Work / Teaching English in Krakow -- how to find students? [52]


In all honesty, Krakow is full of natives that want to do just that. The problem is that no-one is likely to take a young (18/19) year old teacher unless you're dirt cheap - and by cheap, I mean 25zl/hr or less.

Your best hope would be to offer a free trial lesson and get them in that way - but be warned - people that pay for private lessons expect you to know your stuff. It's not enough to simply turn up and say "I'm a private tutor" - they will expect you to be able to explain stuff. For private lessons, credentials don't really matter (heck, I would argue that they're worthless in most schools) - but the ability to keep the student happy is paramount. If you find yourself struggling to explain something, they won't be back.

Basically, don't rely on the possibility of getting lessons. If you get them, it can be a pleasant surprise - but you won't find people calling you begging for lessons.

Law / Over stay in Poland (Canadian citizen) [10]


Doesn't matter where you come from - for the purposes of entering into the EU/EEA/CH, a national ID card (issued by an EU/EEA/CH state) is good enough. And as I said - it's actually illegal to use a foreign document to identify yourself to the Polish State if you already possess a Polish ID card.

The old style ID booklets on the other hand were never good enough to enter with.

If you think about connecting flights - you could fly from JFK to FRA, transit there en route to POZ - you won't go through passport control in FRA, and as far as anyone's concerned in POZ, you've came on a flight from FRA.

Real Estate / Just by gauging the interest in this forum says all about property in PL [36]


I can't speak for elsewhere, but in Poznan, the communist era flats and blocks are in better shape than many from the post-communist era. Where's dnz, I'm sure he'll love to tell everyone about the build quality of flats that he's had in Poland :/

Law / Over stay in Poland (Canadian citizen) [10]

Why didn't you just enter Poland on the ID card?

History / Chance of Lwów once again became coming part of Poland [344]


Well, if your ancestors are Polish, surely they should understand all about land being seized from the rightful owners. Therefore, you agree that Australia should be returned to the Aboriginals and then Poland can have Lwow back, alongside giving up the Recovered Territories?

Seems fair to me.

History / Chance of Lwów once again became coming part of Poland [344]


Who originally owned it, criminal? Who originally settled it before your ancestors came on the prison ship? The Aboriginals.

Therefore, give it back, and then we can talk about returning Lwow to Poland.


Nice to see you calling it Lviv - nice Ukranian name, isn't it?

Life / Doctors taking bribes in Poland [76]


It actually is no different to the UK in this respect - the only difference is that you get an invoice for the 'bribe' in the UK.

An example from the UK. A friend of mine had thyroid problems and needed to see a specialist. Waiting time - 18 weeks. Then it was discovered that she was actually covered under private medicine due to her dad's policy covering children in full time education without age limit (she was in university) - and she got to see exactly the same specialist every two weeks as she was due to see in 18 weeks.

What's the difference between that and paying a 500 zloty bribe to skip the queue to the specialist in Poland?

History / Chance of Lwów once again became coming part of Poland [344]


I assume then, that you'll be giving back Australia to the aboriginals then?

Ah wait...one rule for one, one rule for others, right?

I assume that you'll also return Gdansk, Szczecin and Wroclaw to the Germans.

Life / Proper dose of life in Poland... the harsh realities. [64]


You do if you wish to have your own business.

It's a mystery to me as to how small businesses work in Poland.

History / Chance of Lwów once again became coming part of Poland [344]


A huge ethnic minority that will be significantly against the Polish state - as a minimum, Poland would have to grant considerable autonomy to the region. And when they do that, other provinces will demand similar autonomy. Within 30 years, you'd have a similar situation to Spain arising.


Blimey, you obviously don't live in Europe.


No they won't. People in Lwow are fiercely proud of their country - and they would much rather live in poverty than be part of another country. Given that Ukranians have waited hundreds of years for their own nation, why would they give it up?

Poland would be far better off following the German model - accept it, and just buy everything in sight instead. See also : Wroclaw.

History / Chance of Lwów once again became coming part of Poland [344]


Poland can barely afford to deal with some of the really deprived areas - let alone dealing with a huge, underdeveloped area. Anyone that's actually been to the area around Lwów can see that there's crushing poverty in the villages - how could Poland afford to integrate that when she's struggling to deal with the problems in poorer provinces?

Law / Father and Grandmother Polish born - can I get a Polish passport? [14]

You might be able to - it depends. You can contact me for a free inital consultation - office@lindenia :)

Law / EU grants to small business in Poland-advice needed [27]


In all honesty, forget it. There is some degree of funding available, but competition is fierce - and funds are scarce. You might have a degree of luck if you were based in economically deprived areas, but barely any money is going towards businesses in cities - they're just not a priority at all. The powers that be are also much more likely to fund manufacturing rather than services - partially because there's something tangible involved that can provide work for skilled, unemployed workers. A factory can also be bought and production carried on - whereas a restaurant that fails can have a black mark against it for years.

