News / Poland Targeted by Israel-Based Financial Fraud [18]

@Harry

Did that person threaten violence or simply just make racist statements? I've never heard of such an incident where police and courts in two separate countries would go to such lengths over a poster on a forum especially if there was no stalking, assault, murder, or more serious crimes. In the us making racist statements isn't a crime but threatening someone can be although in most cases the police usually just tell the person to stop and will only do something if it continues.

News / Poland Targeted by Israel-Based Financial Fraud [18]

Israel is most likely where they just kept the money and/or laundered it... The reason why Israel has an issue with fraud, cybercrime, money laundering, etc is because Israel has an extremely pro business pro entrepreneur environment and there is a sort of tradition of secrecy or at least 'don't be rude and don't ask' kind of like say Hong kong, panama, etc.

Also poland isnt going to do anything beyond its borders. Some companies might update software and patch bugs and call it a day till they get hacked again. Israel on the other hand isn't too keen on hosting people that are flat out defrauding people... Except us taxpayers of course when it comes to military aid and security (I.e. sale of war planes for scrap prices by dov zakheim - same guy who made a reported $2 trilllion, yes trillion as in 2,000 billion vanish while being the pentagon comptroller... Israel receives more us aid than any other country and more than the entire continent of Africa combined. The figure ranges from $3 bil to $10 bil a year depending what you consider as aid. This is a ton of money for a tiny country with some 8 million people.. Why not divert even just $1 bil of that towards stabilizing places like libya, central African republic, drc, syria, etc.?

Anyway....

This isn't rly a big deal this happens everyday between two corners of the world. Just happens to be poland and Israel at the moment.

Bieganski while I would love to see more businesses inside poland owned and operated by polish people, the truth is in general the wages and environment at many polish corportations are typically not up to the standard of their western counterparts. In general of course... Any polish company I've ever discussed employment opportunities with the pay and benefits tended to be rather significantly less than the british, german, us, etc companies. Actually it seems that the Scandinavian companies actually offered me the best wages. This is just my own experience and of course others may have had the opposite experience.

Nonetheless yes Israel does protect certain criminals. Not in this case though - looks like Israel arrested them. One often doesn't correlate Israel with an advanced IT industry but I can tell you from working at an Israeli company and being at various it conferences and trade shows, Israel is at the forefront of technology of all sorts - drones, IoT, security software, modules, etc. Anyway, some of the old school Russian and UkrainianJews (and those who pretended to be) who either left in the 70s and those who remained but made it big after the dissolution of the ussr get some protection from Israel or at least are permitted to store their money in Israeli banks and invest within the country. Basically, your oligarchs and those around them. I remember one particular Russian Jew giving $100 mil to the local Jerusalem fc in a bid to become the city's mayor (he only got like 3 or 4% of the votes nonetheless). Also, every so often you'll get the yeshiva rabbi who was molesting children (few big cases in us and australia) where they quietly move and restart a new life in israel after copping a plea in the us and moving after their bid is over. I remember one particular group of orthodox were buying and selling organs - kidneys, livers, etc throughout ny and nj and apparently this small group of half a dozen or so guys were grossing $10 mil a year. Most received probation and the longest sentence handed was only 4 years. One of them was recorded shelling out $40k to get his secretary a transplant which I found rather nice. Apparently this was rather embarrassing for ny and nj as some politicians were implicated in this scandal.

However, just like any other country Israel will impose a custodial sentence (just like they did to Tarzan feinburg when he screwed up - the guy who earlier was caught selling military submarines to Juan almeada - a cocaine trafficker... His strip club in Florida is still open) if they start $hitting where they eat... Same with the pink panthers.. Did they steal rob or kill in Croatia or Serbia or Kosovo? Nope but they did spend their money there so the local authorities didn't care much. Now if you start causing trouble locally or do things that cause problems for local authorities...

Classifieds / Drive me around Warsaw June 1? [13]

$70 an hour for a driver? I don't think so man. Even the chaffeuer companies here charge $36 an hour to drive you around in a new mercedes s class. 70 zloty maybe but not 70 dollars.

Classifieds / Drive me around Warsaw June 1? [13]

Although I agree with atch that yes in warsaw you don't really need a car to get around id still recommend getting a driver or cab if ur only going to be in the city for like 12 hours (really 10 by the time you get yours bags, get your bearings, then check back in upon returning back to the airport). You don't want to get lost in a foreign city especially if you don't speak the language trying to navigate their public trans system (weirdly enough NYC has by far the most confusing I've ever experienced) miss your flight, and mess up your travel plans. Although it is manageable if you chose this route.

