Love / Goal: Meet a nice Polish girl! [60]


Word of advice, assuming you're really a teacher keep your head low, try and act professionally and justify whatever money's being spent on you by doing the best job you can. There's nothing wrong with having a bit of fun but if you think anyone is going to look twice at you as soon as you land in Poland then you're up for a big disappointment.

If you think I'm being harsh, I'm not. The earlier you forget all that pseudo-playboy nonsense and macho preconceptions the sooner you'll start enjoying yourself.

Life / What are the favorite (foreign) countries for Polish expats to live/retire? [22]


Exactly.

Life / What are the favorite (foreign) countries for Polish expats to live/retire? [22]

If you're looking for a suggestion rather than statistical data I would say the best bet would be any EEA country out of the Eurozone. Of course it all depends on a number of factors, the most critical one being how much your retirement income was set at, but generally speaking I regard what I said as good advice for the next decade.

Work / Living in Lublin (as a teacher)!? [36]

I see. Thank you for taking the time to shed some light over this matter. For those interested I've found more info here:
ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-programme/comenius_en.htm

I'll be honest I find this whole thing preposterous and a misuse of EU funds. I can see merit on your particular example delph (those kind of experiences can contribute immensely to a child's personal development) but I fail to see the merit on granting an adult those kind of funds for 9+ months just to teach english abroad for a mere 12 hours a week.

I'm sure the op is a very competent professional and a really nice guy and he will bring to Turkey a lot of good things to say about the beer, the girls, the social life, etc. I just don't understand how that will benefit anyone but him. Telling me that the students will "better understand the range of European cultures, languages and values" simply by learning english from a Turkish teacher sounds like someone didn't think this through.

Again please correct me if I'm wrong and may the op forgive me if my whole line of thought is making him feel unconfortable. I have nothing against him personally.

Work / Living in Lublin (as a teacher)!? [36]


Which school is this? I'm sorry but I'm just curious to learn which government owned school thought it would be a good idea to use EU funds to fly a Turkish citizen to teach english in Poland for up to 3000zl for 4 days worth of work per month. This country is flooding with language schools and highly qualified english teachers struggling to make a decent living who would be more than willing to perform their duties for a fraction of what you're claiming to have been offered. It just doesn't add up.

You've got yourself some sweet deal there, by all means inquire us about the girls and the social life, after all you'll have loads of spare time.

Is it just me? Am I missing something? Am I being unfair here?


I'm sorry, make that 6 days worth.

Travel / Rihanna complains about lack of privacy on Polish beach [150]


We're all bashing Rihanna therefore we must love her? Reductio ad absurdum.

Travel / Just visited Poland - here is my random rant [154]


I actually find this quite insulting. So you label a whole country 'uncivilized' because you had to pay a couple of cents for a plastic carrier bag? Newsflash, you also pay for them in London. That's in the UK btw. As a matter of fact all major EU capitals have been actively discouraging the use of disposable plastic bags. This has been going on for years now.

Personally I keep a couple of reusable grocery bags from Tescos in my car's boot and take them whenever I go shopping. Easy peasy. Been doing this for almost 5 years now. How's that for (un)civilized?

News / Poland's John Paul the Great canonisation this year [177]

How do you go from John Paul's canonisation to discussing nazi germany? Seriously...

Back on topic, you won't find me on a church on sundays nor would I call myself a spiritual person but I have the deepest of respects for Karol Wojtyła.

Law / Opening "Budke Gastronomiczna" [37]

Build a best/worst scenario for the following time frames:

- day 1 to year 2
- year 2 to year 5
- year 5 and beyond

A more realistic approach would be aiming to break even by year 2 and getting yourself a salary by year 5. Everything you make until then should be put back into the business.

In the meanwhile you might have to live from and for your business, meaning live where you work and eat what you sell. I wouldn't even think of staff costs or having a social life until I break even. Unless you have a partner willing to help, expect to be burning the midnight oil in order to reach that volume of sales you aim for.

I only know personally one restaurateur. He's in London, started with one small bistro, now runs 3 restaurants and although he's only 6 years older than me he looks like he could be my father. It's not to discourage you but success doesn't come cheap. You know what they say, success is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration.

Law / Jobs and Economic Status in Poland [64]

hahaha! it did make me wonder!

Law / Jobs and Economic Status in Poland [64]

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Law / Opening "Budke Gastronomiczna" [37]


Then for what is worth let me add this little story:

A long time ago, in my native country, the government invested millions granting funds for people in the textile sector to prepare themselves for an upcoming EU law that would open the market to the Chinese (ie large quantities of cheaper product would soon flood the market). When the time arrived the Chinese-made products literally killed the textile industry. The government then launched an investigation to try and learn why that happened and why the grants had failed to prevent this.

It turns out that a big (huge) majority of them had invested not in modern machinery, not in skilled labour, not in differentiating themselves with a better product but in new cars, new computers and new smartphones for the famil.. ahem workers. Basically they replaced their ageing Suzuki and Isuzu vans with top of the line BMW Tourings and such.

