Law / Child support in remarriage and child support increase for adult children in Poland [10]

I dont know why you would allow him to escape from his obligations to your kids. If one is autistic then that will have serious financial effects later so do not create a permanent problem by a too quick temporary solution to this.

His obligation to his kids from first marriage finishes when they are 24 (i think) so it will get less over time.

Cant he look for a better paying job that will help him support 4 kids ? Or do some part time or overntime ?

And dont take out your frustration on the ex - she is also in a very difficult position.

Real Estate / Leasing a flat in Poland: How can a foreigner fulfill the guarantor of eviction clause on short-term leases? [21]

Seriously you had to pay tax on that perceived low price ? How did they prove it was a low price ?

Love / How to read the signals from this Polish Guy? [19]

I don't know - a couple of times in here I advised people to ask for a date in the normal way and they got blown out of the water ! So now I will probably keep my counsel :)

Maybe we were the last generation where the way to get a date was to comb your hair, brush the crumbs off your jacket and ask for one. All done on social media now ?

Language / "Pan" or "Ty" - how people address each other in Poland? [55]

Thats a lot of anger about a bottle of sauce. Ever worked in a busy restaurant ? Its not easy and everyone working there is just trying to get by, pay for college or look after their kids.

Take a chill pill - poles are not the most outgoing but generally great company on a night out

At work i dont think its fakery to use Ty - you have to spend 40 hours a week with these guys

Travel / Is it safe to drive in Poland? [43]

So at least we agree on one thing Rich :)

Travel / Is it safe to drive in Poland? [43]

But is much cheaper to have cameras than a cop waiting around (who could be doing other stuff). Cameras are much better for the taxpayers. The fines are not a tax because there is a simple way to avoid them - stick to the speed limit.

Driving conditions and behaviour have gone much better in the last few years but it is still very dangerous - a huge difference is that in the US drivers keep a sensible distance and normally stick to the speed limits.

In Poland if you are driving at the speed limit you will get some guy roaring up behind your back fender with a crazy look in his eyes then swinging out into the middle of the road every 20 seconds to try and overtake you.

Law / Are foreigners with kids on work visa in Poland eligible for the "Family 500 PLN" benefit money? [36]

Kenny I think in that scenario the kid is not entitled to 500 plus if it's in England - not sure however ! But certainly there are those people that do that

Law / Are foreigners with kids on work visa in Poland eligible for the "Family 500 PLN" benefit money? [36]

Yes but this guy didn't write the rules. Just doing the logical thing.

I have no idea if you are entitled to benefits in Chicago or Norway or wherever you are, but probably you can get them. You are not a Polish taxpayer so it's not your money that is being spent.

Law / Are foreigners with kids on work visa in Poland eligible for the "Family 500 PLN" benefit money? [36]

He is going to work - thus he is also contributing to the system, which many native born Poles are not.

Life / Rural Poland Heritage [39]

Johnny you will find it hard to meet a Pole under 30 who has never been to McDonalds - there are a few hundred in Poland. Small towns also have foreign supermarkets - even somewhere with 10.000 people would have a Lidl, several Biedrinkas and a Rossmann.

Country traditions are most in evidence at events - weddings. First communions, Easter etc - but it's more likely to be a table full of kotlety and Disco Polo on the speakers.

I think the region that is clinging in to its traditions most is the far east near the Belarus border. I visited in winter last year and had a good drive around and loved the small villages and the mixture of catholic and orthodox churches and modern and Tsarist buildings.

Another white spot is the area about equal distance between Warsaw, Gdańsk and Mazury - towns like Szczytno, Nidzica, Illawa. There is not a lot to see except lakes and forests and the villages are neither rich not poor but it's out of reach of big towns.

Life / Rural Poland Heritage [39]

I split my time between the town and the village and no doubt that living standard have increased a lot in the past decade in small villages - few main reasons

EU subsidies for farmers
Easier and cheaper to get a car, some possibility of credit for a car, which lets people work in nearby towns (flip side as someone said is a decline in public transport but even in old times while extensive it was very slow.

More flexible emigration - before 2004 you often had to go for good in order not to run into visa issues. Now people can leave the kids with Babcia, work a few months of the year in Germany or Britain and come back and spend it on some house improvements

You don't always need to go to a big city to find work - most market towns now have a few modern factories and you would be surprised at how low the unemployment rate is in those towns with say 30,000 people.

That said you will occasionally see living standards that are shocking and it's especially difficult for those who have to look after old parents or young kids in villages.

Another thing that needs to be improved is social mobility - yes those kids can go to university but it is very unusual to be in a meeting in Polish business and find someone who grew up in a small village - you will find plenty from provincial towns but few farmers kids. I think emigration will start to change that - for some village kids their few years in England teaches them as much as university would.

Real Estate / What do rolna-budowlana land means? [7]

Turn on the news and you can get a crash course in what rolna means, from the Pime Minister no less.

Life / Harassed by cops in Warsaw, Poland [6]

Chill out - 15 years ago you would have been in the Izba for a night with no questions or answers. They are probably bored and if they are chatting about their family that is a sign you won't get serious hassle.

News / Poland blocks any action on climate change [569]

Three pieces of nonsense in a few short sentences- immigration, abortion and social security.

