Life / Expats in Poland - would you fight for your new country? [105]

Delphiandomine wrote:


My thoughts exactly. Only he said 3 years, not 2. Delph has only been in Poland a little over 2 years.

Fair question.

Love / Good looking Polish women with ugly men [416]

in response to the OP....

absolutely. i was flabbergasted when I first came to poland and still till this day can't believe my eyes sometimes.

the hot girl/busted go-nowhere guy phenomenon. it's uncanny in poland.

you almost feel sorry for women here....pickins are slim.

USA, Canada / Moved back from Canada to Poland:). Here are the reasons why. [868]

aphrodisiac wrote:


it's always entertaining to see the degredation of someone's posts. Poland does that to you. in the beginning, it's interesting....but shortly after, it's mostly all just frustrating.

USA, Canada / Moved back from Canada to Poland:). Here are the reasons why. [868]

aphrodisiac wrote:


I notice the same thing in Poland. People simply do not run here and I constantly get weird stares when I go for runs, especially in small towns. Where I lived in the USA before I left for Poland, amongst the running community, I was merely a number (and NO, i didn't live in Oregon ;) ). I would head out at 5:30 a.m. for my runs before going to work and I'd pass countless numbers of runners, even at that early of an hour.

aphrodisiac wrote:


aaahhh, BOY do I love to discuss weather with good ole' aphrodisiac :D

but yeah, I second that. I completely hate it.

aphrodisiac wrote:


what about Szczecin? oh wait.......

Life / Why Poland is "surprised" by winter and snow every year? [192]

pgtx wrote:


hahaha, yeah, it's so true.

Hellooooo, you live in Poland, people.

USA, Canada / CULTURE SHOCK! (of my Polish finance who visited the US) [210]

delphiandomine wrote:


hahaha, yes. why yes of course. quality of life should be judged upon whether or not you get free shopping bags or not.

USA, Canada / Moved back from Canada to Poland:). Here are the reasons why. [868]

aphro wrote:


nice one!

i always say when it comes to running, the winter seperates the men from the boys ;)

aphro wrote:


apparently the cold weather brings the polish runners out, i saw more runners this morning than I've seen all month. i guess they all like the winter wonderland of snow.

USA, Canada / Moved back from Canada to Poland:). Here are the reasons why. [868]

aphrodisiac wrote:


we got a few inches of snow on the ground already. I'm about to head out for my morning run, I'll let you know how it is :)

Language / Polish - individual classes or course? [15]

delphiandomine wrote:


that always seems to be the case.

i was looking into a polish school about 2 years ago but in the end decided against it. when i read the testimonials and other information on their website, as expected, it seemed as though every student at the school was a beginner and I simply didn't want to spend all that money so that I can sit in a class of 4 and say "to jest _____" and "Jestem_____" for 90 minutes a day, 3 days a week.

I've done countless hours of language exchange with Polish teachers. Not Polish people that teach English, but Polish teachers that teach Polish, and it was no different than sitting down with a random Pole off the street and having conversation. There is simply no demand for Polish as a Second Language here and the quality of teachers reflects it. I've worked for schools that started doing Polish lessons and you know how they choose their teachers? Like this:

"Hey Pawel, do you want to teach Polish next week?"

"Really? Oh man, I don't know if I can do it...geeze....."

"Ahhh, you'll be fine, I'll show you the book tomorrow, we'll go over it, no probs."

"Well, OK....I guess I'll see how it goes but......"

Or something to that effect.

Not to menion, Polish learning material is crap. I did Hurra Po Polsku 1 and 2 by myself without a teacher, Colloquial Polish, Isc czy Chodzic?, and they were all pretty lousy.

Work / Cost of Living, Average Salaries and Job sites in Poland [263]

stallion wrote:


yeah, the polish person I mentioned earlier experienced the same thing. they simply told her that she has to start with an entry level job because her degree is only considered to be a Bachelor's in the USA.

Food / What's your favorite Polish beer? [870]

I've been drinking Ciechan (wyborne) lately. very tasty.

Work / Cost of Living, Average Salaries and Job sites in Poland [263]

LwowskaKrakow wrote:


Not really sure why you just brought that up, it's entirely different than the question I posed.

This person is doing a PhD. in the USA which means she will graduate with a doctorate earned in the USA. This is completely different than getting a master's in Poland and then coming to the USA and hitting the job market.