You can find some taxi driver that is willing to drive you around for a few hours off the meter. I doubt it should cost you much more than maybe $10 to $20 an hour. I'm not sure if they have ridesharing like uber or lyft in Poland but that can be another option. Oftentimes its far cheaper and more personal than a metered taxi.

Another option due to your limited time schedule is prioritizing perhaps 2 or 3 main sites you want to see and plan the route well so you have enough time to get back to your flight. I would definitely put lazienki palace at the topic of the list. With enough planning you can do the public trans system. I personally would prefer to be driven by a local tour guide in his/her car or even cab but that's just me.

Layovers are a great way to get a sense of a city or even country especially if you plan to return or are on the fence about devoting several nights on a certain spot. Everyone I fly with complains about having to wait at an airport for x hours but I always take it as an opportunity especially to go sightsee if it's a long one.

Work / Work Culture and Expenses - 11000 PLN gross in Poznan [27]

Yeah poznans location to Germany def helps it out. Prior to 2004 it might as well have been bialystok.

There's a lot of cities in poland that have decent jobs and a good economy like say lodz due to its industry but there isn't all that much to do there. On the other hand places like Krakow are historically rich and beautiful but may not be the best for work. Poznan I guess is a good middle ground. If the OP does decide to move there he'll at least get a taste of polish life and culture without being overwhelmed in a place like warsaw. Like with everything there's pros and cons - knowing English and not polish may be a bit easier in warsaw than say poznan. Although English especially amongst the learned and youth is widely spoken. Even in wroclaw almost everyone you run into in the city has some kind of knowledge of english.

Work / Work Culture and Expenses - 11000 PLN gross in Poznan [27]

Yeah when I was there some 10 15 years ago it seemed like all the youth wanted to leave. Even my grandma left. It just seemed so depressing all these multi generational families cramped into a small commie era bloki unable to advance their situation and just stuck in a city with little future prospects and not enough money to move elsewhere. I'm glad that the city has changed for the better. Some fdi will certainly help the brain drain. I'm sure the close links to Germany and some eu funds certainly helped too. The towns and cities in the northeast don't seem to be really moving forward much though. I remember visiting my friend in bialystok and man it looked like a totally different part of poland. Its almost like the northeast is on a different level of development than the rest of Poland. The roads were new and fixed up along with some other key infrastructure but the residential and commercial buildings weren't on the same level as the rest of Poland.

Work / Work Culture and Expenses - 11000 PLN gross in Poznan [27]

@jon357

No I meant more like local polish/Ukrainian/Romanian etc women especially from rural areas have been taken advantage of. Some end up working in Amsterdam brothels others will clean toilets in London for a fraction of what they were promised. Now though a lot of these recruiters have been exposed so the practice seems to be waning.

Nonetheless it seems that Indians especially get taken advantage of when working abroad whether its building skyscrapers in Dubai or working as a security guard in a war zone for $10 a day while the company that hired them bills the us state dept $15k a month for such a guard..I just want this guy to know such things exist and to be careful so he isn't taken advantage of. This offer seems to be legit that he has but nonetheless he has to be careful and never ever hand over a passport or pay any sort of expensive recruitment fees.

That's good to hear about poznan. A lot of the smaller and mid sized cities in poland have been experiencing brain drain, unemployment, divestment, etc. When I was last in poznan it seemed to be on this type of trajectory - kind of like walbrzych which use to have a booming mining sector and also had amazing porcelain like tea sets and such to rival those from Italy. I wonder why in particular poznan has been able to turn itself around whereas other similar sized polish cities seem to be decaying. Perhaps it depends on area? The area in north east poland seems to be especially hard hit with brain drain and divestment whereas the west and south and tri city seem to be growing.

Work / Work Culture and Expenses - 11000 PLN gross in Poznan [27]

@jon357

Jon yes it is this happened quite often in rural areas. Women will be enticed with work in Holland England etc with some restaurant cleaning or agriculture job only to be pimped out or at best work the job they were promised but at a much lower rate due to 'expenses' same thing with Ukrainian and other eastern european girls although it seems to happen a bit more there than poland.

Personally I didn't find poznan all that enticing. Its not quite a small town nor is it a large city by polish standards. Its your typical mid sized polish city. Some of these small and mid size cities have had a lot of young people leave for larger cities or the eu, many factories and mines have closed, and some places like walbrzych where I have an aunt are simply decaying due to low wages and high unemployment. I don't know poznan currently fairs but I do know my grandma likes living in wroclaw far more than poznan. I will tell you one of the only times I got beat up in my life was in poznan. I was like 14 and got lured into a klatka (entrance to a blok / large apartment building) and got the crap kicked out of me by like 4 dudes over a couple of dollars. Idk maybe that's why i just have a negative disposition towards poznan.