So word of advice... put the money where it's worth! Don't be tempted to use it to massage your ego because karma is a b*tch and will come back to bite you in the arse. It's so refreshing to see people roll up their sleeves and sweating their way to the top instead of sitting idle moaning and demanding everything from everyone except themselves. Keep us updated mate, go social, spread the word via Twitter, Facebook and whatever people use. I'll be happy to pay you a visit in the future.

Life / Immigration in Poland and being surrounded by a monoculture? [134]

I have friends in Thompson that say EXACTLY word for word what you just wrote. I thought they were exaggerating but I guess not. It's a sad state of affairs...

Law / Jobs and Economic Status in Poland [64]

I'm not going to get involved in the discussion but generally speaking I share my views with Delph and peterweg's.

Law / Opening "Budke Gastronomiczna" [37]

ok I'll start: watch a lot of Gordon Ramsay's kitchen nightmares! For the most part keep it simple, keep it clean, make it affordable and use fresh local produce. Sounds cliché but from a customer's point of view it's a winner.

Do crunch your numbers before mortgaging your future! don't invest more than what you're willing to lose and don't try to take a step longer than your leg.

Best of luck with your future endeavor.

Real Estate / Buying a flat in Krakow; prices are still falling? [200]


ha! well played my friend! touché!


It could well be but still feels quite steep unless of course he's talking about household income.

Travel / Rihanna complains about lack of privacy on Polish beach [150]


hear, hear!

Real Estate / Buying a flat in Krakow; prices are still falling? [200]

Plus I don't think being Norwegian (ie not an EU member) can explain it as Norway is still part of the EEA and the Schengen Area.

I'm guessing it's a simple currency faux pas. (sounds posh when you say it like that doesn't it? ooh lah lah)

Travel / Rihanna complains about lack of privacy on Polish beach [150]

I agree with you word for word.

Real Estate / Buying a flat in Krakow; prices are still falling? [200]

Jon we're talking about a loan from PKO for a flat in Krakow with 35% paid upfront. Post #2, GTO fella. It's all there mate.

to the op: don't mind us and get in touch with your local branch. I personally recommend Millennium but do shop around.

USA, Canada / General differences between Poland and the USA? [184]

bookmarked!

Real Estate / Buying a flat in Krakow; prices are still falling? [200]

No. Banks in the EU are subject to regulation, this isn't the wild west. There is no way a Polish bank would demand anyone 17x the net average wage to approve a loan for flat in Krakow. Unless you have a criminal record in which case they could flat out refuse you a loan. You get that kind of demands from a loan shark, not a EU based bank.

The only thing I know for sure is that this whole discussion is scaring the op straight.

Real Estate / Buying a flat in Krakow; prices are still falling? [200]


hmmm are you sure you aren't mixing currencies there? 10 thousand Euros per month? Unless you're a football player you'll struggle making that even in London.

The average monthly salary in Poland is 2512 PLN net (3510 PLN gross). That's less than 600 Euros/month. You're honestly telling me a Bank in Poland is demanding 17x (!!) the net average wage in order to grant you (or someone else) a loan for a flat? Something's not right there.

And why would anyone taking home 120 thousand Euros (more than half a million zlotys) per annum need to get a loan for a flat in Krakow in the first place? o_O

Love / Polish Farm Women [34]

I'm glad it's not just me. This bit "(...) employers can hire Polish women (...)" is particularly disturbing... but I'm sure "trixie123" and "GuyLondonUk" will tell us otherwise.

Law / Born in Poland, now US Citizen, wants apply 4 Polish Passport [8]

heck in 1986 the EU (then known as EEC) already had 12 members. Maybe the op meant the Schengen Area which came to force in the mid 90's?

Love / Polish Farm Women [34]

the op would be better advised paying 90 USD and becoming a "PF Gold Member" which includes, prepare for this, a "Lifetime VIP PolishWomen.com membership"!

"(...) At PolishWomen.com men can meet Polish women for relationship, Polish women can find men or jobs, and employers can hire Polish women (...)"

wow really? how degrading is that? Talk about perpetuating stereotypes.

Is it just me? =X

Law / US citizen looking to live in Poland for 6+ months like a long-term tourist [51]


you're quoting the wrong person, Harry said that not me. hehe


correct. and Poland is not the only EU country requiring it.

Real Estate / Alerting Poland's local land registry offices? [5]

I could bore you with lots of legalese but the best advice I can give you is to get a lawyer. no way around it, just get a lawyer. having said that I wouldn't worry too much, the law generally protects the best interests of the direct descendeants in situations like this.

Law / US citizen looking to live in Poland for 6+ months like a long-term tourist [51]

Harry honest question, have you thought about getting dual citizenship? EU expat here, seriously considering it.

Law / US citizen looking to live in Poland for 6+ months like a long-term tourist [51]



that's actually not a bad thing IMHO. you'll find there's this trend in most western countries where they use the terms "volunteering" and "internship" broadly as some sort of modern day slavery. I'm happy to see that volunteer work in Poland is (still) true to its meaning.