USA, Canada / Would like to move back to Poland from New York after living in USA for 20 years. [155]


if you earn say $50,000/year gross, your take home pay is usually minus about 25%, depending on how you file, number of dependents, what state you live in (7 states have no income tax for example), etc. This also depends on what your company contributes to medical benefits, whether or not you have a pension, 401K, etc.

USA, Canada / Would like to move back to Poland from New York after living in USA for 20 years. [155]


and yet, look how beautiful Americans' teeth are compared to just about anywhere else.

you obviously have a train wreck of a set of teeth. root canals, another $15,000 worth of surgery you speak of......i don't want to judge without asking.....do you have some rare medical condition that affects your teeth or something?

USA, Canada / Would like to move back to Poland from New York after living in USA for 20 years. [155]


For a "good" school, huh? OK. Tuition currently costs $38,891 per year to attend an undergrad program at Harvard University, one of the most prominent universities in not just the United States, but the entire world. Let that little bit of information stand as our first piece of evidence of how this girl is looking to exaggerate the facts.


haha, "jobs" huh? Burger King? Cleaning lady? Supermarket cashier? Holy crap this is absurd.


Chicago currently has the most expensive gas in the COUNTRY, averaging $4.48/gallon. Compare that to where I live down south, at $3.53. Either way, gas in the US is far more affordable than anywhere in europe by a long shot.


"some" dental work? what the hell did you have done, all your top teeth yanked out and replaced with implants? $15,000?!!!

USA, Canada / General differences between Poland and the USA? [184]

In any case, it's impossible to live in the USA these days and not have a checking account because everyone pays bills online now and ATM withdrawals at your bank are free. some banks/credit unions have free checking accounts regardless, others require that you have direct deposit with your job, that's it. i don't know anyone that actually receives a check from their employer anymore, it just gets wired to their checking account.

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


because real out of pocket costs matter.

middle class people with even decent insurance will not pay anywhere near that amount. the middle upper to upper class pay pennies on the dollar because they surely have great insurance policies. the poor don't pay sh!t because the government pays for their healthcare (medicare). the main group that is at risk is lower middle class people that are above the poverty line but work crummy jobs with poor to no insurance which means they can either pay more for better insurance or gamble that nothing will happen. many of them gamble.

even fresh out of college grads walking into their first "real job" with a "real company" are offered comprehensive insurance that they pay very little for and once they get married, the couple will choose between the two of them who has the best/cheapest insurance coverage and go from there.

i've always been an advocate of health care reform in the USA, it has it's problems, but if we're talking about the cost of basic coverage for dental, eye, ER visits and such, most of us are taken care of on the cheap.

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


ok, let's.


if you don't have dental insurance, which would be nobody's fault but your own, maybe it costs that much.


if you don't have health insurance, which would be nobody's fault but your own, ok, it might cost that much.


i'd rather not repeat myself.

I spent 2 full days in the hospital once for food poisoning. final cost? $50, which is an average copay for someone being admitted to the ER with health insurance.


oh, the nerve! a country that expects you to pay tax when buying vehicles?! now that's just pushin' it!

Language / What is Szkole used for?? [8]

jak tam szkola? = how is school?

in real conversation it will be asked like that.

in school = w szkole

USA, Canada / What do Polish people think of the USA [287]


And regarding traffic citations, when you receive a driver's license in the USA in whatever state you receive it in, when you sign just before they hand you the license you are signing that you understand ALL that state's traffic laws. Driving is a revocable privilege, not a right, and it is YOU the citizen's responsibility to make yourself aware of the laws that govern it.

USA, Canada / What do Polish people think of the USA [287]


You're saying America's rednecks and mountain folk live a "sensible life"? Crime is low there because few people live there and people out there don't have much to steal. Education in rural America is the worst in the country:

foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/10/15/americas-best-and-worst-educated-states

Inner city schools in high crime areas offer poor education as well but the best colleges are in the larger cities. If you're going to roll the dice in the US on an elementary/middle school/high school education, you'd be best doing it in the suburbs.

USA, Canada / What do Polish people think of the USA [287]


You have 10 federal holidays a year. As for vacation time, that varies from job to job but you generally start with 10 days of vacation per year.


do some? yes. does everyone? of course not.


anyone knows that's false.


righto.


oh, we're so sorry to inconvenience you for breaking the law.


yes....there is. it's the same book police officers learned the laws in. the state law book of whatever state they work in. what the $hit are you talking about. here's a sure fire way of acquiring one.....walk into a police precinct and ask how to get the state law book. done deal. if you're too lazy for that, use the Google. state laws in any state are always available online.


