First of all I'd like to thank everyone on this forum who helped answer my questions and gave me advice beforehand. That was very helpful.
After spending a over a week in Mragowo and Warsaw and briefly seeing some other towns like Olsztyn, I thought I would share my impression of Poland concerning the things that are better or worse than in Germany. I had an overwhelmingly positive experience and my family had a very nice time.
Things in Poland that are better than in Germany
Poles seem to be less serious, more relaxed, and more willing to joke around. Stores are open on Sundays and usually don't charge for a plastic bag (or only 10 groszy). No 25ct bottle deposits. Beer, water, and other drinks served in restaurants are served sufficiently cold and coffee is served sufficiently hot. Often not the case in Germany. Children's playgrounds are very clean and it is clearly indicated that smoking, alcohol, and dogs are prohibited. In Germany often all three are allowed and the government does nothing to help to clean up the filth left behind by degenerates.
Very reasonable prices for bottled water, taxis, food, beer. No smoking allowed at outdoor bus stops. Little to no third-world immigrants. We barely saw any even in Warsaw. School playgounds filled with blond-haird children. Friendly, helpful, and sincere waitresses in restaurants. Poles seem to be very patriotic and value their culture and independence, but not in a way that attempts to diminish or insult other cultures. Unforunately many Germans have a self-righteous attitude and consider themselves experts on all world affairs. Germans aren't shy about expressing their (often uninformed) opinions about another person's country (and politics) upon meeting them. Poles don't seem to do that.
Poles take religion seriously and don't pick and choose the parts of it they like to fit a modern/decadent lifestyle. Air conditioning isn't great, but better and more widely available than in Germany. Men act manlier and women act more feminine. I was impressed at the punching bags installed in the kid's playgrounds. Polish women dress in a way that makes men notice them.
Things in Poland that are worse than in Germany
The taxis (although very inexpensive) are usually old junkers and don't offer any child carseats or booster seats. The intercity buses are old and rattly. The bus stops are not called out and are poorly (or not) labeled. We had a hard time knowing when to get out.
People like to feed the pigeons. Germany has this problem too, but I found it to be worse in Poland. The inside floor of the Olsztyn bus station is covered in pigeon droppings.
Many people speak zero English. You can't really fault the Poles for only speaking Polish, but I would expect the woman behind the ticket counter at the Warsaw Centralna train station to understand at least basic English.
I would expect the woman behind the ticket counter at the Warsaw Centralna train station to understand at least basic English.
That's what paper and pen are for... in a situation where I don't know if I can be understood it's always worked well (provided you know what train you want/need).
Little to no third-world immigrants. We barely saw any even in Warsaw. School playgounds filled with blond-haird children.
There are a number or posters on this board who are hoping to reduce the percentage of blond haired children in Poland by a considerable degree.... no word on if they they that Zimbabwe or Yemen would be improved by more blond haired children....
Concerning your comment as to the lack of basic English ability in Poland among the negatives which you've experienced, compared with Germany, I'd hope that you would expect that a person arriving in The Federal Republic, even for a brief visit, would at least have a phrasebook knowledge of German:-))
As you know, I've lived in Germany for a while and found the average person's command of English, albeit a damned sight better than in Poland, nonetheless far from perfect!
With regard to the rest of your observations, having spent such a short time in Poland, I honestly can't evaluate the differences.
What I surely CAN say is that what you find a negative about Germans vs. Poles in the latter's ability to "joke around" more, I always cherished during my stays in Germany, precisely their degree of often deep-thinking seriousness about their life, their history, above all, their environment, contemplation tinged with a sense of moral responsibility.
But, to each his own. "Jeden das Seine und mir das Meiste" aka Different strokes for different folksLOL
I'm not denying that, kaprys. Then again, Germany's historical reality as the "land in the middle" has as much shaped her cultural and social experience as Poland's unfortunate role relegated to mere agricultural benefactor to the "superior" Teutonic civilization and backwater province has hers:-)
After all, we are the products of our upbringing, for better or for worse.
What a pity you don't know more about Poland, its history and people. If you did, you might stop thinking about my country and people as untermenschen. Also despite our experiences and history, we still have a sense of humour.
