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Posts by Ziutek  

Joined: 23 Feb 2012 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 22 Feb 2019
Threads: Total: 9 / In This Archive: 9
Posts: Total: 160 / In This Archive: 128 		From: Gdańsk
Speaks Polish?: yes

Displayed posts: 137 / page 1 of 5
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Ziutek   
23 Feb 2012
Life / Moving to Poland - Wrocław/Gdańsk? [11]

Hi. This is my first post here after lurking for some time. I've recently decided to give up a job in the finance/software sector in London and move to Poland for an extended period. At least a year, maybe more.

It's difficult to put my finger on exactly why I'm doing this - it's a combination of Polish roots, a fascination with the language, culture and history, polish friends in London and probably also a bit of mid-life crisis!

I've narrowed down my possible destinations to Wrocław and Gdańsk but I'm finding it difficult to make the final choice and looking for recommendations, personal experiences etc. Obviously I like both cities but having spent only about a week in each, I'm sure I've missed more than I've so far seen. I'm interested in many of the usual things cities have to offer - entertainment, especially classical music and theatre, eating out, bars etc. I don't like long commutes, so the ability to live reasonably close to the centre on a reasonable rent (1500pln pcm?) would be important. I'll be looking for a job on arrival in financial software if possible, otherwise in any kind of software.

It's a pretty difficult question to answer, I know, but any personal recommendations or reflections about the life style, friendliness and also cost of living or anything else would be more than welcome!

Thanks in advance
Ziutek   
23 Feb 2012
Life / Moving to Poland - Wrocław/Gdańsk? [11]

Thanks for the answers so far. Unanimity! I was all set on Wrocław, my polish teacher is from there and recommends it for job opportunities, culture etc. However after seeing Gdańsk, I wasn't so sure.

It really is a beautiful city and the proximity of Sopot adds another dimension. Also from surveys that I have read, it seems accommodation is cheaper but average salaries are higher. Is there any truth in that?

Jasondmzk - Those pictures are great.
Ziutek   
5 Mar 2012
Real Estate / Gdańsk - Safe and decent residential areas? [14]

I'm going to be in Gdańsk next week and want to do some flat hunting (for rental). The prospect is a bit daunting at the moment - I don't really know where to start.

What are generally considered the best areas to live in, with regards to the usual things like amenities, transport links, safety etc? Because the Tricity area is long and thin,

I suspect this may be an easier decision to get wrong than in more conventionally shaped towns! Thanks in advance for any advice.
Ziutek   
6 Mar 2012
UK, Ireland / Bank Pekao branch in London? [6]

There's a PKO Bank Polski branch on Shaftesbury Avenue. I've got an account there but it is not as useful
as you might hope because you cannot pay money in there. You have to send everything to a branch in Warsaw
which means paying a SWIFT transfer fee. However, it's better than nothing and the staff are very helpful if you have
questions.
Ziutek   
9 Mar 2012
USA, Canada / Would like to move back to Poland from New York after living in USA for 20 years. [155]

My situation is a bit similar to yours but my connections to Poland are weaker. My father is polish but I was born in England and only started learning

the language two years ago. I worked in investment banking until fairly recently. I was getting pretty tired of the lifestyle in London and I have always

wanted to get to know another country as a resident rather than a tourist so I've decided emigrate! I haven't got a job lined up but I'm just going to take my chances.

I'm open to the idea that I might stay permanently but more likely it will just be for a year.
Frankly I'm terrified but really the worst than can happen is that I hate it and have to move back
to London. That would still be better than a lifetime of what ifs and at least I'll have some stories to tell ...
Ziutek   
12 Mar 2012
Real Estate / Gdańsk - Safe and decent residential areas? [14]

cjj - Did you have any luck with finding employment?

My plan is to move here first and then look for work. I'm freelancing over the Internet at the moment so it's not critical that I find work with an employer immediately but I'd like to do so soon after I arrive to get better integrated socially.

