Work / English teacher - Language schools in Warsaw - any advice? British school. [11]

Sorry, i thought the thread was about "British School", the language school franchise in Poland.

Thanks for clarifying.

Work / English teacher - Language schools in Warsaw - any advice? British school. [11]

I am not sure I understand your comment. British School is not a language school?

Work / English teacher - Language schools in Warsaw - any advice? British school. [11]

Depends on what they are looking for. I have not dealt with British School in Warsaw but other outlets usually employ Polish teachers to teach grammar etc and native speakers for the conversational classes. For conversational you do not have to bring a teaching qualification and the hourly pay tends to be quite good. However, you won't get enough hours to make a living from it.

Travel / Getting from Krakow to Warsaw [99]


I have used Uni Bus a few times. Costs 14 zloty from Katowice to Krakow. Travel time around 1 hour

uni-bus.com.pl

Law / Time Required to process/receive an International Wire Transfer Sent to Poland? [13]


From within SEPA countries, it is no more than 2 working days.

As Chile is not part of the SEPA scheme, it is difficult to estimate the time it takes to arrive at the bank account in Poland. This can only be answered by bank of the sender. Once it hits the Polish banking system, the amount would be posted to your bank account either in the late morning, lunch time or evening, depending on when your bank runs its incoming sessions. Most banks have three incoming sessions per day.

However, only the bank of the sender would be able to give you an estimate on how long it would take for the money to hit the Polish banking system

Law / Will traffic fines law like in Finland make Polish roads safer? [21]


You did not mention small and narrow lanes with horses and cows in post 7 when you spoke about doing 70kph on "main roads".

Law / Will traffic fines law like in Finland make Polish roads safer? [21]


I am not trying to apologize for anything. Perhaps you need to start reading and understanding better.


Kamaz has clearly stated in post 7 that in towns and villages he never exceeds 40kph. On MAIN roads, and with that it would seem he means the roads that connect villages and towns, i.e. the country roads / national roads / trunk roads, he never exceeds 70kph. On these roads the speed limit is usually 90 or 100 kph, meaning that if he drives at 70 kph he is significantly slower than most of the traffic participants. On a busy day, this kind of driving would lead to congestions and unnecessary takeover maneuvers.

While Kamaz, and as it seems you too, thinks that driving slow is safe, it does nothing but provoke dangerous takeover maneuvers for which there would be no reason if he would simply adjust to the flow of traffic.

I am not talking about wreckless driving. I am talking about common sense and simply adjusting to one's surroundings.

If you don't think that driving too slow is a danger to traffic, you may want to start considering handing in your license and use public transport.

Law / Will traffic fines law like in Finland make Polish roads safer? [21]


Which is why i wrote


Regardless of what one might think of the roads in Poland, the main roads in most parts of the country are well constructed and suitable for speed of 100 kph, motorways even more.

I am not talking about some back roads or narrow lanes but the main roads which "Kamaz" referred to in post 7 of this thread.

There is only one motorway in Poland on which i would not recommend anything faster than 50kph which is the A18 between the German border town Forst and Legnica leading up to the A4 towards Wroclaw. Going west is not a problem, that part has been reconstructed. Coming from Germany however and going East, you will find yourself on a stretch of motorway that since it was built as the "Reichsautobahn" by the Nazis, has never seen any major work done on it.


That is quite interesting seeing that I am not even Polish :)

Law / Will traffic fines law like in Finland make Polish roads safer? [21]


That makes you quite a danger to the traffic and it's participants.

There should be fines for both, people who excessively go over the speed limit and people who are a nuisance to traffic by driving too slow.

If the speed limit on a main road between towns / villages is 100, that also means that the road is deemed as safe to travel on it at 100kph. By driving 70kph, you are not only slowing down the flow of traffic, you are also provoking unnecessary takeover maneuvers. Unnecessary because if you would adjust to the traffic flow, other drivers would not have to overtake you.


That is quite surprising for me because adjusting to the flow of traffic is something that works very well in Germany. In fact, Germany is one the few countries in which the police will pull you over for driving too slow.

Work / Salary and cost of living information - Krakow [257]


A good way to meet foreigners in Krakow is internations.
internations.org/krakow-expats

Work / Possible lifestyle in Poland? Job offer - 12K to 13K PLN. [40]


Depending on what position those locals are holding. As the OP said, he was offered a position in Senior Management. It is not uncommon for locals to earn between 8 - 12k PLN in Senior Management positions in multinational companies.

Having said that, i agree that some of the people that are recruited from abroad are paid more than they are worth just because they speak a language.

