Life / English family in Wroclaw! [70]


I wouldn't quite agree with that. First of all, it depends on where you are in the States. And where you are in Europe. There is a vast difference between Vermont or Oregon on the one hand and Alabama or Mississippi on the other. And between Denmark or the Netherlands and Romania or Bulgaria.

A Polish friend from Wrocław got a fellowship to some Podunk town in eastern Louisiana, and he considered it quite a step down in terms of quality of life.

Europeans fail to take into account the vast differences among the individual states. I'm making three times as much in Vermont than I could in Texas or Florida. More than enough to offset any differences in the cost of living.

Life / English family in Wroclaw! [70]

@delphiandomine

I lived in Wrocław for 8 years, Poland for 12, and Europe for 16.

Wrocław is a great place to live if you have enough money to enjoy what the city and the country have to offer, and don't have to worry about savings. And if you learn the language. As was my situation. I'd still be there if I didn't have to return to the States to help out a Polish friend set up his business here and then got corralled into helping another friend.

Or if you are getting paid western wages, in which case your savings potential is higher in Poland.

Much as I liked living there, I wouldn't recommend it for those who have to save up for their kids' college funds or for their own retirement. As for that "slower pace of life" BS, don't make me puke. The slower pace of savings takes all the fun out of that.

Life / English family in Wroclaw! [70]


This is where I cease to take you seriously. You have to be kidding! The quality of life is much higher in richer countries, including the States, than it is in Poland, by any measure.

For a working expat, "quality of life" is practically synonymous with savings potential. Very little matters even a fraction as much.


It didn't take long for the OP to hit up against this problem.

Life / English family in Wroclaw! [70]

@jon357

You missed the "and probably a lot less" part.

As far as returnees coming back to Poland with a non-Polish speaking spouse in tow, few of those make it longer than a year or two because of the lack of good employment opportunities, abysmal savings potential, and social isolation on the part of the non-Polish speaking spouse.

Life / English family in Wroclaw! [70]


Yes, it is true. I left there only three years ago, and I doubt that the situation has changed so radically since then. Wrocław, and Poland as a whole, are not all that attractive for expats with kids in tow, and won't be for quite some time. The big problem is that quality educational choices are limited and rather expensive.

The pool of kids from English-speaking countries at those schools is not all that large for a city of 800,000 odd inhabitants. Upper limit 100 kids of all ages, and probably a lot less.

In any case, it is among the parents of those students that the OP has the greatest chance of finding someone to socialize with.

Life / English family in Wroclaw! [70]

@dandaddycool

Lived in Wrocław eight years myself, and it's a great city. As for finding other ex-pats to socialize with, you're going to have to cast your net a bit wider, and even then, it won't be easy. There just aren't all that many expat families with small children in Wrocław. Most expats are single males on short term contracts who are singularly uninterested in socializing with anyone who is not on their team. And the rest of the Brits in Wrocław are predominantly single male backpackers who are probably not what you are looking for.

You could have your wife call around to the international kindergartens and elementary schools to see of there are any other expats with families about.

If you plan on spending time here, you had better get to work learning the language tout suite and start socializing and networking with the natives in their own language. Or you're going to be pretty lost and lonely, and pull up stakes and return to the UK before long.

In all my time in Wrocław, I met only one English-speaking expat with kids and a Polish wife. An American who lives in Oleśnica by the name of Ian who runs an English-teaching service. He spoke pretty decent Polish, and the kids were first-language Polish speakers.

Life / Can me and my girlfriend live in Poland (Lodz) on 6000PLN Net a month if rent is 2800 included everything [9]


On top of rent, 2000 PL per person will be enough for modest cook-at-home food, routine and occasional household supplies, modest clothing, occasional cheap or mid-range meals out, modest weekend entertainment, very occasional budget travel inside Poland, and enable you to save a rather modest rainy-day fund. Even on 6000 PLN a month net and paying only 2000 PLN a month for your apartment, serious saving is out of the question. Life $ucks if you can't put away a decent amount per month in savings. This is going to be the biggest existential problem you face, and the most likely reason you will eventually pull up stakes and leave Poland.

