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Posts by thetenminuteman  

Joined: 10 Feb 2013 / Male ♂
Last Post: 28 Feb 2013
Threads: Total: 1 / In This Archive: 1
Posts: Total: 80 / In This Archive: 65

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thetenminuteman   
28 Feb 2013
Life / Polish Positivity and the Myth Of Middle-Class Pretense, or "Everything Will Be Fine." [27]

Oh my Jason. Your very limited experience of Poland is certainly showing now. Poles may wish their neighbours good luck to their faces, but they are also incredibly suspicious of how people obtained their position / wealth. I'm sure pip can tell you a story or two about people trash talking behind her back.

I really don't believe you understand Poland at all if you think that.

Poles are dreadful for putting on airs. I think you should ask yourself why there are many people out there who are bankrupting themselves through car leases and mortgages if they aren't interested in how things look.

I'll give you a year at the most before you realise how suffocating and ****** Poles can be. It might be cute now that your father-in-law takes such an interest in your daughter, but it won't be so cute once he starts interfering with her upbringing.
thetenminuteman   
27 Feb 2013
Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

That sounds very much like what I hear from people who live in Munich.

There's a reason why international flights connect in Munich and Frankfurt and not Berlin.

There are people who come to this city to make their mark and reinvent themselves.

No-one goes to Berlin to make their mark unless they already have funding behind them. See also : artists, writers, etc.

You seem to know nothing about the start-up world or Berlin.

I know enough to know that Berlin is not the place to be if you want to do business. It seems that several months on, you still haven't learnt that.

By the way, do you have a valid residence permit for Germany?
thetenminuteman   
27 Feb 2013
Life / Men in Poland in the forest? Just men? [133]

Maybe..but nobody would work for one zloty per hour. That BS.

What's with all these foreigners on PF lately telling the most incredible lies about Poland?
thetenminuteman   
27 Feb 2013
Life / Grass is always greener? Poland experience. [69]

intergrating the Euro will cause Poland an immediate inflation of 8-14%,

I hope so, my salary is linked to inflation and a 8-14% jump would certainly be welcome, especially as my mortgage costs would tumble too using EUR interest rates rather than PLN.

Signal, I am getting your picture now, either you or your wife which ever one of you is Polish( I guess your wife ) is ready to go back home.

Seems to be.

Relying on family is certainly one way to end up bitter and jaded here.
thetenminuteman   
27 Feb 2013
Life / Grass is always greener? Poland experience. [69]

However Poland's funding is higher then in UK

That seems highly unlikely, given that as a percentage of GDP, the numbers are similar but the UK has a vastly higher GDP. Anyone that's lived in both countries can also point out the differences. Not to mention that Polish teachers in general are unmotivated due to low salaries and low standards required to enter the profession.

yes, and that all means growth, jobs, more areas opening up to provide first mover advantage opportunities to those who see the potential.

First mover? Those days have been and gone, that was the 2001-2005 period. Nowadays, you're looking at significant capital investment and a fight against many German companies who already moved in here.
thetenminuteman   
27 Feb 2013
Life / Grass is always greener? Poland experience. [69]

and the large investment in education

Where?

Education is massively underfunded in Poland.

Roads are still nowhere near finished and won't be until the end of 2020. There will still be significant gaps in the network, too.
thetenminuteman   
27 Feb 2013
Life / Grass is always greener? Poland experience. [69]

fair points about navigating bureaucratic intricacies and assuming common sense procedures. However as you mentioned, thats something that becomes the cost of doing business through hiring competent advisors.

The problem is that competent advisors will cost you the same in Poland as they will cost you in the west, or even more. You can get very lucky of course and find one that's competent and cheap, but these rarely speak English well enough to help you run a business. Remember, there's many things that are just completely different here, such as the way that you're expected to deal with many issues in person at an office rather than via e-mail, fax or letter.

I am however advocating Polands growth potential and high quality of life.

Poland will keep growing, that much is certain. But high quality of life? The healthcare system is effectively bankrupt, the social insurance institution is massively in debt, education is massively underfunded, the list goes on...

