Life / Poland no Unemployment benefits after paying taxes for 20 years [41]

If he was on £120k per year, one would expect savings of far more than that.

Life / Poland no Unemployment benefits after paying taxes for 20 years [41]

If he'd been getting £120,000 a year in the UK he'd get short shrift from the dole office too. Unless he'd spent it all.


If the head of the family is paying UK tax, he or she is entitled to tax credits for their children.


Tell us something we don't know


No. You can wait in the UK.


There's plenty of that.

UK, Ireland / British products in Warsaw [32]

Marks and Spencer own brand ones are OK - probably made by McVities too...

USA, Canada / Best way to send thousands of dollars to Poland into a bank account. Paying a bill. [6]

Have you looked at transfer wise. It looks interesting and may be an option. They say their fees are lowest.

Related: Paying a Poland-related bill from the United States


If it's a bill from a shop or hotel, they should be able to take it off your credit card, you just need to authorise them. If it's fine or utility bill, then it might be difficult.

In any case you should speak to their accounts, if they want their money, they should make it possible.

UK, Ireland / Websites for Poles to benefit from Britain! [210]


Most work. The UK has lower unemployment than most European countries of comparable size.


Tell that to some poor sod from the Polish boondocks struggling on minimum wage and a zero-hours contract in the UK being ripped off by some tawdry employment agency. They would be more sad than amused.


Instead of just trolling, perhaps you could give us the name of your company so we can run your policy by the relevant authorities.


Manana, manana. We all need a good sleep.

Food / Is it possible to get dehydrated Suet In Poland? [3]

There was actually a shortage of suet in the UK after Poland joined the UK - in Poland they use a lot in kielbasa but don't produce enough so imported it from Britain. In the first post-accession year it caused problems for mincemeat manufacturers (who prefer block) before Christmas and some supermarkets ran out.

Atora isn't very dehydrated though - it's just shredded (block suet is very awkward to use hence Atora being a more popular for at least a century) and 'fresh' suet isn't very fresh. No difference in flavour either. Easy to substitute block suet for Atora - just grate it. You can't substitute any other fat though - suet recipes do need suet in one form or the other. It grates more easily if you keep it in the freezer.

Personally I prefer vegetable suet. It keeps longer too.

Real Estate / What does a traditional apartment in Poland look like? [8]


No, it's quite easy. Try domiporta.pl for adverts.


This is very often the case. Also many of them are amfilada flats where the rooms lead off each other rather than from a hallway. Some of them have been badly subdivided from other flats and the plumbing isn't always what it could be.

Genealogy / Wojcik, Zielinski, Markiewicz - meaning of symbols found in surname crests/coat of arms [10]

The theory is actually about them being read as script. I think the paper's posted online somewhere. I'll try to dig it out. Nothing 'occult' though.

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

American refusal to help was the deciding factor in that. And of course all the other things going on in many different fronts of the war, not just Poland.

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


Although the Polish contribution to the airforce was important, most of the squadrons involved in the Warsaw Airlift were not comprised of mostly Polish pilots.


A lot to do with the fuel capacity of the planes in those days combined with the Russians' refusal to allow them to land and refuel. That and all the other things going on at the same time which also required planes and pilots.

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


The Soviet Union on the other side of the river we know about. America also didn't want to help. Your assertion that Britain didn't help might come as a surprise to the families of the airmen who crashed in Park Skaryszewski while dropping supplies to the Armia Krajowa.

You're actually (perhaps unwittingly) repeating a PRL era myth.


- Norman Davies


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_airlift

Life / Going to Poland in a hijab - Polish people and Islam [154]


I've seen a few people in full hijab in Warsaw. They stand out and everybody stares.

Real Estate / Flat/apartment Rental Sites in Poland [12]

Gumtree is very good, and you can specify in the search options that you want to look for a flat from a private advertiser rather than via an agency. Beware though, some adverts are from agents (who charge a very large fee) pretending to be the owner - just copy and paste the phone number into google to be safe.

Law / Translation agency in Poland won't pay me [10]

The oldest excuse in the book. It sounds like they're putting you off. Most probably they'll pay when their client has paid them. If they continue to delay, you have a right to add interest to the bill as a late penalty.

Real Estate / What does a traditional apartment in Poland look like? [8]


In some towns, especially in the west of the country. Not all are in good condition. Many were damaged in the war and poorly rebuilt (without the architectural detail) others are OK.


