Law / Does Poland have the most prehistorical and strictest banking system in the world? [57]


So, what exactly does happen there that is so shameful? Care to elaborate?

Life / cellphone: no data plan on Orange SIM card? [6]

orange.pl/portal/map/map/internet_free_pre_discover

I used to access the internet on my "stupid" mobile years ago in Poland, so things wouldn't hopefully have gotten worse since then ;-)

I know the link above is in Polish, but Google has a "translate this page" option somewhere and this would probably be good enough to check out the info.

Life / cellphone: no data plan on Orange SIM card? [6]


That's true, probably the best solution possible :-)

Life / cellphone: no data plan on Orange SIM card? [6]

I wouldn't buy phones in the US. The phones you get in PL might actually be more state-of-the-art (I don't know about the relative prices though). I would also definitely just buy pay-as-you-go SIM cards without getting tied up in the hassle of contracts and tariffs. You can use your pay as you go phone anywhere in Europe - I certainly did. You might need to activate a roaming feature and maybe pay more though.

Language / Polish nationality insults in Polish? [67]


They wouldn't, because the Polish word for Jew is Żyd, not Jud(e).

Language / Polish nationality insults in Polish? [67]


pl.wiktionary.org/wiki/judzi%C4%87

Law / Need Advice on Writing a Business Letter to a Business Person in Poland [15]


Isn't that a given in any business correspondence? Including American? I used to work for Americans in PL and believe you me, they could be formal as hell (including amongst themselves, that is).

Just to prove my point - how different is this from a typical American or British business letter?

FROM Date

TO

Ref.

Dear Sir / Madam / Mr XYZ / Ms XYZ

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With best regards

XYZ
Title

It's like from a totally different planet, right? ;-)

EDIT: the formatting in this post messed up MY formatting, anyways, the TO and Date fields should be on the right-hand margin.

Law / Need Advice on Writing a Business Letter to a Business Person in Poland [15]


The problem here is that there is no real difference. The slight formatting discrepancies are so tiny they would cause no offence / misunderstanding.

Life / An example of what is wrong with Poland (fatal traffic accident and a tram) [55]


Those then meters would then mess up crucial evidence about the actual place where the poor old lady got off (or rather tried to get off) the tram. Two hours is nothing after an accident.

Why do you feel the compulsion to moan about every tiny problem you come across?

Language / correct word usage ('pług' , 'tło' etc.) [7]


plough = pług (noun)
to plough = orać (verb)
therefore ploughing = orka

UK, Ireland / Interesting Job Ideas For Intelligent Polish People To Do In The UK? I've given 2 here :) [7]


First and foremost, this sort of attitude will get your GF nowhere. If she wants to find an interesting job, she needs to take on challenges. My first jobs in translation were in agricultural production. God knows I wasn't that much into total mixed rations and free stall cowsheds, but I gave it a try and stayed on for several years ;-)

UK, Ireland / Interesting Job Ideas For Intelligent Polish People To Do In The UK? I've given 2 here :) [7]

Translation and interpreting?
Teaching job at a faculty of Anthropology somewhere?

Genealogy / Where is Borchersdorf, Germany, and Kal, Austria? [16]


mapsof.net/kal

Real Estate / Good suburb in warsaw for house [23]

I'd say suburb first and outskirts only as an afterthought. To me, e.g. Kabaty are definitely a suburb of Warsaw, but I don't think they actually lie on the outskirts of the city any more. Maybe that's just me.

Real Estate / Good suburb in warsaw for house [23]

Sorry for the slight OT, but how do you say "przedmieście" in English then?

Law / Poland's Laws and Regulations: Health and Safety, Licensing, Crowd Management, etc. [11]

portalbhp.pl

might be a good start.

etc.

Life / Bureaucratic issues in Poland - I sorted complex problem using the telephone and email [37]


You had to go to GUS in person, twice? I never did. And got my REGON no problem at all.

And do you still claim that I don't need a NIN to do business in the UK?

Life / Bureaucratic issues in Poland - I sorted complex problem using the telephone and email [37]


Yeah. For 3 months maximum. And then, if you're curious, you can wait and see what happens.

"HMRC requires that you notify them within three months of becoming self-employed. This is easy to do, either by filling out the online form or phoning the Newly Self-employed Helpline on 0845 915 4515.

Don't forget though, or you will be fined £100.

Once you become self-employed you will pay tax each year by filling out a tax return and self-assessing how much you owe. A smart move is to keep tax money aside in a separate account from day one - then you will never find yourself scrabbling to meet a payment. Your accountant will advise how much you can expect to pay.

