Real Estate / Yearly Property Tax - Krakow [8]

You must pay it at the address given in the letter. Go to the nearest tax office and they will advise you.

I think you mean 'gound rent' which is payable in Urzad Miasta near the Courts.

Life / INVISIBLE MAN in shops and offices in Poland? [70]

You can always say: ..."gdzie sie Pani/Pan pcha, tu jest kolejka"...although gdzie sie k....pchasz is so much better.

Real Estate / Should I buy a Free Hold apartment in Kraków? [10]

Ask the agent to write down in Polish exactly what the Polish word is for the apartment (freehold or leasehold) -
Do not let him translate it into English, because he does NOT know how to translate it and gives you the nearest equivalent which he found in a book somewhere.

Once you have the Polish terminology we will then tell you what the Polish terminology means.
As it happens I have an apartment/flat in the Old Town - and I have 'odrebna ksiega wieczysta' individual title deeds.
When you buy a percentage of the building - you cannot ever insist that it is THAT particular apartment that you are buying - you buy the square metres in the building. Do be careful with that.

Real Estate / Should I buy a Free Hold apartment in Kraków? [10]

Have you any idea how difficult it is for a foreigner to buy an apartment with 'spoldzielcze prawo wlasnosciowe' and who would want to such an apartment anyway?

Uzytkowanie wieczyste - you have to have the permission of the owner of the land to use it - and who would want to buy something on someone else's land?

Real Estate / Should I buy a Free Hold apartment in Kraków? [10]

I think that the terms are being confused. Anyone who buys a house/apartment buys the freehold (odrebna ksiega wieczysta) - nobody buys an apartment on leasehold.

You can lease an apartment (i.e. pay rent, but the apartment is never yours).
It would be interesting to know the Polish terms being used.

Love / Maintenance for child born between Irish/Polish parents. [60]

Inka-
Don't waste another breath or a minute of your time on this sub-human excuse for a man.
He is not a man - you were his plaything and now he doesn't want to take any responsibility.
He is not simply worth it. MOVE ON.

If you take him to court for maintenance payments, he will have rights to your son. Remember he wanted the child ABORTED. Think what kind of low-life this sad excuse for a man is.

Bring the child up by yourself.

If you allow this missing-link sub-human to infest your life again, you will be worse off.
Men like that should have their ba..s cut off so he never does it to another girl.
Don't beg him for anything - he had his choice. He will want to know his son one day - but show him the door.

Tell your son (when he is old enough) that his real Dad wanted him aborted.

Men like that give the ones who are decent a bad name. What a sad reflection on today's society - Lots of pleasure - but ZERO responsibility. Sad, but true.

Work / Moving for TEFL job to Poland, what can I expect? [12]

...and don't ever eat anything you don't recognise.

Food / WHY IN POLAND PEOPLE DON'T USE ICE? [142]


...Maybe, just maybe, they look older because....and wait for it now...they've had a harder life. They've only had freedom for the last 20 or so years. USA has had it for centuries...- see the difference now.

And it's got nothing to do with smoking or drinking...many younger looking (read: young) people die because of smoking and drinking and drugs. Comparisons like that are laughable.

Law / Laundromats in Poland? Good business venture or not? [90]


For a start, I don't believe in consumerism - if I NEED something I buy it. I will never buy something because a neightbout has it.

And ...Nice of you to express an opinion about me and about something you know sweet f.a. about.
I am in Poland for few weeks at a time - why would I need a washing machine? I can go to a laundrette and wash what I need in one wash.

I am also renovating a flat - why would I want to go through the trouble of connecting a washer now when I will be changing everything round anyway.

Before you make a comment or express an opinion - try to get your brain in gear and don't write/speak until you know something about the situation.


...How many weeks, years, decades is longer? I am in Poland approx 13 weeks ieach year - how long do I need to be in a country to assess that generally Polish people do not wash as often as they need to. Next time I meet someone who smells - I will tell them .....

