Life / Rydze - mushroom hunting in Poland - Help I need to find these suckers!!! [16]

In 15 years of shrooming i think i have only ever found about 20 rydze.

Look out for trompettes de morte - poles dont really eat them but they are really tasty - polish name is lejkowiec i think.

Classifieds / D&D Group for Expats in Warsaw needs one more player... [69]

This has been a free country for 25 years. Its ok to do RPG, its ok to drink in an expat pub and its ok to go to a market with your wife. in fact I know people that do all 3. Live and let live guys.

Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]

Just to switch the conversation from Wroclaw for a while :) After years of skepticism then I am back in the market

What is a good area in Warsaw for a buy to let ? I already have experience in this sector but only one in Poland. Now looking to Warsaw because as far as I can see it you pay 20% extra on price but I think the salaries of target tenants are more than 20%+ what you get in Poznan, Wroclaw etc. Krakow looks overpriced but I sadly don't get there very often.

What I am looking for is an area that would be popular with starter families - good transport links, acceptable schools, bit of greenery, lots of similar blocks. I am thinking of Bialoleka but open to other ideas.

Food / What are my chances if I open Grill of Serbian cuisine in Poland? [14]

There is one place like that in Warsaw and I sometimes get a quick snack there - seems to be quite busy with Yugoslav expats and with hipsters and its OK, quick service and good value. Two things I don't like about it - the food is a bit greasy and if you have two many onions and ajvar then you smell too much for work or women.

In Germany I would quite often eat the Yugo food when working there - done well and with plenty of salad its tasty.

Outside Warsaw I think you might struggle

UK, Ireland / Living in England - the reality. I am now returning to Poland. [30]

I am really sorry to hear about your negative experiences in England - hope you are more comfy back home and shame it did not work out :(

Law / Urgently need somewhere in Poland to stay - short-term government assistance? [17]

Some horrible answers here. Would you say the same things to this lady's face ?

Yes try Air b nb but also maybe good to see what cash you have and take a short let on a flat or even ne room in a cheap town near Warsaw. That way you would have a roof over your head, could look for work in warsaw. If you can get together about 1000 dollars that should cover you for 3 or 4 months.

Good luck !

Life / When will SMOKING BE BANNED? (from public areas in Poland) [44]

As a former smoker who now likes the odd cigar i think they are just right. You cant moan about the patio - you have won the war about the inside of the pub so you can stay inside.

Banning it from patios would simply force non smokers to stay at home which is disastrous for business owners because guess what - people who smoke the most are the same people who eat and drunk the most.

Love / "going to dinner with my sis..." - approaching a Polish girl, help needed [46]

Ask her again - she might like the persistence or you might catch a time when she is either bored or needy. If after 4 asks its still no then move on to the next one.

Law / How do I verify a Polish company's existence? [240]

If they are registered in poland, then yes. If they are registered in cyprus, malta etc then it is possible but very difficult

Real Estate / Buying a freehold house in Poland - legal contract? How does the deposit work - to Lawyer 'in trust' or? [6]

One thing you need to be carefulf about is the notaries are only insured up to a few thousand zloty so choose a reputable one

Real Estate / Ideas how to invest sum of 500,000ZL in Warsaw - real estate is recommended? [20]

Be very wary of putting any large amount in any SKOK. The government is working on a bailout an at the moment - basically asking solvent banks like Pekao and PKO to create a special fund to prop up the SKOKs.

in any case you should read the small print on those deals - normally you can high interest only up to about 50k of savings, above that it will be very low.

Travel / Travel - the towns Stars Tom & Mwawa are located in Poland? Susz. [4]

Could be Strzegom ?

Susz - Gdańsk 89km
Susz - Warszawa 197km

Take train from Gdańsk.

Work / Salaries in corporations vs elsewhere in Poland; interview procedures [8]

But Dominic if you are interviewing 4 or 5 people for the same job then of course you must either ask them what they expect or you will not be able to make a decision. i do that all the time. If someone refused to answer i would politely push them for a fugure and if they still didnt answer i would take them out the process.

Law / Consumer credit rating from US to PL/EU [12]

Yes normally it would.

News / Why is Amazon not present in Poland? [57]

They are working there out of their own choice. And customers use Amazon also out of their own choice. this is a democracy thank god.

you dont like it so you dont shop there and that is fine. I would never work there but its also my choice.

In terms of pay then I think they are comparable or even better to other entry level employers in the area and they certainly,pay more than farm work.

They are still a business that makes heavy losses and actually I dont see how they can ever fix that model - their price advantage seems to come from avoiding state taxes in the US and VAT in europe - once those loophopes are closed then I think Walmart, Auchan etc will take a lot of their business.

