Law / How will the Zloty be against the British Pound over the next 6-12 Months [45]

NBP will probably be doing quite a bit to keep prices where they are now to make sure that Poland remains competitive in the EU market through low labor and investment costs. I wouldn't expect the zloty to appreciate when investors are already a bit shaky. Keeping it where it's at will help Poland maintain investment while belts are tight.

Tusk already missed the deadline for joining ERM for his 2012 "join the euro" deadline. Once Poland joins the ERM, NBP will probably do everything in its power to make sure they hit their targets, which probably won't be pretty, but will mean a stable exchange rate against the euro.

I have a really hard time seeing the pound increase in value unless things get a whole lot better globally. If it gets any worse, the only recourse will be printing up more money (those interest rates can't get any lower...). Darling has managed to officially dump 175B GBP straight off the printing presses, that can't help it's value.

So hey, from the couch, I'd say the pound will lose some to the zloty and the euro. If you want somewhere relatively safe for your money for the next 6 months, gold is always an option (maybe even a profitable one)....

News / WHY DOES POLAND BUY GAS FROM RUSSIA? [105]

I guess if the Ukrainians would start paying the same amount of money that Poles do, then their gas might not get cut off. There are plenty of sources that Ukraine could get gas from without ever touching Gazprom pipes.

With the new contract, it's pretty straightforward. Ukraine pays market gas prices, Russia pays market transit prices. win-win.

News / "Drink Hard" - Bruce Willis to endorse Polish vodka [48]

Heh, I saw the truth in vodka ad in Bulgaria on a roadtrip this summer :)

News / "Drink Hard" - Bruce Willis to endorse Polish vodka [48]

sobieski vanilla is now my standard for white russians. all kinds of good.

Food / Can you do online food shopping in Poland? Supermarkets. [42]

alma delivers too

alma24.pl

Travel / Driving from UK to Ukraine via Poland - need car insurance [46]

If you're not driving your own car, make sure that you have a POA to take the car over the border. They were really hard on this a couple of months back, probably still are.


Ukraine was alright, Russia was like driving in Germany, and Kazakhstan was, well, like driving in Kazakhstan....

News / The "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign theft from Oswiecim, Poland [240]

I just read that too. Defacement, I could kind of understand the motive... but stealing it outright?

News / The "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign theft from Oswiecim, Poland [240]


Who is "they"? The 150,000 poles that died there? The jews that died there? The survivors from the camp?

Work / Why is Polish workmanship so bad? [52]

there is no incentive to do a good job

when the incentive is provided, you get a great product

I had some data recovered, great work. friendly service, no complaints. They were pricey, but the service was great. I think they have since gone out of business.

I had a new radio put into a plane, utter failure. The labor was cheap compared to doing it in Germany. After a month of back and forth, I had it reinstalled in Germany. They were pretty appalled by the workmanship. I understand they're still getting customers.

I guess it depends on the needs of the customers. The price vs. quality balance definately seems to be tipped towards price here...

Work / An IT System Engineer interested in moving to Poland [11]

The majority of English speaking work out there is customer service...ish. Google, HP, etc. I think the only way that you would get IT work is if you had specialized skills. Like if you're a crazy old bearded man that has been working on AS/400s for the last 15 years.

Seems like friend of a friend manages to get quite a few people jobs here.

I'd keep my eyes open for a contract job. Work for a couple of months on the island or wherever, and take the rest of the year off in Poland.

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


There is no "and". The man bought batteries. DURACELL batteries. I don't need to know the rest, I'm already outraged.

News / The "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign theft from Oswiecim, Poland [240]


probably not much. In 300 years, WW2 will be a footnote

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


The difference is your initial point of contact. In the UK, you take it back to the shop, in Poland, you take it back to the manufacturer/distributor. The shops here are just warehouses with cash registers.

UK, Ireland / Posting from UK to Poland....not good! [53]

what's standard? going east, poczta polska is better than any national mail carrier until you hit russia.

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


that's the thing. it's only like that because it is accepted.

UK, Ireland / Posting from UK to Poland....not good! [53]


You know, I think the HDI is a good indicator on whether you'll get your mail or not.

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]

It's not blaming and moaning. It's just that the average consumer in Poland expects and accepts far less for their money than they should. The law of the land can be changed, hopefully it will change here in the direction of the consumer. People have to complain about it to get it changed, begrudging acceptance only ends up causing everyone to be pissed off all the time.

