Work / Possible lifestyle in Poland? Job offer - 12K to 13K PLN. [40]


There are a few nice places in the Starówka (especially the less touristy places and some in the Nowe Miasto round ul. Freta - I recommend Pod Kogutem - a hidden gem) where you can eat for much less. I was thinking of somewhere a bit blingier with a good bottle of wine and orher drinks, coffee afterwards etc. Earning that salary in PL will mean he'll probably spend time with people who do go to the more expensive places.

Thinking of the OP's question, that salary won't make him rich if he's only planning to be there for a few years. Most locals would love that salary, however they have access to long term mortgages, credit for a car etc. If the OP plans to rent somewhere nice to live, travel round Europe in his free time, go away at weekends etc (and especially if he has to pay for flights back to South America) as well as save a little, he won't feel rich - just comfortably off. If that figure is before tax, even more so.

The average (mean) salary in Warsaw is 4 thousand and something after tax (about 7 thousand before). Plenty of people live well on less, however everything depends on expectations.

too late to edit, didn't see your post:


Well north of 100 with starters, drinks and a tip and much more if you have the steak or some such.

Work / English teaching or English language preschool in Poland? [15]

Unless the person is highly skilled and can find freelance work at corporate rates, it's almost always more profitable to run a business - assuming of course that they have the capital to start it and to keep going for a while until they're established.

History / Movie about Polish Fighter 303 Squadron in the making [37]


This is simply untrue and that myth has been debunked many times. Plenty on here about it by the way - whole threads including links to sources.

And who are you to ask someone to stop disagreeing with them on a discussion forum?

History / Movie about Polish Fighter 303 Squadron in the making [37]



And untrue. They were invited.

Quite a lot of threads on here already.

History / Movie about Polish Fighter 303 Squadron in the making [37]


Indeed - everyone there knows the story - there's rather a good film from about 50 years ago about them The airmen were regarded as heroes. They were all given citizenship, homes and a war pension for life. Plenty of threads on here about it.


Yes, that was a well-made film.

History / Most important Poles and Slavs that ever lived [74]


No argument.


Rather a lot of knowledge even - those who start as outsiders often have a great thirst for it and come with very few preconceptions. Anyway, I agree, why argue? In any case we seem to be agreeing more than arguing!


Definitely. Also we can give Mandarynka a miss. Niemen and Grechuta were much better artistes but still no, much as I like Grechuta.


I think ones who had an international impact or are known outside Poland are easiest to include - Chopin and Curie are obvious examples, as are Wałęsa and JPII. For those less known (or almost unknown outside) there's probably a higher benchmark. I'd suggest lasting impact. Perhaps Prus, Osiecka, Religa, £ukasiewicz. I'd also strongly suggest Korczak, Singer and Michnik, though Jewish, since that's a long-lasting part of Poland's heritage too.

Food / Is black tea disappearing from supermarkets in Poland? [29]


The packaging takes up more space due to the smaller sized boxes and huge variety.


Probably.


Doubtless some people do - most people who buy it let it languish in cupboards until stale.

Food / Is black tea disappearing from supermarkets in Poland? [29]


M&S have it too, in Warsaw anyway.



I see no shortage of either in the shops. Black tea isn't disappearing and 'normal' beer isn't harder to buy.

Modern packaging gives green/herbal tea a long shelf life and it's generally sold in smaller packets - hence seeming like there's a lot. I don't think many people would want to return to the lack of choice that existed in the PRL years.

I drink a cup of tea maybe 2 or 3 times a year, being a coffee drinker. Though Rooibos is nice.

History / Most important Poles and Slavs that ever lived [74]


Nope - there were only maybe three or four on the list who were unfamiliar names - and about that number that I've met for various reasons. Remember, I've lived in Poland longer than some of the Polish people here have been alive and have been quite lucky in certain other ways too.


It means it was a very long list without much order - that's all. But good we agree on their inclusion.


My feelings too - however rather than judge a list, it's fair to comment on it. One problem is that there aren't any defined criteria. Some people might include Doda or Wisniewski and some might prefer only scientists. Some might exclude Stefan Batory (who I think you were right to include); some might exclude Janusz Korczak. Some might exclude Dmowski and others might exclude Dzierzinski.

Now if you had to narrow the list down to 10 (or 15 at a pinch) who would you include?