Like I said, not poverty, bur fat from the high life. That is why I advised you to greatly reduce your spending on accommodation. 2800 is extravagant.

Life / Can me and my girlfriend live in Poland (Lodz) on 6000PLN Net a month if rent is 2800 included everything [9]

@Arexys

Sorry, I read 6000 gross. That would be poverty wages for a foreign couple. With 6000 net, you will be able to live a modest lifestyle if you reduce you spending on accommodation. You won't be poor, but you won't be living the high life, either, and will still have to watch your budget. 2800 a month is still way too high. You can easily find a modest one-bedroom apartment for 2000 PLN a month all inclusive. Finding cheaper accommodation should be your highest priority.

Life / Can me and my girlfriend live in Poland (Lodz) on 6000PLN Net a month if rent is 2800 included everything [9]

@Arexys

You can survive, if you are careful and scrupulously frugal. It won't be the high life, for sure. You're going to have to cook practically all of your meals at home from scratch from cheap local ingredients. You had better like potatoes and cabbage. Eating, drinking and snacking away from home are expensive and will be rare treats. Alcohol,tobacco and nightlife will kill your budget pretty quickly. Saving any money beyond a token rainy day fun is out of the question.

On that budget, you should be thinking about cheaper accommodations. 2800 PLN a month is a hell of a lot to spend for a couple on such a limited budget. You would spend a little more than half that on a cheap studio apartment, which would give you a better lifestyle and margin of safety.

Work / Salary for a senior software engineer in Poland [195]

@Dirk diggler

For an expat, comparing salaries is not all that useful in and of itself. Nor is comparing cost of living. Their only significance is how they affect the only financial figure that matters: how much you are able to save at the end of the month. All other things being equal, the job with the greatest savings potential is the best offer.

And yes, there is no reason not to "play hardball", to look out for one's best interest. If you show weakness, inferiority or desperation, the potential employer will walk all over you.

Work / Salary for a senior software engineer in Poland [195]


That's very unprofessional behavior on their part, and very unfair. Actually, it's downright nasty. Whether you are trying anywhere else is none of their business, and you have no obligation, legal or ethical, to share that information with them. Do you really want to work for a company like this?


None at all. Like I said, you have no obligations toward them until you sign an actual contract. Nor do they have any toward you. Their world is not going to end because you find another job, and the money and effort they invested in recruiting you is just a normal business expense. Don't feel bad about it. They certainly won't feel bad if they decide not to hire you and hire another candidate instead.

Do let them know, however, as soon as you have accepted another job, so they can stop spending money and time on you and focus their attention on the other applicants they have for this job. Rest assured, they have several other applicants interested in this position.


No, he can't. Even with great difficulty. And I explained in great detail why that won't be possible.

Work / Salary for a senior software engineer in Poland [195]


I'm not sure what "committing your alliance" means.Unless it means signing an actual contract, it doesn't mean anything much.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket. You have no obligations to prospective employers until you sign the contract. It's perfectly fine to apply and interview for several different employers, and then pick the best for you. After all, it is highly unlikely that you are the only applicant any of these companies is interviewing for the job. They are interviewing several and picking the best for them.

Work / Poland - gift for my boss and coworkers first day in the new job [9]

@xolo

Bringing something inexpensive like cookies or such to share with the team on your first day is not going to be a problem, and would be appreciated. Giving anything of more than nominal value would be considered weird.

Work / Salary for a senior software engineer in Poland [195]


No, you are not going to be able to save 5.5 K złoty on that much.

14,000 gross a month is about 9000 PLN net.

Off the top, you will have to deduct for your relocation to Poland, that means plane tickets, all associated travel and shipping, visas and permits. Divide the total by 12 and deduct from your monthly income. This should be about 1000 PLN for two people, so that brings your balance down to about 8000 PLN.

Next is housing. A modest one bedroom (two room) apartment is going to cost you from 2000 to 2500 a month all inclusive: rent, administration fees and all utilities except internet/phone/TV. That will bring your balance down to 5500 to 6000 PLN.

Food and regular household supplies will set you back another 2000 PLN or so for a family of three. Less if you cook all meals at home using cheaper local ingredients, more if you eat, drink or snack away from home or use more expensive ingredients. Baby formula and food is quite expensive. So that will bring your balance down to 3500 to 4000 PLN, at best.

