Work / Looking for a Job Non-EU living in Lodz [13]

Piggy has an obsession with abusing English teachers, perhaps because of his failure in school. Ignore his nonsense.

Food / Can you buy HP Sauce in Poland? [20]


Haven't tried that but anything Wilkin's makes is superb, e.g. their "Little Scarlet" strawberry jam.

Work / Questions about moving from UK to Poland - work, taxes, child benefit [30]


Try DELTA!

CELTA can be done over a longer period than the usual one month.

Love / Wedding in Szczecin recommendations. How long before must the documents be provided to the registry office? [18]


Classic! I thought it was a bit steep! Yes, live bands seem to charge around 4K. By the way, what are you paying for rings? ;-)

Life / Brits on benefits in Poland? [38]


Yes, about twenty-two years' experience. I won't go into detail as to the "dent" I have made here (modesty forbids), but let's just say that I have been contributing to Poland for a long time. How about you? What have you ever done, anywhere?

Life / Brits on benefits in Poland? [38]


Carrier? Sounds like you need one.

Love / Wedding in Szczecin recommendations. How long before must the documents be provided to the registry office? [18]


I guess you're not going for a simple gold wedding ring. 4000 sounds very steep.
3000 for a snapper? That's nearly two months' pay for some people.
The other figures look OK.

Life / Brits on benefits in Poland? [38]


I wonder what they're living on. You live in a little world of your own, just like your pig friend.
Just one Brit claiming benefits. Sounds like the kind of immigrants Poland needs.

News / Stronger Russia, safer Poland, in world that globalize - is this be truth? [53]


Not even those. I live in the part of Poland where people of Belarussian and Ukrainian ancestry live, and they have no yearning for closer ties to Russia, I can assure you.

Love / Wedding in Szczecin recommendations. How long before must the documents be provided to the registry office? [18]

Yes, the OP should get his fiancee to at least phone the office, if not fly over. When I mentioned them keeping my birth certificate I meant the actual certificate from London, not just a copy! Our office was very pleasant and helpful, but you are right to point out that any deviation from protocol will be met with adamantine inflexibilty.

Love / Wedding in Szczecin recommendations. How long before must the documents be provided to the registry office? [18]

My register office wanted an official copy of my birth certificate, translated by a sworn translator (i.e. done properly by us and then stamped by a friend), and then they kept it!

...and the banns were on the board at the embassy for, I think, three weeks.

Work / Thinking of working or investing in Poland (Think AGAIN!) Experience and attitude of British toward Poland. [80]


Is that what you thought about your teachers at school?

Life / Safety to live in Bialystok, Poland? [28]


Sure is.The express I mentioned earlier did it in about 150 minutes and was used mainly by commuters to Warsaw. The new train sounds great.


More than enough. From my place (50km south of B.Stok) I can hit Warsaw city limits in two hours, but then it takes another hour to get to Okęcie, for example. To stay on topic, the OP will arrive in time to see Białystok join the 21st century.

Life / Safety to live in Bialystok, Poland? [28]


You've just made my day.

Life / Safety to live in Bialystok, Poland? [28]

Seems I'm wrong about that. Just checked the PKP site. Yes, three hours. I haven't taken the train for years but there used to be one at about 0725, the Mickiewicza, which was a great express train. Pity.

Life / Safety to live in Bialystok, Poland? [28]


None in B.Stok afaik. My uni students have a hard time finding work, and they're Polish. weintome should just forget about working here, and make sure s/he has enough funds to survive. Apart from rent, s/he will need at least 800PLN/month to have any kind of life.

Life / Safety to live in Bialystok, Poland? [28]


How hot do you like it? It can be over 30C in July.


That's true. Then again, why should they?

Life / Safety to live in Bialystok, Poland? [28]

For some idea of market rates for rented flats try

bialystokonline.pl and then find
Ogłoszenia drobne
domy, mieszkania: oferuję do wynajęcia

Does your school not offer help in finding a place to live?
You might find work among the small Vietnamese community, but without Polish language skills your chances of getting a job here are nil.

