News / Poles, Polonians and aliens on Pussy Riot? [182]


In Europe? First time offenders? Probably a fine, in line with breach of the peace.

Law / Best inexpensive new car? [23]


The question is - how easy is it to replace these "limited life" components?

News / Poles, Polonians and aliens on Pussy Riot? [182]

What a surprise to find another member of the Polonia defending Putin and Russia.

In case you haven't realised, Poles aren't fans of the Orthodox church, they aren't fans of Putin and they're no friends of Russia. Then again, being Polonia, you probably think that there's no difference between the people anyway.

Work / Profi-Lingua - Still dodgy/shady? [13]


Ah yes, the infamous Speak Up. Owned by the same company that owns Empik, and notorious for being very aggressive with sales. Strangely enough, if you ignore the horror stories about people signing credit agreements that they didn't know about (or read!) - the Poznan branch is actually quite well managed. I know two people who have worked there and were perfectly happy. I would hate it (the materials are all pre-prepared...) - but if you want something that gives you the ease of Callan combined with a job where your brain doesn't rot, it's not a bad place.


No - that was for corporate clients. For each client, I had a separate contract - because I was working as a pure freelancer and not under their normal system.Their normal contracts will be in/around 20-24 hours a week :)


Now you understand why I like my job ;)

Law / Best inexpensive new car? [23]

At least in Poland - the build quality has always seen as being suspect. I've known a few people to own them, and the consensus is that they're simply not good enough to handle what Poland throws at them. I don't know about where you are, but Citroen don't have much of a presence here too - I'd be wary about being able to get any professional work done at a reasonable price.

Having said that, I'm very tempted to buy a new C1 for city runs...

Work / Profi-Lingua - Still dodgy/shady? [13]


In my case, it was all negotiated individually - so figures are useless for me because they don't reflect reality for normal workers there. The contracts were always for the duration of the semester - which was normally seen as 40 hours. I did go to 80zl an hour with them, but that was quite exceptional.

Anyway, for people working there, they could expect 40-50zl an hour. At the minute, I'd expect towards the lower end of that.

News / Poles, Polonians and aliens on Pussy Riot? [182]


You can't have it both ways - if you criticise the band for this in extreme terms, then you must admit that the actions of Poland in 1938 were worthy of the death penalty.


Except, you know...Poles, just like most people, are mongrels too.

Then again, you're such a proud Pole that you choose to be unemployed in Canada.

Law / Best inexpensive new car? [23]


A French car...in Poland?

Not something I'd recommend, personally...

News / Poles, Polonians and aliens on Pussy Riot? [182]

I find it rather ironic that while Poles are strongly behind these girls (yes, even the PiS voters) - the sad, out of touch North American Polonia chooses to rant against them.

Yet more proof that the Polonia haven't got a ******* clue.

News / Poles, Polonians and aliens on Pussy Riot? [182]

And the way that the Polish Sanacjaists (can you say that?) destroyed Orthodox churches, too.

What about it, Polonius?

Life / Ideas for constructive Immigration methods for Poland. [30]


So they claim. The reality is often far different, as anyone who remembers Britain in 2003 knows. Then, middle class women would never dream of applying for part time jobs in local supermarkets - but when the crisis hit, suddenly they were swamped with applicants. It is a sad, uncomfortable truth that there will always be a part of society that simply doesn't want to work. It doesn't matter what wages are on offer, unless they really have no other choice. And Poland is not such a poor country that the parents can't subsidise layabout children.


What gives them the right to stay in their community by accident of birth? I have to move to where the work is, so why shouldn't they?

And if Polish companies benefit from reduced costs, do you think they're really going to pass this on to the workers? The only way to ensure this would be to introduce a law demanding that workers receive a certain percentage of profits - which would scream of socialism and wouldn't go down well in today's capitalist Poland. Not to mention that no company is going to invest in a country where workers have such an arrangement.


I will return to the issue of Warsaw. There are many, many Ukrainians doing jobs there that the Poles simply don't want to do - why do you think, for instance, that Ukrainian cleaners are preferred over Poles? The only Poles that want to do that kind of job there are the kind that you don't want inside your house.

At the end of the day, there will always be people in society who simply don't want to work.

Life / Ideas for constructive Immigration methods for Poland. [30]


I would be very interested to hear how you would propose to fill the gaps found when the local workers simply don't want to do the jobs?

The amount of Ukrainians that have found work in Poland would be a good place to start.

News / Poles, Polonians and aliens on Pussy Riot? [182]

How amusing to see the usual suspects defending tyranny.

News / Poles, Polonians and aliens on Pussy Riot? [182]


Two years in prison for a minor disturbance?

I wonder if you'd support two years in prison for those causing disturbances outside the former residence of a recently-deceased President of Poland.

Polonia / Can I travel to france with a polish visa typeD multi? [7]

Nowadays, yes - although it used to be that the visas were only national ones. The rules changed not so long ago - but as you say, you can now freely circulate for a period of up to 3 months outside of the "home" country.

It must be noted that anyone who spends significant time outside of their home visa country may be pulled up at renewal time.

Polonia / Can I travel to france with a polish visa typeD multi? [7]


Yes, for 3 months. You must carry your passport and the valid visa/residence permit.

Be warned that any attempt to break immigration law (working, etc) will see the visa immediately revoked.

Work / Profi-Lingua - Still dodgy/shady? [13]


In general, yes. They are still ruthless with teachers and think nothing of cutting salaries/hours if the business demands - but they are generally quite reputable with payments on time. It does seem to depend on the individual branch - as they're responsible for letting the head office know that the teachers must be paid.

I disclose - I worked for them last year on a few individual contracts with companies and had a pleasant experience with them. Salaries were cut across the board from the start of the last academic year, however.