Then there are occasional purchases such as clothing, furniture and electronics, as well as recreation, hobbies and vacations. That's going to cost you about 1000 PLN a month at least, as you and your family will need good winter clothing and solid shoes. Baby clothes and diapers are rather expensive, too. so bring you balance down to 2500 to 3000 PLN, and probably a little less.

Then there are city transit cards for you and your wife, as well as cell phones and internet service. That will be about 500 PLN a month maximum. So your balance is now 2000 to 2500 PLN a month.

So no, there is no way that you will be able to save 5500 PLN a month.

The biggest problems with Poland are 1) wages are low; 2) cost of living relative to wages is rather high, especially if children are involved; and, most importantly 3) savings potential is very low.

To meet your savings goal you would have to earn at least 20,000 PLN a month gross, and probably a bit more.

My advice is to focus on finding work in richer countries where savings potential is much higher than in Poland.

Law / Student Visa Question: National or Schengen for American student? [9]

@Ronny27

It means that new slots won't be posted until 29/09/2017. However, you should still check whether slots are available every day on the off chance of a cancellation.

Law / My bf's visa expired and we want to marry in the UK [9]


You mean, you didn't get the answers you wanted to hear. Sorry, but there is no way that anyone is going to consider this "marriage" as anything but a sham to circumvent immigration policy.

Kup sobie białego misia.

Law / Student Visa Question: National or Schengen for American student? [9]

@Ronny27

You just keep waiting until slots are available. There is nothing else you can do. All European embassies in India are overwhelmed by the number of applicants and have a hard time keeping up. The problem is that far too many of the applicants are not genuine students, and are trying to enter the EU under false pretenses. It takes a lot of work to weed them out, which means that genuine students have to wait longer.

In any case, do not waste your money on "companies" that promise to help you get a slot. They are all fraudulent. There is nothing they can do.

Life / Vietnamese community in Wroclaw? [7]


No. It is about now. I spent twelve years in Poland, from 2002 to 2014. If anything, the problem is getting worse.

Life / Ukrainian/Russian community in Wroclaw [6]

@keon

Actually, there is one community that will help you, and that is the community of your real-world personal professional contacts. You're a senior engineer with a PhD, but it seems that you have little or nothing in this regard. You should focus an enormous amount of time and effort in building up your network. Attend conferences, join societies, meet lots of people, be assertive and, most importantly, work very hard to keep those contacts alive and use them to find new contacts. And, of course, return the favor. Do this in the real world, and do not rely on the internet. A person in your position who does not have an EXTENSIVE network of professional contacts is severely crippled and unlikely to succeed in their career.

Life / Ukrainian/Russian community in Wroclaw [6]


Expect zero help from Russians or Ukrainians in Poland. A lot of what I wrote about the Vietnamese community is also true for the Russian community. Many are involved in organized crime, so you have to be extremely cautious.

Sorry, but it seems to me that you are counting on the Vietnamese or Russian communities to find you illegal work in Poland. If that's the case, then save yourself the time and trouble and shoot your family and yourself in the head. Your children will be eternally grateful that you spared then the horror of living in the brutal underworld of organized crime.

Wherever you go in Western Europe, there is never going to be any "community" to help you as a Vietnamese person with ties to the Ukraine, except the legitimate native societies of these countries. Assimilation is the only way to success, for you and your children.

Life / Vietnamese community in Wroclaw? [7]


I try my best!


The key is to learn the language and assimilate with the native Polish population, or the native population of wherever you go. It is best to be fluent in the language and find a good job BEFORE you arrive. If you show up without having secured a legal job beforehand, then chances of finding one are very low.


Very true.

Life / Vietnamese community in Wroclaw? [7]


There are probably about 5000 or so Vietnamese in Wrocław, and about 40,000 in the whole country. There are no reliable figures because many, if not most, are staying illegally. A very high percentage of them are involved in organized criminal activity, primarily smuggling and production of narcotics, cigarettes and counterfeit consumer goods, money laundering and other financial schemes, human trafficking, and fencing of stolen property and counterfeit consumer goods. Kidnapping, slavery and sexual exploitation of women and children are also regrettably common, as is extortion and racketeering, especial against other Vietnamese individuals and illegal immigrants.