Life / Safety to live in Bialystok, Poland? [28]

A few years ago Białystok was declared to be the safest city in Poland in terms of violent crime. Having said that, there is a history of racist thuggery, which is now being firmly dealt with by the authorities after a couple of very nasty incidents a year or two ago. There are lots of foreign students in Białystok, mostly white, but some Africans and Asians. For the most part you will have no problems, but you should be careful to avoid some areas and clubs at night. Your fellow students will give you more specific advice. Białystok has changed a lot in the fifteen years I have been working there. It is a city on the up, with a regenerated city centre and lots to do for students. The capital is two hours, fifteen minutes away by train. I hope you enjoy your time there. (btw, forget about getting a part time job)

Study / Part Time Work in Jozefow/Warsaw for Euroregional University student (MBA Program) - any chances? [14]

DominicB, my cousin is thinking of looking for a job in Poland. What do you think his chances are? He graduated summa cum laude in Economics from MIT, majoring in post-Communist economics in Poland, he interned for Angela Merkel while a student, and he gave George Clooney handsome lessons. Hoping for a positive response ;-)

Work / Thinking of working or investing in Poland (Think AGAIN!) Experience and attitude of British toward Poland. [80]

LodzLand. Try answering these questions without Google.
1) What was Captain Mainwaring's role during WWII?
2) How do you pronounce Mainwaring?
3) Where would you find Silly Mid on, Forward Short Leg, and three slips and a gully?
4) What was the job of the man in 'It Ain't Half Hot, Mum' whose catchphrase was "We British..."?

Work / Thinking of working or investing in Poland (Think AGAIN!) Experience and attitude of British toward Poland. [80]


That's quite a sweeping generalization, Pigsy. Some of us have made a pretty good life here and are doing quite well. There will always be back-packers and drop-outs who earn a crust as lousy English teachers, but some of us are fully qualified, highly experienced and well educated.

Work / Thinking of working or investing in Poland (Think AGAIN!) Experience and attitude of British toward Poland. [80]

I remember seeing posters on Polish buses about ten years ago warning about date rape pills.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


Original sin? Seriously though, as has been said, work will be almost impossible to find in March. Come and see if you like the country. You could at least visit all the schools in the area so they'll know you're around. Don't be too disheartened. I guess you're young, so what the hell. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Work / Thinking of working or investing in Poland (Think AGAIN!) Experience and attitude of British toward Poland. [80]


I'd say second generation Polish who skipped school.

Work / Thinking of working or investing in Poland (Think AGAIN!) Experience and attitude of British toward Poland. [80]


I'd bet a thousand PLN he isn't.


...and many other errors even the most basically educated Brit would not make.

Work / Overtime no honoured by employer in Poland [7]

Sounds like Anna got 1.5 hours off as a New Year's Eve present from a fair employer (an employer who may well be thinking of letting her go).

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


Kebabs are always going to be popular with the low end of the market, but as you say, there are too many of them. The point I'd like to make is that offering a good product or service is not enough, either in Poland or anywhere else. Over the years I have seen so many good restaurants close in Białystok. One of my favourites happened to be a really good Turkish place, which served almost authentic kebabs (they got round the difficulty of getting lamb by mixing mutton with veal, and it worked). Unfortunately, they just couldn't get enough people through the door, and they closed after less than a year. I'm sincerely hoping that the recently opened and excellent Elvisburger, just off Rynek Kościuszki, stays open. The only problem is that after the last time I was there I had "I forgot to remember to forget you" in my head for two days.

Love / Addressing your Polish in-laws or boy/girlfriend's parents? [49]

At first you stick to formal terms of address, i.e. pan(i) plus name. After you've been in the family for a while they'll let you know if they're ready for a change. In my case my m-in-l and I have known each other for so long, and have shared so many good and bad times, that it would be strange if I didn't call her mamo.

History / Free Poland Forces in Great Britain - Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffordshire 1939-45 [6]

They didn't serve Britain. They helped defeat Germany. If you knew anything about Poles who settled in Britain after the war, you'd know that thousands made a good life there, and raised their kids to be British citizens. The Poles in my community when I was growing up did not feel humiliated. I know it's a forlorn hope, but you really should mind your own business. It's got absolutely nothing to do with you. It will never get through your deluded skull but the vast majority of ordinary Poles spend more time thinking about Papua New Guinea than about Serbia. As for your Slavic Commonwealth, modern Poland is a proud member of the EU and has absolutely no wish to ally itself with Russia or other failed states.