't being reported?
No, of course not. It obviously happened, but the statistics couldn't be compiled until the cases were reported as crimes.

I will also say I'm not dissing Poland in any way whatsoever, I've lived here for a decent while now and I feel far safer here than I did while living in Ireland, particularly when it comes to walking at night. However, I certainly wouldn't like to live in certain areas of Katowice, every town/city has it's bad parts.


Nothing I reckon. But I bet if you could find figures published by charities run to help victims of rape in both of those countries then you'd probably find that the actual % of rape (reported and unreported) is similar in both countries.

All the figures provided show is that reported instances of rape are higher in Sweden, it doesn't mean that rape is more prevalent in Sweden at all. I would argue actually that it shows that Swedes are more concerned with seeing justice being done than Norwegians. Why is that? Don't know, but it certainly seems like an issue.

Y'know, it's a bit like hearing about a survey that says we should eat less red meat and more white meat, but then you do some digging into who wrote the report and it turns out it was the lobby for turkey farmers.

Look, my point really is that statistics are are well and fine, but they rarely tell the full story.

News / Poland: A Successful case of low criminality in Europe? [97]

The great problem with crime statistics that people forget is that they are compiled only from crimes that were reported.
Ridiculous to say that Polish women in Poland are 13 times safer than Swedish women in Sweden.
The way to correctly see this is to say that in Sweden rape victims are 13 times more likely to report being raped.

Love / Polish from UK want to get married in Poland. Can the paperwork be arranged from here? marriage preparation? [24]


Is it possible, but only if the priest who's going to marry you allows it.


No, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you're going to need to bite the bullet, come here for a week and get it all done......and it all has to be done 3 months before the wedding takes place.

Real Estate / Where can I find a nice area to rent a studio or one-bedroom apartment in or near Katowice? [48]


I don't live there, but I have friends who live close.

It has many supermarkets close by. It has Silesia's largest (or maybe it's Poland's largest) shopping centre very close by and a few other really large hypermarkets and department stores close by too.

There's a massive park right beside it too, I think it's Central Europe's biggest park, or something like that. It's huge anyway and it's great during the summer. Lots of attractions and things to do. A few free concerts and events. I think the first one is next weekend actually.

It's serviced by buses and trams very often and you'd be in the city centre in about 10/15 minutes by bus, a little longer by tram. I knew a guy who lived there a few years back and he cycled everywhere. You're not exactly walking distance from the city, but you'll have more than enough amenities there if you chose to live there.

Good luck

Real Estate / Where can I find a nice area to rent a studio or one-bedroom apartment in or near Katowice? [48]


Sure, Paderewskiego has the highest amount of car theft in Katowice city centre. I read that in GW 2 years ago. I'm not sure if it's the same.

I think the reason is that many people work in offices around that area and during the day thieves rob the cars.
However, other crime is pretty low there.

You're close to a shopping centre (3-stawy) it's pretty basic, but it's got a hypermarker and a few restaurants, some clothes shops, and the usual 40 different places to buy a mobile phone.

There's a park there of the same name and you're also close to the old airport, muchowiec. A lovely place to got for a walk/cycle. They have music festivals there during the summer.

You're in a decent part of town if you move there. however, the nightlife is boring as hell. There's very few pubs/restaurants that you'd be life to hang out in, but on the other hand you can walk into the city centre in about 20mintues I reckon.

If you have a car you'll be fine coz you can go to the shopping centre for most of your shopping. Otherwise, I think a recently opened supermarket, Biedronka, is located around there too.

There's another very small shopping centre close by too, but it's pretty crap. It's got a small supermarket and a couple of nakeries and, bizarrely, a DVD rental place. It must be one of the last ones still open in central Europe.

Work / Jobs for a Native English Speaker in Konin Area? [21]

↑↑↑↑
Not sure if trolling or serious

Work / 2000 zloty in Katowice as a teacher - worth moving there? [33]

While I agree with what Dominic says you can still find places where money is good. The only thing is that you'll be living in sh!te towns/cities like Chorzow, Ruda Slask etc. etc.

