Life / Is it common for Polish people to speak English in Poland? [122]

While volumes have been written about the differences between American and British versions of the English language (and I won't say that the clue is in the name), the original question is....whether Polish people speak English (whatever variety) in Poland. This would be of interest to the original asker, and not whether the 'police is' or 'police are' is correct.

I go for 'police are here' - EVERY TIME whether it is one single male or female officer or an army of 200 police officers. They represent the 'establishment' and whole legal system when they come into my house with a warrant to do a search.

News / PiS to force every hard working, low earning Polish family to pay for TV [96]

Recently, my carrier pigeons went on strike - they want more feed. I told them where to go.
So I am scarpered - no phone, no TV, no radio, no pigeons....do I still have to pay the 10 pln a month?

News / PiS to force every hard working, low earning Polish family to pay for TV [96]

>>>>Terri, if you can receive TV or radio on your phone, they'll probably say you have to pay.
But I have a telephone which is about 10 years old which does not have this facility.

UK, Ireland / Estimated number of Poles in Ireland thought to exceed 200,000 OR over 5% of population. [200]

>>>>>It's like estimating the size of marches and demos: you just count the legs and divide by two!
Oh, I see that it's that easy...I wonder who does that?.

UK, Ireland / Estimated number of Poles in Ireland thought to exceed 200,000 OR over 5% of population. [200]

I just woner (and perhaps someone can put my mind at rest) how they ACTUALLY calculate the number of people of any nationality in a country?

Problems begin when someone of 'foreign extraction' e.g. Polish-born came to Ireland or even England and became naturalised. Is that person counted as Irish, British or Polish?

News / PiS to force every hard working, low earning Polish family to pay for TV [96]

I still believe that if a person can prove that they DO NOT have a TV or a radio, they should not be forced to pay this tax. I will argue this case with my local electricity supplier if ever they try and put 10 pln on my bill.

If this is a general tax payable by everyone then it should not be called 'TV tax' but by another name. Perhaps 'fees for over-blown, flash-in-the pan TV artists'?

News / PiS to force every hard working, low earning Polish family to pay for TV [96]

Oh, I do understand now.
Perhaps they should tax all adults (over 18) for every day they live. If they (adults) want to live tomorrow they have to prepay for tomorrow (say 5 pln) - otherwise curtains.

I see exactly where we are going with this. Tax people for the air that they breathe........

News / Poland to end state funding for IVF treatment [102]

I understand the above argument, however, please consider this.
If you smoke or are a heavy drinker and have problems relating to this, why should others pay towards the health care system to make you better?

News / PiS to force every hard working, low earning Polish family to pay for TV [96]

What about the people who do not live in their flats/houses throughout the year?
Also, as I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong....all Polish stations are in the hands of PRIVATE COMPANIES.
Why should we add to their private profits?

News / Poland to end state funding for IVF treatment [102]

Strange, but that 'media outlet' could pay for all the IVF treatment for every couple out of their small change...(think about it).

Food / What do people in Poland eat? [11]

This means that whereas people in the XX century may have eaten potatoes with cabbage, now in the XXI century they are more refined.

News / PiS to force every hard working, low earning Polish family to pay for TV [96]

If a good lawyer fought the electricity companies and ultimately the Government regarding the imposition of the 10 pln on every household bill, they would win, even if the case has to go to Strasbourg. In my view, you cannot be made to pay for a service (tv and radio) which you do not receive as you may not have a TV or radio in your house.

No one can assume what household equipment (TV, radio, fridge, cooker, washer, dishwasher or any other) someone MUST have in their house. If this is the case, then the Government should provide these items in order to then impose tax on them.

I will take this up myself. I have a holiday flat, get electricity bills, but do not have a TV or a radio in the flat. I cannot be forced to pay for something I do not make use of.

Food / What do people in Poland eat? [11]

They eat the same things as normal people.
Believe it or not, they are not a third world country and have now heard of the 21st century.

Work / Studies In Poland, is it easy to survive on part-time jobs? [259]

You will NOT get a part time job unless you speak Polish or have a skill that no one else has.......
Write here what that skill is....then we can help you.
Remember Polish, English, French, German students are also looking for the same jobs. What do you have to offer?

Study / Is it worth studying in Poland? International Business for a student and a part time job. [16]

Unless you speak POLISH to a good degree, the chances of you getting a job are ZERO. This means you MUST have private means of support for the whole time.

