Life / Is Poland a poor country? [578]


Could you perhaps elaborate on why, as a person who hasn't spent much (if any) time in Poland, why you think that our observations have any bearing on the statistical reality of Polish incomes?

Life / What does an american citizen need to do to live in Poland with his Polish citizen wife? [35]


Do you think this will support you in years to come?

It's worth pointing out that prices are increasing rapidly in Poland.

USA, Canada / Chicago Polish - funny stories? [5]


I met one who told me that he had been doing "crazy stuff" in Poland. I asked him what, and it seemed the craziest thing he did was stay in a club till 4am. So...American ;)

Law / I'm married to a Polish guy - how long to get a resident permit? [13]

For EU citizens, it's not a residence permit/card - but rather a "certificate of residence as an EU citizen". Not quite the same thing, and there are no punishments in Polish law for not holding such a certificate - though it's a requirement to have one if you're here more than 3 months. A bit of a strange situation, but pragmatic - there's no way of proving when you would have crossed the Polish border as an EU citizen.

It's worth pointing out that the EU residence certificate does give you a PESEL number - which many people will expect to see before giving you credit/etc.

Genealogy / POLISH NOBILITY NAMES IN -SKIi [82]

boletus - your posts are always a pleasure to read - well researched and always interesting :)

USA, Canada / Chicago Polish - funny stories? [5]


What a disgrace.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


Not in Nowy Sacz though ;)

Law / How long takes a bank transfer in Poland? [12]


No, it won't, unless it's after a certain time (depends on the bank).

Work / What is the average accounting/auditing salary in Poland? [42]


It's the worst reason. Trust us.

Law / I'm married to a Polish guy - how long to get a resident permit? [13]

Nothing at all.

The only difference (for non-EU citizens) is that one is the "karta pobytu" - valid for 1 or 2 years, and the "stalego karta pobytu" - valid for 10 years. The latter status does afford some useful benefits, such as being able to pay fines later rather than on-the-spot.

Travel / Ryanair travel by air - subtle scams to be wary of [98]

It's not a scam when it says so clearly on the printed boarding card - prominently.


I think the difference is that WizzAir are looking somewhat more towards the business end of the LCC market, whereas Ryanair don't care and just want people on seats.

(interestingly - have you noticed how Ryanair and Wizzair don't really compete? Same major shareholders...)


Personal, isn't it?

Ryanair were causing havoc with their 30% shareholding too.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


Not a fair comparison. Big Star use well known names (especially Doda) to do their advertising, whereas Lee do...hmm...nothing.


That's a crap comparison, not least because 3 bedroom houses don't cost 1.6 million in Poland.


Yes, because people in the UK really have 10 acres of land as "normal". Given that people were flogging their back gardens in the South of England for ridiculous amounts, I find it pretty damn unlikely that most poeple have 10 acres to spare. I saw that the Middleton's are buying a 5 bedroom house with 10 acres, actually...the price? A cool 5 million pounds.


Why would anyone offer 100% mortgages in the current economic climate?

Sorry, but when you start comparing like for like, then we might take you seriously.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]

How many times the average wage is a 3-4 bedroom house in the UK in a comparable area to Poland?

You can't compare run-down urban wastelands in the UK to nice suburban locations in Poland.

Travel / How come no one ever seems to pay for the bus in Poland? [63]

I once applied a very sensible move to a pair of old drunks who were checking tickets on a suburban bus line - I'd simply forgotten to validate the ticket (it was in my bloody hand the whole time). So - a discussion starts, I play the foreigner card, and they threaten me with all sorts of dire consequences. Through the wonders of sign language, I got them to agree to deal with it outside of the bus... and simply made a dash for it.

Wouldn't work with most reputable bus companies, but this one really did employ the worst of the worst.

Travel / Ryanair travel by air - subtle scams to be wary of [98]

It's probably much to do with the pressure that they're under to keep the plane in the air - Ryanair (as does everyone else) will lose money by not flying, so everything is geared around getting the plane in the air as quickly as possible.

I agree with the poster above who said that much of the complaints come from people who demand a certain level of service - but they also expect bus-style fares.

Travel / Ryanair travel by air - subtle scams to be wary of [98]


Not true. You're mixing up basic pay with sector pay - hence why they want the plane in the air, because if they miss a sector at the end of the day, they'd miss out on some of their salary. This is normal in aviation for both cabin crew and pilots.


Quite normal among LCC's to operate such a model. What you're neglecting to mention is that the cost of training is actually covered by a 'new joiners allowance" - which covers the cost of the training. Essentially, it stops people wasting Ryanair's money by backing out if they don't fancy the hard work.

Amazing that the little ATR's could go on with one engine, isn't it?