Is that a serious question? A certified peace officer saw what he believed to be an infraction of the law which means you either plead guilty right away by sending in the money for the fine or go before a judge and state your plea.

btw, for most traffic violations, if you appear in court the judge will often times lower your fine. for example, if you were going 25mph over the speed limit, they'll lower it to say 15mph. it doesn't matter what the officer wrote in the ticket, the judge makes the final decision. if you're not a repeat offender and didn't give the police officer a hard time when he cited you, judges are generally understanding.

Love / Getting married in Poland. Lenght of a pre-marriage course in Poland? [4]

my advice, have a civil marriage in Ireland to dodge all the paperwork. then you can still give ur catholic girl the church wedding she always dreamed of without the Polish paperwork side to worry about. otherwise, you could be looking at 6 months. oh, and don't forget to tip your priest when you choose a church (paid upfront) because they can turn you down for any reason. the going rate when i did it was i think 500-600.

Language / Too many English words in the Polish language! [709]

that doesn't even count. there's really no other way to say pierogi besides pierogi. dumplings aren't the same....so what choice does an English speaker, or Spanish speaker, or any speaker actually have?

Language / When is speaking Polish showing off and when is it ok? [46]

doesn't the same concept of "showing off" that relates to everything else in this world apply to "speaking Polish"?

i don't understand the question.

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

Chimay? Duvel? Leffe? Kwak? Hell, even Three Philosophers (made in New York but is Belgiun style) is amazing beer.

you're smokin' crack. or disagreeing just to disagree.

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


the Belgians seem to do just fine with 8%-9% beer.....

USA, Canada / Better life in USA or Canada? - expats opinions and your comparison [143]


you'd like to talk about statistics that are 10-13 years old.....

in that case, let's talk about the unemployment rate in the USA in 2007, a mere 6 years ago....it was under 5%.


but we won't and the whole world knows it.

pundit after pundit after media outlet after media outlet for decades have been talking about how the US economy is going to crash, that everyone is going to pull all their money out of the banks and credit will dry up into nothing.....it's old hat, man. the USA will continue to be the USA for a very long time because the world, as much as they like to talk behind her back, knows how much they depend on good ole' Mickey Mouse and apple pie to keep the gears turning.

USA, Canada / Better life in USA or Canada? - expats opinions and your comparison [143]


nobody wants to move to Virginia? Vermont? Hawaii? New Hampshire? And if you can stand the Mormons....Utah?

Not to mention, explain how their weather is any more "severe" than all of Canada.

USA, Canada / Better life in USA or Canada? - expats opinions and your comparison [143]


this conversation is laughable.

"staggering" you say? the unemployment rate as of December 2012 in the USA was 7.8% with 25 states in the USA currently under 7%. It's 7.1% in Canada. So in your words, half the states in the USA see Canada's unemployment rate as "staggering".

as a matter of fact, take a look at the top 14, they are currently under 6%:

1 NORTH DAKOTA 3.2
2 NEBRASKA 3.7
3 SOUTH DAKOTA 4.4
4 IOWA 4.9
4 WYOMING 4.9
6 OKLAHOMA 5.1
6 VERMONT 5.1
8 HAWAII 5.2
8 UTAH 5.2
10 KANSAS 5.4
11 LOUISIANA 5.5
11 MINNESOTA 5.5
11 VIRGINIA 5.5
14 MONTANA 5.7
14 NEW HAMPSHIRE 5.7

Just imagine what they think about Canada's unemployment rate!

it's also laugh out loud ridiculous to hear people comparing weather in Canuck-land to the USA's. In case you guys lost your globe, Canada is NORTH of the USA and hey, they sure seem to play a lot more hockey up there, too. me thinks most people in Canada also spend a lot more time wearing parkas and gloves than the Americans.

