Do people in Poland live "better" than here in the UK?

People in Poland live better then people in UK when they bring back the money they earned form the UK back to Poland ;).

NOT EVEN, poles still live better quality of life with less money,why do you think so many brits choose to come to poland?

I know, Poland is pretty grate inst it. but you must agree bringing back the money makes it even better

yup agreed! just not what people from UK coming to teach english and CAME before to teach english...times hard for them now they living to survive until there mom is helping from the UK

It's funny that most people who say that it's better in the UK are from the UK and most people who say it's better in Poland are from Poland. It's so difficult to have honest comparative discussions that it almost makes sense to not have them. I'm waiting for someone to say, "Oh yeah, well my dad can beat up your dad....with one arm tied behind his back."

Isn't there a parking place or an own garage a kind of luxury? ;) I haven't seen many estates with underground parking garages. To be honest I haven't seen many estates.

because of women?

It's one of the reasons indeed. There is a shortage of women in the UK mainly due to the immigration which are men in majority. Then Poland where disproportion is the other way round is a good choice for those who for usually clear reasons don't want to get involved in the competition.

@ enkindu and Polish cold winters...

So what??? Winters in Norway are even worse. I don't remember winter when it was -20 'C two months in row and I live for a while. I agree with most if other stuff about UK, but weather is better in Poland. I lived i UK for 8 years, and I find it easier to put up with frost than with UK's damp winters.

There is some true in it.I live in Cambridge. It is beautiful in spring,summer, autumn but winter ( especially as it is so green) is so dump. Awfull. I miss crispy,frosty winter days.But English ( in majority) are always cold , live in overheated houses so if colder day comes they moan, moan and miss dump :-)

Ha. Actually I wasn't but you know how it is on these internet forums. You need to create a mildly provocative headline to drum up any interest :)

I was about to contribute to this thread until I noticed that it was me who started it ! How time flies (and my memory).

I still stand by my original points so let's revisit them....

1/ Better weather
Evidently I am NOT talking about Winter but Poland generally has better weather in the other three seasons than the UK. And to be honest, a bad Polish winter doesn't seem as bad as a bad English one. Over here (in the UK) when snow stays on the ground for more than a few days the country grinds to a halt whereas in Poland it's only an inconvenience. There is a beauty to a Polish winter landscape.

One thing that constantly irritates me is when I look at mean (average) temperatures around the world. Poland's average temperature in summer is typically recorded as between 16-19 C....really ?

2/ More emphasis on good food
I have to confess that fast food is creeping into the Polish lifestyle and on reflection my point was rather glib. I think it is true to say that there is more emphasis in Poland on cooking "from scratch" instead of buying processed food from the supermarket.

More attention is paid to cooking in Poland as the flame is passed from Babcia to Mum to grandchild.

Cooking seems to be a constant source of conversation in Polish women when they get above a certain age or maybe it's just the ones I know ?

3/ Diverse and rich natural scenery in Poland
I stand by this point. That's not to say the UK isn't diverse but I think in Poland it is simply MORE diverse with more areas of unspoilt beauty.

4/ A more comprehensive tourism infrastructure
I am not claiming that Poland is more popular to foreign tourists than the UK only that the tourism infrastructure appears to me to be better in Poland than in the UK. I agree that it might be more focused towards Polish tourists but the same can be said of tourist attractions in the UK. Other than in London I don't recall seeing tourist information in Japanese, French or Spanish.

Poland has geographical pockets of tourism that have created their own macro-culture e.g. Zakopane, Mazury not to mention forests and agro-tourism. Summer camps for kids is a Polish rite of passage and although not strictly classed as "tourism" it introduces children to the beauty of their own country something which the UK has not equal comparison.

5/ More culturally engaged than in the UK i.e. free city centre concerts, kaberets etc
I strongly believe I am right with this one. As someone else has also commented free city centre concerts, kabarets (although the ones I have seen are mainly crap), open air theatre. Culture is brought to the people in a way we do not have here in the UK.

