Law / The Euro, is it a good idea for Poland? [66]


Oh dear. If you call happiness the current situation where they have severe debts to the now-foreign banks and no prospect of actually paying off these debts, then your grasp of economics is even shakier than I thought.

It is interesting that you seem to think that not having money and being unemployed is a source of happiness however. Personal experience?

Law / The Euro, is it a good idea for Poland? [66]


The country is not "ok". In fact, as I keep pointing out, Iceland is still in severe trouble with debts. In fact, the whole Icelandic system is still in a complete mess, and worse still, their entire banking industry has been sold abroad for not very much money.


Not quite. Many Greeks quite happily did things without a receipt or quite happily got paid cash in hand. They're now getting punished for their own collective greed, nothing less.

News / Poland A and Ukraine B. Compare how far Poland has advanced. [282]

Do you know anything about Ukrainian economics?

The "Russian" east is the wealthy part. Western Ukraine is crushingly poor, and the language issue also complicates things. In Kyiv, despite being majority Ukrainian, the language of the streets is Russian, not Ukrainian. Western Ukraine is also home to the most nationalistic elements, so that would also hinder growth. Dividing Ukraine is simply a non starter for so many reasons.

Also worth pointing out that many ethnic Russians do not associate themselves with Russia.

Law / The Euro, is it a good idea for Poland? [66]


Oh dear. Your grasp of economics is amusing, because if you knew the first thing about Icelandic economics, you'd know that you're completely and totally wrong.

studiotendra.com/2012/12/29/what-is-actually-going-on-in-iceland

Iceland is in a terrible mess and with no real way out of it. The government requires businesses to deposit their foreign exchange into the bank and imposes harsh capital controls relating to the flow of money. The ISK exchange rate is around 40% less outside of Iceland than in Iceland, and the way that debt works in Iceland is effectively strangling the people. The consequences have been very, very severe and there's no sign of anything getting better soon. I mean, as a supposed right winger, you should be supporting the free market, yet you're holding up Iceland as a good example despite the severe restrictions on business.


Argentina is also in economic trouble. The mere existence of the blue dollar should tell you a thing or two. Again, the people are in trouble as it is very, very difficult to get USD or other currencies there and the peso is extremely unstable.


Works well for governments, but not for ordinary people. Again, if you knew the first thing about these countries, you'd know that loans are normally linked to stable foreign currencies and so defaulting doesn't change anything for the ordinary people.

Law / The Euro, is it a good idea for Poland? [66]

And when some of the leading economists in Poland with no connection to PiS say wait, what do you do then?

It's pretty obvious to anyone with the faintest grasp of economics that Polish accession to the Euro will be considerably trickier than Slovakia, Cyprus, Malta, etc.

Law / The Euro, is it a good idea for Poland? [66]


It does work in some ways that you simply don't see. It removes the risk for businesses of exchange rates.

Quite a lot of Polish businesses got burnt badly with the crash in the value of the PLN in recent times. I know one German investor who lost around 200k EUR in one year because of this.

UK, Ireland / Benefit cuts for Poles in The UK? [143]


Absolutely. The country was relying on house prices rising to keep control of consumer debt, which was simply not going to work in the long run.

I think several monsters have just gone completely out of control - the NHS, the benefit system, etc.

Real Estate / Best and worst months of the year to find a flat to rent in Poland? [39]

At least with Sopot, you'd be able to rent it out in summer easily enough. I know some people working for Sony there on really good money, but all of them live in Sopot because of how bad Gdynia is. It's the same with Gdansk, there are some nice enough areas, but most of it is just horrible.

Amazing how people buy property without doing their homework though, a ten minute drive around Gdynia would tell you that there's nothing happening there in terms of entertainment.

Real Estate / Best and worst months of the year to find a flat to rent in Poland? [39]


Doesn't surprise me. The price of it is just totally out of touch with reality. No-one with money would live in Gdynia, they would be in Sopot. Gdynia is an awful place to live, there's nothing happening there and it's absolutely boring. Good place to work, but terrible place to live.

Real Estate / Poland online property ownership checker (government website) [19]


Good question. If you're buying a property, then they should give you the number without any problems, because a reluctance to do so suggests that they're up to no good.