Work / Salary and cost of living information - Krakow [257]


Exactly. You can not go wrong with 2600 zlotych in Poland if the alternative is either unemployment or low paid job in Greece.


You will find that most likely you will not be able to avoid the parties. If you start at IBM or another one of the bigger multinationals, you will have a good choice of house parties every weekend for which you won't need too much money apart from whatever you buy to take with you.

Go for it and let us know how you get on in Krakow. It's a great place!

Work / Salary and cost of living information - Krakow [257]


That's not true. You will lose 20% of your salary when being off ill if you are on an employment contract.

Work / Salary and cost of living information - Krakow [257]


I used to to live in Krakow until June 2013. Then stayed in Greece (Athens) for 8 months and returned to Poland after so i can compare pretty good. Even if 3900 zlotych gross is not the best salary, it would still allow you to have a better and more comfortable lifestyle than not having a job a Greece.

If I was in your shoes, i would go for it. You can use the job as a first step into Poland. There are plenty of multinational companies in Krakow. You would not have any issues finding better paid job once you are there.

Yes, in the beginning your budget would be very tight. Most likely you would have to share an apartment but once you are in Krakow, you should be able to find a better paid job easily.

Travel / Taxis from Gdansk airport? [65]


You will find that this tactic will not work at most airports. Taxis usually have to be authorized to pick up from the airport and even pay fees for the privilege of doing so. If an unauthorized taxi is found to pick up passengers from the drop off zone, they could be in serious trouble.

Even if the driver would be authorized to make airport pick ups, if they just arrived to drop off another passengers, they would most likely point you to the taxi pick up point where their colleagues have been waiting in line. Again, if they are found to skip that line by picking up in the drop off zone, they could face serious trouble.


Probably because you didn't do it too often if at all.

Study / Learning English in Warsaw, can anyone recommend a tutor/academy? [16]


I used to go to Internations events in Krakow 2 years ago. Usually they were free events, meeting in some bar around the Rynek. Would it have changed and they are charging people now?

Travel / Finding a place to stay in Krakow for a month! Couch surfing. [14]

Did your Erasmus last one night or why did you think that couch surfing would be a good suggestion?

Work / The politics of companies in Poland about providing a relocation package for foreign workers? [8]


There are no rules and regulations "politics" about relocation packages for foreigners. Some companies offer them and some don't. It's a matter of negotiations. Usually companies mention a relocation package in their job description as a benefit. Not in great detail but it will most likely say "relocation package" if there is anything on offer.

The contents of the package vary greatly. Some companies simply offer the flight to Poland. Others offer 2 - 4 weeks in a hotel on top of the flight. Others would offer the flight, hotel for a certain amount of time plus a lump sum to be paid to you. Other companies just book the flight for you and put you up in a company apartment for 1, 2 or even more years. It really depends on the company, the job you are applying for and your negotiation skills.

Travel / Flights from Warsaw, Poland to the Northern UK are getting expensive - alternative suggestions? [13]

Is Lodz - East Midlands an option for you? Just checked for April, 340 zlotych return but before their various charges.

Law / How much would I have to earn before paying the tax office in Poland? [17]

I am not saying that he "has"to leave Poland but why risk being in debt to the state, having to declare bankruptcy with all its complications, just for the sake of teaching English with a small income in Poland?

It's not like the return on teaching English justifies the risk and complications of having to declare bankruptcy, specially not with a child.

Law / How much would I have to earn before paying the tax office in Poland? [17]


That has to be the worst advice I have ever seen, specially since it is coming from someone with the name "UncleGoodAdvice".

Have you considered the fact that once he has filed for bankruptcy, he might as well just leave Poland because there won't be anything left for him here?

Your plan not to pay ZUS and if they come just to file for bankruptcy is for fools. You may have noticed that the OP has mentioned a child in his first post of this thread. Wrecklessness on the level as you have suggested is not an option anymore.

@ Schmiznurf, why don't you try to estimate your potential earnings first? Contact language schools etc. to check what they can offer you in terms of work. Registering yourself without at least having some kind of idea of what you might be able to earn is pointless in Poland. Once you register, the only people who know exactly what they will earn are the good people of ZUS and they will come for it one way or another.

Life / If I move to a big city in Poland will I come across a lot of English speakers? [32]


I agree. You can get by with just English even if you go to one of the mini skleps to buy your bread. After all, we are all able to point at what we want and make ourselves understandable. However, Poles like it when you make a bit of an effort. They are aware of the fact that their language might not be easiest language to learn so they like it if you try. Even if you just ask for a "reklamowka" ( and i probably spelled that wrong) in the local shop, they will appreciate it.