History / Most important Poles and Slavs that ever lived [74]

Why so tetchy? A very interesting list, however I wonder why you would say I "don't know most of" the people on the list. I suspect you don't either, especially those long dead. I do however know of all but 3 or 4 and have had the privilege of knowing several (and meeting several more) of the living and recently deceased on your list. There are some very good choices there, and there are certainly some surprising ones - popular singers and sports personalities, and some notable omissions however I suppose that can be excused in the absence of defined Criteria for inclusion. Any repetitions with your list, like Rzewuski, should be taken as a sign of the list's length.

I'd add to that list, in no special order
Janusz Korczak,
Michal Karasiewicz-Tokarzewski
Krystyna Feldman,
Krystyna Janda,
Agnieska Osiecka,
Agnieska Holland,
Krzysztof Kieslowski,
Zygmunt Bauman,
Jan Józef Lipski,
Tadeusz Gliwic,
Bronislaw Geremek
Zbigniew Brzezinski,
Adam Michnik,
Andrzej Strug,
Wanda Landowska,
Jacek Kuroń,
Jerzy Giedroyc,
Jerzy Urban,
Tadeusz Boy-Zelenski
Stefan Kurylowicz,
Stefan Banach,
Jan Kulczyk,
Tamara De Lempicka,
Rosa Luxemburg
Aleksander Kwasniewski,
Józef Hoene-Wronski,
Irene Sendler,
Gabriel Narutowicz,
Krzysztof Komeda,
Zdzislaw Beksinski,
And the first Polish President of the European Commission, Donald Tusk.

Emilia Plater,
Witold Gombrowicz,
Maria Dabrowska,
Karol Szymanowski
also deserve a place on such a list. Although I questioned popular singers being on the list, there's a case for Violetta Villas - her fame was for a time international and her music is played today.

History / Most important Poles and Slavs that ever lived [74]

Rzewuski should certainly be included. Including too many though, can dilute the impact. Most of those in the list above are unknown outside the country.

Food / Is black tea disappearing from supermarkets in Poland? [29]

They still sell black tea - it isn't disappearing at all.

History / Most important Poles and Slavs that ever lived [74]

That's quite a long list - Certainly more than 10. Hard to see where Marek Grechuta and Adam Malys fit in, plus some controversial political figures. What about Janusz Korczak?

Law / Ways of getting Permanent residency in Poland [101]


The work permit and the visa are separate documents. Some visas allow you to bring a spouse more easily than others. Have a look at some of the threads here by using the search function, Raaz. There is a lot of useful information.

History / Most important Poles and Slavs that ever lived [74]


Controversial but yes, very influential. If this list were specifically Poles rather than Slavs in general, I'd say include him. But one of the 10 most important Slavs? No. Another to go on a wider list would be Ryszard Kapuściński.

And nobody mentioned Paderewski or Mickiewicz yet...

Work / Possible lifestyle in Poland? Job offer - 12K to 13K PLN. [40]


It's a decent salary for Poland (over double the median salary) and you should be able to live a comfortable lifestyle and save a bit. To give an idea, a meal for two in a decent restaurant with drinks costs around 150zl and a bottle of wine in a supermarket costs about 20-30zl.

Language / by, aby, żeby differences? [10]

Here's a good example. Aby fits much better here. Żeby would be different.

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Travel / Most beautiful small towns / villages of Poland [49]

I defer to your experience of the areas west of Warsaw like £owicz - I've only ever really done day trips and business visits there. I've spent longer in Płock, which is a must-see and am quite evangelical about the nicer bits east of Warsaw.

One place I'd like to visit but haven't is the stone circle at Rostki, on the road between Ostrów Mazowieckie and Ostrolęka. Ostrolęka by the way is a bit bigger than most of the places mentioned, has a very nice (but run down) centre with a few beautiful old buildings, is very cheap but mainly for visiting only if you're interested in Napoleonic war sites.

Travel / Most beautiful small towns / villages of Poland [49]

I've been to both a few times. Arkadia/Nieborów is worth a couple of hours, then pop in to Żelazowa Wola (and there's a good restaurant between them) then an hour in the Rynek at £owicz, or a bit longer if you like baroque churches. If there's the folk festival running, it's a different story and you can spend a day there. Sromow sounds interesting but was closed when I was there :-(

An alternative route back is via Rawa Mazowieckie. Not that much there but a nice town.