What you should ask yourself is one simple question : if you don't have patience to spend six months learning how Poland works, are you sure you can do business here?
thetenminuteman   
27 Feb 2013
History / MICROCOSM: Portrait of a Central European City (history of Wrocław) [9]

I actually found it quite good, especially the chapter about Breslau. It was news to me just how Polish it was for a German city.

However, I like such books. I don't care about the human factor that relies on emotion, I care about hard facts.
thetenminuteman   
27 Feb 2013
Life / Men in Poland in the forest? Just men? [133]

(they will work for 1 Zloti per hour and glad of it......I told you this was a poor area.)

You're proud of paying locals 1 zloty an hour?

Good luck to you when you get controlled by the labour office.
thetenminuteman   
27 Feb 2013
Life / Grass is always greener? Poland experience. [69]

No, Tusk proved that he was a capable lead negotiator.

As for your comments about begging for money, it really does show your contempt towards Poland. If you actually understood Poland, you'd know that Poles feel that they deserve this money.
thetenminuteman   
27 Feb 2013
Life / Grass is always greener? Poland experience. [69]

stop with your arrogance the departure lounge at Chopin Airport is full of returnees who have failed in Poland. My words of wisdom to you is solid advice.

I imagine you've seen more than your fair share of people who made a mess of themselves here?

I know of at least 3-4 people who lost a significant amount of money here, including one chap who got his assets in the UK seized as a result of a Polish court order.
thetenminuteman   
27 Feb 2013
Life / Grass is always greener? Poland experience. [69]

Why the Euro?

To make life easier for everyone. Currency exchange risks, especially with currency pairs like the PLN/EUR can really hurt everyone. Quite a few import businesses were finished off by the dramatic slide of the Zloty not so long ago.

why do you think Poland was given such a big handout

Poland was savvy enough to cultivate very good relations with most of the big EU members. Nothing more, nothing less.
thetenminuteman   
27 Feb 2013
Work / 4,000 zl in Piła as a teacher - enough to live? [14]

There's nothing to do in Pila, Wro is a village, Americans and Germans are hilarious, and you have the gall to call ME judgmental. Hypocrisy is stunningly insidious here. You aren't even a native. You're here to fix networks or something dreary like that. You're in no position to decide what's what about anything in Poland, really. You keep those servers online, and leave the anthropology to the academics, okay?

Oh Jason. If you had ever actually been to Piła, you'd know that almost anyone that can escape does escape. There's nothing there, it's a small city 2 hours away from the provincial capital and feels like it. It's not a bad place for bringing up children, but a terrible place if you want any sort of excitement. It doesn't help that the road connections are pretty poor and that there's no prospect of them improving any time soon.

I don't live far from Piła, so I know a thing or two about it. It's not a place for a foreigner who wants to live his life.
thetenminuteman   
27 Feb 2013
Life / Grass is always greener? Poland experience. [69]

- very nice people, friendly, low crime, solid values, respect of elders, general politeness

There's your first mistake right there.

- Low taxes (19% it seems on business, self employed, contracting income) National Healthcare * life expectancy in Poland has been high and is rising.

Actually, 18/32% for self employed people. If you go into the realm of limited companies with no experience in Poland, you're likely to get yourself into a complete mess. And yes, a good English speaking accountant running a limited company on your behalf could easily charge 1000zl+ a month.

National healthcare is very hit or miss.

- Perhaps govt bureaucracy is worse? or perhaps it just needs some $$ to grease the wheels.

Trying to bribe people as a foreigner is almost certainly going to land you in trouble.

and help me understand why Poland isnt one of the greatest countries at present to live and build business in?

There is one thing that you aren't accounting for, which is the human factor.

Anyone that's been in Poland for any length of time can share stories with you about how foreigners got themselves into a complete mess with the powers that be, often unintentionally. The tax offices for instance are known for unpredictable interpretations, such as the latest interpretation that families that receive discounts for having a large family are liable to pay taxation on these gifts. An insane interpretation, but made all the same.
thetenminuteman   
26 Feb 2013
Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

IIf I were you I would also consider Ukraine.

Ukraine, or even medium sized towns in Slovakia will be more than hungry enough for native speakers. I can't imagine there are many native speakers in places like Kosice or Nitra, yet these places support quite a lot of life. Even places such as Olomouc or Ostrava in the Czech Republic could be an option.
thetenminuteman   
26 Feb 2013
Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

TEFL training in Toulouse.

