Life / Struggling young Polish couple - try to solve their problem [176]


It's about 220zl a month for the first two years if you're already working (and paying ZUS) in another job. Quite reasonable, don't you think?


Because a lot of those services involve physical effort.

Heck, you don't even need to start a business formally - for something like dog walking, people would be happy just to pay in cash.


I know several people who have good work despite their parents not being well connected. But they put in the work - one girl is studying for the English accountancy exams in her spare time, for instance. She's now sitting on a 5500zl brutto salary as a junior specialist for one of the Big 4 firms - but her workload is horrific.

Likewise, I know people earning 2500zl brutto - but they all have one thing in common - they do their set hours and not a thing more in their spare time.

News / For all Americans worried about Schengen in Poland, dont worry about it. [142]


Speaking of that school, Pawel Felberg is the biggest clown I've ever encountered. His empire is collapsing around him - he can't pay the bills, teachers are unpaid (some from last year!) - generally, not going well at all. He owed me quite a bit of cash, and actually only paid up after he received court documents. Idiot.

Apparently the cause of all his woes was having signed some very unfavourable contracts with big name companies.


Quite a lot of them are learning a nasty lesson in Prague - and I know a couple here that were similarly caught.


A few times. Amusingly, several students were kicked out of Poland after not bothering with a residence permit - all of them American medical students who believed that they could buy their way out of trouble.

Life / Struggling young Polish couple - try to solve their problem [176]


Live somewhere cheap.

You can pick up a flat in Poznan for less than 100,000 - I saw one property available in the north side of the city for 70k, and it was clear that the seller would negotiate. Granted, it was in a cellar, with no windows - but a property is a property.

News / For all Americans worried about Schengen in Poland, dont worry about it. [142]


That's fine - they'll catch you, ban you (and put you in SIS along with a big fat red stamp in your passport) and you'll find it difficult to get any sort of residency in the EU in future. :)


Only an American would see borderless travel as "a stupid idea".

Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]


Bollocks to private dentists in Poland, my dentist is NFZ registered and yet I can get an appointment with two/three days notice :) Very good she is as well - gentle, speaks English well, explains everything - I really can't ask for more.


He's Australian, seems to hate Poland (is he Jewish and thus fitting the stereotype?), seems to think that Polish "reality" consists of being too poor to afford food, etc etc. Usual Plastic Pole - he's Polish for the passport, but Australian for everything else.

(for what it's worth, I looked in one shop yesterday - apples were going for as cheap as 0.50zl/kg)

Work / English Teaching Opportunities in Szczecin [14]


To be honest, I wouldn't even waste my time sending off e-mails - about the only hope is to go see them in person and see what you can find. But there's not likely to be much - the schools I work for have filled all the positions for summer courses, for a start.


Many of the PhD's aren't much better - and as for some of the professors..well.

I've never understood the Polish obsession with "research" - wouldn't it be far more sensible to require all PhD students to spend a year in an English speaking country?

News / "Shale Gas Revolution" will make Poland a Leading Country in Europe! [202]


Of course, only a yank would say such things - anyone living here knows the opposite.

Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]


The majority don't get any sort of income support, so your knowledge about Poland is somewhat lacking. You're also forgetting that Poland has a huge black market - many pensioners took early retirement and then continued to work in guarded car parks and suchlike, and the unemployed are frequently employed. You're taking the statistics at first hand - and anyone who knows Poland knows fine well that the black market is huge here.

Access to hospitals and dental treatment is available to all. Poland is no worse (actually, it's a hell of a lot better in some respects - dentistry is in very good shape) than many other European countries.


I totally agree. This nonsense exists all over the world - and is an insult to those that are genuinely going cold and hungry.

I do find it hilarious that "Poles" (who are at least second generation immigrants abroad) are the ones claiming that Poland is some poor and backwards country, while those of us actually living here say otherwise.

Same thing was seen in the UK - you saw toilet cleaners (like Havok) acting superior to people in Poland, even though they were actually earning less than people here.