I'm not sure why you call them that - such blocks were built throughout Europe, certainly not only in Warsaw Pact countries. Some are good places to live, others not. Polish blocks being often cooperative rather than city owned do tend to have a wider socioeconomic spread of residents compared to, say, the northern parts of the UK.

Genealogy / Wojcik, Zielinski, Markiewicz - meaning of symbols found in surname crests/coat of arms [10]


There's an academic at UAM in Poznan who published an interesting paper saying that some of them can be read by people familiar with Old Persian.

Nothing especially Christianised about the symbols though; they have no special significance in that religion.

Law / Translation agency in Poland won't pay me [10]

Is it in Poznan, by the way?

Life / What's the climate and food like in Warsaw? (I am a student from India) [10]


It's very, very cold in winter which lasts from December to (sometimes) March. You will need very warm clothes but clothes prices are not high and perhaps it would be better to buy some in Poland.


There's a good selection of vegetables - you won't have a problem. As for spices, Namaste that Warszawski mentions is good, and a shop called Kuchnie Swiata (in the malls) also has a very good selection of Indian products. There's also a district of town called Raszyn where there's a small Indian community - there are a couple of Indian shops (and a community association) there.

Life / Going to Poland in a hijab - Polish people and Islam [154]

It entirely depends which country. In some you don't need to cover any more than you would visiting some of the more conservative parts of Europe, in some you don't need to cover at all. In a few, you certainly need to and in a few it isn't necessary however a woman not covered in public may feel underdressed compared to women around her and might be concerned about standing out from the crowd.

Love / I am in a serious relationship with a girl i met on-line from Poland - advice needed [19]


A lot of people from other countries speak Polish. Sometimes very very well.

Work / Muslim woman in Poland trying to get a job (do Poles like hiring 'different' people?) [17]


Agreed


In many such countries, miniskirts and shorts are banned


I think many Polish employers would find it unusual. There are however degrees of hijab and a light scarf wouldn't be such a problem in Warsaw.

Law / Laundromats in Poland? Good business venture or not? [90]


Try a private laundry. They are usually much cheaper than that. The bits that don't need ironing: use the bathroom sink.

Law / Poland's Work permit questions - visiting European countries; working in the EU / switching job; dependants [86]

Yes. If someone has a Schengen visa, it's good for the whole Schengen zone. There are limits to do with length of stay in other Schengen countries though, and no right to work.

UK, Ireland / Polish people in the UK using the English version of their name? [56]

No. Mieczyslaw is a Polish given name. It doesn't mean son of anything. A nice name, rather old-fashioned now.

Law / Divorce in Poland - do I have the right to enter my own home? [10]

As far as I know, yes. If you're the/an owner, you have a right to live there. It would make sense to get a meldunek from the town hall (a little document that proves you have right to reside there, takes a few minutes to get, you'll need your Akt Notarialny) if you want to live there. If you have children and you're registered as living there, you can't be forced out under any circumstances. Be aware though that if your ex is co-owner, he can also register as living there (and if he's Polish, he probably will have anyway).

Good luck and I hope everything goes ok for you.

Language / Problems Polish People Have with Learning English [63]

Excuse the examples, but at least they're memorable. A big issue for Polish learners of English is pronunciation of the vowel sounds in dirty, pervert, and turd, as well as in saw, hoar and [*******] as well as over-enunciating the postvocalic R and the ng sound in -ing.

Question forms are a perennial problem too, especially reversing word order (i.e. When will you come? v. when you will come?).

Food / Quick/Easy Authentic Desserts from Poland [5]

Fairly authentic. They aren't big on deserts, but plenty of cakes. If you want to cheat and live near a Polish shop, have a look at the packets of cake mix - big sellers in PL and easy to use.

Law / Divorce in Poland - do I have the right to enter my own home? [10]

The meldunek is a document to say you live there. If it's your house, there's no reason you can't enter through the door, window or for that matter down the chimney (but take a document along to prove you're an owner just in case a neighbour phones the police).

Law / Divorce in Poland - do I have the right to enter my own home? [10]

Are you registered as living there (with a meldunek), are you the/an owner and have you been excluded from the property by order of a court?

News / Who are you voting for in the 2010 Poland's presidential elections and why? [82]


A friend found he could foresee certain things and know what people were sometimes thinking. It really distressed him and caused a lot of problems. Made a fortune on the stock exchange though...