You will also be responsible for paying your own Class 2 National Insurance contributions, currently £2.40 a week (2010/11 tax year). You will pay extra Class 4 contributions on profits you make over £5,715 (2010/11tax year). Again, consult your accountant for advice specific to you."

bytestart.co.uk/content/19/19_1/self-employed-register.shtml

Life / Bureaucratic issues in Poland - I sorted complex problem using the telephone and email [37]


Well, what is your advice then? I can just come to the UK and start a business, no NIN, no UTR? How do I pay taxes then? Or don't I? I am rather confused at this point. Why oh why did I register my business then? :-/

Life / Bureaucratic issues in Poland - I sorted complex problem using the telephone and email [37]


businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?r.l1=1073858805&r.l2=1085161962&r.s=tl&topicId=1073875654

businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?r.i=1073789949&r.l1=1073858805&r.l2=1085161962&r.l3=1073875654&r.t=RESOURCES&topicId=1086244520

You might want to catch up on your reading.

Life / Bureaucratic issues in Poland - I sorted complex problem using the telephone and email [37]


You need a NI number to even get started in the UK. No institution is going to take you seriously until you get one. And no, you can't just send off for it. You need to arrange for an interview and then spend the better part of a day waiting for your turn in one heck of a queue at some godforsaken Job Centre miles away from anywhere. And sorry, but you do have to have a NIN to conduct business in the UK - you need to pay your NI contributions as self-employed.


For all practical purposes you do.


No, not prior to, but within 3 months you do have to.


That depends on who gets the invoice. Some of my clients do not accept invoices without the UTR.


Am I really then?

Life / Bureaucratic issues in Poland - I sorted complex problem using the telephone and email [37]


I ran my own business in PL for almost 10 years. Yeah, everything is a lot more structured and formalised in PL than in the UK, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I always knew exactly what was expected of me and how to do it. What's so difficult in asking for a VAT invoice during your purchase if you want to claim expenses? Come on, it's not difficult and it's not confusing. If I did it anyone can.

And what's your problem with registering a business? In the UK you also need a NIN, a business account, you have to register with the tax office...

Law / Tax problem (NIP, REGON, PIT, GUS involved) [2]

I don't know much about this, but as the other NIP seems to be connected with GUS, I'd try calling them first. Just tell them what happened and that you're now confused. At the very worst, they won't be able to help you.

Life / Bureaucratic issues in Poland - I sorted complex problem using the telephone and email [37]


What inadequacies exactly? Try to be specific and we just might be too. Also, I did not stick up for inadequacies, quite the opposite, in fact.


Well, I must have been living in a bubble for most of my adult life then. Polish bureaucracy isn't any more maddening than its British counterpart, that's for sure ;-p

Study / The worst of Polish education. No wonder Polish universities are bottom of the list. [142]


It was a she, you know. ;-)


Well, you can imagine my state of mind at that moment...

She was part of some teacher exchange programme or other. From what I gathered, questions such as the above were meant to make sure us nasty students actually read all the prescribed novels. A typical primary school approach.


It was the same story then, PLUS school books were printed in very small amounts, so many of us never had one, and most of the teaching was done in the form of lectures presented by our teachers (that's in liceum). We had to note down everything, and our notes were the only means of revising whatever had been said in class. But somehow most teachers still found the time to actually discuss stuff with us. Maybe because we were always given loads of homework and could catch up on the curriculum requirements that way. Anyway, it did us no harm :-)

Study / The worst of Polish education. No wonder Polish universities are bottom of the list. [142]


Nope, my LO was not especially renowned and it definitely wasn't private.
Top-notch faculty? Maybe. Can't say one way or another. ;-)


Quite a time ago, that's true. Under the communist regime, when nothing was allowed so people did whatever the heck they wanted anyway ;-)

BTW - speaking of A and B approach, two different English Lit. examination approaches at university:

1) Year 1, Medieval and Renaissance English Lit., Polish teacher, question: "Discuss the alchemical symbolism in Shakespeare's Tempest"
2) Year 3, 19th century English Lit., British teacher, question: "What dress was XYZ wearing during the dinner scene in Chapter One of novel ABC?"

I was totally able to answer the first question; in the second instance, I floundered and almost failed my exam. Even though The Tempest was the only play by Shakespeare that I had not actually read ;-)

Study / The worst of Polish education. No wonder Polish universities are bottom of the list. [142]

Liceum - humanities profile, which meant lots of English, Latin, Polish, history, and Russian plus all the other obligatory subjects like maths, chemistry, physics, biology etc.

Uni - English Studies (literature, history, linguistics, plus philosophy, pedagogy, psychology etc.)

Study / The worst of Polish education. No wonder Polish universities are bottom of the list. [142]

The approach I experienced when in liceum and at university seemed to be a mix of A and B - first you read the books and listen to your teacher and take notes and learn facts by heart, and then we all sit down and have an intelligent discussion about the topic. You can't be creative or "find your own way" without being shown the ropes first, and that's a fact (you can't become a painter without learning the rules of perspective, though you might then discard them; but they are a necessary stepping stone).

Love / Do some Polish women prefer older men for money? [57]


No, that's not what I think. I can earn my own keep, thank you very much - and so can other women, not only Polish.

If you hang out with gold diggers though... It's up to you, after all.