Work / Back from the UK and working in Poland [23]


Yes, it's not true at all. You need to work here for 5 years consecutively to obtain permanent residency.

What's he's doing is probably legitimate enough (except the earnings part - no way will you get 700 euro a month here) - 9000 euro is hardly worth a 1 year residence permit.

Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]


From all the research I've done in Poland into the issue, as well as talking to many professionals - the one recurring theme is that children are mostly living in poverty due to parental neglect, not due to the income of the parents.

All this talk of children going to school hungry - even if you're desperately poor, what does it cost to buy a few vegetables and prepare them to be eaten?

What's undeniable is that in Poland, there's a very serious problem with parental neglect resulting in children living in poverty. There's also a serious problem with children and school books - the current system of requiring children to buy textbooks is an utter disgrace.

Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]


It's utter rubbish. For a start - not being able to send your child on holiday is hardly poverty - I know several British families that can't afford that as well, yet you'd never say they were living in poverty.

Poverty is going hungry, not having adequate shelter, not having utilities, being cold and not having adequate clothing.

Not much of that in Poland.

Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]


You don't have to, but it's a good way to make extra money. The fact that you're actually looking down on people for earning extra money says a lot about you as a person.


You're not sure because you're not actually Polish.


Look at you, all high and mighty from your American pedestal.

Who the hell are you to judge, anyway?

heartland.org/article/29075/Study_High_Cigarette_Taxes_Cause_Widespread_Smuggling.html

Looks like your homeland isn't so squeaky clean when it comes to smuggled cigarettes, too.

Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]


Money is money, sunshine.

Then again, it's not like you'd know much about that concept, huh?

(nice of you to reveal your sockpuppet, Havok)

Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]


Very interesting ;) I seem to recall that the limit is now 600 litres too.


Apparently the same thing is really common in Narva, Estonia.

It's an old article, but - polishmarket.com/60083/Almost-10-of-Poles-employed-in-black-economy.shtml

I know it from myself - I hired someone to paint a few walls. If I didn't want a receipt (I did) - the price was 20% lower.

Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]


I'm convinced that if all the money floating about was legalised, we'd see a very sudden jump in average earnings.

For instance, one example that I'm very familiar with - people travelling from Slubice/Kostrzyn nad Odra to Berlin. If five people go, the ticket is about 6 euro each for a day ticket. Cigarettes cost about 2.50 Euro, they can be sold in Berlin for 4 euro a packet - and you can legally take 40 packets across the border. Even assuming the law is kept, they can make a profit of 54 euro in one day. Repeat on Saturday/Sunday, and that's a profit of 110 euro for a weekend. Four weekends, and you've got around 1800zl a month extra in your pocket.

That's not even starting to talk about selling cheap Polish vodka on top. I know a few people who make these runs - and it's quite possible for them to make 200 euro profit in one weekend. When the tax differential was much higher, they were making even more cash by doing this.

Or if you want a splendid example, ask yourself why Medyka is such a beautiful village with beautiful houses and gardens - despite having no industry except a market selling to Ukrainians and a train terminal.

Love / Do Polish men like to sleep with other men? [79]

It's okay, Polack - we know you're not getting laid anyway.

Work / English Teaching Opportunities in Szczecin [14]


Forget about it. There's nothing happening in summer, and what will be happening there will all be taken by people who are already 'in the know'.

Might not want to sign yourself "SB" in future, too.

News / Poland to scrap scholarships for 50,000 students [8]

Basically, it's requiring students to do more than get high grades for their scholarships - which is what many sensible people have been calling for all along. Getting high marks on exams proves nothing - there are many, many poor graduates (especially from soft subjects) who obtained the top score - and this new system will force them to do something 'more'.

Essentially, it means those who contribute positively will gain, as they'll now be looking at things such as participation in sports teams, organising of student events, etc - therefore encouraging students to develop their skills.

As for your first post -


It won't. The poorest students will still receive social grants (these aren't being affected) - it just means that the students who get top grades (who can be from wealthy families) will no longer receive scholarships as by right. The only change is that universities were required before to award the scholarships to good students - now, they have the choice to decide how the money is actually spent.

