Life / What is the school bus security standard in Poland? [18]

I don't think the American school has ever had buses. They have a lot of diplomat children which usually have their own private busing - but the American school has always had parent pick up/drop off or private busing through a third party.

Work / What's the average salary of a construction worker in Poland? [16]

I couldn't really answer that. My carpenter is also in Warsaw where generally speaking people make more money. If you are talking about an average- Warsaw is at the high end of the scale- but this is also why in Warsaw many people will hire general laborers from other parts of Poland- they are cheaper.

Life / What is the school bus security standard in Poland? [18]

If you are talking about the standard yellow bus that is common place in North America- they don't exist here. There are a few floating around Warsaw but I think they get used privately and for party rentals. As was already mentioned- there are school buses here but they are typically public transport buses with a sign in the window to signify that it is for school and children. This is not typical in major cities but on the outskirts and smaller towns. In larger cities the children take public transport or walk - or if they go to a private school there is often a bus to pick up the kids.

Work / What's the average salary of a construction worker in Poland? [16]

depends what kind of work you are talking about. my carpenter makes good money but he pays the guys that work for him only about 2000 pln per month. but they are also learning on the job.

Work / Working and living in ELBLAG as an expatriate [11]

it is not enough money. Elblag is a nice enough city but as an expat you will be looking for different things than a local person. Your flat should be modern, your preschool should have an English speaker- car, etc etc. you won't be able to pay for these things on the salary mentioned.

Food / Food coloring ingredients to buy in Poland? [7]

if you check at a Kuchnia Swiat- they usually have it. the one in Konstancin has it.

Travel / Kopernik Centre - worth visiting? [13]

yes- it is awesome. totally worth the wait. go early before the place opens and line up. that is what we did and the wait wasn't too long.

USA, Canada / Starsky Food store opening in Hamilton, Ontario [17]

you wouldn't happen to own this place??

USA, Canada / Can you BE Polish without SPEAKING Polish in the US? [256]


jewish is an ethnicity and a religion-

USA, Canada / Can you BE Polish without SPEAKING Polish in the US? [256]


no, i will be Canadian with Polish citizenship.

USA, Canada / Can you BE Polish without SPEAKING Polish in the US? [256]


Everything. Language and customs are a part of a person's heritage and culture. For example: my daughter's best friend is a Polish born Vietnamese girl. She speaks perfect Polish- her family has assimilated, they own a business, pay taxes and contribute to society. However- she will never be considered Polish because of her obvious physical differences- she has Polish citizenship but she is not Polish.

Polonia in the west are just that- Polonia. They usually don't follow Polish traditions and customs completely but merge them with western culture.
An American born Polonia who speaks bad Polish and has a primary western culture is Polonia. Do not mix culture with ethnicity and citizenship. If a person born in the u.s. from Polish immigrant parents does not speak the language and does not practice the culture- is not culturally Polish. Their ethnicity is Slavic, their culture is American with Polish heritage- they are not Polish.

I speak Polish but I am not Polish- nor will I ever be. Even when I get my Polish citizenship I still will not be Polish.

My kids are half Polish half Canadian. They speak two languages and we have merged two cultures equally. They speak with no noticeable accent in either language- they are completely half and half--but we are not the norm.

Living in the west, going to Polish church and taking Polish language classes in the church basement on the weekends still only gets you the title Polonia- which is different.

USA, Canada / Can you BE Polish without SPEAKING Polish in the US? [256]

being Polish is more than just having a ski at the end of your name. language and customs are necessary- this is what sets us apart and defines who we are. Can you be Polish without speaking the language?- kind of. I would say that a persons heritage is Polish but they are not Polish in nationality or culturally. It would be the typical North America situation- the background is culturally Polish but it not longer important in day to day life.

Work / Teaching salary per hour, PhD in Architecture [28]

no idea- but I remember it being discussed how poorly paid university professors were paid in Poland. still doesn't answer your question, sorry.

Food / Is chocolate popular in Poland? [52]


you have got to be kidding me. prince polo, mars, twix, snickers are all popular here as are kinder chocolate. Poles think that if it comes from somewhere else it is better.

prince polo tastes like crap- totally refined and full of preservatives.

do your homework.
swiss chocolate is by far the best- and I don't mean the kraft made toblerone. I mean the wonderful chocolate made by chocolatiers.

Law / Any good business ideas - what Poland needs? [114]

ok so for example if I wanted to buy 40 rolls and each roll had 25 to 30 metres on it- is this not possible? Why is it possible for every other country in the world but not Poland? or at least Warsaw. I don't understand it.

Law / Any good business ideas - what Poland needs? [114]

quantity depends on the price.
I am looking for materials like the below links.

fabric.com/home-decor-fabric-designer-home-decor-fabric-premier-prints-home-decor-fabric.aspx?cm_re=SL3-_-HomeDec-_-Premier
fabric.com/home-decor-fabric-coordinating-fabrics-decorative-trim.aspx?cm_re=SL4-_-HomeDec-_-Coordinates

100% cotton and heavier than dressmakers cotton. Used for curtains and also upholstered furniture and sewing projects such as pillows and duvets and quilts.

Law / Any good business ideas - what Poland needs? [114]

if there is anybody with home decor fabrics- then I will contact you. I do not want dress makers fabric.

Genealogy / I'm half Polish American, but I'm very Patriotic about my ancestry [47]

i think many of you are mixing up ethnicity with citizenship. A russian born man most certainly can become a taiwanese citizen- their slavic ethnicity doesn't change but their citizenship does.