If you don't have experience and qualifications, then it's not a bad place to start off :) Just make sure that you are very, very strict with payment.

News / 70% of Poles like Komorowski. Do you? [120]


Except - so far - his approval ratings are running at 70%. That much speaks for itself - he would run away with an election now, especially as the strongest opposition challenger wouldn't be able to rely on public sympathy. In fact, given that he has made it clear that he's no puppet of Tusk, the centre-left voters are even more likely to back him.


But none of those elder statemen on the right have the public face to really challenge. That's what I mean - they are lacking someone who speaks objectively, who isn't afraid to praise (as well as criticise) - but who, crucially, is seen as someone who would continue the dignity of Komorowski. Look at history - Poles simply do not like Presidents who get involved.


The issue where TV Trwam refused to open their accounts to scrutiny in order to be awarded a place on the public multiplex? Oh yes. We all know about how they spun that one to make it seem like they weren't the bad guys - when we all know that there's no way that they would want people to know the truth behind their financing.

Komorowski has the next election won already at this rate. There are no serious challengers emerging, he has high approval ratings - I think it's safe to say that he's cruising for an easy first round victory. It's not going to be enough to put in hard work 4-6 months in advance - look at how PO had started the process almost 2 years before, and you can see how a bit of professionalism goes a long way.

Either way, the "right" (which is actually hard left, but anyway) needs to determine a candidate well, well in advance. 4-6 months simply isn't enough.

News / 70% of Poles like Komorowski. Do you? [120]


The thing is - they're not even attempting to place some people as being possible contenders. Look at them - Ziobro is seen as a madman (though - his tactics for Solidarna Polska are actually quite clever - he is obviously the future), Kaczynski ruled himself out as he wants another shot at being Prime Minister, Macierewicz has been used by Kaczynski to become the face of Smolensk (and thus - unelectable) - who else is there?

At least from my point of view, they desperately need to find a challenger who has the credibility to take on Komorowski. They don't have to announce the person as such, but rather just make sure that they have someone who can behave like an elder statesman. Perhaps - a woman?

Off-Topic / I am a Pariah: My Horror Story [44]


No worries, everyone makes mistakes - even me ;)


Except you know, the slavish adherence to tradition.

News / 70% of Poles like Komorowski. Do you? [120]

So why are the opposition completely unable to field one good candidate against Komorowski - indeed, why aren't they already announcing a challenger to unsettle him?

You don't like him because he doesn't subscribe to your backwards village peasant views. With 70% approval ratings, he's doing a fine job.

News / What Poland can't do right [113]

A cold shiver just went down my spine :(

Life / Let`s compare prices of services and products in Poland [359]

It's well, well out of the way - but there's a Vietnamese market in Prague that I bought a load of stuff from - pastes, sauces, rice, etc - all of it ridiculously cheap and good quality.

I do notice though that the Polish producers are starting to make their own versions of this stuff - the salsa stuff I mentioned was about 3PLN for a decent amount.

Auchan is even doing huge jars of sweet and sour sauce for 3PLN these days - which is nice!

News / 70% of Poles like Komorowski. Do you? [120]


At this time? Nope.

I suspect we're going to see a good run by an independent candidate in 2015 however - PiS are totally disorganised and unable to field a credible challenger, the SLD have hardly no-one - there's just no-one waiting in the wings.

Life / Let`s compare prices of services and products in Poland [359]


I found some excellent salsa in Poland out of a bag - but I can't remember the name :(

Real Estate / Buying an apartment in Poland or renting is better? [12]

I'm noticing one trend - the prices are coming down for "luxury" developments, while prices are stable in older developments. Not a surprise, really.

Love / How many Polish girls are married to foreigners? / How many Polish boys to foreign girls? [104]


Except that "ethnic" Poles are likely a melting pot of more than just Poles. You can see, for instance, that quite a few people look rather like ethnic Tatars in Poland.


Tell the truth - it aches because you realise that these guys are better, more successful and frankly cleverer than you. You also realise that Polish women simply don't want to go out with an internet racist.


Which worked oh-so-well for Poland, didn't it?

USA, Canada / American marrying Pole, then moving to the UK. Has anyone done this before? [13]


You need the EEA family permit - end of story. You can't upgrade from within the UK - he needs to apply in advance of entry.

News / What Poland can't do right [113]

That's my impression too. I've just came back from a trip to Bratislava, and the difference between the Polish and Czech/Slovak countrysides is staggering. The amount of absolutely horrible houses in Poland is just... ugh.

Don't get me started on the way that those columns on the front of houses seem to be the "thing" at the minute.

Work / Finding work in Warsaw / Poland as an English private tutor [63]

Being serious (not tired anymore...)


Actually - in my opinion, you don't want to create a decent working relationship with any school. Polish school directors are notoriously ruthless, and they can (and will) stab you in the back at a moment's notice. What you want to do is create a relationship where you know exactly where you stand - and come down heavily on them the second that they deviate from an agreed-upon contract. It is *vital* in Poland that you are seen to be stronger than them - otherwise they'll just take advantage.

Not all schools are like this, of course - but the good schools won't be interested in you in your first year. You'll soon find out who to work for - and you can attempt to get in there.


By bored clients, I mean the usual 7am corporate classes with people who would rather be in bed. These can be a real passion killer - especially if they're IT guys who couldn't care less.

What I urge you to do is consider going somewhere in a smaller city. From your posts, you talk about needing to work straight away and so on - so I can only recommend trying as many small towns as possible. You'll find that in those places, they'll give you accommodation and in/around 2000zl a month net - which isn't a bad amount of cash for the first year. Furthermore, they're likely to guarantee your salary for the 10 months or so of the academic year.