Law / Laundromats in Poland? Good business venture or not? [90]

There is a public laundromat in Krakow (ul Dietla). I use it and so do many other people. You can leave your washing there for a service and pick it up later. It has a bar where you can have a drink and relax.

It is attached to a small hotel, so has plenty of business from students/foreign visitors.

As for this unbelievably stupid thought that I don't want to wash in a public machine in which someone else has washed their clothes the answer is simple - wash at 100 degrees -it kills al known germs.

I suppose those peculiar people will never ever use a public toilet - because someone else sat on it before you and we can only imagine what they did. There are more germs on a public toilet seat than there ever will be in a washing machine.

Grow up.


...Have you actually been in? Have you ever done your washing there?
The washers and dryers are going like the clappers all the time.
The girl behind the bar is always doing service washes. The place is busy.
Not everyone has a washing machine. In my case I don't want one as yet, as I'm only in Poland for a few weeks at a time.

Food / Activia/Danone - why so popular in Poland? [13]

if you wrap 'shite' in fancy silver wrapper, advertise it as if it's the best thing since sliced bread, people will buy it.
It can taste horrible, nasty, give you the runs - but ....at least a person can say..look at me... 'I have Danone for breakfast' . It's all about the 'image'.

Law / Banking tax Procedure in Poland [14]


...yeah...and if they had that in Poland, everyone, but everyone would declare their interest on their tax form and pay.....dream on.
What about foreign nationals like me who have money on deposit - I don't have a Polish tax form to complete. So you're going to tell me now that I need to declare interest on my savings to my taxman - year, right.

Tax on interest has been in existence for a good number of years - live with it.

Work / Whats the job and school market like in Warsaw? [27]

Try Dave's ESLcafe or go through all the schools listed in ang.pl for Warsaw - get a CV and knock on doors. There is no other way.

Real Estate / Buying a flat in Krakow; prices are still falling? [200]


true, no 'foreigner' will ever understand the Polish mentality, and not only with property sales.
I think it's the same with jobs. I have been unemployed and after applying to many companies, took the first job offered - a Pole will stick out until they get what they want...because.... they didn't study for 5 years (and now have a MA) to flip burgers.

So they would rather be unemployed and rely on their parents than take any job.

Real Estate / Buying a flat in Krakow; prices are still falling? [200]

...you're wrong...
one piece of advice I will offer you for free...if you don't like something, then get off your ... and do something about it. Join a party, organisation, club where your views will be listened to, considered, taken as the truth and acted upon.

On the other hand...just sit back and see if your predictions/intentions/soothsaying monologues come true - then you would rightly have the right to say 'I told you so'.

Prices of property in Krakow will not drop very much now...even in used properties.
The mentality of Poles is that they would rather have an empty house/flat on which they have to pay rates/media...than let it go for a reduced price.


....that is not the way to drive prices down. I've already said something about the Polish mentality. They would rather have an empty house/flat on which they have to pay bills for two or three years, than reduce the price by even 10%.

In my kamienica, there has been an empty flat for 3 years, but she will not lower the price, so it's staying empty until someone can afford it or it will stay empty for ever.

Her reasoning behind this:
It is better to have your money tied up in property that nobody can afford to buy - than take 90% of market value and put the money on deposit..

Clever, - now why didn't I think of that.....?

Love / Is this dress good for a Polish wedding? [15]

>>>>the wedding is in legnica and it will be rich people attending so i dont want to let my boyfriend down by looking stupid... any advice would be great...

...I would not chose that dress. Rem,ember it has to do for the church (where your arms should be covered), for the meal (sit down for few hours) and for the dancing (vigorous dancing). Can you see yourself dancing the polka or other fast moving dances in that dress - if yes, it's o.k.

Remember people might say that you're trying to compete with the bride.....
I would have rather chosenthe floral print dress.

Real Estate / Buying a flat in Krakow; prices are still falling? [200]


...why do I get the feeling (and I know that you hide it very well) that you somehow in the deepest corners of your soul do not like Poland. If you don't - that's fine. There are plenty of people who live there (I've heard that millions of people manage to survive from day to day -).