@itsandy
I misread. With 3 people to support on 11k zl I personally wouldn't do it but I don't know what your financial situation is like, what your use to making, if your wife will work, etc. If your wife can also get a decent paying job id say go for it but if you plan to be the sole breadwinner and bring your whole family along it may be untenable. I think you will find it hard to pay for schooling, rent, a car, and most other middle class trappings on 11k zl shared among 3 ppl. That's not even a full $1k USD per person pre tax. Its doable but you'll have to be really smart with your money, get your wife to maybe work part time to help with a few bills, or simply go by yourself and send money back home then when you are in a better financial position or perhaps got a better paying job you can bring the whole family over. IT is big in poland and that's where a lot of the expats seem to work. Also aim for a job at a foreign company like a us, uk, norwegian, German etc as they tend to pay and respect their workers seemingly better than their polish counterparts.

Keep in mind that while rent food transport etc is cheaper than say uk or us id imagine its probably more expensive than india. I can't say for certain I've only been to Mumbai once for like 10 days and that's really my extent of first hand knowledge on India. Nonetheless due to globalization things like an ipad, Volkswagen golf, armani t shirt, liter of petrol etc cost more in poland than in the us due to import fees and excise taxes. Id imagine its similar in India. Also while I don't know about current real estate prices i can tell you we purchased a blok in poznan for around 25 30k USD some 15 20 years ago which would be a bit cramped but comfortable enough for 3. Polish families would cram 4 5 or even more people into such an apartment. In wroclaw a decent sized family home in a nice suburb or a decent sized condo in the city centre can easily run $350 $400k so a middle class life isn't all that cheap. I believe delph lived in poznan for a while so he could tell you far more than I can.

For more comparative info on global prices research the 'big mac index' or the 'ipad index'

Work / Work Culture and Expenses - 11000 PLN gross in Poznan [27]

Not bad salary for poznan. Its a bit cheaper than some of the larger cities. However for a family as large as yours I don't think you will be able to save much money. If you and your wife say grossed 20k you'd be comfortable but still with several kids you'd still have to be smart with your money and not over spend.

Personally, if I were in your shoes I wouldn't take the whole family with. Id work for a few years to climb the ladder while sending money back home to india. If you go by yourself to poland and live in a small studio you'll have a good sum to send back to india which has a lower cost of living. However you can also bring this up to your employer and perhaps they can include something in your salary/relocation package like a job for the wife, schooling for children, etc. Otherwise i don't think 11k zl single earner with 5 mouths to feed in poland will have it very easy.

Also no matter what you do never give up your passport or any sum of money to any employer, agent, etc for the promise of a job. You don't want to become like the Indian guys building dubais skyline. Many people from India and Bangladesh have been screwed over like this. Although in poland its more common for young women to be sold into prostitution or a very low paying crappy job in western Europe rsther than migrants being brought in. Then again though there are people in poland working in what many would consider slave conditions.

Ill also add that my grandma from moms side briefly lived in poznan and there really wasn't a whole lot to do in terms of museums, nightlife, restaurants. Its larger and more to do than say like konin or walbrzych but not like Gdansk Krakow wroclaw or warsaw for example.

News / Adam Michnik awarded for integrity, professionalism and high standards. Poland's No. 1 fascist? [321]

Don't get me started on Adam michnik... That freaken council of foreign relations punk..

If pis were all that authoritarian they'd make him a persona non grata and seize control of wyborcza.

Life / Favourite Polish movies? [107]

Polish cinematography is strange - the movies made under communism were witty and had good production value. Then in the 90s 00a it seems to have really gone downhill - with the exception of a few titles the plots were unexhilerating, the comedies were campy and not very funny and the production value of many titles of the time was worse than some of the great films of the 80s.

Recently I watched a polish action drama called I believe titled sluzba specjalna which was excellently produced, very interesting to follow, and was just a great movie overall. It was based on a true political scandal that occurred. I believe this movie was released in 201

Life / Favourite Polish movies? [107]

Merged:

Whats your favorite Polish movie or movies?

We talk about a lot of things on here especially who lied about what and why capitalism/socialism/fascism all suck but we rarely talk about Polish pop culture.

I have around 170 Polish movies and can tell you all except maybe a dozen are pretty awful. Nonetheless there's some gems like sex misja, mis, kroll, psy I and ii, etc.

What's your favorite polish movie or movies? Mine is probably chlopaki nie placza - a hilarious comedy about a polish gangster family and for action probably psy 2.