Plus, other than London and Edinburgh, try finding a major English city that lays on a free New Year's Eve party for it's people.

This one's up in the air. But Poles seem to know about their history and seem to know more about other European countries than your average European.

Of course, wages are higher in the UK but at what cost ?

I came here not to struggle with teaching and living poor in a pokey flat in some big grimy town....but because I can live a much better country lifestyle, 3 cars, 2 of them restored classics, nice house, lots of land, bills are so cheap?? (I don't do gas so that nice Mr Putin will have a hard time turning my gas off!!) I didn't come for the heat, but the summers in this part of Poland I would almost say have been as good as when I lived in Cyprus (just without the sea - more's the pity - but I'll put in some kind of pool next year) Fresh food and wines are cheap....the life of Reilly........??? Downside.....the lawns grow so quickly that I have to use a tractor mower to keep up with it all, one full day on the tractor and then another day with a strimmer tidying!!!!! Lawn in UK took 20 mins to do!!!!!!

spiritus, I think I'd take you to task on a few of those:

1 - Poland has a continental climate, so the summer days are hotter but the nights cooler under High Pressure systems (hence your average temperature of 16-19). In the UK the average is about 18 C. Days over 30 C are rare (thankfully - that's too hot!) but nights below 12-15C are also rare. Poland probably has more sunshine, I'll concede that. But a bit of summer rain is good for farming and gardening ;)

2 - more emphasis on good food. I'd strongly dispute that. The range of good restaurants is phenomenal in the UK., even in small towns/villages. There is more of an 'eating out' culture than in PL. But also, if you looks in the shops, the range of ingredients is also much wider in the UK - cooking at home has a very big emphasis. Also notice the number of cookery shows on TV. Yes, there are a lot of takeaways, but that just shows the greater diversity across the spectrum than in PL. British standards of cooking and especially restaurants are probably one of the highest in Europe right now. In PL, the diversity of restaurants is quite narrow (mostly Italian, it seems) - for example, how easy is it to get a curry or sushi in PL? In the UK, every town/city will have several options.

3 - PL scores higher on some kinds of scenery (it has more/better mountains and forests), but the range of scenery is much wider in the UK. Where Britain really excels is the coastal scenery - vast cliffs, saltmarsh, estuaries, dunes, beaches, incredibly diverse. The Scottish mountain-tops also have the sub-arctic scenery that you can't find in PL. I think most people would agree that the farmland is generally more beatiful in many parts of the UK than PL - the patchwork of hedgerows and fields is what it is renowned for. The villages tend to be prettier (older, quaint), as do the churches - some very jarring modern churches all over PL, compared to the 900 year old churches all over UK. I don't think PL can compare with the diversity of scenery in the UK, but it does excel in some of the categories, though it lacks or fails in many others. The problem in PL is also that much of the best scenery is restricted - some National Parks for example, where you can only enter with a guide and permit. Whereas in the UK virtually everywhere has free access.

4 - PL has a more comprehensive tourism infrastructure, are you joking?! The UK is smaller (easier to get around), has much better travel infrastructure (roads, rail, air), has a much bigger tourist industry and longer history. Outside of the major cities in PL, there is very little English signage - and in the UK international signage is not as necessary because English is the global language and all/many Japanese/American/French/German tourists will speak it. Nobody speaks Polish outside of PL, and it's hard to learn even a little as a tourist, so you need international signage. No, I'm afraid the UK is far ahead of PL in tourism. How many day trips, bus tours and package tours are there in PL? How many B&Bs? How many hotel beds? Much much fewer than UK.

5 - I wonder how well you know the UK, even if you're British! There are major free concerts, festivals, performances in the UK, all over the country. It's a common fact of life. Many museums and galleries are also free (including the major London ones), and even the provincial ones have better collectiosn than most PL national collections - the UK did the global exploring/looting whereas PL was looted by others. There are also many more shows/gigs and a much greater diversity than in PL. So I think you're way off the mark on this one. New Years Eve parties tend to be in pubs/home, rather than on the streets, but every town/village has a Bonfire Night celebration and display (you definitely don't get that in PL, lol). Again, look at the TV to guage public participation and interest - how many cultural/history shows on PL TV compared to UK TV? The UK has several TV channels only showing historical programming, so I don't think you could say that people are disengaged.