News / Will EURO 2012 be a proud moment for Poland and its people or set back Poland 20 years? [86]


Indeed we did - the Irish were fantastic visitors. Yesterday was a sea of green on Stary Rynek!

(it's notable that when the Irish were there, there was barely a police presence...yet when the Irish went to the stadium and the Poles took over, suddenly the riot police appeared.)

Travel / Ryanair travel by air - subtle scams to be wary of [98]


Who said it's all in one bank account? It would be exceptionally strange if Ryanair (or any company) kept all their cash in one place!

And don't forget that there are plenty of banks that didn't need bailouts.


The shareholders believe so. How many shares do you own?


I fail to see how this is in any way connected with the topic.


Let's see...where would one get Ryanair's financial figures from? Oh, that's right...Ryanair!


I suggest you learn some manners.


Yes yes. And you're the one online at 4am. :)

(bitter? Ah, I'll remember that comment when I'm sunning myself on the beach next month...)

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


What he means is "20 times Mar...Milky's salary"

Travel / Ryanair travel by air - subtle scams to be wary of [98]


Just a good old fashioned O'Leary publicity stunt. He brings it up every so often and people howl.


What's with this ultra annoying habit in Poland? I took the train today and it was full of bloody old people returning from the seaside on their free NFZ-funded jaunt - all with their shoes off!

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


I already posted somewhere above - around 2200zl all in. Nothing exceptionally huge, nothing exceptionally small. My flat is in an exceptionally warm building, so the heating bills are almost non-existent - which makes a hell of a difference.

Travel / How come no one ever seems to pay for the bus in Poland? [63]

A ticket in Poznan costs 2.60/3.40zl. The fine is 100zl on the spot, 140zl if paid within 7 days, otherwise 200zl. So yes - pretty hefty.

News / Poland's Economy Is Booming! The EU's Success Story? [711]

THAT WEBSITE IS AMAZING.

Thank you my friend, I'll play with this for hours!

(roadgeek)

News / Polish baby boom, but not in Poland [40]

Oh, of course. When you consider how utterly insular the Brits are in Spain, it's a fantastic place to charge high prices to fellow Brits.

Funnily enough, in that programme, none of them had bothered to learn Spanish.

Life / Which services is Poland still waiting for? [218]


That's a curious definition of legal tender. I'd be interested in a source for your claim that the Post Office and banks are obliged to take your coins.


Of course they'll supply bags, but they won't take handfuls of change.

(in Poland on the other hand, they seem quite happy to take handfuls of random coins)

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


You wish I was.


Somehow, I find it hard to believe that anyone in Poland would allow anyone, especially a foreigner that kind of power and influence. Barely speaking to him/her doesn't mean that you were "powerful" - I rarely saw most of mine, too.


Not really. We all know that freelancers in Poland have no power whatsoever, which is why schools like them.


Keep on repeating that :)

(because of it, I have my current job and a shitload of contacts in Poland. Not everyone sees the sense in the hassle of running a business when they're offered a great, stable job with plenty of responsibility)

Travel / Ryanair travel by air - subtle scams to be wary of [98]


There's no excuse - DCC is a well known scam used by many retailers. But it does depend on the bank - I was speaking with one Spanish guy who was telling me that his bank stings him for 35 Euro on every non-Euro transaction (except cash withdrawals) - so DCC makes perfect sense for a guy like him.


It's madness, but at the same time, it means you can fly quite cheaply.

For every person like you that bothers to research it, there will be ten others that subsidise your flights.

News / Polish baby boom, but not in Poland [40]

I think many of them returned after a few years. I saw a programme on this a while ago - three British families in Spain, they had sold everything in the UK and expected that life in Spain would be "easy' and 'relaxing". Of course, they couldn't find work, their children were bullied, etc etc.

They all had the most comical excuses for not finding work too, instead of just admitting that they went there without any real plan.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


You didn't describe anything, you just described how you *want* it to be. You know, to reassure yourself that you didn't miserably fail in Poland.


I told you already - 50/50% split.


It's called "career". Far better than being on the bottom rung, working as a freelancer and always at the whim of a DoS.

Dress it up how you like, but with no umowa o prace, no job security and being always at risk of being deemed "too expensive" and culled, it's not a great lifestyle.


Fair enough. I can't imagine ever wanting to sit on cruise control, but hey.


True.

Fuzzy, out of interest, did you go back to your previous career in the USA?

Travel / Ryanair travel by air - subtle scams to be wary of [98]


They shouldn't be making people move. Still, it's a good profit maker - parents panic that they can't sit with their children, so they pay for priority boarding. Very sensible business move.


Normal practice in such situations is to put some bags in the hold.

O'Leary has tried, tried and tried to find a way to get people to take the luggage to the plane themselves. Unfortunately, his plans didn't work out - which is why we now have the "hand luggage' strategy.


The rise in profits does suggest otherwise.