Personally I find the areas to the east of Warsaw more interesting than the direction of £ódż. It might be a bit far, but Siemiatycze (another baroque church), the wooden Orthodox convent at Grabarka, and Drohiczyn (a tiny town with 7 churches, a couple of them amazing) plus the old palace all doable in the same day.

While I remember, the narrow gauge railway is in Sochaczew rather than Skierniewice. Sochaczew is less worth a visit (it was very badly damaged in 1918) unless you want a ride on the railway.

Skierniewice is a bit nicer but still not a destination.

Work / Salary and cost of living information - Krakow [257]

Good firms make sure you get the whole salary for that time, however 'customer service organisations' aren't always that good. I agree with Dominic about the kind of flat you'd get for 1000zl all included and frankly that salary is more geared to someone sharing a flat.

Travel / Most beautiful small towns / villages of Poland [49]

Pleasant enough however I think you're overstating the charms of Lowicz. Nothing wrong with the place but a whole day there seems a lot. That road north out of town is a very nice drive in good weather - not much there but very peaceful countryside, unspoilt and few small places to stop. It leads to the aforementioned Czerwinsk or turn right before the river crossing and you're on the far side of Kampinoski Forest (the least visited part). Or cross the river and head back via Zakroczym. Only a small place but nice enough and a few places to eat.

Travel / Most beautiful small towns / villages of Poland [49]

They have the big folk arts festival, the processions you mentioned and some smaller events. Otherwise a nondescript town with a large jam factory. The Rynek is nice - a couple of decent restaurants, two baroque churches, one of them a cathedral (and a very bad statue of JPII which if you look at it at a certain angle appears as if he's been caught sneaking out of somewhere). More interesting than Skierniewice down the road although that does have the minute railway for those who like that.

I tend to prefer East of Warsaw. £omża is ok, but only for a short visit to there and Zambrów plus a walk in the forest.

Góra Kalwaria just past Powsin is worth a short visit - some old buildings and there's a castle nearby. plus a fairly high bridge over the river.

Language / by, aby, żeby differences? [10]


That's how I tend to hear it (and use it), rather than "I wish". I do know people, very educated and older, who use aby, however I'm more used to hearing it in a very formal context. You've got me thinking about ażeby. My partner uses it sometimes and I'm going to set myself a challenge to use it 5 times per day in normal speech for a week :-)

Life / Now more restaurants than banks in Warsaw? [11]

Has anyone tried this scheme? You buy the card and get discounts, two for one etc. Plus savings on taxis. It seems to be Warsaw only but some of the restaurants taking part are good ones.

go-out.com.pl

Work / Salary and cost of living information - Krakow [257]

That's good advice. It's better than unemployment (whch really does look bad on the CV), it's a stepping stone to something else and a song as you don't mind sharing an apartment you'll be able to survive.

Language / by, aby, żeby differences? [10]


Fairly good advice. Aby (especially to start a sentence) sounds good but formal. Elegant even, thinking about some of the contexts in which one hears it. I never know when to use ażeby so tend to avoid it. I do worry that I overuse żeby - partly transference from English.

There's also oby, rather different but sometimes has its uses.

Travel / Taxis from Gdansk airport? [65]

Yes. And most (from firms of radio taxis, basically the ones you'd want to use) generally have their next journey lined up beforehand so are not free. That and them wanting to be decent to their colleagues who are further up the list for an airport pickup.

Travel / Most beautiful small towns / villages of Poland [49]

Pultusk is worth visiting as is one or two places to the east.

Czerwinsk is a must to visit at some point. Not just the bit with the old church, but downhill to the river. There's a nice cafe there too. You should continue to Płock and spend a bit longer there - again the bit by the river is good, but the rest is worth visiting and the town museum is superb.

A lot of towns to the North and East of Warsaw were heavily damaged towards the end of the war during the Red Army's advance towards Germany however although Węgrów and Sokołow Podlaski aren't that special, the drive there from Warsaw is nice, takes you through an area that wasn't so heavily affected and takes you past Liw Castle. A bit more interesting than most of Maszowsze which is frankly boring.

Serock isn't a beauty spot, however the downhill part (left of the main road as you're heading north) has some quaint bits and there's a boardwalk by the lake with a restaurant.

Love / Want to ask a Polish girl out? [27]

Plenty of happy marriages between people who met at work.


Yes, good luck!