Life /
General questions for those who have chosen to make Poland their home [32]
Why did you choose Poland as opposed to another country?
I was on my way to another country (Japan) and got offered a job in Poland.
Were any of you fluent before you moved, and if not, how are your language skills now? Are any of you coping well without having picked up the language?
I came here 10 years ago, the only bit of Polish I knew was from Borat, very very few people here spoke English at that time.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borat_Sagdiyev
I have not been here for 10 years. I know very very few foreigners here and in my day to day life it's usually Polish people. I use Polish in Work of course but I never went to school to learn Polish, so I am seriously lacking in the grammar department. I intend on going to school to learn grammar shortly. I think you could live in the bigger cities here without speaking Polish but you are seriously limiting yourself and I would never advise it.
I am presuming most of you living there are employed, and if so, are you employed in the same field you were in your native country, or have you switched occupations whilst being there?
To begin with I was teaching English, Callan method, extremely boring but I was getting paid well comparability.
Now I am in a different corner of the same field:)
How difficult was it for you to adapt to your new country? Did you have any particular problems when you arrived?
I find it very easy to live here, it is very like the place I grew up when I was a child (I am Irish).
I feel more at home here than I did living in England.
I attribute this to:
1. Catholicism.
2. A bad history.
3 Alcohol :)
How do you find the locals? Are they accepting of you, and do you feel welcome in their country?
Staring is the national passtime if people hear your accent or you speaking English, they will stop what they are doing and have a full on stare at you, as if you had 12 heads.
It's just curiosity but in my country of origin it would be considered very rude but I don't expect to travel and see what I am used to.
It doesn't bother me.
People here also smile with their eyes, rather than their mouths, they can yell at you (sounding angry) but if you understand what they are saying they are actually trying to help.
Basically most of the people are very friendly, helpful and welcoming and it is embarrassing when people from my country can't see it.
Do you think you will stay in Poland, or do you regret your decision to move there?
Given only two options there, I will choose a third.
I certainly do not regret having moved here but I will move to another country in the next couple of years (not back to my country of origin).
I really enjoy living here and I will miss some things but I want to move, for moving sake (if you know what I mean).
What is a typical day like for you there? Are you all working crazy hours? Have you had the opportunity to explore Poland when you're not busy working?
A lot of my work is project based, so I work like heck when the project is in full swing but I have my own companies and could work less but I don't want to, we create our own universe but for some reason, unbeknown to myself, I seem to gravitate towards making my own life fairly difficult (but that is another story:)
I had the great pleasure of living in between Zakopane and Krakow, I loved it. Now I live in Krakow again and I love it here too.
My favorite are the mountains, lakes, castles etc... I get the chance to see what I like in Poland... having said that I always wanted to go to Augustow, I have driven through it many times and it looks like a place I'd like.
This Post is very "me,me,me", perhaps if you told me what you are interested in I could help you find somethings of interest.