Debate is healthy :)

So it's my turn ? ;)

1/ The term, "better weather" is subjective. Some people hate hot summers...I don't. It's not uncommon to have a heatwave in April or in September in Poland. Here in the UK.....pretty much forget about Summer after July.

2/ Living in a major town 20 mins away from Manchester I dispute that the range of good restaurants in the UK even in small towns is "phenomenal". I concede that the UK generally has a better choice but your choices are limited if you don't like curry or Chinese. There is more choice of ethnic restaurants here in the UK due to a multi-cultural society (but that brings other problems).

3/ I have to disagree with your point that much of the best scenery in Poland is restricted to tourists, in fact, that is an accusation I can aim at the UK. If someone asked me here "where is the nearest forest" then I wouldn't have a clue unless I wanted to drive over an hour to reach one of the few national parks we have. If someone wants to go swimming in a lake where the heck do they go in the UK ? I bet you can find some examples but nowhere near the amount you can find in Poland.

4/ I don't think I'm explaining myself clearly regarding tourism infrastructure so I surrender :)

5/ Are we talking about the same "UK" ? "Major free concerts, festivals and performances all over the country" ?? I am not saying there are not any in the UK but do not appear to be AS many as in Poland.

How on earth can you gauge engagement with the public by what programmes are on TV ? Wimbledon is one of the most watched events of the year on British TV but how many Brits play tennis ? This argument also applies to your point about cookery programmes on TV.....

Casual Observer

I can't disagree with anything you've written. Polish tourism does gain from the influx of German's but on as a world destination isn't anywhere that the majority of tourists would flock to. Apart from Auschwitz most non Poles would struggle to name more then 1 other thing to see in Poland.

With food you just need to compare the same food programs from Poland and the UK. Gessler and Ramsey for example, come dine with me and master chef.

If you've ever Watched a polish Cabaret on the TV then I would be hard pushed to see why you would ever want to attend one. Maybe its a cultural difference but it's like when the Germans watching James Last.

And Poland seriously lacks a Pub culture.

Interesting that you talk about The English and their attitude towards the cold... Here in Warsaw... once the temperature gets anywhere near 10c people have their scarfs, hats out... even today it is not so cold and people are acting like it is December/January outside!

It really annoys me as... the public transport act this way also... sticking on the heating when it is really not required... not to mention the strain it puts on the environment!

Spiritus

2 - food. Go in pubs and you'll see that the majority are now mini-restaurants serving restaurant-quality home-cooked food. Many towns now even have Polish cafes/restaurants - seen many British restaurants in Poland (selling fish and chips, bangers n mash, sunday roasts etc)? I live in a village in southern England and within 20 mins I can get just about any cuisine I want, or any ingredients if I want to make something myself. The Polish diet is much narrow - very little choice of meat animals (no lamb and almost no game, for instance), and very little choice of fish/seafood. I like Polish cuisine, but there really is a limited choice compared to the UK.

3 - scenery. You chose to focus on forests, which is where I pointed out that Poland excels - UK is about 12% forest, Poland is about 40-50% forest, and is has some of the best forest in Europe. But there is no national footpath network in Poland - you don't have the right to walk through forests and farmland except on notified (scarce) trails. The rest is private land. In the UK, there is a massive network of footpaths, bridelways, plus Right to Roam laws etc that allow you to actually enjoy what scenery there is, almost wherever you like, unlike in Poland. Also the field-based hedgerow scenery that covers most of Britain is far more attractive than the open strip-based field system that covers half of Poland. Unless you're on a Polish mountain there aren't many open vistas, partly due to the forests! Stand on a small hill in England and you can see 30 km in any direction - and you're never more than 100 km from the sea.

