Life / Are there many crypto-Jews in Poland? [67]


Sarah, I don't know how much you know about history, but most of the people here ranting about Jews are the ones who are descended from peasants in the Eastern borderlands. Much of what they say has been passed down to them by said peasants - so :)

News / Amnesty to Illegal immigrants in Poland [102]


I doubt they're buying much on the open market, so VAT will be a tiny amount.


Correct. I enjoy the fact that I wield considerable power in my job.


That's because the vast majority of people living in villages in Eastern Poland tend to be exactly as we've described. You don't see wealthy, intelligent people having nine children and running "small businesses" in their backyards. I'd be willing to bet any amount of money that their business isn't registered in Poland.

News / Greed rules the world; Czempinski (Poland's former Intelligence chief) arrested [21]


Much of that was due to the Kaczynski's attack on opposition journalists - when you look at how they were spied on, it's no surprise that some of the media does not want them anywhere near power again. Don't forget how they utterly manipulated TVP for their own agenda too - to the point where almost anyone opposing gave up paying for the TV licence.

It's however a common myth among right-wingers in Poland that "the media is against Kaczynski". That only holds true in terms of private television - print media is very much divided somewhat evenly.

USA, Canada / Moved back from Canada to Poland:). Here are the reasons why. [868]


Maybe you do, but other people enjoy the sunny, wintery days. I like the fact that Poland has proper seasons, that you can go skiing every year without fail in Poland, that you can sunbathe every year without fail - all in all, the weather is pretty decent.


It's really warm today - up to 8c at one point.


Winter jackets in October?! No way. Perhaps you're just too sensitive to the cold, but my winter jacket didn't get broken out until mid-November this year.


April and May are normally quite warm in Poland. Heck, we were having picnics last year in late April in the sunshine.


Likewise.

I wonder what country he was living in, I really do.

News / Amnesty to Illegal immigrants in Poland [102]


It's good that they don't pay tax to pay for the services that they use?

Nice logic - but then again, you aren't a Polish taxpayer as well!

As for being overpaid - I'm paid what the market thinks I'm worth. Sorry, but the market has no demand for village peasants. As for the last comment - Mods?


I'm proud of it. We in the Jewish community in Poland know that we have a firm grasp on the levers of power, and we certainly won't let go.


If he didn't like it, why would he stay?

I'm willing to bet that Harry is much more knowledgeable about Polish history and traditions than 99% of Polish-Americans.

News / Amnesty to Illegal immigrants in Poland [102]

I'd be certain of that - big family, rural location running a "small business" - almost certainly going to be demanding from the State.

No doubt we've probably already read about them in Gazeta Wyborcza, demanding more money because they can't afford to feed their 9 children, including Magda (26), Pawel (24), Jan (21) and the others.

Give me hard working illegal immigrants over large begging families any day of the week!

Law / How to register a new business in Poland [129]


Hahahahaha. That's utter rubbish - and probably the classic "oo, foreigner, let's treat him like a mug" line.

Tell them you'll supply your own trained member of staff - problem solved.

News / Amnesty to Illegal immigrants in Poland [102]


Are they? Do they even know any immigrants to Poland? Somehow, I have my doubts.

You also do realise that Poles were among the worst illegal immigrants in Europe before 2004? London was full of them, and to this day, there's still plenty in America. Double standards?


Strange - I know quite a few immigrants here, and none of them "form little communities" - in fact, you'd struggle to tell that some of them actually are foreign. I certainly bet you (an American) wouldn't have a clue who was Polish and who wasn't.


Do they pay tax? I doubt it. 9 children is nothing but a drain on our (taxpaying) pockets - there are massive social transfers from Western Poland (and Warsaw) to the provinces to pay for such people. All the social handouts that make it worth having more than 4 children - this is what we pay for. Also, how many of those 9 children are actually likely to do much with themselves, apart from drinking outside the local shop and being a general burden on society?

Better to have 2 well educated children than 9 village peasants.

Life / Are there many crypto-Jews in Poland? [67]


The clear evidence lies first and foremost with his prison record.

How many days in jail did Jaroslaw Kaczynski serve, and how many were avoided through the timely intervention of daddy?

Strange that opposition journalists were getting locked up left/right/centre, yet he was never, ever jailed. Odd, really.

Law / Public holidays: Good Friday / January 2 / Sundays - do companies work in Poland? [9]

That was a masterstroke by the Government when it came to cutting down the amount of holidays while silencing the usual lunatics. Completely idiotic, senseless holiday, though. I'd rather have a day off later in the year!