What qualifications do you have in running the kind of business that you're interested in? They do place emphasis on qualifications - just like Polish society as a whole.


Waste of money and time - if we're speaking EU money, there are funded (by the EU) organisations that deal with helping people apply for grants. Anyone claiming in Poland that they can obtain funding for a small business is a scammer - unless it's for general assistance. My business does help people apply for grants, but this is more to do with those inexperienced in business than those who already know and understand business. I'd also say that the chances of success are very very slim - everyone wants EU money, and many good projects aren't being funded.

Now - if you produce food, you're far more likely to obtain grants and funding.

Life / Do you think a smoking ban would be a good thing in Polish restaurants and Bars? [217]


Actually - I have a good feeling that this amendment won't be signed into law. Think about Krakow - those huge, Rynek bars and restaurants will be subject to the smoking ban, while smaller places won't be. Of course the expensive, big places will howl - and they'll demand an equal playing field.

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


It's an interesting topic actually, because the black economy is still very strong in Poland. You might hear about people on 600zl disability benefits - but what they're not telling you is that they also work full time in a parking garage making another 1000zl cash in hand - and bearing in mind that they'll qualify for social housing with such low benefits, they're actually not that badly off.

For what it's worth, I don't believe the statistics at all when it comes to wages. Real examples count for much more.

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


Yup, hence why I invite you to the pub either in Poznan or in Wroclaw :)

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


As far as I'm concerned, it makes you sound like an simpleton. Typical American English really - and it's why American English is looked down upon by everyone in the UK and Ireland. Anyone saying "Stops me having normal conversation" simply sounds Polish (or indeed, from any other language where articles aren't used). Of course, cover up as you will, but your posts are riddled with grammatical mistakes. If I was obsessive like you, I'd go through your posts with a fine comb and point out every mistake, but it's far more fun to watch you make them repeatedly!


Anyone who has to boast about what money they're earning on an internet forum (where they clearly won't back it up with any evidence) is quite frankly deluded. Also, I find it hard to believe that anyone in Poznan (where being a scrooge is seen as a positive character trait) would pay that kind of money when there's a university here with far more qualified natives than yourself working there, along with several established natives-only schools with teachers with far more qualifications (and reputation) than yourself.

Anyone can be a hero on the internet, can't they? :)

(keep on rocking with those 30zl/hr private lessons!)

Tell you what, we're taking a trip to Wroclaw sooner rather than later, I'm sure you'll be game for visiting Poznanians in the pub, won't you? I can tell you all about Asia...

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


You're not busting my balls, mate.


I'm absolutely astounded that you call yourself an English teacher when you make such basic mistakes in English. As I said - what are you going to do when native teachers are seen as nothing special?

As an aside - is it just anecdotal evidence, or are English teaching salaries actually going down?

Law / To know about the Jatux company in Poland? [33]


I've e-mailed you, but if you could obtain evidence of these advertisements, it would be gratefully appreciated - it's a case for the police, and obtaining as much hard evidence as possible is absolutely crucial here.

Life / I'm from Polish descent. CAN YOU GUYS EXPLAIN THE EU TO ME? [115]


The problem with the CAP is that even British farmers freely admit that the subsidies are what keeps them going. I have a friend who has around 200 beef cattle at any one time - not a huge amount, but enough to be going on with. The economics just don't add up without the EU subsidies - as he bluntly puts it, it's the EU or nothing for him as a farmer.

Personally, I'd rather see national governments decide what to subsidise on their own accord.


Gotta love the way that he doesn't even live in Poland, yet feels free to criticise the UK, despite probably never having been to the UK!

If I recall correctly, Canada is the place where they're so politically correct that they even have transgender toilets!

Life / I'm from Polish descent. CAN YOU GUYS EXPLAIN THE EU TO ME? [115]


And in return, America got a steadfast ally against Communism. America hardly gave Europe money because she felt nice - she gave money to Europe to ensure that America would have a firm presence upon Western Europe.

Calling Germans "********" just shows that you're terribly ignorant about modern Europe - you might want to note that the Polish Foreign Minister has just managed to pull off a nice piece of diplomacy with Germany.


Aha, all is clear. You believe President Kaczynski is a good, strong leader, don't you? :)

Let's not forget that the "mess" of the UK and France is considerably wealthier than Poland and far more stable.