If you want to make money as a native speaker, pick a small city/town, somewhere that isn't going to have native speakers. You'll be the only dog in town and you'll clean up. You'll also have your pick of the women coz they'll be all over you. But unless you're willing to work from 7am-10am and then from 4pm-9pm 5 days a week you're not going to make much money.

And trust me, working those hours, 5 days a week, will drive you round the bend.

Work / 2000 zloty in Katowice as a teacher - worth moving there? [33]


No, certainly not.
And I'm speaking as someone who lives there.

You're going to need at least double that to have a decent standard of living.
Rent 1000zl
Phone 200zl
Groceries 150-200 per week (including beer)
Bus & Tram 200zl per month (if I recall correctly)

So you'll have 400zl left. Hope you don't smoke.
And you'll easily spend 100zl on a night out, something to eat and a few pints.

Tell them to stick the job where the sun don't shine mate, they're trying to screw you.

Life / iPad-Tablet usage in Poland [6]


If you can afford an iPad in southern Poland, you can afford a car!
If you drive around you'll see loads of Poles posting on FB or Twitter while stopped at traffic lights ;)

Seriously though, walk into a Starbucks in a city in Poland and everyone's glued to theirs iPads, Macs or Android devices.
Why Starbucks? Free wifi is more important than sh!te coffee.

Real Estate / Where can I find a nice area to rent a studio or one-bedroom apartment in or near Katowice? [48]


The old part is sh!t, the new apartments close to the shopping centre are nice though.


There is no place in Katowice called Śródmieście, however, there is an area of Tychy called that.
It's about a 30 minute drive from Katowice, in traffic it would be more like 45 minutes.

Personally, I can recommend the south city centre, also Brynow, Osiedle Tysiąclecia is good too, huge park and shopping centre close by, serviced by many buses and trams or it's also close enough to cycle to and from.

Also Piotrowice or Ligota are ok, but you'ld be better off having a car living out in those areas, buses service them, but not so many as Tysiąclecia.

There's a basic rule to Katowice, try and stay south of the train station and you should be fine.

Avoid Załęże, Szczopenice, Nikiszowiec, 1-maja, Zawodzie, they are all scumholes.

Real Estate / Where can I find a nice area to rent a studio or one-bedroom apartment in or near Katowice? [48]


Enter Katowice in the search bar and you'll find loads of info about living there.

Work / Translation Company in Poland - would it be profitable here? [12]

I wouldn't bother if I was you, however like Pigsy says you could get in touch with existing translation services and offer yourself as a proofreader in the various languages.

You might get lucky and get loads of work, but I wouldn't be overly optimistic.

Love / Addressing your Polish in-laws or boy/girlfriend's parents? [49]


That has nothing to do with putting yourself in a position where you, by using just language, put yourself in a position of obedience.

Your points are completely moot and I'm sorry that you wasted so much time articulating a while pile of nothing.

Love / Addressing your Polish in-laws or boy/girlfriend's parents? [49]


*hugs

The problem with using titles when address in-laws is this:
Once you use a title when addressing another person you are putting them in a position of authority over you. You give them a title and they are immediately in a higher position in societal terms.

People here say it's a respect thing. Well, the problem there is that you've been raised to think in that blinkered kind of way. A bit like Sharia Muslim women who honestly think that covering their whole bodies is a good thing.

It's obviously not.
The same goes for using titles.
Respect is a two-way street and once you use titles and they aren't reciprocated then you're never going to get the respect you deserve and never be on the same level playing field as the person you're addressing.

Love / Addressing your Polish in-laws or boy/girlfriend's parents? [49]


That's a dumb outlook to have. Why the fuq does he need to acceptance of future in-laws?
As long as his partner loves him that's all that matters. Come on, everyone hates their in-laws in Poland.


Showing respect doesn't mean that you should be forced to use forced formalities.
Pay compliments, open doors for people, offer to help in the kitchen etc, that shows respect, using Pan/Pani just illustrates that you're a lemming.