In Europe, there are two papers that matter in the eyes of prospective employers of first level teachers. The CELTA and the Trinity TESOL. If you don't have them and the school is in an area where you're spoiled for choice, like most major cities in Europe, then the CV can go straight in the bin. What's the point in taking a chance on someone who did a Mickey Mouse course when you can have someone with a certificate that means something for the same price?

I'm not blind and the reason that I chose Berlin is because it is the start-up capital of Europe. This makes it an ideal place where I can teach business classes. I have a resume that proves that I have talent in that arena already.

If you have the resume that proves it, why did you head to Berlin, a city with massive debts, rapidly rising rents and no real business culture except what the federal Government has? Start ups are start ups, they don't have money to waste on business English classes, they need every cent they have.

Why don't you just tell the truth and admit that you went to Berlin because it's fashionable and you'd read about it in some fashion magazine back home?
thetenminuteman   
26 Feb 2013
Work / 4,000 zl in Piła as a teacher - enough to live? [14]

Currently, living in Krakow I personally spend like around 2500zl- rent, food, travelling, daily shopping, tobacco, other things and including every weekend out. I bet that in Pila, it will be way cheaper.

On the other hand, there's absolutely nothing to do in Pila.
thetenminuteman   
26 Feb 2013
Law / Zloty climbs as ratings agency upgrades Poland [34]

A quid buys 4.59zł today at kantors here.

You can negotiate with any amount over 100GBP. Anything over 500GBP and you can expect them to move quite a bit on the rate.
thetenminuteman   
25 Feb 2013
Work / 4,000 zl in Piła as a teacher - enough to live? [14]

I should get around 3,280 which seems fairly higher than 2,400 zl :)

You're not accounting for social insurance deductions.

Tax is 19%, so you're right.

Income tax is, yes. But ZUS payments will also take up some of that, to give him an effective tax rate of around 35%.
thetenminuteman   
25 Feb 2013
Food / "Poland - it's the new Provence of food" [56]

the home cooked food in Poland tastes great, especially in the countryside

Isn't that stuffed laced with vegeta and hence MSG?
thetenminuteman   
24 Feb 2013
Law / The Euro, is it a good idea for Poland? [66]

The debts are no longer there. The Iceland refused to tax their people to pay for the banking losses of foreigners. Doing so prevented them from getting IMF loans.

What are you talking about?

The people of Iceland still have their currency-index linked loans in ISK, and these are the ones that are strangling the Icelandic people. But then again, you've proven beyond all doubt that you haven't got a clue about what's actually going on in Iceland.
thetenminuteman   
24 Feb 2013
Life / Polish pretense - what's the deal? [72]

Why pretend to be Western Middle Class when you can't afford one basket of food at the supermarket?

Does that happen frequently to you?
thetenminuteman   
24 Feb 2013
Law / The Euro, is it a good idea for Poland? [66]

The recession in Iceland is already over

On paper.

The reality is that the second they abandon currency controls and let their economy function normally, they will be straight back into recession and in even more trouble. You spout so much stuff about "leftists", yet you support that most Communist of ideas, the currency control. Remember, they're also growing after a tremendous crash, which is quite normal in economics. It doesn't mean anything and the country is still saddled with a huge amount of debts that the ordinary people can't afford.

From what i understand, Iceland is recovering because they had the balls to actually hang the bankers by the neck.

Except they didn't. It's another myth that they went after the bankers. And now their entire banking system is in the hands of foreigners, while ordinary Icelanders are stuck with ISK loans that are linked to foreign currencies, ensuring that they have no escape from them.

The key is Polish businesses. Euro is good for importers and foreign investors not for Polish economy.

I think that is why it has to make sense for everyone before entry. Now is not the time, as it just doesn't make sense to abandon the flexibility of the Zloty in these times. It makes sense for Latvia to join in 2014 because their currency is already pegged to the Euro, but the Zloty isn't. Also, in these troubled times, it makes absolutely no sense to spend money trying to peg (and defend) the Zloty against currency speculators.