It actually does make things significantly better in many areas - the EU should be more efficient now, and Lisbon also crucially, for the first time, introduces the formal exit mechanism that the EU was criticised for lacking. Really, Lisbon was a way of making the EU able to operate with the inevitable addition of most of the remaining European countries. The EU was also deadlocked at 27 due to Nice imposing a hard limit - which is why Croatia is still out in the cold despite being more than ready for membership.

Remeber, people voted for national parliaments - and in some cases, like in the UK and Poland, there are elections coming up in which anti-EU parties can make a case for withdrawal.


Quite the opposite in fact - Switzerland was told in no uncertain terms that they either accepted many difficult things (right to reside and work for EU nationals and their families being the big one, alongside Schengen) or they faced having the bilateral trade treaties torn up. They managed to get away without contributing money to the EU - but they certainly didn't get it all their own way. Just look at how much EU legislation is extended to Switzerland - they don't have a choice, it's either accept it or face isolation.

Norway is a huge contributor to the EU - they pay nearly 1 billion Euro a year in membership fees, yet they have little to no say over EU law, which is extended to Norway by means of the EEA. In fact, all that Norway really retains is control over fishing.

The problem is that without the EU having the power to dictate, we would never see things like Open Skies in the EU. And let's not forget that the EU has ensured similar standards throughout Europe - which is fundamentally a good thing for everyone. The recent upgrade for consumer warranties to last 2 years - this is an example where the EU told member states to do something, and it has had a massive benefit for ordinary consumers. Likewise with RHD cars - Poland is inevitably going to be told to register them, which benefits consumers as RHD cars can be bought cheaply.

Let's not forget that ultimately, the whole point of the EU is to bring countries closely together so that the horrors of war can never dawn on Europe again.

I fear however, that one day, we'll see a horrific war between the EU and the USA.

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


They can get much, much more. Let's not forget that there are people out there who managed to get early retirement, then work quite happily cash in hand - and many of the people who got early retirement were in no way "over the hill". Who do you think is working in many of those private car parks?

One thing is very clear : there's a massive gap between the wages in big cities and outside of big cities. But then again, you can buy a flat in "commie osiedle nowhereville" for next to nothing as well.


It's an unskilled job and barely attracts much more than minimum wage in the UK just as well. But the career path is quite steep and so it has its own rewards.

I'm also not sure why people seem to think that living in a small flat is somehow symbolic of Poland being backwards - do you really think most people in London are living in mansions?

UK, Ireland / i used to work with a lot of polish door stewards who were all good friends [22]


He's a Rangers fan, they all wish they were English!

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


The price of basic essentials are a pretty accurate gauge. After all, haven't you heard of the Big Mac index? No? Ah...


Basic economics - with foreign investment spiking up prices dramatically, combined with a lack of decent housing stock, you're always going to get high prices for the best places. But as I've said before, many council owned flats, quite large in nature, are owned by those in their 70's and 80's. Once that generation dies out, we'll start to see much more on the market. There's also the Polish mentality that it's better to hold out for a high price than to take something - which doesn't help with the supply of flats.

Houses are available ridiculously cheaply - maybe still expensive compared to $100k villas in Florida, but then again, Poland hasn't seen a huge crash in her banking system due to bad debts. I actually saw one place today, about 50km from Poznan, a decent size (220sqm on one floor) - yours for 250k. We can do basic economics and say that lenders won't lend right now without a 25% deposit, so a mortgage of 187500 means payments of around 1500 a month. If you can't afford that on a 4400zl salary, what are you spending money on?

As for prices being inflated - if the market is able to bear them, and given that the market didn't crash despite the CHF/PLN exchange rate going the 'wrong' way, I'd suggest that the market was actually pretty stable.


Because, in all honesty, people have better things to do than to reply to someone who clearly is in Poland for two reasons -

1. Better standard of life than in America.
2. Chasing some skirt.

No wonder you're trying so hard to convince everyone that natives are better - what else are you going to do when native teachers are seen as pointless, like what's happened in Scandinavia and Germany?

News / RHD cars in Poland - my campaign to change the rules in Poland [128]


According to the latest information I have (from the local police station) - if you have a valid PESEL in Poland (remeber, no lying to them, they can check) - then you will be given points regardless of what your licence actually is, as the points are tied to your PESEL, not your licence.

Apparently they also have the power to force you to a re-test - but the DVLA in the UK says that they won't recognise a ban under the totting up procedure, so the licence is merely 'lost' to them and not revoked. I don't know what the legal situation is if someone has had their licence revoked in Poland, yet the licence is still valid in the UK - I suspect it'll be similar to the German situation where you'll be banned from Polish roads, but not others.