News / Why is Amazon not present in Poland? [57]


Yes - countries that are democracies almost invariably have higher living standards than dictatorships by any measure - either GDP but also health, education, amount of free time etc etc

News / Why is Amazon not present in Poland? [57]

With Amazon I have only two real issues - that our tax money goes to fund their start up - I don't understand why it should ? And my other issue is with their VAT avoidance - again a bricks and mortar store has no way to avoid that tax and thus has to pass it to customers.

On the 11km per hour then I reckon in the days when I worked in a warehouse then I was walking at least 7km - it was a 20.000 sqm warehouse - up and down the length of it 4x per hour would be 7km. Back from the till to the kitchen in McD 30 times an hour would also be 6-7km per shift. So is it really extreme ? Farm work is much harder physically than warehouse work and that is the alternative for many of the Amazon workers.

And as I said before I think they pay more than many entry level jobs in Poland.

Law / The right to own guns: would you support such legislation in Poland? [2874]

I think like most normal people we have no use for guns. We pay tax so the police can defend us, we buy meat from the supermarket and we dont shoot wild animals for fun very much.

Law / USD shooting up so high for PLN [76]

The government normally buys a load of zloty at the end of the year for political reasons - that will strengthen the zloty a little for a few days but in january i expect 3.65

Life / Pawn shop in Poland [6]

They are called lombard - used to be very common but now dying out. Not sure what town you are in so just google the town name and lombard.

Law / Agricultural business. Registering as self employed in Poland. [18]

You might spend so mch time and cost pursuing this status that it would have been easier to pay your 1200 per month zus. I know lots of cab drivers buy farmland to avoid zus but they are Polish citizens.

I didnt realise those farmland restrictions stayed until 2016. i thought they expired in 2011. If thats true its a bit hypocritical of the Polish govt to get so upset about the Brits trying to restrict free movement of labor as I thought that was part of the same deal in 2004.

Law / Agricultural business. Registering as self employed in Poland. [18]

They dont get zero taxation - they merely avoid the upfront zus cost which for an average cabbie they probably need about 100 punters to cover it. If that loophole is now closed i am sure they will either find a new one or keep some of those falling gas price for themselves

Genealogy / Want to find a person [756]

Quite a rare name in poland, in fact i have only really heard it in the entertainment industry - the Polish spelling is Sonia do thst might help you.

Try a facebook page of the pub where you met her - she might have liked or commented or attended an event.

Life / Want to become an expat to Poland? Consider your options before going abroad. [18]

I did not join in the other debate as it was just so bizarre even by PF standards.

as i understand the main symptoms of this bad self serving Polish attitude are

- real estate deals gone bad rather than providing guaranteed upside for you
- not giving work to people who dont speak the language

Law / Setting up a manufacturing business in Poland (grants and process involved); available channels of investment? [10]

I think if you already have manufacturing experience and a clear business plan plus about 70 percent your own funding then you have a good chance of grants, especially for employment. in that region we got those before in krakpowice and kedzierzyn but it was a few years ago.

start with PAIZ and there are also plenty of consultants in Warsaw whp would help you on a success fee Basis which might leave you more time to run your business.

Get your funding locally - will reduce your currency risk and British banks will not want Polish assets as collateral.

Law / My chef salary not paid yet - Poland's National Labour Inspectorate can help? [6]

Unless you have signed contract they are very unlikely to get involved. If younhave a signed contract it might be worth it but speak to your boss before you take that step and try and find a solution

Work / Working in Warsaw as a Oracle DBA / IT manager - what's the best salary that I can get? [48]

Amazing some of these IT salaries at the moment - seem to be getting the same as surgeons, pilots, top lawyers nut without any of the responsibility and liability issues. i know what line I will make my kids do at college.

i suppose the market will adjust though - dont be surprised to see people start outsourcing to Morocco, Egypt etc once Poland prices itself out. whatever I invest in IT i rarely seem to get a measurable payback on it.

Real Estate / Swiss Francs Mortgages in Poland [71]

Ring your bank and explain - they might give you a few months breathing space. If so then use those few months to work as much overtimevas you can and try and get level while the franc falls back a bit. In the meantime put one of them on the market if it has positive equity. If all 3 are negative then tough titty

Real Estate / How to get back money? I paid one-month rent + deposit for a room in Poland which I don't like. [5]

Forget it - contract is against you and i can think of any country where your complaint would be upheld, except maybe France

Real Estate / Swiss Francs Mortgages in Poland [71]

Doing that would make a lot of them bankrupt and either close or leave Poland.

So you could do that but if you ever wanted to borrow money in the future you would not have many places to go.