Real Estate / A plot in Lesznowola near Warsaw - Bargain or not? [15]

here I go. totally agree with Wedle- would not buy in Lesznowola. My number one reason is the traffic. getting too and from this part of the city is pure hell. Traffic on Pulawska during morning and evening traffic is minimum an hour- and now that they are building the bridge linking the highway it is a nightmare.

flooding. There are too many housing complexes being built and no infrastructure to support this- including sewage and roads- if there is a heavy downpour than there is flooding- guaranteed. you only need to drive on Geodetow and see the sandbags that people have put up- particularly Wieska and Geodetow. my house was flooded 3 times. and it wasn't the problem of the osiedle- which had all new plumbing- it was the city and of course they did nothing to fix it.

Auchan. some may think this is a good thing to have, however, you will notice that no matter what time of day you go it is always jam packed- a collegue of my husband told me that this is the most profitable trading centre in all of Europe. so it is not possible to just pop in for milk and bread- parking is congested and the place is always full.- some may not be bothered by this but I do not enjoy shopping in this environment. it is like christmas rush shopping but all the time.

I would recommend somewhere like chyliczki which is sort of in between piaseczno and konstancin or kierszek which is close to kabaty forest- that is if you want to stay on this end of the city. this way your rush hour traffic is on przyczolkowa which has far less traffic during the main hours.

that is just my 2 cents. I lived in Piaseczno for 5 years. I liked it at first however more and more people started to move into the area which causes so many traffic problems I was pulling my hair out. my kids were on a bus for an hour each way- it was just too much.

I get the dream home aspect but believe me dealing with such problems takes the thrill away.

Law / Any good business ideas - what Poland needs? [114]

there is no place in Warsaw where I can go into a shop and by two or three metres of home decor fabric. I do not want dress makers fabric. There are only places run by Indians where I can buy wholesale dressmakers fabrics - minimum 25 metres. I want home decor fabrics. I don't want what Ikea has because, well- it is Ikea. I want the same price as Ikea but different styles- much like the stores in the west.

I also don't mean a fabric store where you can only by based on a 50cm square and then you have to wait 4 weeks for it to arrive. I want to buy it when I go in to the store.

If you could give me any information about these stores in Wroclaw I would really appreciate it.

Food / Where to go for the best steak in Warsaw? [77]

beef is notoriously not good in Poland. The only place I have ever had a good steak is Adler or the London- and of course our grill at home with meat from Befsztek. I never order it anymore because I have been disappointed so many times.

Law / Any good business ideas - what Poland needs? [114]

ok, all joking aside- open a fabric store. I don't mean one that only sells wholesale. I mean a proper western style fabric store that stocks all kinds of fabric from dressmakers, home furnishing and crafting fabric. And- sell the fabric by the metre!!! I will be your first customer and I will buy lots and lots of fabric.

There is nothing like this in Poland. If you are Indian- you already have an inside scoop with fabric distributers. There is only something like Ikea but the fabric is easily recognized as Ikea or Leroy Merlin which doesn't have the nicest and then there are shops that sell but it is about 300 per metre.

People are interested in crafts and sewing and doing home renovations but there is no good fabric store in all of Poland.

Food / Where to go for the best steak in Warsaw? [77]

you are right- it wasn't bad- but not the best I have had.

I forgot to mention about a shop on Pulawska- Befsztek. It is an organic butcher and their meat is amazing. They have a website and they deliver- you can also buy a bottle of wine from Mielzynski......but of course, this is only if you would rather make a meal at home.

Travel / Decentish, cheapish restaurant somewhere near Warsaw? [8]

[quote=Wedle][/quote]

this is the best bakery in Warsaw for sure! They also have amazing babeczki.

I have eaten at klapisko also- it was good.

another one is Ocywizna--I probably spelled this wrong but it is in Magdalenka on ul. Sloneczna- you can't miss it.

Food / Where to go for the best steak in Warsaw? [77]

Adler on ul. Mokotowska. I have always had great steak there. They are not specialist in steak but the one they have is pretty good. Believe it or not the London Steak house was also good. We went in there once on an impulse and the food was not bad.

but I think Adler is probably the best I have had.

Real Estate / A plot in Lesznowola near Warsaw - Bargain or not? [15]

excellent idea. and at this moment there is lots to choose from.

Real Estate / A plot in Lesznowola near Warsaw - Bargain or not? [15]

That is a good price- but like the others posted- do your research before you buy. maybe it is owned by a farmer that needs the money? or some grandkids that just inherited and want the cash. Flooding is a huge issue in that part of Warsaw (I used to live in Piaseczno it was always flooded)- see what you can find from a surveyers perspective. Also is the land deemed farm land- or something that makes it difficult to build a house.

basically- do your research.

Life / Who's Leaving Poland? [138]

absolutely agree.

Life / Who's Leaving Poland? [138]


I totally agree with this. This is why, in my opinion, there are so many sick kids in Poland. Their parents and babcia's are afraid of the weather. I think the body needs some warm and some cold temperatures- sort of like a Finish sauna. Going out in the cold gets the blood flowing and is invigorating.---then again -45 with windchill in my hometown is not what I mean but I love a -10 -15 sunny day in February when we can skate all day and stop for a hot chocolate.

UK, Ireland / English dad, Polish mum are parting. What about the child? [27]

get all paperwork and documents sorted asap. she may do a runner then you are screwed. Find out what the laws are- for example in Canada I cannot legally travel with my children without written permission from my husband.--even though we are still married.