Unless you OFFER a skill that no one else has ....and there are thousands looking for the same jobs.....

Law / British living in Poland - tax treaty with the UK? [30]

1. The figures for the new pension payment have not even been set in stone as yet. But I get your point. I will also be on the new one-tier, but expect to receive less than the anticipated 156.00 pounds they have been quoting. I send off for my forecast every 4 or 5 years just to be sure they are on the ball.

2. The devil is in the detail. Subject to change means that you CANNOT rely on the estimated figures, as within a year or two they may change. So unless you receive your pension NOW, you cannot say that in 2 years you will GET what they have forecasted.

They are trying to get rid of the 'winter fuel payments' to all pensioners living outside the UK - way of saving money, so you cannot rely on this as being set in stone either.

I take your point however, about the annual increases, as I could have been thinking about pensioners who reside outside the EU.

Work / How to find work in Warsaw "if u don't speak Polish" ! [176]

I usually find that if you are polite to people, they are polite back, whether you speak in Polish, (broken Polish), English, (broken English). Manners cost nothing and make all the difference.

When I speak in Polish and make a mistake, I do not take it as an offence (well, maybe a tiny bit) when someone corrects me (by saying the work/phrase correctly). The answer to that is ...oh, I didn't know and will remember it for the future.

There are many times, when translating from one language to another that 'strange words or combinations' occur, which mean something completely different in the other language.

However, there have been times when I've been met with an aggressive stance when I ask questions (regarding price or reasons) which other people do not. At Balice (Krakow airport) I asked politely why I needed to show my boarding pass to a shop-assistant who told me that without that she could not sell me anything. All I wanted was 300ml of pure water, which had one price for EU and non-EU passengers. Two other assistants joined in and came at me like police interrogators saying that 'without that we cannot sell you anything'. I should have gone further up the chain and made a big fuss about it, but I needed the water.

Law / British living in Poland - tax treaty with the UK? [30]

You know what they say about 'assuming' things. ...:-)
Strange,
1. Usual government 'old-age' pension is not taxable, as it is below the tax-free allowance. (From April 2016 pension 119.30 pounds, so less now - the tax free allowance for 2015/16 is 10,500 pounds). .You would only be taxed in the UK, if your income is above the tax-free allowance. You would only be taxed if you receive private pension from any source and it is above the limit.

2. You must remember that once you become resident of Poland, your pension will never increase...(no cost of living or any other increases).
3. If you receive your pension in Poland, once they convert the value of your pension into zlotych, you will be taxed in the same way as any other citizen of Poland. You will not be entitled to the tax-free allowance applicable in England.

Law / British living in Poland - tax treaty with the UK? [30]

Taxing of any income also depends on whether you are classed as resident or non-resident for tax purposes.

UK, Ireland / Sugar tax in the UK. Polish friends addicted? [55]

It's already started.
Today, we are told, by the BBC no less, that there is evidence that RED MEAT is bad for you. So cut out sugar (and all products containing sugar), CUT OUT red meat (and all products containing red meat and items which purport to be from meat).

White-meat producers must be rubbing their hands in joy.

UK, Ireland / Sugar tax in the UK. Polish friends addicted? [55]

The Government will start on limiting sugar, then THEY will tell us that coffee is bad, then that butter is bad, then that milk is bad, then that meat is bad for us, then something else is bad - where will it all end?.

Do human adults really have to be lead by the hand and shown what they should and should not eat?
Maybe the Government should provide 'catering facilities' i.e. large places (canteens) where everyone will have to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and tea. No one will be able to buy food for themselves. The food shops will only sell to the Government and they will arrange to feed the public - for which the public will have to pay. Is this where we are going?

News / Poland - land of uni students? [11]

Although it was the Governments Policy to have educated people i.e. get every student into a University, the Government did not realize that there will NOT be the jobs for them when they finished. This is of course, one way of reducing the unemployment rate.

When everyone has a degree, it is the same as if no one had a degree.
I am of the opinion that it is better to have steady employment by becoming a plumber, electrician, joiner, car mechanic, builder (and not have a degree) than to have a degree and earn a quarter if not less than a person without a degree but with a skill in their hands.

Somehow you have to put food on the table and having a piece of paper is not the same as having the money to buy food.