Hopefully one day you will have a chance to experience what Alltimegreat did. But that, apart from travelling to Poland, requires an open mind.
First impressions last and Poland made a great one. Let's keep it that way
I'm more than happy that the OP made some positive memories in Poland, don't get me wrong. I'm just wondering what you would say if the OP had his head kicked in by the first Pole he met and as a result would claim that all Poles are violent thugs?
He says he is from Frankfurt
Maybe he's a tourist who just arrived in Frankfurt, Hungary, who knows? :)
Thanks. I can't stop thinking about what it would be like moving to Poland. Germany is increasingly turning into a politically correct third-world hellhole. I would like my kids to grow up in an environment where they don't have to be ashamed of being white and aren't forced to learn about gay sex in elementary school. I've heard great things in particular about southeastern Poland around the Rzeszów area.
This is hyopthetical of course at present, but I'd like to know if we made the effort to learn to speak fluent Polish, would Poles ever truly accept us into their community?
Do it. I don't think you'll regret it but In case you do don't get rid of your home citizenship till you know for certain.
In the major cities people get use to seeing foreigners all the time. My city wroclaw is far smaller than Warsaw and we got 5 mln tourists last year. Depending on your career and profession and what you plan to do for money will dictate more whether learning polish is a good idea or not. I wouldnt generally worry about the social aspects too much of not knowing polish. English is very common esp in larger cities. However there are many poles (as people in almost every country) that prey on people who are foreigners and will scam them with real estate, business, etc so you'll have to be careful with that. In general though, You'll be fine as a european. Some poles and Hungarians sometimes joke (even Hungary's president) that we welcome refugees from Europe.
But Rzeszow is a lot different from Wroclaw, in terms of vibe. It's much more conservative, quiet, religious and homogenous, and less economically or socially dynamic, so English is much less widely spoken and fluent Polish would probably be much more important if you lived there. That's my impression.
Your impression is correct. Again it depends where you want to live, work etc whether you plan to stay for good, etc. If you're thinking of settling down in rzeszow you'll most likely need to be fluent in polish.
Wroclaw is my favourite Polish city (and I've been to most of the major ones, plus many small towns), but ironically it's also the only place where I've had anti-Anglo abuse. Both times it was unprovoked, and involved someone abusing me because they overheard me speaking English to someone else. I think foreigners are more of a novelty in Rzeszow, so people would be more curious than annoyed. But I can easily imagine it getting hostile if a low threshold was passed - one foreign family in the neighbourhood might be ok, but three families and expat shop and parents speaking English/anything at the school gates, and I can imagine some dirty looks.
I would like my kids to grow up in an environment where they don't have to be ashamed of being white and aren't forced to learn about gay sex in elementary school.
Remember way back when this Muslim immigration all began and I posted that Poland was going to be the leading country in the EU JUST BECAUSE OF WHAT Alltimegreat just said.
Adrian and I both are fed up with America's Political Correctness as is Alltimegreat with Germany. Decent God fearing people are fed up with this Commie Political Correctness of "isms". Racism, Homoism, Bigotism and the rest of the Commie guilt words. Poland is looking more inviting every day for a place to live. I can only imagine a foreigner in Poland calling a Polish citizen a 'racist' and have the Pole honest reply be, "Yes, yes I am" so if you don't like our White Christian country go back to the hell hole you came from but don't think your guilt will be bestowed upon us by some Commie who wants to destroy the Polish culture like you have the rest of the EU's cultures.
Soon the EU elite White folks are going to need a safe haven in the EU and Poland will be the last place left. Then it will be Poland's turn to give the Brits a taste of how the Polish are being treated in the U.K. right now.