It's worth bearing in mind that some properties don't have a KW number, but you can apply for one. As far as I know, you need the KW number to sell anyway.

For your own property, it might be on the akt notarialny, or you can get it from the Urzad Miasta for a small fee. For someone else's property, it might be possible to get if you have a valid reason to have it. I certainly obtained several in the past by merely paying the right fee and writing a letter.

Real Estate / Best and worst months of the year to find a flat to rent in Poland? [39]


I think it's a reflection of the almost total lack of professionalism in the property market, to be honest.

Real Estate / Astounded by the poor value of residential property here in Wroclaw [92]


Really?

I'd love to see how you could afford a place of your own in London without subletting.

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


Yes. The amount of trouble caused by this is incredible.

Food / "Poland - it's the new Provence of food" [56]


Rather obvious that you have never actually eaten good Polish food, despite your attempts to claim that you associate with high society.

Real Estate / Supply vs Demand - How long can contractors continue to push? Krakow [15]


Which confirms my point.

Rodzina na Swoim was actually not that good at all, particularly as it usually came with higher deposit requirements and higher interest rates once the promotion ended.

Life / Men in Poland in the forest? Just men? [133]


I would love to see these pictures too. In fact, I'd love to see pictures of many of his claims on here.

Real Estate / Supply vs Demand - How long can contractors continue to push? Krakow [15]


Not necessarily, as Rodzina na Swoim came with many conditions and wasn't particularly favourable towards new builds anyway.

Life / DUI first time in Poland [13]


They all say that.

USA, Canada / What do Polish people think of the USA [287]

Just to back up your point.

dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/vctoc.htm

A comprehensive guide to driving law in California. Obtained easily.

USA, Canada / What do Polish people think of the USA [287]


In what sense?

Life / DUI first time in Poland [13]

Being caught over the limit is an instant year's ban from driving and the licence revoked until you satisfy a psychologist that you aren't at danger of drinking and driving again. And a compulsory re-test.

Anyone seriously over the limit (such as 0.40) will be looking at jail time.

Life / Men in Poland in the forest? Just men? [133]

Not much to say, except that I agree with Zeti.

UK, Ireland / 1,701 people apply for 8 UK jobs to work in a coffee shop serving customers [11]


The difference in the UK is that a few years ago, middle class stay at home mothers would never dream of working in such a place with such people.

Now they don't have a choice.

History / WWII - who really was the first to help Poland? [900]


That was in 1939. Germany certainly wasn't ready for war by 1935/36, and if Poland/Czechoslovakia had formed an alliance, things could have been dramatically different.


Have you actually read the treaty in question? It doesn't make any unrealistic promises at all.

Real Estate / Land dilemma - registering land and properties in Poland [8]

If she was genuine about it, why didn't she go see a lawyer and deal with it properly? It's not the first time and won't be the last time that an old person says one thing to your face and does something different in reality.


Of course it is - you can check it online here:
ekw.ms.gov.pl/pdcbdkw/pdcbdkw.html

But you need to know the number. If you don't know the number of the property, then you need to write to the local council and ask them for it.

History / WWII - who really was the first to help Poland? [900]


A mooted attack by France and Poland in 35/36 would have had a real chance of succeeding. The only issue from a Polish perspective is that they would have been open to attack from the East as a result.

The end for Poland was the stupidity of invading Zaolzie in 38.

Real Estate / Land dilemma - registering land and properties in Poland [8]


Quite common in Poland, especially among uneducated people. Normally random relatives turn up after the death when they realise that the property was actually worth something.


How much contact have you had with the grandmother over the years?


It is possible, but the best advice is to get a good lawyer from the beginning.

However, you should think about this in moral terms. If your partner barely saw his grandmother and took little interest in her, then he really has no moral right to anything.

Real Estate / Supply vs Demand - How long can contractors continue to push? Krakow [15]

Would there really be any reason to do so right now?

Real Estate / Supply vs Demand - How long can contractors continue to push? Krakow [15]

There's still an undersupply of apartments in Poland, so they will sell at some point. The banks may also be willing to be flexible on credit terms as they won't want the hassle of selling themselves.