I was on Słowackiego this morning on the bus from the airport, and it didn't seem too bad, but I could imagine it would be a lot worse during the rush hour.
Ziutek   
15 Mar 2012
Language / Polish language grammar books [59]

In my opinion this is the best and it is also free: polish.slavic.pitt.edu/grammar.pdf

And while I'm on the subject, the main site (polish.slavic.pitt.edu) is a treasure trove of useful resources,
Including a dictionary that gives you the cases of nouns and adjectives and the conjugations of verbs. Oscar Swan, the author, is a hero of Polish language teaching!
Ziutek   
16 Mar 2012
Language / Polish language grammar books [59]

I've stared at that sentence for five minutes and can't see anything wrong with it.
Ziutek   
16 Mar 2012
Language / Polish language grammar books [59]

That looks like like bene-fight-ed to me, but unfortunately the dictionary seems to disagree. Maybe I'll put my Polish on hold and give English another shot :) (To be fair to myself, Mirriam-Webster does list the two ts version as an alternative.)
Ziutek   
16 Mar 2012
Life / Warsaw Philharmonia - keeping the smelly plebs out! [8]

Does anyone know what the ticketing situation is like for the orchestras and operas in Gdańsk and Wroclaw? I'm weighing up the pros and cons of each at the moment, and the ability to listen to live classical music is really important to me.
Ziutek   
24 Mar 2012
Language / Do the Polish words for 'please' and 'piglet' sound very similar? [24]

The different pronunciations of ę on Google translate are unrelated to the difference between "sz' and 'si". In "proszę" the tip of the tongue should be rolled up to touch the top of the mouth - in "prosię" the tip should be pointing downwards and the middle of the tongue lifted. By "should" I mean that's what I do with apparently acceptable results!

As far as the final ę is concerned, standard pronunciation is now like "e". The sound on Google for "Proszę" is considered old-fashioned or regional.
Ziutek   
6 Apr 2012
Life / Polish dentistry cost - 230 zl for one tooth cavity filling [99]

You should be able to get a white crown on the NHS if it is a front tooth - but it would still have a metal base which would mean it wouldn't be as translucent as a real tooth and may have a slight dark edge at the gum line.

The best sort - all porcelain - cost about £300 in Poland (compared to £600 in the UK) . You can certainly get the whole job done within a working week, maybe even three days. However, some dentists have a digital system which scans the tooth rather than taking an impression and then machines the crown in an hour or so.
Ziutek   
6 Apr 2012
Life / Polish dentistry cost - 230 zl for one tooth cavity filling [99]

Dentists seem to limit the length of treatment sessions to about 2 hours, but you can have more than one in a day. How much work do you need doing in total? I got the impression from your first post that it was one root canal + one crown, but now you are talking about six. If you need six crowns, you want to save money and you already know Poland quite well, I think getting the work done there is a no-brainer.

If you can't/don't want to back to the dentist you used in Wrocław you can find others here

whatclinic.com

If you can read Polish, you can find some reviews here:

znanylekarz.pl
Ziutek   
6 Apr 2012
Life / Polish dentistry cost - 230 zl for one tooth cavity filling [99]

The rule of thumb seems to be that you save 50% but obviously there's quite a lot a variation so you need to contact individual dentists. It sounds like you will save about 600 in total but of course you have to factor in flight, accommodation and lost earnings.
Ziutek   
10 Apr 2012
History / Which countries are Polands friends, which are Polands enemies? [75]

It's obviously true that had Poland not fallen under Soviet domination, her living standards would have been higher, and fewer people would have emigrated to find jobs. However, I am interested in why you think the British in particular, "handed Poland to the Russians on a plate".

Both Roosevelt and Churchill failed to understand the threat that Stalin posed, but from what I have read, Roosevelt was considerably more naïve than Churchill.
Ziutek   
10 Apr 2012
History / Which countries are Polands friends, which are Polands enemies? [75]

MememeBritish being desperate to send Poles back to Poland at a bad time when they'd simply be captured, right after WW2 ended.

Was anyone forcibly sent back? On the whole the Brits were very grateful for the Polish contribution during the war and treated well those who remained. My father was one of them.