USA, Canada / Are prices for Laptops, Cell Phones or Tablets in Poland cheaper than in the US? [18]

No, they are not. I just bought a Canon Reflex camera a month ago and the price is even more expensive than Germany/Spain/etc. A basic guide is that EU is 33% more expensive than US right now when it comes to electronics.

I still got it as I received the tax refund so for 1500E got back about 250E which made it about 15/20% more expensive than the US which wasn't so bad considering I don't have any trip back Sam's Land planned at the moment and really needed the camera.

News / What is wrong with Poland that Poles emigrate? [167]

I can understand that Polish people go abroad to raise money due to the huge salary difference. I mean, maybe in Poland you can save 30% of your salary, and in England a 15%. Difference is that 15% in Pounds is about 200% of the 30% in Zloty.

So lets say, if you plan to buy a house, apt or land (in Poland) it would take you half the time to get the money being abroad than at your home country.

Travel / Which parts of Poland are more beautifull? (North, South, East, West or center) [13]

I've been in Krakow, Warsaw, Gdansk, Katowice, Visla and Bielsko-Biala. Besides visits to Sopot/Gdynia/Hel/Torun.
Thinking about everyday living, loved Warsaw as city, I'm American and getting there is like finally being able to breath compared to Krakow. Much more open space between the buildings, guess I don't like the narrow streets of most old European cities.

Then again, I grew up in a small mountain town, and probably could end up in another one. So:
North: Liked it a lot, but the beach/water not on par to warmer sites in the Mediterranean. 7/10
Warsaw: Best city in Poland imho. Cosmopolitan. The big parks. Wide spaces. 8/10
Krakow: Beautiful, historic city that I loved to know, but probably wouldn't stand to live there. (oh the traffic!) 9 to visit, 5 to live in (or 7 if you live in suburbs and don't have to commute).

South: Mountains, love'em. 9/10

Still have to know Wroclaw and the West though.

Law / Can my American wife stay in Poland with me? I have citizenship of Poland. [12]

I'm about to start a similar process in March. So far, this is what I understood:
- Get an extended marriage certificate (I'm guessing you got married in the US) w/Hague apostille.
- Translate it to Polish. *Seems you might need to translate her birth certificate as well. Not sure if it needs the Hague apostille.
- Present all that plus fill some papers at local Voivodeship office. You'll be applying for a 2-year residence permit.
- You should get the residence card for her in up to 45 days.

Law / Can my American wife stay in Poland with me? I have citizenship of Poland. [12]


Thanks about that. My girlfriend is struggling to get a clear answer about that question and as I'm not in the US right now mailing everything (being from CA need an extra step to get the Apostille) would take about 2 months, too long for our plans.

Law / Can my American wife stay in Poland with me? I have citizenship of Poland. [12]

From the local Bielsko/Katowice authorities where we should register our marriage so I can get the 2 year residence permit (getting married in the US soon, but in NY and I'm from CA so can't get the apostille for the birth certificate in person, and via mail can take too long) She always gets there at closing time and the attention is not the best, so far she got a "BC Not needed at all" and a "Probably yes with apostille as well"

Work / Does google voice work correctly in Poland? [22]

I was using Talkatone, as Hangouts was only working ok with IOS 7 devices. They changed it and allowed to work with IOS 6 as well (I have an old Iphone so this will alow me to keep using my google number on the phone)

I've heard Android application is lagging a bit behind, weird considering it's a Google product.

USA, Canada / Marriage laws: dual citizenship (Polish and US) preparing to get married to an American. [65]

I'd do the civil marriage in US, will be a lot easier for your bf (and you) as only your passport is needed in US. While in Poland, your BF will have to get originals, apostille, and translations of many documents. Apply for the Green card right away and if you want do it from outside US and use the waiting time to travel and the Polish wedding (register your marriage certificate with the apostille and translation on your Voivodeship, and do church wedding as you like). If you need any specific info let me know I've been through that recently.

Law / Karta Polaka (Card of the Pole, Polish Card) - working legally in all EU countries? [3]

Hola Seba,
no, it doesn't allow to work outside Poland.

If you need any help let me know in PM, I moved in from Buenos Aires few months ago.

Salutes!

Law / Self-employed and wife on contract job. How much in social charges should I pay? [7]

hmm that sucks. Really sets the whole idea back. I have valid permanent residence in another country, but also the temporary in Poland. I'd prefer to pay taxes only in country of origin but if I'm right Poland makes you pay anything you make while you have Polish residency (and live in Poland more than 180 days a year) Thanks for the info! I'll post again in case I find new information on this.

Law / Self-employed and wife on contract job. How much in social charges should I pay? [7]

Oh ok, so even residing in Poland most of the year, if I have my own personal project in another country, pays taxes there and collect my money there (my case, Argentina) and even use foreign credit cards to buy everyday groceries here. Then I wouldn't have to pay any kind of income tax to Poland? (granted that I have ZUS insurance coverage thanks to my wife's company contract)

Work / Is it a good sign if a school seems desperate to hire me? Small town Kęty [15]

Hey I'm an American (though grew up in Argentina) living in Bielsko-Biala and I'd said it depends a lot on your personal characteristics. There's things to do, but I wouldn't recommend it to the "typical" 25yo. Please feel free to contact me and we can talk on Skype or similar. Salutes!

Work / Is it a good sign if a school seems desperate to hire me? Small town Kęty [15]

Well, I'd say if you are 25 and like to go party or for a drink, there's a limited choice. Not huge places and eventually you'd have to repeat them. I never liked that as 1) maybe want a place where's specific kind of music and there just ain't 2) you encounter the same people over and over again. Not good if you like to date different people in peace :P That night life example applies to most cultural aspects. 3) without Polish, is very hard to find locals that are comfortable outside their native language. 40yo and older just won't speak English. And youngsters usually feel ashamed about their poor English and switch back to Polish after 5 mins. There's no possibility of having a decent sized social circle without a good grasp of Polish.

