Work / No English Speaking Jobs in Poland...At All? [34]

He never said anything about working in Bulgaria. Stop trolling, dude is looking for help have a bit of empathy.

Off-Topic / If a polish girl sings about how she will kill her boyfriend, then it's ok [7]

something's wrong with your spacebar dude.

Work / Job Offer in Gliwice at 4000zł – is it enough money? [17]


Yep.

OP, its crap money, I'd renegotiate. Otherwise, you'll be hooking for extra cash at the train station


In a language school? If a school is open from 16.00-21.00 then how can you possibly do overtime?
They're yanking your cracnk OP. Also don't forget you won't get a cent on public holidays and you won't get any holiday pay.

I hope you renegotiated.

Travel / Live Music in Krakow or Warsaw [15]

Last FM gig's page

koncertomania.pl/koncerty-krakow.html

Law / Krakow IT and Outsourcing [11]


That's not really important though is it, the could've been shelf stacking job/forklift drivers, the thing is they're gone, because Dell are too tight to pay tax in Ireland.

I wonder were they given a similar deal on coming to Poland.


I wouldn't really agree with that. International companies don't locate to Ireland for the Irish market, The Irish market has the same population as Silesia afterall. They moved there because of low/or zero corporation tax, were given free land/assets and they wanted bases for their European operations. Since then the level of English in Central & Eastern European countries has sky-rocketed and now they can relocate here and reap far greater profits. Hopefully, for all of us working in the sector, for the long-term.

Law / Krakow IT and Outsourcing [11]


Put it this way, they reckon 220 people leave the country every single day......That's not a lot in Polish terms, but Poland's population is around 40million, Ireland's is less than 5m.

Plus IT companies, and businesses in general, are either downsizing (because of losing their corporation tax benefit) or the high costs of wages/property and other assets in Ireland or are moving....sure, just 2 years ago, Dell left Limerick, making almost 2000 people unemployed. They relocated to Poland..........I've no issue with that, I just mention it because we live here in Poland.

finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1015213.shtml
This link is a few years old[/url], but it shows that most international comps in Ireland wouldn't choose to go their again. The main reason being the cost of doing business there. We ruin ourselves by voting in greedy politicians, letting greedy bankers away with murder and our own love of having money in our pockets. The whole island got greedy, drunk on greed, and now those how cannot move away have to pay for it. Just desserts some would say. I wouldn't though. Ireland should've done what that Icelanders did.

Things are very bad in Ireland, it's not as reported on now, because it has somewhat stablized, but emigration is high, unemployment is high. Personally, I've only got 3 mates that are still in Ireland, everyone I used to hang out with has left for Australia, Canada or the US. Most head to English speaking countries because we're so bad at learning languages....sure we can't even be bothered to learn our own language.

However, socially many people back home say it's become better (not financially though) Ireland's never been rich and for a few years there in the 90s we had way more money than sense. Sure, we weren't used to it. It was like giving a teenager a million dollars and telling him to spend it like he wanted to....We were poor for donkey's years and now we're poor again......I suppose at least we had good fun while it lasted ;)

I think it'll come around again, next time the same mistakes won't be made though..........I feckin hope not anyway. One thing I hope everyone learns from it....do not invest in property. Ever.

Law / Krakow IT and Outsourcing [11]


Well yea, that's what I meant, Ireland had half the country employed in some IT kinda stuff (OK slight exaggeration)
Ireland offered 0 corporation tax for these companies for their first 10-15 years of operating in Ireland and then when that time was up they left.


Try telling that to the 1000s of unemployed IT profs in Limerick, Kildare, Dublin, Cork.

Hey, look it's great that there are plenty of jobs here now at the moment in Poland, I just hope that the people running businesses here see what happened in Ireland and learn from the mistakes the Irish business leaders made. If earnings are kept lower here than the EU average, I'm OK with that so long as the jobs remain here.

But I dunno, I'm kinda scared for when the Euro currency is adopted here, it'll bring instant inflation and people will demand higher wages straight away.

Law / Krakow IT and Outsourcing [11]

Same happened to Ireland 15-20 years ago, then international companies got fed up paying Irish wages (and corporation tax) so jumped ship to cheaper countries. It'll happen to Poland too.

There is one big difference though and that's that Poland actually has it's own large IT company who is expanding into other countries so hopefully many IT jobs will remain in Krakow for so long as that company remains in the same hands.

Life / Play network in Rzeszów [4]

damn straight ;)

History / Poland's King Jan III Sobieski - the stopper of Turkish Janissaries! [64]

Magic, thanks :)
Now, is there a film?


EU :P

Travel / Poland-Kaliningrad connection? [6]


Car

Life / Play network in Rzeszów [4]

1) Play is fine in Rzeszwów, it's a city so they're mobile antennae all over the place
2) Probably can't but you can buy SIMs at any wee kiosk all over Poland, can't see much point in selling them in 'Merika.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

The blind leading the blind.

If you don't have a CELTA, then follow Maybe's advice in his post.

Life / Apteka / birthcontrol available in Poland? [13]


That one is available, but is it the same as Yasmin 21?
Just under a different name?

Travel / Polish Trains (Intercity - Return Tickets Query) [4]

You need to know the exact time of the train you want to return on. It's not like in other countries where you can just buy a return and hop on any train returning.