But nothing about Poland and nothing about climate change.

Still I suppose it pays the bills in your commie era high rise and puts some of that rock hard rye bread on the table

Polonia / Who in here yesterday said Lithuania is worse than Poland? [13]

I have been there for work many times - my view is that the 3 big towns are not as rich as big Polish towns, but the countryside is richer and nicer than Poland. Depopulation is a huge issue though - about 20 percent of people left since 91, you can drive through some ghost villages.

Work / Moving back to Poznan from America - jobs situation? [13]

It is already taking place - to be fair the govt is only finishing what the previous govt started. In Poland it is increasingly difficult to invest in anything except real estate.

Tax controls are not as bad as they sound - if you have a simple businesa then they are normally over in a few days. PIP controls can be a nightmare however

Fair play for coming from Canada and doing ok - There are lots of opportunities in Poland but I don't agree with your template of just finding something that is popular in the US - it depends what it is, who are the existing players, what the cash cycle is for the business et cetera - all the normal considerations

Life / Equivalent of American televangelists in Poland? [11]

Oh Rydzyk is a millionaire alright. I wouldn't be surprised if he is a billionaire once all his tentacles are unwound. A lot of soft power too - difficult to ignore him if you want to get on in Polish politics.

Life / Equivalent of American televangelists in Poland? [11]

No - organized religion was frowned upon under communism and the only TV was govt controlled. So when this kind of thing took off in the US then Poland was not in the same circumstances.

There are a few religious TV channels but they don't really do live faith heelings - much more conservative.

- its really just about asking for money. They have built some very large new churches with the proceeds

Life / Equivalent of American televangelists in Poland? [11]

The nearest equivalent is Father Rydzyk - very powerful priest with a media empire centered on Radio Maryja and close connections to the govt

Work / What is the average accounting/auditing salary in Poland? [42]

what in ? A firm ? A bank ? A corpo ? A SSC ? Polish speaking ?

Feedback / What makes an excellent forum? [119]

But most people only post about Trump in the US thread abd only about Muslims on the Europe thread. What you do is spam every thread about Polish life with your hangups about immigrants

So maybe the best way to improve the forum is to be more rigourous about moving US stuff to the US tthread and Muslim stuff to the Europe thread - that's what being done.

Feedback / What makes an excellent forum? [119]

you live here and those are issues relevant to Polish history.

Feedback / What makes an excellent forum? [119]

m.sportskeeda.com/football/real-madrid-v-cska-moscow-5-talking-points-tactical-analysis-champions-league-2018-19

Something like this - as relevant to Poland as your constant postings about transgender bathrooms, Honduran plumbers and teachers pay in suburban Illinois

Feedback / What makes an excellent forum? [119]

And that is precisely my point - this is a thread about how to improve the forum and you want to discuss the definition of something you already understand.

Feedback / What makes an excellent forum? [119]

Absolutely Kaprys - there are more posts here about Muslims, gays, gun crime, Trumps wall etc. I think that the rule should be 50 percent of your posts have to be about Poland.

Also suggest that there is a ban for people who divert more than say 5 threads from the purpose - sometimes threads swerve after 50 postings but Rich and Dirk will normally bring up some alt right or Moscow talking point within 5 posts, people take their normal sides and the thread is no longer about Poland.

Work / Business in Poland - should I expect some dirty tricks? [26]

This is not the place to get sensible advice - try PAIH (I think they have a team in the Gulf) or your own embassy might have a trade service here.

Corruption is far less than it used to be - partly because of govt policies and mostly because smartphones now mean everyone has a recording device on them. However two areas where you can still encounter it are in planning permitsand in customs clearance. Play it straight from Day 1 and your first few months might be difficult but eventually your business will be OK.

News / Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow [235]

@Rich Mazur
Whether we are talking about French Lit or French language what is clear is that you have nothing to contribute to an interesting thread about the Polish teachers strike - for two reasons - you are not living in Poland and you don't have kids. So maybe carry on your culture war on the off topic thread.

By the looks of it there is no school tomorrow and start again on Monday. Some regions still talking about continuing the strike though ?

Work / JOB in Wroclaw for a Business Student fluent in ENGLISH/FRENCH/RUSSIAN/ROMANIAN [56]

Google it - there are plenty of resources for French language jobs in Poland. In my field speaking French would probably add 4000 zloty to your monthly salary

Obviously Poland is more expensive than your home country of Russia, but 4000 extra can still go along way

Work / JOB in Wroclaw for a Business Student fluent in ENGLISH/FRENCH/RUSSIAN/ROMANIAN [56]

In Poland certainly you could - French language skills are extremely in demand due to the high number of French investors in Poland.

You wouldn't know that however being as you have never been here

Real Estate / Real estate in Poland - licytacje (an auction?) [7]

The only criteria are that you are legally entitled to buy that kind of property - so it's an issue if it is farmland or if it is affected by Brexit. The other criteria is that the liquidator thinks that you are a serious person who has the funds and the ability to complete the transaction.

Ring the guy up tell him you're interested in the asset and want to meet - it is unlikely that he would speak good English so if you don't have polish skills get someone to help you

Better to do that by phone - a common trick is for them to park your email if they are already negotiating with someone else