Gdyniaguy14, I think many tourists now know about Gdansk, Wroclaw and Cracow, thanks to Ryanair, and Bialowieza and Biebrza have long been tourist destinations for British people who are into wildlife (which is many of them).

you are exaggerating at least if not giving outright false information - most of the forests in Poland are state-owned and you can go there on foot or cycle at your whim - however mechanical vehicles are not allowed to enter most of the forest roads (but people do it illegally anyway)

as for farmland - noone will chase you away when you wander about the roads (or cycle) in the countryside - you can even cross/walk into fields/meadows and noone will mostly pay any attention

You're talking about the ability to go somewhere illegally. I'm talking about the legal right to access. There is no contest between the rights of access in Poland versus the public rights of way and Right to Roam in the UK. Pick up the high resolution maps for Poland, and look for the public footpath network, then compare with any Ordnance Survey map for the UK. Access in Poland is 'organised' and compartmentalised, in Britian it is largely intrinsic. It's the same in the USA - very restricted access to anything other than 'state owned land'.

walking and cycling through forest and countryside in Poland is not illegal man - I don't know where you get this from

the foot or cycle paths you seen in Poland on maps and in the countryside are meant to show people the places of some natural value

How about the city parks, the county parks, state parks, hundreds of thousands of acres of State and Federal land, hundreds of miles of groomed walking, bike, motorcycle, four wheeler, snowmobile trails from one end to the other in any state of the union ?


Yup and when they do the thread gets moved to the back page of OFF TOPIC.
I would think such things as the crime rate, morality, and cleanliness would out weigh food, tourism and free concerts.
Where would you rather raise your child should answer the question.

Good question.

Without a doubt, life is easier in the UK. Less bureaucracy, easier to get a better paid job but at the expense of what ?

I find Poland to be far cleaner than in the UK. Poland does have a bad graffiti problem but where litter is concerned I genuinely get depressed walking to work here in the UK.

Spot on lol


I've heard the UK lacks café culture on the other hand (as opposite to Poland) ;)


True.


Yeah, I'm not sure where CasualObserver is getting this from either.
Btw, people are also walking freely in my grandma's forest and picking wild mushrooms there and going like this from one private forest to another and then to state-owned forests too. If people from not around my grandma's village came there, they wouldn't probably even know that this forest belongs to anyone - it's not like there are some kind of signs or fences lol You just can't cut down a tree in a private or state-owned forest, as far as I know.

I heard that, even on your own land, if you cut down a tree you need to plant a new on in it's place?


That's true, however we do have a beer garden culture during our brief summers, which is kind of similar. Sitting outside, reading the paper, albeit with a beer instead of a coffee. This is something that Poland and the UK share :)

No, you don't have to plant a new one, but you have to inform the forest ranger (even if it's your land and you've planted the tree yourself), forest ranger will come, check which tree you want to cut down and put a stamp on it and will give you a receipt ;)

HAHAHAHAHA, Polish beaurocracy at it's finest, nothing's real until it has a stamp!

:)
This is done to make sure the tree wasn't cut illegally by thieves and so the owner of the forest wouldn't get into trouble with the police if he was transporting trees somewhere to sell, for example (one can always show the stamp and the receipt - "You see, those are my trees and I've cut them legally.") ;)

I completely get the idea behind it, but you can't lie...they love a good stamp in Poland. Every form you fill in and every office you go to...stamp stamp stamp. It's a wonder every government official doesn't have carpal tunnel!

I was getting at the lack of right to access across farmland or private forests on the density of public footpaths that you have in Britain. It might be 'tolerated' that people pick mushrooms in "grandma's forest" or walk alongside a field, but they don't have the legal right to be there, and the owner can justifiably tell them to go. In Britain there is legal access rights to virtually every square km - you don't have to rely on friendly grandmas!

I don't "lie", everyone knows that bureaucracy in Poland is dreadful, it isn't a secret, really lol I simply explained what are the reasons for that tree stamping and giving receipts.

I know what you were getting at, but the end result is the same - you can pretty much walk wherever you want, both in the UK and Poland.

You have the law and we have friendly grandmas ;))
We just apparently do things differently and that's OK :)