Work / Cost of Living, Average Salaries and Job sites in Poland [263]

Klaud wrote:


I'd suggest looking for english teaching jobs unless you want to work for absolute peanuts. I'd suggest looking into teaching young children. lots of parents out there are looking for native speakers to teach their kids and because you could walk into their house and roll in Polish with them, it would make them far more comfortable leaving their children with you. The 30-50 white collar crowd generally earns good money in Warsaw and are willing to pay good money to teach their children english. take advantage of it.

as far as teaching adults, you'll be at a great disadvantage being only 18 years old in today's ESL market. you have no business experience and to be honest, limited life experience at just 18. you're underqualified in general.....but with kids, being a native english speaker and fluent polish speaker, you'd be a good find!

Klaud wrote:


I think it's great what you're doing but when i read about cases like this, I can't help but wonder what it's going to be like for you entering the job market when you get back to the USA. I've only seen it firsthand once with a Pole, this person had a master's from Poland and she told me flat out that the companies she was applying to simply didn't consider her degree to be equivalent to a master's degree in the USA. she was always at a disadvantage when she was one of many in that infamous "pile of resumes".

I would be interested in hearing about other people out there on PF who have had similar, or different experiences with a Polish degree in the USA.

As a side note, I'd say that the "disadvantage" mostly exists in the beginning. Once you get a job in the USA and prove yourself, people generally stop looking at your education and more at the positions you have held and what you have done in your career thus far.

Law / Poland low on national brand chart [66]

Teffle wrote:


i didn't even know who that was.

Law / Poland low on national brand chart [66]

let's see.....

before i moved to poland, i knew of Zywiec and Belvedere. i think that's it.

Work / Average monthly salary in Poland is around 1000 PLN (few hundred bucks). [387]

milky wrote:


which, to the over 30 crowd, is commonly known as "The Land of Make Believe"

USA, Canada / Getting a VISA to USA by a Polish person nowadays [339]

Lodz the boat wrote:


""Households headed by illegal aliens imposed more than $26.3 billion in costs on the federal government in 2002 and paid only $16 billion in taxes, creating a net fiscal deficit of $10.4 billion, or $2,700 per illegal household," said Steven A. Camarota, author of the study. The costs outlined in the report include government services such as Medicaid, medical treatment for the uninsured, food assistance programs, the federal prison and court systems, and federal aid to schools."

Lodz the boat wrote:


"The report estimates that granting legal status to illegal immigrants would dramatically increase their cost, causing the net fiscal deficit to rise to nearly $29 billion because, the author argues, unskilled immigrants would have access to more government services while continuing to make modest tax payments."

Lodz the boat wrote:


i see your views on the rest of the world are no different than your dillusional views of Poland. i guess it's easy to have these sorts of views on immigration when you were born and raised and still live in a completely homogenous country with virtually no immigration. people will always have different views on things when it's not in their faces every day.

USA, Canada / Getting a VISA to USA by a Polish person nowadays [339]

Lodz the boat wrote:


"The cost of harboring illegal immigrants in the United States is a staggering $113 billion a year -- an average of $1,117 for every "native-headed" household in America -- according to a study conducted by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)."

foxnews.com/us/2010/07/02/immigration-costs-fair-amnesty-educatio ns-costs-reform/

"In hosting America's largest population of illegal immigrants, California bears a huge cost to provide basic human services for this fast growing, low-income segment of its population. A new study from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) examines the costs of education, health care and incarceration of illegal aliens, and concludes that the costs to Californians is $10.5 billion per year."

usgovinfo.about.com/od/immigrationnaturalizatio/a/caillegals.htm

Work / Doing my course in Krakow, working in EFL in Poland (newbie questions) [43]

Delph wrote:


what an incredibly ignorant statement. are you honestly prepared to stand by that discourse that brits simply "know the language" better than americans and that "they at least perform in the classroom", suggesting that americans simply make lousy teachers? hey, what about that backwash chopped up gobbley gook english that comes out of scotland? think that's what the EFL world looks up to? i've heard some insanely bad english come out of the irish as well and without question more of the like exists throughout that entire big island out there.....yes, even in england.

you know delph, the longer you're on this forum, the nastier and sloppier (and more anti-american) your arguments get. i guess your beloved poland is starting to really chap your ass. you're at the 2 year mark, it's the natural progression for expats in poland. honeymoon is over.

bolle wrote:


yeah. it's blatant. par for the course for this guy. you honestly have a serious America complex. honestly delph, get a grip.

USA, Canada / PolAm style Thanksgiving? [35]

delph wrote:


4 thighs = 50zl.

couldn't find a whole duck but just as well, thighs are my favorite part anyway. I'm looking forward to it.

USA, Canada / PolAm style Thanksgiving? [35]

Varsovian wrote:


what a senseless comment. tell me what holidays you celebrate and I'm sure i could come up with something similar.

Work / Average monthly salary in Poland is around 1000 PLN (few hundred bucks). [387]

Must I remind you again 'Lodz the joke' how ridiculous you sound on this forum?

