Language / 'stary pryk' - Translation Check - person from a story speaks Polish [71]

Interestingly, "pryk" has a much less friendly connotation in English ;)

I can't help you however, sorry.

Language / I'm a Romanian trying to learn Polish [8]

You might want to reconsider your opinion on books. It's not like with English where you have to find gems amongst the cash-in rubble, I am averse to spending money myself (especially on courses) but what few books are available are decent in content and format, worth the one time cost of 30-100zl in my opinion.

Far better than the constant wallet drain of hit or miss lessons at least.

Law / PESEL or NIP in Poland for an American married to Polish citizen [22]

@mafketis

Oh, I've had healthcare benefits. I even had a 90% discount on my sling after their office did a background check, from the same place too. Which makes it more peculiar.

Someone who I discussed this with thinks that the doctor & nurse stating they need a PESEL aren't informed about the fact that a NIP counts as a PESEL for foriegners post May '16. Too many legislation changes to keep up, apparently.

Law / PESEL or NIP in Poland for an American married to Polish citizen [22]

@mafketis

They stopped giving PESELs with AZ from May 1st 2016 due to legislative changes. My Karta Pobytu is lacking any numbers with my DOB.

Law / PESEL or NIP in Poland for an American married to Polish citizen [22]

I have NFZ, ZUS, NIP, and AZ.

I had an accident recently - dislocated shoulder - the Hospital did Xrays, the reduction and put my shoulder in a cast no problems. They only required my passport and EHIC.

However when going back for a follow-up, the Orthopedic doctor said he cannot see me without a registration. Next availability was Czerwiec, so we went for treatment elsewhere.

This new place took off the cast, gave me a sling with NFZ discount and gave me an appointment for Kontrol two weeks later. We just went there yesterday, and they stated they cannot do Xrays because I don't have a PESEL. How can I proceed? I want to continue using this place as it doesn't keep registration beyond that day and therefore there's no queue. I'm consulting other sites and acquaintances too.

Life / Weed (Cannabis) prices in Poland. (Difficulty to obtain) [31]

I'm about as anti drug as it gets, at least in terms of me and my friends consuming it. In fact just seeing this thread here leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

However I can see when someone is making an objective plea whilst valuing an opposing point at the same time.

So Sturzen I just want to give credit where credit is due.

I also take grievance to the widespread acceptance of alcohol regardless of its repercussions on society. Bad eggs will always ruin the image of something done in moderation and it just so happens that there are more "bad eggs" in alcohol consumption.

Johnny I'm curious as to your opinion on alcohol consumption, given your views on marijuana.

Polonia / Work in Denmark? Do you want it? A versatile builder who can speak English needed. [55]


I concur with you here, one need only look at airBnb to see rentals owned by Poles who clearly only have interest in foreign wallets and place charges to reflect that. However that doesn't give license for non Poles to join the trend. It's quite despicable. Poles have been walked on for far too long by other nations already.

I won't comment on Pole> Pole relations here, it's not my place.

Polonia / Work in Denmark? Do you want it? A versatile builder who can speak English needed. [55]

OP clearly wanted cheap Polish labour, but due to thread progression showing he's living 10 years in the past his wording has changed into feigning a language barrier at the outset.

Can we say nie powodzenia in Polish? ;)

News / Ethnic tensions erupt in Ełk, Poland [180]


The easiest one to fall into, to be frank. You know which one. I'm not exactly the corporate type anyway, so it works out for me.

Law / I was fined for not having a tram ticket in Poland. How does this affect me? [68]

I pushed my luck too many times, and got caught out. Tried to pretend I was a tourist who didn't know, it didn't work. When the fine cost more than the monthly pass, I felt like a giant idiot (not to mention a bad example of an expat) and have been using the pass since.

Last week an Asian guy came off the tram where I was waiting, accompanied by two of these officers, and I felt like stepping in because no matter how much the officers insisted that he has to pay, he kept repeating his excuse:

"I was just texting someone and then I was going to get a ticket"
"It doesn't matter, you get on the tram first thing you do is get a ticket and validate it"

And so on. We are really blessed when it comes to Poland's communication lines and us foreigners shouldn't take it for granted by not supporting it.