Having said this, you'd have to be an absolute idiot to get banned for going over 24 points in Poland.

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


In a country where a kilo of chicken breasts can be obtained for 13zl in a major city, it's certainly not difficult to live on 4400zl a month. I can make a huge amount of curry for around 15zl - and decent curry as well!

Fuzzy - :)

The funniest thing about this is that you don't realise how many forum members actually know me in person, and furthermore, there's several forum members who know someone I know (Harry, for instance, knows someone else on here, who I know). The fact that you haven't picked up on it says a lot about your own English skills ;)

Tell you what - next expat meeting we have in Poznan, you should come along.

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


If you're meeting working class Poles, it explains why you think everything is doom and gloom in Poland - those without the ability to get themselves into the new middle class in Poland are very bitter people, even in progressive places like Poznan and Wroclaw. Hardly a day goes by without reading some more moaning from people that are too lazy and stupid to better themselves - yet in the most part, they're earning minimum wage because of their own issues.

And as I've said - middle class workers very often have 'other' sources of income.

Minimum wage working is understandable in places with dire unemployment problems like in Lubuskie, but in major cities, there really is no excuse whatsoever to earn minimum wage.

Anyway, when are you going to stick to the topic?

Life / I'm from Polish descent. CAN YOU GUYS EXPLAIN THE EU TO ME? [115]


And the sooner these subsidies are scrapped, the better. It's the one (massive) failing of the EU in that they cannot deal with the CAP - how does it make any sense whatsoever for farmers to be paid to keep fields fallow?


Well, considering that Germany (and let's not make any mistake here, if it wasn't for Germany pushing for Poland, she never would have obtained EU membership in 2004) has managed to get Poland access to a large internal market, free from barriers and tariffs - alongside all the other benefits, I'd say that Germany does in fact have Polish interests in mind - because as is often quoted, the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.

Here's a suggestion rychlik - come to Europe and see the benefits for yourself. People used to have to queue for hours at Swiecko (the main German-Polish border crossing) - now - no-one even has to stop. Or what about the Germans who buy Polish fuel and cigarettes because it's far cheaper in Poland than in Germany? Likewise, the Polish can come to and fro without any problems whatsoever.

Poland has benefited massively from the EU.

Life / I'm from Polish descent. CAN YOU GUYS EXPLAIN THE EU TO ME? [115]


Polish farmers are ungrateful as hell - not only are they subsidised by the Polish state, but they're also subsidised by the EU. Quite frankly, they benefit massively from the EU - read about the Common Agricultural Policy for more.

The whole "standing up to the EU" thing was simply politics in the part of the President's party - Poland has gained massively from EU entry.


Countries have a formal right to leave the EU if they wish, either via a formal exit or by simply repealing the legislation which allowed the country into the EU to begin with. It's not like the USA where the right to seccession was brutally crushed.


Examine European history 1800-1991. Pay particular attention to how many lives and money was lost in the process of war in Europe. Then come back and ask the question again.

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


If you're earning less than average wage, you can hardly expect to have "nice and comfy" living circumstances. I'm not sure why you think that they should have anything special - if they can't be bothered to earn for it, then they deserve a small flat. I don't suppose you know much, if anything (your ignorance shows here) about the Polish labour market, but any sort of professional couple who have "specialist" job titles should be taking in at least 5000zl in a major city, if not more.

You shouldn't listen to Polish people so much - it's a national trait to tell everyone how badly paid you are and forget to mention all the money made on the black market.

As I've said up there, any sort of teacher with a few years experience should be taking in at least 2500-3000zl a month in a major city if they put the work in. And this is in a profession where salaries are regulated. I've been hearing in Poznan, IT companies have got so desperate to the point where 3500/4000zl salaries are being offered to fresh graduates with the right skills. I know you probably don't pay attention to this kind of thing, but try looking at the cars that middle managers are driving. They're not company cars, and they're not bad cars either. Wonder why? Or you can even ask yourself why even schools in "poor" towns are still doing well - if they were truly earning what they declare, they wouldn't be able to drop 200+ a month into lessons.

Incidentally, one big reason you see families in small apartments is simply financial - banks have and always will demand large deposits for a mortgage. What's the point in throwing money down the drain renting a bigger flat if you're saving up for a mortgage on a decent sized place?

Anyway, the new poor in Poland will be native speakers of languages - just like has happened in many other Western countries.

There are plenty of people living 4 to a 45sqm flat, sure. But equally so, there's plenty of old people out there living 1 or 2 to a huge old flat. Take a trip to Poznan Jezyce sometime and look round - plenty of 90-100+ apartments being occupied by 1 person.