We get your message loud and clear -...but you know, there is a maxim that "the one who shouts the loudest has nothing to say".

Real Estate / Buying a flat in Krakow; prices are still falling? [200]

>>>only sellers would advise that.
I am not a seller but a buyer.
I already have one flat bought in 2002 for 2,600 per metre 10 minutes from Rynek. Ideal location. Now I could ask 7,000 per metre and they would snap my hand off.

I am thinking of buying another for student rental and as my pension pot.

Your maths needs updating. If someone bought a flat 4 years ago and it tripled in value - then it has increased in value quicker than any money on deposit - not unless you know some extraordinary bankers.

Real Estate / Buying a flat in Krakow; prices are still falling? [200]

For anyone who has the ready cash, now is the time to buy.
Find an apartment, tell them you're paying in cash and then negotiate the price.
Better if you find a private seller, estate agents charge the buyer of the property as well as the seller.

Law / Banking tax Procedure in Poland [14]

I thought that Podatek Belki (tax on interest) was 20%.
I have various lokatas (deposits) at various banks. Some are good, some not so..Best ones are the ones you can get on the highest rate.

Everybody pays tax on their interest in the bank, but it would be unfair if there were exceptions for tall, blond haired girls (i.e. anyone under 60) - 5%, for anyone over 60 - 15%, for unemployed 0%, for the rest 25% - there is one rate and everybody pays.

If you don't like the banks, keep your savings under the floorboards and p.s. never get involved with anything that smacks of 'gielda'.

Study / Studying in Poland in English [35]

Exactly the same ones as if you lived anywhere else....now guess what? medicine, law...
And what exactly do you mean by 'popular'? - the ones that pay well? or the ones that give you a lot of personal satisfaction like for example teaching?.

Travel / Best clubs in Krakow? No tourist traps. [64]

>>>>gorączka-its always crowded.
Even I, at my tender age, visit this one and never felt out of place. Good atmosphere - but crowded.

Work / Studying in Poland in Polish or English? I need a better option. [9]

2,200E sounds very reasonable to me - will check it out myself.
Polish lang is very difficult - you could start by getting some lang books and making a start now, so that at least you would be able to introduce yourself and have small chit chats with people.

Work / Studying in Poland in Polish or English? I need a better option. [9]

alwayzaround
...I don't want to be pedantic...but you need to brush up on your English, before you start studying. And remember, if you're not from the EU the course fees are higher.

Can you tell us which Uni you are interested in?

Work / Studying in Poland in Polish or English? I need a better option. [9]

If you're going to study in English, why not chose an English-speaking country.
It is impossible to learn Polish up to University standard in ONE year - even if you devoted 12 hours on it day every day of the year.

Law / Length of time to receive confirmation of Polish Citizenship [26]

...you use lawyers, because you cannot be there in person going from one blasted window and official to another and standing there like a 'spare part at a wedding', then getting the wrong information, finding out that you should have had a piece of paper stamped about 3 months ago, and now have to go through the process again...

UK, Ireland / Wanting Polish lessons in or around Huddersfield UK [12]


...chances are, they are Polish speakers that's all.. perhaps none of them have a Teaching Qualification...if they have, then I would be interested to know which one...

Law / CAN I CHANGE MY SON NAME THAT WAS BORN POLAND? [15]

You would need to ask at the Polish embassy in the US.
Why did YOU not think before you put pen to paper????

Language / Polish regional accents? [141]

Tos to ja dobrze wiedzolom ze jest to na pole, ale chiolom was pobaumaczyc....
na pole - gorolskie gwary, bo tom 'dworow nie ma'

Language / Polish regional accents? [141]

And those are NOT ACCENTS, they are dialects. Accent is something completely different. In the same way that I can tell a Brummie, a Scouser, a Mancunian and a host of other people, even if all of them spoke perfect English...that is an Accent.

Dialect - we could write books on that...and many learned scholars have done just that.