Now if you think you'll settle down as soon you find a nice gal (you can bring your girl from home....if not, there's many in Poland :P) then it could be for you.

I'd say you have more choices in bigger cities as Krakow, Warsaw, etc.

Law / How to register a new business in Poland [129]

Here's a good guide: foreigners in poland./work/start-business-in-poland.htm

Life / Best / cheapest PAYG sim card for data and calls in Poland? [19]

I rarely talk locally, but you should check t-Mobile Free tariff prepaid chip, maybe it suits you.

Loaded up 50pln which keeps your account active for 5 months. And you get to choose 1 of the following options:

- Free internet (what I chose)
- Free calls to other T-Mobile or Heyah polish number
- Free SMS

Travel / Foreigner traveling in Poland - is it better to rent a car or travel by train? [9]

take a car (LPG fueled if possible, really cheap) and a very good GPS/app in English. Buy one of those portable rechargers as GPS functions eat a lot of battery and car lighter power ain't enough sometimes.

I'd avoid trains in any non major city. The average worker doesn't speak a word of English on minor towns, that includes guards and salesmen at the train stations. Add that the signage design can be REALLY bad.

More times than you expect, either because in a rush, late train or whatever, you'll probably be depending on understanding a practically rotten audio announce system in Polish. You could get help from fellow travellers but it's not always the case due to language barriers or because there's just not enough time to find one that speaks good English.

They take the alcohol test more seriously than in any other country I've been though, so don't even think driving after a beer. Eat good, have a good ****, wait some more, maybe even sleep it off, and then go.

Life / Where can I buy a second-hand bicycle in Warsaw or Lodz? [10]

try olx.pl

Work / Obtaining a Certificate of coverage for Social Security Benefits from ZUS; US citizen working as self-employed [5]

As long you spend more than 330days abroad and earn less than 90k USD per year, you don't have to pay a single dime to US tax office, yet still have to do your yearly declaration.

Life / Which sim card to buy in Poland? [30]

Prepaid T-Mobile Fryii tariff put 50zl and is good for 6 months and you get free one of: Internet(first 50MB per day on 3G then slows down)/Tmobile+Heya calls/SMS to any network.

Language / Does pronunciation in Polish get easier with time? [9]

Try courses that make you repeat after a native speaker like Rosetta Stone. I started with that and many have praised my lack of "american" accent.

Love / Polish girls are so nice.. they like dancing, flirting, and have fun [11]

Well that depends how big or international you think. Of course that English, German, nordic and slavic languages are more important in a business sense at the time being. But Spanish is required quite a lot if you check job portals. Mostly for economics/tech support/sales. Truth is Poland is full of cheap labor, and with current communications improvements, outsourcing is quite a big deal and will be even a bigger one.

Don't forget that US first language will be Spanish in the not so distant future.

Fede, si volver por zona de Cracovia tenes invitación a visitar Bielsko-Biała :) Aca hay un argento jugando para el club de voley (jugó de titular el mundial de Polonia) Salutes!

Law / UK connected flights and Karta Pobytu (non-EU country) [7]

Yes, Karta Pobytu is only for POLAND. Not even for the other Schengen countries, though they rarely ask for anything as there's practically no border controls.

So, depending what passport you have, you'd need visa for UK. Many countries get an automatic free visa at arrival, e.g. US citizens get 6 months free visa for tourism or business.

Law / Retirement laws in Poland [11]

how many years do I have to pay ZUS to eventually see a single dime back? They are taking about 20% of my salary every month and it bleeds the pocket man! Or there's any way to choose to not pay it and not having a retirement plan later on?

UK, Ireland / Common pitfalls for Poles learning English [187]

The difference between THirty and Forty seem to be as hard for Polish speakers as getting to hear what the hell sounds different between the Polish E and Y (for me).

Work / I want to pay someone in Poland to work remotely for my UK business. Should they become self employed? [3]

Hi,
I 'm working as a designer in Poland and looking to have my own firm to add on top of my regular job, so I can guide you a bit about this in general terms. The fine print escapes me as my Polish is still quite raw.

He can setup a company and issue the invoice. The costs would most probably start with the 19% of income tax off anything you pay him. Plus a fix amount per month for just having the company. This amount would vary depending on if he has a full time job already (~50GBP/month as base plus other expenses such as accountant, etc) and if he doesn't then he can apply for the preferential rate (~100GBP + other minor expenses) or the regular rate (200~GBP + other minor expenses).

If you want to establish a company in Poland, and pay him a salary, it will most probably cost you a lot more. If you want to pay him let's say 600GBP in hand, you'd have to pay another 400GBP for the brutto, and sum whatever costs come from having the company.

Travel / Travelling from Wroclaw to Warsaw without my Poland's Karta pobytu? Nobody will check my status? [14]

I know that Ryan Air checked if I had a valid EU visa when traveling with my passport. They put a stamp on the boarding pass.

Law / Import a car to Poland from EU country - how i calculate tax and extra cost? [5]

I can only give you a rough guide as I've been looking to buy a car lately. There's like a 600PLN + a 2% market value fees that most second-hand shops say they'll take care of, plus about another 400PLN between translations and local authorities fees. I'd say you are seeing at 1000-1500PLN for a ~2500EUR car.

Love / Latin American girl & Polish man - what is better: to get married in Poland or in the UK? [3]

All I can tell you that getting married in Poland for a non-EU is usually a mess. I gave up trying to get clear steps and instructions and just got married in my country of residence and then went with that certificate with the Hague apostille (plus translation if you need it) Don't know how it's in the UK though.