News / Poland's PIS go back to their old ways [194]

@Smurf: I am not new in Poland and my husband was Polish so believe me, I know about Poland ;). I first came to Poland (for 2 months) in 1990 ;).

News / Are Poland's politicians able to speak foreign languages? [29]

@Smurf: Get ouf of your village and you would know that French is an international language (the UN's secretary needs to be fluent in both English and French, EU has its parliaments and commission in French speaking cities (Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg, French is the official language of the Olympic Games, and in a large number of internatonal organizations, such as Post office for instance). I can also assure you that especially since 2004, most major politicians and civil servants in Poland also learn French.

If you don't know, it does not mean that "nie ma" ;)

@Polsyr: They could also have spoken French. 1. Prince Frederik's father, Henri de Montpezat (still alive?) is (was?) French and he and his brother were raised in both Danish and French and 2. Komorowski being an aristocrat and related to Belgium Queen, it's not to be ruled out that he speaks French (most aritocrats do)...

News / Are Poland's politicians able to speak foreign languages? [29]

@Lyszko: absolutely! Making a mistake in a foreign language can be very dangerous especially in those circles and therefore top qualified interpreters are always around.

News / Poland's PIS go back to their old ways [194]

@Roger: although I am allergic to PiS (and cannot stand PO), I think the guy is likeable and that's the reason why (I think) he was chosen to be a candidate. Of course, even idiots are elected (or even worse than idiots sometimes if we think about ... Hitler) but in "democratic" system, whoever gets the most votes is elected.

First of all, he'll have a 3 month "honeymoon" period.

It is amazing to read here (and on top of that from NON Poles) that the guy shall be lousy. I don't hope him to be lousy since it'll be bad for Poland and for the Poles. Most probably, PiS shall win in October and that's it (I personally would prefer another situation but it shall not happen).

Work / I am from India - how difficult is to find a job in Poland? [11]

@Marsu: it's close to that ;). You forget about finding restaurants and spices ;)

Work / I am from India - how difficult is to find a job in Poland? [11]

@Marsu: sure! If an employer has to choose between a Pole and an Indian speaking some Polish pidgin, the choice shall be easy;)

News / Poland's PIS go back to their old ways [194]

The guy has been President for only a couple of hours. He is president for the only reason that he was chosen by a majority of Poles. He has not started anything yet so why already condemning him? Why not giving him a chance?

(I am not pro-PiS but since the guy is the choice of most Poles, he deserves respect and to be given a chance).

Work / I am from India - how difficult is to find a job in Poland? [11]

@Roger: for sure but I think most are naive because they expect to be allowed to live/work everywhere in the EU once they have a Polish work permit ;).

@Marsu: obviously if no knowledge of another Slavic language (the op's case for instance), Polish is pure hell to learn but knowing the language is not enough to be able to live/work in Poland. There are other factors like getting work permit.

Work / I am from India - how difficult is to find a job in Poland? [11]

@Marsu: I bet this is an alibi to enter EU. First Poland, and then further West ;)

News / Poland's PIS go back to their old ways [194]

If I understand right, Sejm shall close tonight for 4 weeks vacation. In case, Sejm passes some PO and others' bills prior to October 25, said bills shall be vetoed by Duda as I suppose that the President of Poland must sign so bills can become laws. If so (I believe it is), PiS through Duda is already ruling Poland and that's the reason why EW said yesterday that she and her goverment mean to "work with the President".

I was out for shopping for close to 2 hours this am and the city looks like the way it normally is. Nobody seems anxious ;)

News / Are Poland's politicians able to speak foreign languages? [29]

@Jon: I heard Cameron speaking French and I would not call it "fluent". At best, he can have a B1 minus level ;). Blair too is far from perfect and has a thick British accent. Probably the best at French is John Kerry (= family reasons) although very strong American accent

Putin speaks good German.

A few do speak foreign languages for a lot of reasons, including family and private matters, but no one has to.

If Duda speaks only Polish, he'll have interpreters. He cannot of course know 15 languages ;)

I assume one cannot judge a politican's ability by their foreign language knowledge ;)

News / Are Poland's politicians able to speak foreign languages? [29]

if the Croatian learnt English (did she live abroad?), it is first of all because no one else speaks her language ;). Since Croatian is not an international language, in order to make if, it is a must to learn other languages.