Love / Addressing your Polish in-laws or boy/girlfriend's parents? [49]

Do, they won't use Pan when they address you so you shouldn't use such formal BS with them.

Love / Addressing your Polish in-laws or boy/girlfriend's parents? [49]

Call them by their first names, if they don't like it then in all likelihood they're probably *****.

Law / Marrriage with my best friend (a girl from Poland) for papers. What are the chances of getting caught? [10]


You'll be fine as long as she's willing to have sex with you.

It's quite common in Poland at wedding ceremonies to still have a 'bedding' ceremony at the end of the night
It's a bit like Game of Thrones, the books at least.

gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/Bedding


Yes, this is important imformation. People such as Jarek Kaczynski can knock on your door one day and ask such questions. They need to know how fertile the women are and that they can be relied on to produce children. Otherwise they are shunned from society and sent to places like Sosnowice, Chorzow or Bytom.

Life / Cost of living in Katowice, Poland [53]

Orange wouldn't give me a contract until I had been living here 3 months, the same with UPC.

It's pretty standard though, I worked for Carphone W. many years ago and it was the same with them regarding foreigners.

Life / Cost of living in Katowice, Poland [53]


Oh good lord, are you living in the Stone Age! :D

Just did a speed test and I've got 48Mbps
And to be honest I could do with more, that's just the work I'm involved in though. Need huge bandwidth for uploading.

Problem though with getting an internet contract is many companies don't want to sign a contract with a person until they've lived here for a few months.

Life / Cost of living in Katowice, Poland [53]


Your figures are way off

Double that for food.
Transport is about right, a tram/bus pass for a month is 110zl per month
Rent: you'll find places for that price, but a word of advice, avoid Załęże & Zawodzie and places around there, they are hell holes. You'd be better off in the city centre or in a place called Tysiąclecia

Internet, As Harry said, double it at least. If you want faster internet add even more. My Internet alone is 120zl, but I require all the bells and whistles for my work.

Cell plan, you'd be better off with credit phones for the first while. No cell company will give you a contract until you're lived here for 3 months.

9000zl is decent for 2 people, it's not great but you can certainly live on it. You won't save a ton of money and you won't be living the high life. TBH, I don't think I'd move so far to live on money that you could make in 1 or 2 weeks in London/Dublin/Paris/Madrid for the same job.

Regarding racism. You're South American, you'll be fine. For some reason, Africans are the target. It is getting better though.

Life / 37020 British expats in Poland [25]


This would certainly seem so.

Many times I've seen Polish parents going thru emigration control with their children and their children having Irish/UK passports while the parents use a Polish passport or their Polish ID card.

Nice to see though that The Telegraph doesn't know the proper definition of an ex-patriot though. Useless rag of a paper..........although the sports section is quite good.

Real Estate / Wroclaw....good parts? Any "affluent, quaint European, suburb" areas here? [14]


Switzerland is simply the most beautiful place I've ever seen.
Geneva is not special, but the wee towns around it are magical.
If I were to ever strike it rich I'd be there in a flash.

Been to Monaco too, can't say I enjoyed it tbh, looked nice and all, just thought it was devoid of any soul. Just rampant capitalism.

I dunno mate, best of luck with your decision, but from the way you're talking I think either Germany/Switzerland...or maybe a Mediterranean country would suit your desires better.

Have you thought of Croatia or Bosnia? Price-wise it's quite similar to Poland.

Real Estate / Wroclaw....good parts? Any "affluent, quaint European, suburb" areas here? [14]


You'd be better off in Germany so....maybe Czech.
I'm thinking of moving to Czech, no religion there, fantastic beer too.

Real Estate / Wroclaw....good parts? Any "affluent, quaint European, suburb" areas here? [14]

If you're as rich as you are telling us, why in the name of Jaysus would you move to Poland?
Go to Switzerland or Germany or Liechtenstein or Monaco.
If you're not willing to get down and dirty you're going to detest Poland.

Life / Online Polish stores which ship video games to Europe please? [6]

just use amazon, cheaper and faster.