Lodz the boat wrote yesterday:


and now, yet again, you're completely contradicting yourself by writing this:

this was your response yesterday after I called you out on writing similar shite:

"But well ... you wont get it... its called being in love with ones country but yet at the same time being worried about it as well."

no. i think I get it just fine, pappy. it's not "being in love with ones country", it's blind patriotism mixed with utter frustration. bad combination yet common on PF.

I gotta say, you've created a great ad campaign for investing in Poland, btw. I'll start with your words, finish with mine:

"For the ones seeing green....do you know that the coming winter will not be sweet to many Poles?.....It's not paradise here......but please please please come and give this crappy place a try!!!"

USA, Canada / PolAm style Thanksgiving? [35]

went searching for a turkey today.

finally stumbled upon ONE lone whole frozen turkey at EPI. 4.8 kilos, 96zl. It's only going to be for my wife and I so i said forget it. I'm not spending 100zl on a damn bird.

went with duck.

Travel / Restaurant reviews in Poland. [86]

I second Abram's Tower. great place, intimate, no riff raff, good food and Fred, the owner, is really laid back, always willing to talk to his guests. there's honestly no place like it in wroclaw.

also, for any football fans out there (NFL i mean....) you can go there to watch NFL games every sunday night.

News / Polish GDP per capita has dropped ! [30]

Lodz the boat wrote:


it's called blow it out your a$$. I mean honestly. sorry for the vulgarity Mods, but Lodz the boat....get a grip.

i will never take a single comment you make about poland seriously.

ever.

News / Polish GDP per capita has dropped ! [30]

THIS is exactly what I cannot stand on this forum....schmucks posting crap like this:

Lodz the boat, you JUST wrote in another thread:


and within the SAME hour, you wrote this in this thread:


need I say more?

i simply cannot STAND posters like you.

MAN, am I glad I was not born in this country. I can't imagine having this ridiculous love/hate Polish complex.

USA, Canada / PolAm style Thanksgiving? [35]

1jola wrote:


sorry, but that's a strange correlation. have never seen a whole turkey for sale = never been to the countryside.

?

1jola wrote:


1jola wrote:


OH.....i get it. sure, sure. american = only eats crap. right, right.

as a matter of fact, i used to hunt turkey in america and have eaten plenty of fresh turkies, fresher than Zbiszek's in "the countryside". i used to hunt in november and always wore shoes with buckles on them, a big black circular hat and my gun looked like a trumpet at the end....

1jola wrote:


Not too worried about it. I speak Polish quite well and besides......pfffffff!.....I'm American. Money's no object to me. AAAHM REEEEEAAAAHHCH BEEEAAAAATCH!!!!

USA, Canada / Not everyone that lives or comes from America is RICH! [300]

urszula wrote:


compared to where???

USA, Canada / PolAm style Thanksgiving? [35]

you know, i was considering doing something this year for thanksgiving. do they sell whole turkies anywhere in wroclaw? i'd like to avoid the supermarkets for something like this but....do the supermarkets sell them? i've never seen whole turkies for sale in poland.

USA, Canada / Not everyone that lives or comes from America is RICH! [300]

cheehaw wrote:


uuhhmmm.....of course you can buy anything without a good credit score. it's called CASH.


not everyone's got that kinda dough lying around, bud. yeah, we should pay for EVERYTHING in cash....only......WE CAN'T.


dude, this entire sentence makes no sense. "if you cannot cover the house fully with cash....."??? who the hell has the money to pay for a house......in cash!!!! what are you talking about buying? a trailor? a lean-to? a teepee?

secondly, 20-25K in cash....you know how they turn you down? if it doesn't reach the required down payment percentage! some people have "First Time Buyer" rights and can put down as little as 5% on a new home (with penalties and additional charges, we'll get to that in a minute) but for most people, about 20% of the entire cost of the house is required to get a mortgage, which means that for a $250,000 home in America, you gotta pony up $50,000. Sure, some people get loans after putting down say 10%, but anything under 20% means you're going to get hammered with PMI, which for those of you that aren't familiar with PMI, it's basically a high risk tax that you get whacked with until you have paid enough into the loan to get to 20% of the total cost of the house. the additional PMI charge will be whacking you for several years till you hit 20% and will total thousands and thousands of extra dollars you wouldn't have spent if you had enough down payment.

banks typically love people who take these kinds of loans because not only are you paying their mortgage interest rate, your'e also paying the "I'm too impatient to wait to buy a house" tax. generally the banks win, occasionally the family goes bankrupt and they lose. it's loaning activity like this that has america in the pickle its in now.