UK, Ireland /
Polish community in Northampton (any success stories / bad experiences?) [20]
Have you ever moved to another city within your own country?
Yes, plenty of times. (With and without any luggage!)
I have and I know that first thing people do is to form a sort of community with people they know - usually the ones who come from the same place.
I know a lot of people who don't do that, and those usually are the more open-minded, less paranoid, less timid and often more confident types. Really, what's so hard about asking your new neighbour if he or she would like a cup of coffee? (Not everyone is a serial-killer or a rapist you know!) I could tell you a thousand stories about perfect strangers - both guys and girls, women and men - I've met who have offered me a room or a place on their couch for a night or whom I've offered the same. Moral of the story: Go with first impressions and don't be too paranoid, timid or distrusting of people. 99% of the people out there are actually pretty normal and can be trusted eventhough some of them might seem a little wacky to you, so there's *always* someone who's friendly enough to call a friend. (No matter which social or cultural background they have.)
They may later change their friends, they may even not make freinds with their countrymen at all, but they form the community in the strange place because it helps them survive.
I think it helps them to feel safe just because they're scared, but the truth is that if you avoid all the drunken clubbers and all the binge-drinkers you're going to meet a lot of non-violent and awesome people.
Nobody says that Polish communities are communities of friends, believe me, they often dislike each other
Why would I socialize with people I dislike? (Yup, that *is* ridiculous!)
do you only do what you really truly want to do? If so, you can consider yourself one of the luckiest person on earth :)
Look, you can twist it however you want, but the truth is that we're all people, and that most people, despite of their big mouths and seemingly volatile attitudes, have their heart in the right place when it *really* matters. So why would you look for Polish people in a foreign country, when you've obviously made the concious decision to leave Poland behind? You can all say you've done all of that for economic reasons, but the truth is that your life doesn't improve *that* much financially, when you move from Poland to England. For some educated people it might make a huge difference to move from one country to another, but realistically speaking, for most people it means they're going to end up with the same simple jobs they've been doing back home.
It may be :) I was a proper stranger in Northampton, probably also a bit scared, so a paranoia was by all means possible.
It's perfectly understandable, but in most cases it's really not necessary.
And not like I've never been backstabbed by a Pole - maybe I'm just more familiar with the Polish way of backstabbing, so it never comes as a total surprise
Don't you think that when you're new somewhere, there might actually be far less people who know you there, and that you'll actually have to endure much less from potential backstabbers than you've ever had to endure in your hometown, where a lot of people may have known you in one way or another, and where some people might've had something against you in one way or another? Have you ever thought about it that way? I mean, I'm willing to bet it's actually *easier* to start somewhere else anew, with a fresh perspective, and a clean slate, if you will.
:)