It's going to be very interesting this year - the 1st of May is on Tuesday, the 3rd of May is on Thursday. Who isn't going to take 3 days off work in exchange for 9 days holiday here?


Business as normal. Everything will close down on the 6th instead, because it really makes sense for people to overcrowd trains/roads on New Year's Day while still drunk, just for going off on holiday on the 6th instead.

Life / Are there many crypto-Jews in Poland? [67]


"I have heard from random people..." - you mean "you have read on some bizzare nutjob website".


Given that you don't live in Poland and don't have much contact with this country, what would you know about the existence of secret Jews?

And as for "not knowing that you're Jewish" - if you don't identify with it and don't claim any allegiance to it, what does it matter?

However, it is true that most PF members are actually Jewish.

Food / Eating Kielbasa - how do you cook yours? [119]


Please, learn how to pronounce Polish properly if you're going to attempt to use it.


Why don't you just use the English word when speaking English?

Kielbasa isn't a type of sausage, after all.

Real Estate / Buying a property in Poland to rent out from the UK [82]


He means that you should rent it as office space, not as an apartment. Much easier to kick people out of an office than out of a residential flat.

Travel / I'm half-Polish and I'm Planning a Trip to Poland - tickets, historical landmarks? [36]


If you want to consider such a thing, then you need to live here as a local and not as a tourist.

Anyway, if you want to live here, ask yourself one question : how will you cope with your family being thousands of miles away, in the middle of winter, when it's freezing and you have to wait 10 minutes for the elevator because some moronic Babcia has blocked the lift on the 9th floor?


You can spot Americans a mile away, eh?

Przemysl has an "awesome" Rynek, because it's the only one in Poland that's actually quite dramatically sloping.

And I found a rather interesting one in a place called "Zduny", near Krotoszyn. Totally off the tourist trail though ;)

Life / Poland's population growth problem [44]


Homework? Kids in Poland don't have much in the way of homework until they leave primary school, so that's 12 years of their life missed out on.

Sports? Don't be silly, maybe a couple of days a week, but that's it. And anyway, small kids won't be doing sports, and that's the most important time for the father to be around.

Anyway, I can see you're not very knowledgeable about Polish affairs - because - if you were, you'd know that the best schools aren't in the suburbs. I have a friend who lived in the city centre as a kid - when it came to high school, the best three high schools in the city were all within 10 minutes walk. If she lived in the suburbs, she'd have a nightmarish commute - especially as schools here don't follow the Anglophone model of being from 9 till 3 (for instance).


Actually, in Poland - inner city living is much more desirable from an opportunity/education point of view for kids. There's **** all to do in the suburbs here, even worse than in the UK/Ireland. I know one example in Poznan of a very wealthy suburb, yet you must go to Poznan to do everything - there is literally nothing there, except forests and houses.

News / Will many Poles migrate to Germany in May 2011 (after opening labor market)? [157]


I really do wonder what kind of people you were hanging out with, as anyone that wanted to work in Germany already was. It's not a big secret that Poles were simply opening up their own businesses (and thus - no work permit needed) in Poland and merely invoicing a German company. I have a friend who was doing just that with Nokia.

The formal opening of the market was just that, a formality. Anyone who wanted to work abroad was working - they certainly weren't waiting for the labour market to open in Germany/Austria. If they were, it's unlikely that they were actually going to move, given the ease of getting round the law.


Oh yes. There must be something done about this, along with the vast amount of women who work for a couple of years and then quit working because of some sniffling brats that need looking after. When you think about how much money is wasted on educating people who don't do anything in return - it's frightening.


The Erasmus programme is one huge benefit, for instance.

Law / Minimal retired pay - how much in Poland? [10]


Actually, if I recall rightly, Jaruzelski (and the others) had much of the pension restored to them as it was an unconstitutional move to cut their pensions - he's actually getting closer to 9000zl a month these days. There was a cut for ex SB-types, but they tended to acquire things during Communism anyway.

It's also worth pointing out that the Nomeklatura (especially the ones who only worked under Communism) would have feathered their nests in their own ways - many of them had/have other properties, for instance. Then - the generation that followed (the ones who weren't alive long enough to really benefit from the system) are often sitting in flats that cost them nothing or next to nothing, they often benefited from early retirement and tend to be still working illegally. While it might not be huge money, someone retired who works full time on the black market can easily be getting 2000zl a month in their hand - which, along with a flat that's paid for, isn't exactly bad money.