Not just Poland but also Hungary, Ukraine, Serbia, Czechy, Slovakia etc. There's differing degrees but ultimately we all simply want to preserve our culture and heritage and not be totally overrun with people from other continents and demographically replaced in our own lands. Same with the identitaire movement in France, pegida/afd in Germany, Sweden Democrats, Northern League in Italy, MENF, Jobbik, Fidesz, PiS and to some extend PO and many other groups and parties. Certain Ukrainian politicians are the ones leading the intermarium movement now with much interest from politicians, activists, professors, economistetc. from other lands. As far as an economic 'intermarium' - we have that with V4 and 3 Seas Initiative. The reds criticize such movements for being racist, supremacist, whatever but it's not about my culture or my people being superior to yours or theirs or whatever, it's about not stepping on each others' toes and living as neighbors in harmony rather than showing each others' ideas forcibly down our throats and being forced to accept things that are counter to our peoples' beliefs and traditions. Just as we don't expect to have Christianity, feminism, acceptance of gays, etc. nor are we forcing it to take hold in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iraq etc neither do we wish to have the same say Islam and its ideals and principles be forced onto us. Plus, its rather hypocritical as nearly every socialist movement, especially ones that resulted in armed conflict, was at least partially inspired by ideas of nationalism.
Now if we could just get along with Russia that'd be grand. The guys fighting in the DPR and for Ukraine actually have much of the same goals but they don't realize it and Putin wisely used the discord to seize Crimea. Russians openly talk about USSR 2.0 - basically a sort of Soviet Union but with Christian, family principles at its core.
I don't think he is from India as he wanted to eat Golabki.
You seems like an educated person with a good family prospect and on that basis you are only really likely to get work in a big city and in a big company - where you will find social attitudes not that different from Frankfurt.
Rzeszow is very nice but not sure what prospects for work there would be.
No, the Polish school system is not really PCbut is pretty good but you will find plenty of drawbacks to complain about like any school system. Learning Polish is achievable but learning in to the standard you can work in it would take several years.
If he weren't white, he wouldn't be so happy to see blonde hair children everywhere, would he? @Alltimegreat1 You have just come back from holiday. You had fun. That's why you think Poland's so great. I kind of experience that every time I get home from holiday :p I made it happen once and enjoyed it but it was damn difficult at first.
I love my country but life here can be difficult. If you ever decide to move to another country, think about all the pros and cons. Especially if you have a family.
Everyone's reality is based on their own experience.
For example when I was in Czestochowa a few years ago I was surprised to hear the bus stops being read out as the bus approached each stop. This was something that at that time I hadn't even come across here in the UK. Clearly AlltimeGreat experienced something different.
I agree bus stops are poorly labelled in Poland but when I think about it I don't recall EVER seeing bus stops labelled anywhere ! After all, it's not a railway station.
I also personally found a lot of Polish people speak English, mainly younger people and mainly in the hospitality industry. I think it is about expectations. I would expect a hotel receptionist to speak English but not a ticket seller at the railway station.
I can assure you I'm not Indian and not a troll. What I wrote is my impression of Poland after having spent over a week there. I never claimed to be an authority on the subject.
You may be right. The OP declares in the "Polish people and Politness" thread that he is "from the US" (post #77).
For me his views on Poland are just too 'sweety'. I think he is a guy with some agenda. An idea to come and settle in Poland with family while not having any affiliations and not knowing a word in the local language is absurd, to say the least. In my view saying so is part of his agenda on this forum.
There is a town of 'Frankfort' in Kentucky, USA, so maybe the OP comes from there.
My God, an agenda? For what? I'm just trying to share my experience about visiting Poland and learn more about the country. Yes I lived in the US for a long time. So what?
@CasualObserver Im not sure it is about threshold Could be about People with bad exp. Some anglos melting down on the very sound of spoken Polish. Some Poles in Wroclaw might be about 'revange'.
Idk if you're referring to me but honestly I'm not trying to get revenge on anyone. But yes some Anglos don't like poles. It use to be that way in the us up until around late 90s when there was a huge flow of poles coming in the 20 30 years preceding that. Now poles tend to be well liked and respected as most are hard working God fearing people who just want to be left alone to work and live in peace. Maybe that's why poles and Mexicans esp the older generations in my city get along well.
@Alltimegreat1
While I doubt you have any agenda aside from wishing to raise a family in an environment that you like ziem does have a point. Living in Poland and visiting are two way different things. You'll have to deal with bogus bureaucracy, a different culture and way of doing things (although that may come easily for you) and a language and people you're unfamiliar with. Imo I wouldn't move to rzeszow or any smaller city for that matter if i weren't at least proficient in polish. It'll be far easier for you to settle into a place like Warsaw without knowing polish although it will still be a challenge.
