My own thoughts about life in Poland (have lived here for two years)

not really, still pretty easy in the US...


drunk, would be my guess.. lol


not even close.. Poles are freaking 10x worse.


that is not what he's talking about...


gross.. and you put that on yourself?


big status symbol..


not sure if that is exactly true in PL.. regular market forces aren't what works there just yet.


contracts are normally cheaper in the long run if you talk, text and surf a bunch..


yes, it's called being a racist dolt and you have proved that plenty on these forums.


not in the US.. most of people don't really care.. there isn't there that much up front judgment.. Poles are highly judgmental, however.

Im glad to see, at last, a bit of fresh air about reality in Poland.


Man tell me about it.. A lot of people(about four who attack in group) here have the job of constantly pumping positive information about the economical situation of Poland, which is consistently false.

The passion for truth is silenced by answers which have the weight of undisputed authority.
- Paul Tillich

Salaries are rising, jobs are being created, what's false about that? Average income is half to a third that of high income countries. There is no place in the world where imported products are relative wages.

really?
szklanka jest do połowy pełna, co nie convex? ;)

I was talking to a guy recently who works in lublin in a leisure park,he earns less than 2 euro an hour.

Exactly! The minimum wage guff is such a slap in the face. It's rubbing salt in the wounds to people that don't get it. People from Warsaw and Kraków should try and see how some people here live.

Why should bankers and other government ministers be allowed to hike up prices while so many were finding it hard enough as it was? Come on, time to give people a good day's pay for a good day's work here and recognise that they often do more good than those pathetic specimens on telephone number salaries.

I would imagine the government works hard to keep the wages down so as to encourage foreign investment and keep the country competitive. Thanks to the ultra free-market right wing government who could not give a f0ck about the workers and their criminally low wages.

And also developer work hard spamming lies that wages are high and all is well, so as to attract real-estate foreign investment.
The truth is caught between a rock and a hard place.

So you think that salaries aren't rising, and that jobs aren't be created? I don't think I'm following you. Do you know of any middle income countries where the situation is different?


Well, I'm optimistic about growth...the current situation isn't that great, but the important thing is that there is improvement.

thats good to hear and i really hope you are right.
but the reality of the "now" for the majority, is not so good.

"Not so good" relative to where/who?

To the high income countries? To the middle income countries? Which aspects aren't good? How is it worse off than 5 years ago? 10 years ago?

Freedom of movement will/does allow everyone the chance to go wherever they want.

Hey,

I've just spent a month in Polska. Awesome experience. Here are some observations (a rant) from a Polski-Australian perspective:

Materialism and "Wielki pan" syndrome:

Poland has been a free market economy for such a short time! 1989? Joining the EU has also obviously opened up new opportunities for the Poles. No longer will Poles have to work "na czarno" to ensure a better standard of living for themselves and their kids! (thanks to Mum and Dad for working na czarno in Germany, so that we could afford the airplane tickets to OZ!).

A lot of money earned cross-border is being poured back in Poland. A lot of foreign investment is taking place (firms + individuals). New and better paid jobs are available for the taking.

I think Poles are using their "new money" to improve their quality of life, their status in society, and to buy cool $hit. There has been an explosion in wealth, particularly in Wawa, and obviously not everyone is silently placing their new found wealth in term deposits etc. A lot of it is on show. The amount of Mercedes, BMW and Porsches on Warsaw roads also surprised me. I only saw a handful of "maluchs" in the CBD.

There is an unmistakable perception that western goods are desirable! I visited Galeria Mokotów, and thought that some prices were OK, others not. 335zl for a Lacoste polo shirt. LOL. 1700zl for a Joop jumper. LOL!! I saw a few guys and gals dressed from head to toe in designer wear brand names. "Ale wielki pan" I thought to myself. It kind of reminded me of rather tacky Russian oligarchs and the way they show off their money in a distasteful manner. But who cares? Everyone spends their money differently. Some people feel it is important to show off their status, others are more reserved. I'm sure some Poles see material goods as goals to attain/achieve.

Some of the aforementioned "Wielkich panów i panienek" definitely had an attitude and thought of themselves as superior due to their new-found socioeconomic status etc. Maybe putting such an importance on materialism is unhealthy! Maybe I should have a chat with the 4 guys in my IT group back in Australia who have just bought $900AUD iPhone 4.0!

I must stress that the vast majority of Poles that I met/saw did not exhibit this materialistic trait. I would strongly argue that I would easily qualify as more materialistic if you considered my accessories + clothes + car + house etc.

Wages:

I've read consistantly that the average is about 3200zl per month. I think some Poles are doing quite well 8,000zl to 20,000zl per month, which affords them an inner city "Śródmieście, Mokotów, Wilanów" lifestyle. I'm sure on a killer salary you don't have to put up with a 20m2 "kawalerka" in a crappy suburb.

However, there is no question that there are some bad salaries going around. 1400zl isn't that much! Not for my lifestyle. But then again, my Babcia could live off 5zl per month. OK .. . maybe 10zl. :) The war made her the biggest saver/tight-ass ever!

Taxes. . . homophobia etc. I didn't see/hear enough to comment.

I'm a little surprised at how much of a "czynsz" gran has to pay on her mieszkanie though! FARK! 400zl for what??

Got my "dowód osobisty" done, and the amount of beurocracy associated with getting it was beyond a joke (this is in part where your taxes go!).

The roads from Warsaw to Krakow were terrible! Some of the potholes were big enough to lose your whole car in!

Here are some other issues: Corruption. Taxi mafia. Too many people "kombinują".

Cheers,

Kangurek

that's because in Oz you can afford "accessories + clothes + car + house"......

You can't call ppl that way only because they want to look good. it's different when someone buys clothes just to show off what brands he can afford for. The same goes for men who buy a brand new iPhone 4.0 even thought within a year it will be much cheaper. I wouldn't say that in this context Poles are materialistic. They are materialistic in context they would do everything for money, its the biggest aim of life for lots of ppl, but they don't show off (usually) about things they can afford for. It more a trait of western Europe countries.