Real Estate / Neighbourhoods in Warsaw - how safe? [23]


You were attacked by Sir Cecil Rhodes and the British Expeditionary Force? Wow, how old are you?

I've never had any street crime problems in Britain, but side streets in Warsaw are best avoided at night.

Real Estate / Neighbourhoods in Warsaw - how safe? [23]

Very available rented housing, reasonable shops restaurants.

About 10 years ago Żoliborz was the place to find foreigners, Saska Kępa before that.

Real Estate / Neighbourhoods in Warsaw - how safe? [23]

bata_flai
The embassy district nice part of town and very safe. I lived there for five years and liked it.

One matter, the tram depot and ul Belska are quite a way from most embassies, so you're talking about quite a big part of Mokotów. A safe one though.

Law / Wish to start an Indian Store in Poland [34]

There are plenty of shops in Warsaw selling Indian textiles, handicrafts etc.

Not sure who runs them (but a few of them look like the same chain) or how well they do/ Not cheap though.

Language / Spelling "aunt" in Polish [142]


Trust me, some people would.

Life / 3 reasons why you hate Poland. [1049]


Or even ten deep with Poles, happy at how civilised queueing is in the UK as compared with PL

Law / Opening a Polish Bank Account by a foreigner in Poland. Recommendations. [299]


I opened my account there with 10zl.

Nordea are OK, and their customer service is more Scandinavian than Polish.

Life / 3 reasons why you hate Poland. [1049]

Not usually a problem - sharing rooms is normal here. If they look a bit put out that there are no twin beds, even the frumpiest hotel receptionist won't suspect immorality! :-))

Life / 3 reasons why you hate Poland. [1049]

I don't hate Poland, but some things I hate about Poland are:

Old ladies in the station ticket office who shout (not say but shout) "Nie ma pociągu do X, w ogóle!" When the train you want is waiting 50 metres away. Likewise bus timetable websites that simply don't work. E-podroznik.pl, chief among them.

Frozen Chips (French Fries), even in restaurants!!! An entire nation who've forgotten how to slice potatoes.

People walking out of shop doors looking straight ahead, not noticing (or caring) if people are walking along the pavement.

Shop assistants who can't change a small banknote and don't even apologise about it.

Bars or restaurants with the toilet key kept behind the bar. Why?

Maybe all that will change with time, but I don't see that happening yet.

Law / Opening a Polish Bank Account by a foreigner in Poland. Recommendations. [299]


I agree about BZWBK 100%. Millenium is good, Nordea is excellent, Citibank is good but expensive. PKO BP is good in parts and a bit of a lottery depending which branch you use. PKO SA is not the same and I wouldn't recommend it at all. Avoid Fortis at all costs.

M-Bank and Multibank are good if you do most of your banking on the internet.

Law / Opening a Polish Bank Account by a foreigner in Poland. Recommendations. [299]

Allianz are indeed OK. A lot of foreigners (even most that I know) use Millenium Bank - they are very used to English speakers. I bank with Nordea, who are also very good for foreigners.

Language / Your perception of the Polish accent [145]

Katowice and Poznań accents are pretty easy to spot - especially if the speaker hasn't travelled much. I don't hear much accent in Gdańsk or Wrocław though - maybe due to population movements. Old people from around Warsaw have quite a distinctive sound; lots of sibilants and a tendency to say 'om' instead if 'ą'.

Life / Cannabis / Weed in Poland... How much does marijuana cost per gram and how easy is to get it? [355]


They police in Poland are very tough indeed, even about very small amounts. Most of the stuff on sale here is domestic, but more commercial than homegrown.

Life / 3 reasons why you hate Poland. [1049]


Never eaten American beef (never been to US) but the chicken from supermarkets here is just as tasteless as anywhere else.

Life / 3 reasons why you hate Poland. [1049]

Ahem, irony.... All of those things, not in one dish though.

But they are pretty dreadful cooks.

Life / 3 reasons why you hate Poland. [1049]

Three reasons:

1. Sygnalki - especially from people who have expensive and new cellphones. Why not have a cheaper one and actually be able to use it.

2. No change in the shops - my local grocery empties all the coins from the cash register several times a day and therefore they never have change. No sense in this.

3. The food. Pork, cabbage, pork, raw grated vegetables (including cabbage) in sugary water, pork, smalec, pork, frozen fries. And more pork.

Life / Famous / Iconic Polish Women [48]

Irena Szewińska, the sprinter who won 7 Olympic medals in the 60s and dominated womens' sprinting

Marie Rambert, the ballet dancer

Agnieszka Holland, the film director

Wanda Landowska, the 20th century's most famous harpsichordist

Eva Hoffman, the bestselling writer,

to name but a few

Life / Cannabis / Weed in Poland... How much does marijuana cost per gram and how easy is to get it? [355]


Depends whether you're some kid who wants to get blasted to oblivion with their mates or a seasoned smoker who wants to relax with a joint after work, but still be able to funtion during the evening.

Life / Cannabis / Weed in Poland... How much does marijuana cost per gram and how easy is to get it? [355]

20-30zl per gram, mostly hydroponic. Expats who use it often claim it's too strong here, due to growing methods. If I understand correctly, people buy in smaller quantities, not least because most users are young and poor. Therefore they want to get as stoned as possible for as little money as possible.

I did once hear of sombody getting from a customs officer, but it would be daft to go down that line. A friend (Polish) just got a six month suspended sentance for possession of a fraction of a gram. Better to take the train to Berlin where anything goes.

Interestingly enough, it's starting to grow wild in the east of the country. There is already a bit of a situation about this in Ukraine, and presumably the seeds are blowin' in the wind...

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


That one makes me angry every time!

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


And nobody here thinks it at all odd.

Somebody once explained that by saying that the culture of bureaucracy developed during the communist years and the changes that people couldn't avoid were so traumatic that as little as possible of anything else was changed.

Doesn't quite ring true though.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

Hardly a guest if he lives here.

Not that there's ever been any obligation to see only the positive aspects of a place and ignor the negative ones.

Food / Healthy polish food? [134]


Down there they eat a cabbage soup called 'kwaśnica', much healthier than normal kapuśniak but not to everyone's taste. I quite like it now and again.


It often contains wild mushrooms and even dried fruit - depends on the recipe, which varies from family to family. It's usually based on a chicken stock. Absolutely lovely, but you need to have a contact for the ducks' blood, since shops aren't supposed to sell it.