Language / How hard is it to learn Polish? [178]


nah, i got what you wrote just fine.


i'm assuming you couldn't keep a straight face even as you typed that.


no need to speak all those languages and you know it. I used to sit down and watch 'Nova' and catch maybe 25% of the spoken words, over 50% if it's subtitled, and I'm not even a native slavic speaker. Rumor has it that the Slovakian language is even closer to Polish than Czech. My wife can understand at least 50% of spoken words in Czech and when I went to Prague with my Polish friends, they spoke Polish to the Czechs and did just fine. My brother in law is straight from Moscow, we talk about Polish vs. Russian all the time, I'm well aware of the similarities/differences.

Don't make the mistake in thinking I'm one of those dime a dozen jack ass americans that went to Poland to chase tail, spent 9 months teaching in some garbage callan school coming in every morning stinking like Zywiec and gave Polish the ole' college try and failed miserably, only now to come on here and tell everyone how impossible it is. I studied my pants off to learn Polish (yes, I LEARNED Polish) and know just how difficult it is compared to other languages I've studied. So for everyone shopping the bookstores for 'Hurra! Po Polsku' or 'Isc czy chodzic?' or '301 Polish Verbs' or 'Colloquial Polish', to answer your question, yes, Polish is a b!tch to learn.

Language / How hard is it to learn Polish? [178]


YES.


are you being serious with this statement? you think that because Polish has cases that THAT'S why it's easier for Russians to understand Polish? haha, how about the fact that both languages are in the same damn language family and half the words sound similar, sometimes the same! Not only do both languages have case systems, they both have very very similar case systems because.....drum roll.....they're in the same language family.

Here's the real truth.....an English speaker is going to struggle like hell with Polish because Polish is hard as hell and in a completely different language family, not to mention there's pretty much zero exposure to Polish for the average English speaker and unlimited exposure to English for a Pole, or a German, or a Russian, or whoever.

Let's answer the OP's original question: Polish is hard as hell to learn for non slavic speakers. There's no other way around it.

Life / Which services is Poland still waiting for? [218]


haha, why yes.....and they just so happen to be the cheapest place to stay available.

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

Poland's unemployment rate as of September 2012 was 12.4%, or roughly 5 million people. Are you saying that if another 3 million unemployed people left Poland to live elsewhere, Poland would gladly pack their bags because it will lower the unemployment rate?

USA, Canada / Do many Polish people in America hate Americans? [592]


HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

just stop typing.

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


are you suggesting that the Polish government simply "didn't care" when millions of Poles ran to Great Britain as soon as the borders opened up? you obviously need a refresher course on how socialized countries operate.

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

there are a few sides to that argument, though. how many Lithuanians have the means to pack up their life and move to the USA, find a Lithuanian community that will eventually supply them with work, resources, social circles.....ask any American where there are Polish communities, at the very least Brooklyn and Chicago will come to mind.....but Lithuanians? What's a Lithuanian? Is that in Europe?

it's been covered a hundred times on this thread........but again, you must at the very least consider the possibility that Poland's government is the driving force against Poles getting visa free travel to the USA.

Language / When would one use nowy and when would he use nowego? [23]


learning phrases is a good way to get some grammar to stick, as long as you eventually understand why it is in fact written that way. if all you do is cram phrases, you will be caught in a small bubble. when you are in conversation and need to use the word but in a different context, or a different quantity, you start scrambling.

Language / When would one use nowy and when would he use nowego? [23]


you "concede" Lyzko, but what do I read in the very next post? Someone correcting your grammar. And then you kept on going. Gotta stop, holmes.


uhmm hmmm.

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


when i read your post, you looked like you were here in the USA trying to get all sorts of people visa's to the usa, some of them being illegal. i posted accordingly because trust me man, you wouldn't be the first person on this forum that just can't understand why the process is so hard, all the while having no business being here.

if you're legit, my apologies. btw, what is your job title.....do you work for the USCIS or something?

Language / When would one use nowy and when would he use nowego? [23]


you really should stay away from these types of threads, Lyzko. you constantly make grammatical errors when trying to provide examples. no offense dude, but seriously, every time you type something while tryping to help someone out, somebody else needs to correct your polish grammar.

Shapeshifter wrote:


i'll tell it to you straight, Shapeshifter. based on this question, you haven't even begun to understand polish grammar, therefore, you're asking the wrong question. you're so far behind that you wouldn't even understand the explanation.

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


and you don't think the feds take that into consideration as you continue to do your paperwork?

of course "it is hard" for people such as yourself.....and it should be. your situation doesn't exactly put you at the front of the line.