News / Public trust in Polish state TV drops [20]

Theres too much German control in polish media.. Some 2/3 of tv stations in pl are foreign owned. Not saying they should all be polish owned but a more a healthy mix. Id like to see more Polish media by polish people for polish people. Also polish movies could use some revamping I haven't seen anything good since psy 2 and my favorite polish movie chlopaki nie placza

News / Poland 2050? What will happen? [60]

In 2050 the us white population will be the majority minority meaning whites will be the largest group but the Latino/black/foreign population will be over 50%.

I predict poland will remain homogenous with a gradual mayb up to 10% 15% population of foreigners many from s Asian and se Asia. A lot of bangladeshis, indians, vietnamese, etc are coming to poland.

As long as polish people remain in power and are able to themselves control their countries Destiny all is well.

In 2050 Polska nie zginie and that's what's most important

Work / Salary for a senior software engineer in Poland [195]

You should get 10k to 15k zloty depending on company area in poland etc. I wouldn't settle for less than 12k

15k is enough for a family to live comfortably but you won't be able to afford some higher ticket items or buy a decent sized house. You'd be surprised to find that many nice homes go for 400k usd plus in poland which is roughly 1.6 million zloty..

USA, Canada / Polish or American Education? [180]

And I agree the American education system is terrible backward and behind its European counterparts including Poland. Nonetheless everyone wants to go to American colleges. An American corporation will chose 1 Americanized pole who has studied and worked in both the us and abroad and knows multiple languages to lead a foreign division in poland over a locally educated pole anyday - even if that pole is the top student at some school in warsaw, wroclaw etc. He or she will never be a native speaker, will most likely have limited of any meaningful work experience abroad, and at best knows 2 or 3 languages but not 4 or 5.

I am plenty happy with how my life and career is going thank you for your concern and advice. My mentor is a former executive (now retired) of general electric. Our families are good friends and he's taught me so much that school never could have.

Language / How Polish sounds to other Slavs [32]

Do you speak Russian? Your translation of the joke is pretty good. Except kak vac zovut means what's your name (literal interpretation) altho I guess in a phone convo it could be interpreted as who's calling

Genealogy / Doubts about Birth certificate, Poland or Ukraine? - Malinski [2]

Sounds like a polish name id try Poland. The border situation around that time is rather murky. Lwow use to be a polish city and still has many pl citizens but is clearly Ukrainian territory now and has a Ukrainian majority.

If its a variation of Sophie its probably be zosia or less likely Sofia.

Work / Working at Volvo Company in Wroclaw [27]

Thanks for the info

Language / How Polish sounds to other Slavs [32]

People have told me polish sounds like a lot of sh and ch sounds. People have confused it for other Slavic languages n some people are way off n think it's French

Work / Working at Volvo Company in Wroclaw [27]

My bad I was told wrong info then. Ill have to look that up. I thought if you had us citizenship you have to pay a percent of income earned abroad. If that's not true then thatd great!

Work / Working at Volvo Company in Wroclaw [27]

8K isn't bad for single person in poland but not family. I personally am chosing to relocate once I can earn at least 50 60k USD annually in poland. Its doable at a large corp like Volvo even but such salaries are typically reserved for experienced and educated white collar professionals.

Work / Working at Volvo Company in Wroclaw [27]

Yes google offered me 24k usd annual salary plus commission which prolly would be around another 10k annual. So my brutto would be around 120k zloty a year but id pay double taxes to poland and us.

I also got an offer from a Norse shipping company in Gdansk for a position of 30k euro plus commission. That one I seriously considered but it was on Gdansk and I don't know anyone there and hav3 only been there twice before on vacation.

I declines the jobs because ultimately many things are as expensive if not more than us. A BMW 7 or mercedes s class? More money than in us due to all the taxes, fees, tariffs, etc. Housing and food is far cheaper than western nations.

Ultimately I decided I will return to poland once I've completed my mba and can make At least 60 70k USD a year. This is typically only what senior level directors vice presidents Mayb a top middle manager are paid in poland. In us starting salary for post mba is double (120k and up depending on school finished, job title, company). Of course I don't expect to make the same salary in pl as in the U.S.

I may also add that it helps to know languages to negotiate a higher salary. I know English and polish fluently and am profiricienr in Russian and Spanish.

Work / Working at Volvo Company in Wroclaw [27]

Good if you're a supervisor, director, it guy, sales manager, accountant etc. However the line workers that assemble the cars and trucks don't pay much. Mayb 3k to 4k zloty month for low level unskilled labor and 8k to 12k for more middle level. Seniors and leadership make 12k 15k and up. Its pretty similar at corporations especially in eu because of a certain standard to upkeep. You'll most likely have decent benefits too.