Study / Is there racism in Poznan and hate crime against coloured people (students)? [59]

@Delphi: if so many people ask about racism and xenophobia in Poland, it's obviously because Poland has a bad reputation (3 days ago GW published the result of an international study done in 41 countries and Poland came 32) and nobody can deny the reality. Poland is 98% catholic, monoethnic monocultural so most Poles have never met anyone different. Sorry, it's not because you have a couple of hundreds students from abroad that it makes the place "international". Of course, for instance Warsaw is more "international" than let's say Kielce or Sosnowieć but I would not consider Warsaw "international" in comparison with Western capitals. What's the % of foreigners living (I am no saying spending a few months as Erasmus or executives on a temporary basis) in Poland, or in Warsaw? Most probably less than 1%.-

News / Are Poland's politicians able to speak foreign languages? [29]

@Delph: Tony Blair speaks French for the good reason that he owns a house in France and spends a lot of his time while on vacation there. In the US, John Kerry speaks very good French because spent a lot of time in France as a child (on his mother's side, they are French and a French cousin of his (Brice Lalonde) was Minister of the Environment some 25 years ago.

The above speak French because of family and private matters. As to Hollande, he does not speak English (why should he?). Among the French politicans who speak good English: Christine Lagarde, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and several past and current ministers, such as Laurent Fabius, Emmanuel Macron and a few others I don't recall. Besides English, some are fluent in other languages, for instance Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who comes from Barcelona ...

In the US and in UK how many politicians do speak any other language? ;)

News / Are Poland's politicians able to speak foreign languages? [29]

@Roger: "lol" :)

News / Are Poland's politicians able to speak foreign languages? [29]

@Delphi: if Duda does not speak a word of English, so what? He'll have dozens of interpreters around and besides, do for instance Obama and Cameron speak 3 words in any foreign language?

Although I am not a PiS supporter (nor I am a PO supporter), criticizing a guy because he does not speak English is rather small...

Work / Cost of living in Gdańsk, average salary for experienced software engineer in Poland [64]

@Jil: no, it does not get to -35 in Gdansk. It is very cold like that only in the East of Poland and not always For me, the hardest in winter in Poland is not the cold but it is the lack of light and it's awful. Days get short as of October and for instance around mid-November, it's already night at 3.30. Days are short and nights are long for about 5 months per year and it is very hard.

With your salary, you'll be more than alright. Be in mind that most Poles make no more than peanuts.

Study / Is there racism in Poznan and hate crime against coloured people (students)? [59]

@Wulkan: have I said ON TV? No, so don't read what people don't write. Yes, a lot of Poles call blacks "apes" and consider Muslims as terrorists. This is unfortunately the truth and hiding your head in the sand like you do does not change reality.

And what about all the nasty anti Jewish comments most Poles make? Most Poles of course have never met a Jew but it does not prevent them from nasty comments.

Where I am from, racism, xenophobia, homophobia are punished (3 years in jail and 75,000 euro fine) and therefore I am shocked by comments made by too many Poles.

Since Poles are not used to see and to deal with different people, Poland is a closed society and by definition it cannot be tolerant.

I was raised in multi cultural society, I have been to school and lived with probably more than 30 different nationalities (all religions too) and yes, it is easy to say that Poland is NOT international. If one considers the number of foreigners and the number of Poles in Poland, it is obvious that most Poles have never interacted with any (simple maths). When here, I tell them that most muslims live the way I do and are decent people, that blacks are decent people too, I often get weird looks (I hang around educated people in Warsaw, not idiots in small village).

Denying situation does not change it. Pretending that Poland is "international" is a lie. Go West and you'll see "international" societies. Poland is 98% catholic and racially most homogenous, which means that it cannot be open to others.

PS: that American colleague I'm talking about since coming from NY is used to international places, with different cultures and thus it is normal that he had trouble to get used to Warsaw where 99.99% of people are Polish. Poland is a monocultural society.

Study / Is there racism in Poznan and hate crime against coloured people (students)? [59]

@Merc: 100% agreed with you! 99% of Poles have seen people looking different only on TV and beleive that muslims = terrorists and blacks = monkeys. Saying the opposite like some want to pretend is telling lies or refusing to see reality as obviously they are not personally concerned.

As to so callled "international" aspect of cities, the few hundreds of international students and/or expats in each city don't make these cities "international". If one wants to see genuine international cities, it is not in Poland that one needs to go. Even in those so called "international" cities, I daresay at least 98% of Poles have never interacted with foreigners.

2 or 3 days ago, Gazeta Wyborcza published a study on racism and Poland came 32 in 41 countries and is one of the worst in Europe.

Those in PF claiming that everything is rosy in Poland are white Britons who of course don't need to deal with xenophobia and with racism.

Personally, should I not be white and European, I would never set a foot in Poland.

Honestly when "different", Poland is not the place to be. Although some problems, Western Europe, North America, Australia are the places to go.

It is extremely difficult to be stigmatised, to be given dirty looks, to hear nasty comments simply because one is different. And this is the reality of Poland.

@Wulkan: I once had a colleague from NY who felt claustrophobic in Warsaw as he was used to multi cultural international cities.

PS: when we see the big fuss Poles make about the some 1,800 refugees EU want Poland to accept, we can call it a proof of Poland not being open and tolerant.