If anything, it's a move more towards the American model.

Language / CELTA assignment question - the form of "It suits you" and "It fits you" [23]


That's about right.

Teachers tend to be paid under a so called "freelance" contract - so they pay an effective tax rate of 9.5%. The legality of this is somewhat dubious, though.

Travel / Train from Poland to Serbia and car from Lithuania to Budapest [15]


Any idea how long it'll take from the border to Budapest? Driving that way soon...

Work / Back from the UK and working in Poland [23]

Not going to be offered to an Indian though, is it?

This sounds very much like someone wants a slave - offer him a ridiculously high salary, let him come here, then be all "oh, sorry, we meant zloty" and get him to work to the bone for peanuts.

Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]


But what would you know? You're not in Poland.

For a start, most young professionals are doing just fine - perhaps not living the life of Riley, but they can certainly afford their own place. I know a young couple who didn't do anything particularly lucrative - they've got their own place, a child, a car, etc. They're not loaded, but they're doing well enough for themselves.

Truth be it, the only people really suffering in Poland are those who failed to finish High school and who opted for a life of children and the village shop rather than real work. Even manual workers with a skill can do reasonably ok for themselves in Poland - especially right now, with a dearth of qualified non-alcoholics.


Not true? Ireland was economically ****** between the 1920's and 1980's - if you ask any real Irish person (not some maniac from Krakow/America who pretends to be Irish) - they'll tell you the same story.


Life isn't particularly better there either. Sure, you might earn much more - but the costs are so much higher that it's not even funny. Heck, look at Switzerland - an incredibly wealthy country, yet home ownership is very low. Same with Germany.

Language / CELTA assignment question - the form of "It suits you" and "It fits you" [23]


It depends on the place really - though the "big name" schools are now offering up to 70zl an hour.

A good, stable job will offer around 55-60zl an hour in a big name school - and far less in a bad school.

News / PKP buys Alstrom Pendolino trains for € 665 million [60]

Something that's worth pointing out - with the Pendolino trains, they can tilt around corners - so it might be possible to increase the track speed without much work at all.

News / Visegrad Battle Group under the command of Poland [261]


We'll soon see how much patience Brussels has with Poland and the other non-Euro countries, especially once Latvia and Lithuania join. The EU has made it clear on numerous occasions that while Sweden's non compliance is tolerated because their citizens didn't get a vote on Euro membership - no such provision applies for the new EU countries.

But it's moot anyway - anyone who knows anything about forex knows that the PLN is pretty much linked to the fortunes of the Euro anyway.


The UK cannot be compared to Poland - the UK and Denmark have opt-outs from Euro membership.

Language / CELTA assignment question - the form of "It suits you" and "It fits you" [23]


What drives me nuts about this is that sometimes, there's a need for the teacher to talk much more than the students.

I've got one class where the students can all speak to a very high standard - they don't need practice with conversation, but rather taught really high level stuff. If they were made to speak for 2/3rds of the time, they'd be rather unhappy and feel that they're not learning.

News / Visegrad Battle Group under the command of Poland [261]


Sorry to burst your little American bubble (your country? you abandoned it years ago, you traitorous swine) - but Poland has no choice in the matter.

USA, Canada / U.S. Citizen to Study in Poland on U.S. Passport for Over 3 Months? Problems? [46]


Then - don't become a citizen.

Ah, wait, you want that EU passport, don't you?

Life / Who is poor in Poland? [720]


Uh, you clearly haven't seen the appeals to help stupid mothers who had 10 children here.


Haha. You do realise that they were destroyed during WW2 and rebuilt with Soviet cash?

Genealogy / I'm pure Polish and have some red hair on my beard [23]

You're sitting online at some god-awful hour in the morning, talking about the colour of your hair. Pretty damn obvious that you're just the offspring of traitorous, communist scum.

What's it like, knowing your grandfather executed Polish patriots?