You'll probably want to avoid this community until you become settled and can find and move within the small and closed circle of legitimate Vietnamese residents here. Doubly so for your wife. The worst enemy of Vietnamese people in Poland is other Vietnamese people. For every one that you might find that wants to genuinely help you, there are ten or more that want to exploit you. The fact that you have children makes you especially vulnerable.

As you are living in the Ukraine, you are probably already aware of a lot of this, as I imagine the situation is similar there.


Basically, legal employment will be all but impossible to find. Like winning the lottery. God help her if she has to rely on the Vietnamese community to find herself illegal work. She could end up getting killed so that the mafia can sell her heart and kidneys on the black market, a nasty practice called "human refrigerators". Or she can end up as a sex slave. Or worse.


It's extremely difficult. It will take several years of very hard work to develop even a basic command of the language, and many years to develop a level of fluency that could be salable on the job market. By far most people who start learning Polish give up within a short time. Only a few ever become fluent.

If, on the other hand, you are near-native fluent in Russian, the time frame would be shorter, and the chances of success higher.

Work / How much salary required for family of 4 in Poznan to live comfortly [8]

@keon1

That school is designed for Polish students who want to learn English, not for foreigners who don't speak Polish. Your children would have a difficult time following the curriculum as most of the instruction is in Polish.

No matter how you cut it, 8000 PLN a month for a foreign professional family with two school-age children is not going to fund a comfortable life. Forget about a car, and, more importantly, forget about significant savings.

Take my advice to Ksharmac above and focus on finding a better-paying job in a richer country using your network of real-world personal professional contacts.

Work / How much salary required for family of 4 in Poznan to live comfortly [8]

@keon1

Wrocław is a bit more expensive than Poznań. You will need a lot more than $2000 a month to live comfortably as a family of four in Wrocław. Double that, at least. A good English-language school will cost $1000 a month per child alone. That will consume your entire income.

Same advice I gave above. Find a better-paying job in a richer country. Forget about Poland unless you are making $5000 gross a month or more with a family of four.

Love / What type of documents do we need to get married in Poland? [6]

You would also both need your baptismal and confirmation certificates, as well as a letter from your pastor(s) stating that you are Catholics in good standing, and probably also permission from your bishop,especially if your fiance is not Catholic. You might also have to request permission from the bishop in Poland. Some Polish priests are easy to deal with, some are jerks until you pay them off, and some are jerks no matter whether you pay them off or not.

You will also need a certificate of completion of the prerequisite Pre-Cana course, preferably from your diocesan chancellery.

Love / What type of documents do we need to get married in Poland? [6]

@sunshine1991919 1.

Is there any reason why you can't get married in a Catholic church in the US? That would be a lot easier than doing same in Poland.

Work / How much salary required for family of 4 in Poznan to live comfortly [8]

@ksharmac

First of all, you have your relocation expenses, travel, visa and residency permits to pay for. That will amount to about 1000 to 2000 PLN per month for a family of four. (Total relocation costs to and from Poland, door to door, amortized over twelve months).

A two-bedroom (three room) apartment will cost you 2500 to 3500 PLN, all inclusive (rent, administration fees and all utilities except internet/ phone/TV).

Food and routine household items will cost 2000 to 3000 for a family of four. Less if you cook and eat every meal at home from inexpensive Polish ingredients, more if you cook with more expensive ingredients, or eat, drink or snack away from home.

Budget at least 500 PLN a month for clothing. This is one thing that is not cheap in Poland, especially children's clothing. Your whole family is going to require good winter clothing and solid shoes.

Your spouse will be unable to work, and will need to be kept occupied so that she doesn't go crazy. Budget generously for that, or she will want to go back to India. There isn't much for an Indian woman to do in Poland. There is no Indian community, and very, very few Indian women that she will be able to socialize with. English is not widely spoken so it will be difficult to socialize with the locals.

Then there is recreation, hobbies, vacation and other travel. Depending on your requirements, this can be a major expense, especially if it involves traveling back to India.