Law / Polish Business Immigration and TRP/TRC [14]

@Bas: why in the word do you want to settle down in Poland? A country with a culture and a religion completely different from yours? Poland is a homogenous, catholic, closed society and therefore you won't feel comfortable and also won't be accepted by people. Poland happens to be one of the most racist and anti muslim (for most Poles Muslims are seen as (potential) terrorists) countries in Europe.

Yesterday's Gazeta Wyborcza published an international survey made in 41 countries and in terms of racism and xenophobia Poland cames 32. According to study, the most tolerant country is Sweden.

Why don't you go to UK instead where you'd feel more comfortable (a lot of Pakistanis live there, you speak English and the British societey is overall very tolerant).

Love / Do Polish men think that Polish girls are materialistic and demanding ? [37]

Basically, I think that most girls in Poland and similar countries see men first as "providers" whereas most girls in the West see men first as "partners". Of course, there are a lot of exemptions but basically that's the way people are raised in Poland (+ similar countries) and in the West.

Real Estate / How to buy an apartment in Poland - can I pay in full cash? [20]

Of course, no problem! I bought my flat in August 2014 and paid cash. I just needed to prove the origin of the money used to pay for flat, which is normal. I did not need a lawyer, all was done with real estate agent and notary.

Work / Opinion and advice on Foodtruck business in Poland. Permits, renting organization. [8]

"7-8" in Poznan! It does not make a lot ;). In Warsaw, I have seen max 2 of them, none in the center. Sorry, but to let foodtrucks in Cracow's Old Town would be poor taste.

Even if you have 7 or 8 in Poznan, foodtrucks are not commun in Poland. Polish people prefer to sit in cafés, in restaurants when eating outside.

Work / Opinion and advice on Foodtruck business in Poland. Permits, renting organization. [8]

the only place to make liveable money would be to work on the Rynek but I seriously doubt a permit be delivered to sell fries and other "crap" in such a historic area. Foodtruck is not a tradition in Poland. I may have seen 1 or 2 in Warsaw, selling kebabs and Belgian fries but we could count the customers on the fingers of one hand.

In order to make money with that sort of business, need to go to Mediterranean sea resorts during the season.

Poland is not the place (otherwise it would have been done already ;)).

History / Poland PRL era shops in pictures [17]

@Jon: even in all these international café chains. I suppose that I'm used to it because I'm not shocked.

There is also a pizzeria in my neighborhood (the 1st established pizza place in Warsaw) doing it. They offer around 50 different kinds of pizzas, which are very good so people don't mind

They even do it now at McDonald's and it's much better than the way it used to be... I don't go to Mcdo's often but the very rare times when I go, I notice that it's much quicker.

History / Poland PRL era shops in pictures [17]

@Roger: I mean what Bull says re 2 lines. In many places, mostly in cafés. There is also a pizzeria in my neighborhood doing this and sometimes it's so long (but their pizzas are really good).

History / Poland PRL era shops in pictures [17]

@Bullfrog: Yes, I remember to stand in 3 lines during the "former system".

It's very common also NOW in Poland to first order, pay and receive a ticket and then go and get one's coffee, ice cream or whatever...

Food / SURVEY OF THE POLISH CONSUMERS' CONSUMPTION HABITS OF CAFÉS [28]

No, Poles don't drink strong coffee but they drink it rather "medium", I would say between American coffee and more southern European (Italy, Spain, France) coffee. I personally cannot drink southern European coffee because too strong and I find the Polish coffee alright.

Coffee drinking is rather new in Poland, which is a tea drinking country. Coffee used to cost a lot in Poland until a few years ago and I remember bringing jars of coffee from abroad to relatives and also giving some to hospital staff.

Work / Polish Salary and Tax [43]

Yes, there is already a law (it's like that anywhere else in the world) and honestly I don't understand why those IT employers hire 3rd worlders rather than Poles. I doubt that Poles cannot work at such jobs.

Of course, when a native level knowledge of a particular language is requested, normal to hire a native speaker thereof but when the job language is English, people from Nepal, Turkey and so forth are not better at English than Poles are.

@Kokoszyn: 1. these companies only come to Poland because Polish government want them to come and 2. most of those 3rd worlders stcik to themselves and have very little (if any) contact with the average Pole.

Work / New business start-up in Poland - opinions and ideas [32]

@Luke: the problem with tenants who don't pay is that you cannot throw them out. We had tenants for a few years and then stopped since only problems, including one who left while owing us several months and after some serious damages (we even found the bathroom sink inside the bedroom closet ;)).

In Poland you may not ask potentual tenants about their financial situation so you don't know whether they'll be able to pay rent and one they are in your property, at best it is a miracle to be allowed to throw them out (and in some cases you may not).

Very risky business!