I know its common in UK/Ireland to do it, becasue you'll save a few shillings, but here you won't so just buy them individually.,..........plus that return train might never turn up and you'll have to fork out twice.

Life / Apteka / birthcontrol available in Poland? [13]

Just the way it is here ain't it?
Same if you need an operation, hand over a brown envelope and you're bumped up the queue.
I don't agree with it, but that's the culture here :(

Life / Apteka / birthcontrol available in Poland? [13]

You need a prescription for birth control pills. If you slip the doctor an extra 50zl she'll give you one for 12 months instead of just the normal 3 months.

Study / A Katowice Language School Recommendation, Please? [6]

I only worked for 3 schools before I packed in teaching, when ya move here get in touch and I'll pass on their contact info to you.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


That ain't true and you know it.


Again, that's an untruth.
Outside, Krakow & Warsaw there's a 'shortage' of native-speakers for school.

I'd bet if I was bothered I could get in touch with some school in places like Rzeszow, Katowice, Wroclaw, Lublin, Lodz and have a job lined up within a few hours.

And I wouldn't really call them backwaters..then again people living in Warsaw think the sun shine out their holes. Warsaw ain't all that cool, sure it's not even the proper capital.


Post of the Day right here folks, can you make this a sticky mods? And attach it to the top of every "teaching in Poland" thread from now on?

Study / A Katowice Language School Recommendation, Please? [6]

If you want to be paid pittance :P

Study / A Katowice Language School Recommendation, Please? [6]

It'll be handy enough for ya man, there's a fair few schools around the area and the other cities too and not so many native speakers.

I don't know of any horror stories tbh.

Law / Documents to get married to my Polish girlfriend [11]

Best thing to do is call the Dutch Embassy, they'd know what to do.

Food / What are small fish rolled up and marinated in oil and vinegar? [11]

It was śledź...herring in English.
there's many different types, but the fish is always herring, the sauces can be different. Spicy, or creamy or just in plain old fashioned vinegar.

Hated them when I moved here, but now I quite like to eat them.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


Ah, yea I know smoebody doing somethign similar, but you'll need to be careful.
Health and safety is a very grey area and you may get into trouble if ever investigated.....but y'know it's Poland, so it's nothing that a bribe can't sort out usually ;)

Life / Anyone Own a Kindle Fire HD in Poland? [4]

Could you try a proxy change
I use overplay all the time so I can watch Irish and uk tele stream, matches etc. I'm sure if you use it you'll be able to access the yankee or british amazon sites.

Just change your IP with it and then connect the Kindle and the US or UK market should work.

Maybe look for a trial version of some similar software first though so you don't have to fork out the couple of dollars a month.

I used to use it to watch Netflix and use Spotify too...but Spotify has been launched in Poland now so that OK, plus Netflix isn't all that good.

News / Poland is the source of horsemeat in burgers? [169]


Yes, it is.


OMG, what news do you actually read? :DDDD
There isn't a single mention of Poland in that BBC link, Poland is not connected with the scandal any more than Kenya is. Not involved, simple as that.

The Polish connection is as dead as disco, the horsemeat came from Romania and the UK


+1

News / Poland is the source of horsemeat in burgers? [169]


Duh, it was covered up by the people who changed lapels from horse meat to cow meat.

Glaringly obvious there Jon old chap.


And it's been traced to where?
Oh, not Poland, oh I see.

I think you were the one lambasting Poland the most and it would seem the horse meat came from Romania.
But you would've seen that had you bothered your arse to read the info on the BBC link that I put here this morning.


Except in Northern Ireland or in the 70s & 80s when having a Northern Irish accent in the UK could land you in jail for 20+ years.

Yes, Britain is great, britain would never engage with such underhandness. Me bollix.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

Krakow is awash with 'natives'
And because of that the pay is pretty bad.
Look at smaller cities, Gdynia (beside Gdansk), Wrocław, Katowice (and the cities around it...I think there are 8 or 9)
Rzeszow
Poznan

You should be looking at smaller places, less competition for jobs and less competition means more money for you.
I live in Katowice and know that schools around here are always looking for teachers, however.....how to put this.....well, it ain't no Paris.

Kato has a bad image, but once you know the places to go it's fine.
And it's only a 45-60min drive from Krakow........oh one more thing, Poland's public transport is brutal, don't move here without a driver's license...I did and the first year was a struggle.

News / Poland is the source of horsemeat in burgers? [169]


Sorry Jon, but I think it was a cover-up, and for some time and it has been discovered now.
Good to see the English cops coming down on it hard tho, they do love to put on a good show, don't they.

OK, so the shops and producers didn't know about it (we are told), but someone was, it looks to me anyway, doctoring labels. That to me is a cover-up.

The BBC have an interesting graphic, where Poland isn't present at all.



If you follow the link to the site, you can get info regarding details of how each different place was involved.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21449140

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


Yuo'd be better off with a CELTA, some school won't hire you with a TEFL, but you'll still be able to find work, especially in smaller cities/towns, but I fear the English teaching ship has sailed for the most part in Europe, if you want to make money the best places are in Asia.

You'll earn enough to live here, but you won't be able to save up much.

Anyway, I won't rain on your parade, Poland is a nice place.....when it gets warmers :P, but there are loads of threads about the subject on the forum already so just have a search of them and you'll find some solid advice.

Best of luck.