Work / Poland job (senior development / compliance officer from India) - need an advice [16]

In Poland you get paid in Polish zloty (pln). If you get 7,000pln NET per month your life will be comfortable, but not extravagant. As you are supporting yourself, your wife and child with a wife who will not go out to work.

I know people will say that Polish couples manage on less and yes that HAVE to, but they speak the language, have family ties/connections and know how to arrange/search for necessaries.

For a foreign couple with a child, not speaking the local language with no family support it is a completely different ball game.

Study / Transferring my studies from Wroclaw to Warsaw? How easy or difficult it is? What's the required process? [26]

Obviously, a case of breakdown in communication. An International Student is one who is from OUTSIDE the EU. Withing the borders of EU (as in Italy, Spain, Germany) you would count yourself as an European student. My fault in actually thinking that an International Student means from Outside Europe. How could I have thought that?

You maybe counted as International for your University fees due to the fact that you do not have a Polish passport, but to everyone else you are European, therefore not an International student.

I still stand by what I said - if you don't speak the language (Polish) in Poland, it is very difficult, nay impossible for you to say whether any remarks directed at you or withing your hearing distance were actually RACIST, as the original poster had intimated.

Perhaps if people asking questions would actually specify exactly what they mean, (and not assumed that everyone else is on the same wavelength) then we would not have these breakdowns in communication and people would therefore not post irrelevant thoughts which do not relate to the question (s) being asked. I know, I know that I am asking a bit much.

Real Estate / Why are toilets and sinks in Poland always separated by a door? [33]

This thread concerned PUBLIC toilets, not the bathroom arrangements in your own home. Obviously, some people missed the whole point, or they do not know about the arrangements for public toilets in Poland.

Whenever I enter public toilets, I open the doors with my forearm and put my foot out to stop the wc door from opening once I am inside.I do not wish to touch the germ and bacteria ridden door handles which never get wiped by the attendants.

Study / Transferring my studies from Wroclaw to Warsaw? How easy or difficult it is? What's the required process? [26]

It is very difficult for International Students to understand that racism is alive and well in Poland. They perhaps think that after a 3 year stint at 'any' Uni they will have the right to live and work in a European country. It is a great shock to them to find out that they have not been told the truth before they started all this.

Secondly, the fact that they cannot find a part-time job may be a great factor, but they knew this seeing as they do not speak Polish. What else do you expect?. It is very difficult to ascertain for certain that anyone is making any remarks about you when you don't speak the language.

I don't understand why they did not try for a University in Germany, France or any other European country.
There is very little, if anything at all, that anyone can do, if the student feels that 'racism' is a factor. He could, of course inform the local police of the fact to see if anything could be done - no chance, but you never know.

Law / 27 months of marriage with Polish wife but still UK home office not satisifed with our wedding [11]

Best advice is to speak to someone who knows the ins and outs of the immigration system.
You could possibly move to any other country, but whether they will allow you to enter or stay (as, according to British Home Office you do not have a resident status) is another matter.

Also if you move, your stepson will also have to move - so your reason for moving is a bit flimsy to say the least.

The Home Office must have a very good reason for refusal. This reason would have been given to you (and you omit to say to us what it is). No one can help if we are given half a story.

You know the reason for refusal - do something about it. You cannot beat the system.

Study / Transferring my studies from Wroclaw to Warsaw? How easy or difficult it is? What's the required process? [26]

Best advice would be to speak to both Universities and give full detailed reasons for the transfer. Warsaw University is likely to have higher requirements than Wroclaw.

Law / Do I still have to pay ZUS if I am married to a Polish citizen? [3]

The fact that you are married has nothing to do with paying ZUS. Payment of ZUS will depend on what kind of contract they will employ you.

As far as I know (and someone may correct me) it is the employer who has to apply for a work permit. It stands the reason that you cannot use a work permit from another employer to do this job, therefore you cannot have 'a work permit'.

You need to check with someone who really knows the issues, or you could end up in REAL trouble.

Real Estate / Prices of apartment in central Krakow [6]

Depends on your definition of close - if within 2 minutes from Rynek prices start at 12,000pln and go up to 15,000pln per sq. metre. Walking distance of 10 minutes you may be able to buy something at 8,000pln to 10,000pln per sq. metre. Get a good street map, find the streets, then search the web. Try gumtree krakow for general idea of how much flats are selling at in the area.

Estate agents charge between 3 to 4% of the selling price which you have to pay. For a general guide add 10% to the cost of a flat, the rest is notary and taxes.