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


That is great. Was it part of the change in the law in 2003?

News / The "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign theft from Oswiecim, Poland [240]


Yea, they become a footnote. Ask someone about the Thirty Years' War and see what kind of response you get.

Love / Opinion from Polish men on this please (Polish men so 'spiritually' romantic?) [43]

Yes. Most Polish men, and for that matter all men in general, are 'spiritually' romantic.

Also, I have magic beans for sale if you're interested.

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


It would have to be false in order to be libelous.

Saying that Carrefour makes their ground pork out of Kazakh children would be libelous. Writing about being sold rotten meat on the other hand, not libelous, just a statement of fact.

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


Can you buy direct from farmers here? The only things I see for sale in the countryside tend to be potatoes and onions. I've been looking for a good supply of beef and chicken. I used to get my beef in Prague from a farmer that had a herd of grass fed angus. I'd gladly pay a healthy premium here to get meat from a decent source. Anyone have any ideas?


where's that?

USA, Canada / REFUSED A HOLIDAY VISA TO THE U.S CAUSE IM POLISH [323]

apparently, Poland has one of the lowest refusal rates.

travel.state.gov/pdf/FY09.pdf

It's lower than Norway, Germany, Australia...

What is difficult to find, is the overstay rate. Some data from 1999 paints a bleak picture. It's really really hard to find any current data.

USA, Canada / REFUSED A HOLIDAY VISA TO THE U.S CAUSE IM POLISH [323]


That's probably the only reason to base not granting visas. The rejection rate shouldn't play a part because it doesn't really paint a picture of if people are breaking the law. The overstay rate on the other hand should be the core criteria of whether to allow visa free travel.

Personally, I think the process is a sham. It's a huge inconvenience. On the other hand, Poles should be given preference for legal immigration. Poles wouldn't be in this situation if they would just follow the rules. The people that decide to break the law screw it up for everyone. Poland would have a bit more leverage if it didn't decide to outsource immigration policy by signing up for Schengen agreement. Brazil for instance has a fully reciprocal visa agreement. If a visa is required for a Brazilian to visit a country, then they require a visa as well. If the country requires fingerprints, Brazil requires fingerprints. Good stuff.

News / Freezing weather in Poland, 42 people dead in winter freeze... and no-one cares? [140]

Apparently, cold weather is more lethal than swine flu.

And yea, no one cares. Everyone is too caught up in the holiday credit-a-thon that is christmas. Ah people spending money that they don't have on crap they can't afford.

But seriously, this happens EVERY YEAR. Apparently in the most righteous catholic country in Europe, the most people end up freezing to death on the street. 180 died over the winter of 2005-2006.

News / Freezing weather in Poland, 42 people dead in winter freeze... and no-one cares? [140]


Apparently it's not working. Homeless people are freezing to death. Could you do a better job with the money? Something local? Could you setup and run a shelter with all the money that you dump the governments way? Could you help out some people that are down on their luck with medical care? I bet you could. In fact, without a middleman, I'm pretty sure you could get way more out of your money than the government could.

The thing is, if you were in charge of distributing the money...would you spend it on corporate welfare? How about pet projects? would you send your soldiers to play in the desert?

The concept of the government using tax money to take care of people is a noble one, but it ultimately fails in its application.

hmm, another 1am rant

for a 3000/mo brutto salary...

3600 starts at the employer, by the time it gets to the employees bank account, they've got 2100 sitting in there. Then of course comes VAT@22%.

If the company managed to make any money, it is taxed at 19%... and if you're paid dividends on the whatever is left, that's another 19%.

Could you make better use of the money than the government? I think I could. I think a cage full of baboons could.

USA, Canada / REFUSED A HOLIDAY VISA TO THE U.S CAUSE IM POLISH [323]


that's the thing, where are the statistics? Anyone find decent statistics? US-VISIT stats don't seem to be online anywhere...

USA, Canada / REFUSED A HOLIDAY VISA TO THE U.S CAUSE IM POLISH [323]


It's not that they're not kept, they're just not public. It would be really nice to see the overstay statistics.

Work / Will it be easy to find a job within 6-10 months of moving to Poland? [41]


Had to put down my drink for that one.

Food / Why is it that some Polish people refuse to eat anything that is not Polish? [120]

to be fair, shrimp and crab are just goo until cooked.

But the same goes for Italians, Koreans, Americans. Some people are a bit more adventurous than others.