Work / I want to live and work in Poland in 3 years. I'm from Québec, Canada. [16]


It all depends on what kind of lifestyle you expect to live. When people talk about cost of living being upwards of 4k PLN upwards I imagine they're buying inordinate amounts of beer, eating out at restaurants daily, living in a modernised apartment that looks like it belongs in New York and injecting technology into their once humble abode.

I live on 2k-3K PLN a month and I've never been happier.

Perhaps I'm wrong but it sounds like annemarie is looking for a humble life herself.

I concur you shouldn't take Polish courses in Canada. Immersion trumps teaching if you have the determination for it and have the right friends to practice with. You'd be better off securing work here and experiencing Poland yourself for a year or two rather than wait a few years, in case it doesn't work out for you and you have to uproot yourself again at an even older age.

News / Ethnic tensions erupt in Ełk, Poland [180]

Brit here, living in one of the main cities.

It has to be said by me how assuring it is to see a majority negative sentiment towards Islam and Muslims here. I apologise on behalf of my other expats who, having grown up in bubble wrap and ignorance and moved here for girlfriends or cheap beer (Making general assumptions here) are in their politically-correct addled minds unable to comprehend how dangerous Islam is - even to go so far as to rationalise terminal and ostensibly inherent violence as "losing your cool".

Let it be said that I am in 100% support of keeping Poland Polish, and insist that anyone willing to live here (including myself) should be learning the language, adhering to Polish cultural norms and certainly not insisting that Poland give Islamic individuals special treatment.

I am not going to be participant in any debate here. I cannot speak for Poland, and I certainly have no rebuttals in support of the accused. I just wanted to state my position as an "Anglikiem" in case some users were thinking that no English natives were on the side of Poles. I felt that support from non poles was lacking here.

Edit: corrections

Life / Would love to move to Poland [13]

I'm originally from the UK, moved here in Oct '15.

Life / Would love to move to Poland [13]


You remind of the Poles here who think England is about Micheal Caine/James Bond movies, where the streets are paved with £20 notes etc. As someone who is very disenfranchised myself from Western Culture myself I often shake my head at such naivety.

Speaking of which - what would you say to an Eastern European whose idea of the US was Hollywood movies, Sex and the City/Two and a Half Men, and that even if you're an idiot you can just go on TV as a reality contestant and earn movie through interviews and appearances? Your eyebrows would hit the roof, I'm sure.

I too was enamoured with Polish culture (and the girls were a nice addition) - That's why I took interest here. I had already taken a somewhat keen interest in the language, and when I found out about the Tatry (I'm an avid mountaineer) my decision was set - To vacation here.

Even after making friends and meeting my (now ex) girlfriend during this vacation, and everything in general being amazing I still visited a further 3 times, and saved up 20k zloty in savings before I took the plunge 1 year later. You cannot and must not just pack and go without multiple visits and coming here with enough financial security to last a year unsupported by work.

And most importantly, you MUST accept the concept that life here will be more difficult. And you will probably have to be more frugal with spending. I was already frugal, and frankly my life was too easy and I wanted to exit my comfort zone so adjusting was not only easier than most people I presume but it has also been a welcoming process.

Language / I was born in Poland and I cannot pronounce 'CZ' [35]

English Native, been living in Poland for just over a year.

Pronouncing cz, sz etc was the first thing I dealt with when learning Polish. Dominic hit the nail on the head, it literally just takes sitting down and practising, whilst knowing what you should be doing with your mouth. Personally I suggest choosing words that have szcz inside them, throw yourself into the deep end.

Now is the perfect time actually, go around wish people a Happy New Year! I'm doing it to every store clerk I interact with.

And also, I have C1 students who are in their late 30's/early 40's and still say "During de weekend I took my kids to de park" on the odd occasion (it's usually the first thing I have to fix), so it's not a false stereotype by any means.