Then there is school. A good English-language school is very expensive in Poland. Up to 4000 PLN a month per child. I don't know what is available in Poznań. Other posters can fill you in.

Last of all, add the amount you wish to save and/or send back home each month. This is where Poland falls short. Savings potential is much, much less than in richer countries. A reasonable minimum for a family of four would be 4000 PLN.

Frankly, because schooling is so expensive and savings potential are so low, there is generally little sense in a mid-career professional dragging a family to Poland unless they are very well compensated (20,000 PLN a month or more). Wages like that go to senior management, administrators and high-level consultants or specialists.

If you are not making that kind of money, better to look for better paying jobs in richer countries. Ignore recruiters, consultants and websites. The best way to find a good job is by word of mouth, face to face in the real world. Build up your real-world network of professional contacts and use them to help you find a better job. Recruiters and websites get the table scraps that no one else wants.

You might want to consider leaving the family at home and coming alone. It will be much cheaper to upkeep your family in India than in Poland.

Study / Study at Univ. of Information Technology and management in Rzeszow; extension letter/ accommodation/ jobs [11]


None. Courses in English in Poland are very poor quality, and a diploma from any of them is not worth much, if anything, on the job market, in Poland or elsewhere.


It's not a real university, and is not allowed to call itself a university in the Polish language. It takes advantage of a loophole in the law to market itself as a university to gullible, naive and clueless foreign students. A degree from this school is worth less than used toilet paper.


If you need to earn money to finance your studies and stay, then Poland is not the country for you. It is practically impossible for foreign students to find work in Poland unless they speak the Polish language very well, and that takes several years of hard study. Make your plans on the very safe assumption that you will never be able to earn a single penny during your stay in Poland.


Unless you speak Polish very well, are able to study in Polish, and have wealthy parents who can finance 100% of your studies and stay, the forget about Poland and any other of the poorer countries of the EU with high youth unemployment: Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

If you can't study in a rich country, then it would be best to study in your own country.

Work / Studies In Poland, is it easy to survive on part-time jobs? [259]


Precisely because the overwhelming majority of these students have their sights set on the UK. Extremely few could be bothered to learn Polish.

Pay attention to the type of students who post here. By far the majority are economic refugees interested in Poland solely as an entry point to the EU and will abscond at the first opportunity. They have paid "consultants" or "agents" to help them get into sham or real schools. Sham schools like the one in Józefów.

A smaller group are those who don't have the means or wherewithal to study in richer countries. Some of these have enough resources to study in Poland without working. The bulk don't, however, and are counting on finding work paid well enough to fund their studies and stay. They have also usually paid "recruiters" who have told them that 1) a diploma from an English-language course in Poland is worth something on the job market in richer countries, which is rarely the case; and 2) part-time work is easy to find. By far the bulk of these will be forced to abandon their studies due to lack of funds or because they figure out that their studies are a waste of time and money.

Exceedingly few are graduate or professional students with stipends or fellowships.

Polish state universities are in on the scam. They offer English-language courses as a way to earn discretionary cash for the university. They have little incentive to provide a quality education. They also run a website that makes it sound as if it is easy for foreign students to find work in Poland. You have to read pretty deep to find the part "unless you are from a third-world country".

These English-language courses are a joke as far as the quality of education and the value of the diploma are concerned, with very few exceptions. Most programs accept anything that breaths. Even the English-language engineering programs are far, far inferior to their counterparts in richer countries, and the degrees are far less saleable. Poland just doesn't have sufficient R&D funding to support quality engineering programs. The same with the English-language medical programs, as potential employers know the drill already.

My advice to serious students stands. Study in a rich country if you can. Study at a good university in your own country if you can't. If you are unable to do either, then studying in Poland is likely to be a waste of time and money, as you will most likely drop out, and even if you stick it through, the degree is likely not to be worth the investment. Unless you are and enterprising top student and take a few years to learn Polish before you arrive.

And you have by no means disproved my statement that by far the majority of third-world students will never earn a single penny during their stay in Poland. "More and more" jobs is a hollow promise when the starting point and ending point are both "practically none".

UK, Ireland / Help with passport issue for my daughter [2]

@thomasstone

You mentioned the other option yourself in your post: requesting approval from the court.