Also - worth pointing out that many of the poorest ones are actually sitting in flats worth quite a bit by modern standards. I know of one case in Poznan (my friends neighbour) where the woman is living in utter poverty, yet she lives in a 90sqm flat in the city centre that she owns. She could quite easily sell the place, move into somewhere smaller and use the money to live out her days peacefully - but she won't.


It's not enough anywhere to buy goodies, really. Poland isn't unique.

Life / Poland's population growth problem [44]

Plenty of people living in Western Europe do just fine in smaller places. It's normal in many cities, like - as I said - Stockholm.

Anyway, where's the sense in multiplying if you don't see your kids from Monday-Friday?

Life / Poland's population growth problem [44]

3/50m2 is hardly out of the ordinary in big cities in Europe. Look at Stockholm - commie blocks everywhere, and respectable too.

Buying a new flat isn't much of a risk at the moment if you treat it as a long term thing - I bought a flat recently too, and I couldn't give a monkeys if the price goes up or down - it's to live in, not to speculate on. At the end of the day, you can sit there waiting for things to "stabilise", but you'd be holding on forever in a smaller place. Pointless.

5/65m2 - if they're both earning above national average, then there must be a different reason why they're there.

It's a lifestyle choice in many cases - especially the middle-aged generation nowadays are quite happy to live in a mortgage-free flat, even though they could easily sell and take a 10 year mortgage which would more than pay for them to upgrade. But in Poland, if you're already in a 65m2 flat, there's not much more to upgrade to - apart from a house with the inevitable dreadful public transport connections.

I deliberately bought a flat with good connections. Sure, I could've probably actually bought a (small) house for not much more money - but I can go to the pub and get home whenever. Buy a house, and I'd be relying on taxis/lifts forevermore. So - conscious decision as a young person - buy a smaller place with more opportunities, than be stuck in suburban hell.

Never could understand those people who buy huge houses in Poland, but who then spend 90 minutes a day stuck in traffic each way.

Travel / I'm half-Polish and I'm Planning a Trip to Poland - tickets, historical landmarks? [36]


No, not really. The people are snobbish (not you, pawian!) and the nightlife isn't particularly great.

Go to Wroclaw - you'll have a great time there.

Law / Minimal retired pay - how much in Poland? [10]


A small percentage?

Last figures I saw suggested around 2 million people benefited from the Nomeklatura system. Quite a lot of those are now retired.

How they make ends meet? Never wondered who is doing much of the black market work in Poland, like my guarded car park? It's certainly not working people, but rather a lot of them who have taken early retirement.

Life / Poland's population growth problem [44]


No Mark, that's how you live.

The rest of us live just fine. Perhaps your toilet and shower is in your kitchen, but it's certainly not in mine.

Law / Minimal retired pay - how much in Poland? [10]


You can't really say that - because it's based on what you contribute during your working life. Hence why some ex-Communist generals and so on have huge pensions.

Life / Why is Prostitution still legal in Poland? [106]

Usually because the vast majority of women aren't Polish.

Anyway, the way it works in Poland works quite well - everyone knows where to go, there's no trouble and no-one is bothered by it. Works for me.

Life / Good books or sites for preparation for life in Poland? [7]

The Polandian blog is worth reading, though it's a bit repetitive these days -

polandian.com

I'd start from the beginning of the blog.

USA, Canada / Big Franks Deli/Restaurant - New place that you need to check out (near Northwest Indiana) [8]


Really? What kind of sausage was it, and what makes it Polish as opposed to, for instance, Czech?

Genealogy / How common is it for other people of Polish origin to discover they are actually Jewish? [127]

Isn't this one of the things that makes America a great country?

Life / Polish holiday tradition - granny dumping? [13]


Me too.

What a sick, vile practice - I'd be all for such people being billed for the cost of Babcia's stay in the hospital, especially where it's a clear-cut case.


It is, somewhat. I know a junior doctor who told me all about this sort of thing - they frequently get Babcia dumped for a couple of weeks while (obviously) the care-givers go off on holidays.

Genealogy / How common is it for other people of Polish origin to discover they are actually Jewish? [127]

Honestly, does anyone care what Copernicus actually was?

Polish, German, who cares?

Life / The rise of ' Generation rent ' in Poland. [26]


I was reading an article somewhere, I don't remember where - about how older people are holding onto large properties, way beyond what they actually need - and this is causing an acute lack of housing in the process.

Same problem in Poland - large, city centre flats are often occupied by only one old person.