But, to answer your question........... yes, you will be ok with just English in Poland.

Travel / Getting from Krakow to Warsaw [99]

The last time i took the train from Krakow to Warsaw it was 61 PLN and a few grosz. That was 1 1/2 years ago.

I just checked and found a price of 48 PLN with a "Wcześniej 20% - korzystna oferta " - which i guess is some kind of early booking discount. So i guess the normal price would not have changed much since the last time i took that route.

Work / Typical Post - A good salary in Rybnik - 3000 for part time in finance? [16]


And that is ok. Of course, talking to your relatives via skype will give you a certain point of view, but remember, these are your relatives and they may not always be too negative when talking to you. Secondly, just because they don't do it, does not mean that the rest of Poland doesn't either. I have found it to be fairly common, to share things of own produce amongst the family. It is a kind of support and whether or not your family in Rybnik agrees, it is not that uncommon. I know of people in Lodz who come back home with a weeks worth of supply after visiting their parents or grandparents.


-


Let's bring it up to 400. Now they two of them together have ca. 4100 zloty left for the month. With 4100 PLN, they each have a budget of 68 PLN per day which is "doable" but it also not necessarily a lot considering that roughly 20-25 PLN would be spend on travel to work and back (if using the car). Now we are looking at 43-48 PLN budget per day left. With 43-48 PLN left per day, he still hasn't eaten anything, bought any clothes, paid for health insurance (if not provided by the employer), paid for car insurance (if they will use a car) etc. etc. He also hasn't put any money aside for other unexpected expenses such as repairs in the apartment.


As a visitor to Rybnik you may very well do that but it hardly applies to someone living in Rybnik with an averge local salary.


It seems to me that you have taken none of their expenses, which they will have, into consideration. My examples above may very well vary. He might use the train and buy a monthly commuter ticket but it will not vary from the above expenses too greatly. For someone who apparently visits Poland every year and appears to be spending a lot of time talking to relatives in Poland via skype, it is beyond me how you can suggest that they will be "fine" and can dine out every day on a 4100 zloty budget for both together. I am not saying that living on this budget is impossible, but it will be far from being "financially fine".

Work / Typical Post - A good salary in Rybnik - 3000 for part time in finance? [16]

Possibly yes! But it is not just about the "sitting at home". It helps if you get the support of the family, such as many young Poles do and even if it is just getting the veggies from the families garden. Every little helps as Tesco says.

If you have the right family support, maybe 4.5k net is enough. If you dont have it, it is not and there is no way that you can dine out every night as "mcm1" has claimed.

Please read the new rule about quoting from the post above

News / SKM and surcharges - Fast Local Trains in Tri-City, Poland [25]

Like a good Pole, ripping one of the other of your wee "booklet" until you have reached the last one :) . Seen this many times in Polish trams when people take a pile of tickets out of their wallet, rip one off and put into the machine that reads the time when they got on...... i dont know the name of that machine

Work / Typical Post - A good salary in Rybnik - 3000 for part time in finance? [16]

Ok, thanks for clarifying that!

News / SKM and surcharges - Fast Local Trains in Tri-City, Poland [25]


It seems that you really don't get it. The conductor's job is not to sell tickets but to check them. It is not the rail company's fault if you can not be bothered to go to the station 5 minutes earlier to buy your ticket upfront. Even in the UK passengers are required to be in possession of a valid ticket when boarding the train. Surely, it is not news to you now is it?

By the way, in Switzerland the SBB charges 10 francs for buying a ticket of the conductor........

Work / Typical Post - A good salary in Rybnik - 3000 for part time in finance? [16]

dine out every evening at 6k gross for two people, taking into consideration that you have to save for any unforeseen expenses such as, let's say repairs on the apartment? Forget it. With 6k gross, you'd have roughly 4.5k left for two people or 75 zlotych per day per person if we take a 30 day month. Yes, you can eat out every day but you don't have anything left for anything else.

Work / Typical Post - A good salary in Rybnik - 3000 for part time in finance? [16]



Sorry but what is your profession?


Let's make it 6k gross for the two of you. Even if you don't have to pay rent or a mortgage, i am not sure if that is enough to live as a family. It might get you by but it won't allow for any big steps, even if it is just the repairs you have to carry out in your apartment or any extra expenses that come with it. You won't be able to afford a holiday, a meal in a restaurant will be a luxury (although it could only cost you 50 zlotych per person), leave alone spoiling your wife to something special.

All in all......is it enough? I would say no!