News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [996]

If you did, you were wrong.

UK, Ireland / Best Digital Banks in Poland (main account is in the UK) [12]


No. WordFirst is free; it has no transfer fees.

I pay £9.50 if I transfer from my UK bank account directly to my Polish one. This is the normal fee for a direct bank to bank transfer.

As mentioned earlier, you can get a better rate though by using a transfer service, and if you use the one I recommended, there are no fees at all.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2222]


One of them, a member and activist in that party, once asked me to forge a UK academic diploma for him. He couldn't understand why I refused.

News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [996]


Are you really trying to compare the situation of Norway, a country with 5 million people and vast oil/gas reserves, and Switzerland, with 8 million people and a huge centuries-old international banking and finance sector to Poland? That comparison is so risible it isn't worth discussing further.


Because we haven't fully left; the transition period is still ongoing, existing trade deals are still in force as are fiscal regulations.

News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [996]


And thereby lies the problem.


It's a good idea, hence countries that (sadly) aren't politically on the left implementing it rigorously. Some things you don't leave to chance (or fickle markets).

News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [996]


Frmers' costs vary (or varied) around Europe. As costs level out, this has become a topic which is being currently discussed.


Or even worse, since there would still necessarily be quotas and competition.

News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [996]


MNore than covered by the opportunities created.


This is a current issue for discussion by the relevant parties. I suspect you would find very few farmers here that don't welcome the farm subsidy.

UK, Ireland / Best Digital Banks in Poland (main account is in the UK) [12]

My bank charges £9.50 for a transfer. I do it monthly (to M bank). Important to use big banks rather than small ones that have to use an intermediary (which normally puts the cost up to £30 plus). M Bank convert to PLN at a good rate, however to get the best rate, (onky a few quid difference in fact) you can use a money transfer service.

I do recommend the one I sometimes use and mentioned above (plus, unlike transferwise, it's Branson-free).

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2222]


Basically vicarious. Back seat driving by people who prefer to live in very different societies to the one PiS are trying to create.

Life / The climate for gardening in Poland [340]


I've certainly never heard of one here.

There's a ginkgo biloba in the grounds of our building; they can handle some frost though.

We've had trouble with bougainvillea; it has to come indoors in the coldest weather, even varieties sold here, and we always bring the olive trees inside for winter; fortunately they aren't too large and we have high ceilings and skylights. We grew some acacia trees from seeds found in West Africa; there have been mixed results however we brought back plenty of seeds and friends are growing them in various places around the country.

UK, Ireland / Best Digital Banks in Poland (main account is in the UK) [12]


They don't.


That's much how it works there. I used to be paid a salary from Dubai into WorldFirst and transfer the money to a bank account elsewhere; all without any international transfer fee and at a very good rate.

UK, Ireland / Best Digital Banks in Poland (main account is in the UK) [12]


You mean deposits in Poland and withdrawals in the UK? I do the opposite; providing the debit card is MasterCards rather than Visa the cot is minimal.


Their business model, especially their 'affiliate marketing' bonuses (almost a pyramid scheme) means they add charges. I prefer WorldFirst (which belongs to a UK bank) who give better rates and don't charge commission. Transfers are instantaneous.

News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [996]


There are very few countries that don't borrow during or after a crisis.


There are some sound reasons for these policies; not least to develop a cohesive economy without being vulnerable to internal 'market forces' and with a standard of living in each member state that is as equal as it is possible to create.

UK, Ireland / Best Digital Banks in Poland (main account is in the UK) [12]


Yes. M Bank is ok, as is Multibank who I've found to be particularly efficient.

You can use UK banks here in Poland though; the debit/credit cards work, as do the bank machines.

Travel / Pot in Poland for tourists [285]


A lovely trip, however I'd exercise care if stocking up. At the central railway station in Amsterdam they patrol with sniffer dogs before certain international trains leave. I gather they don't arrest anyone, however they do confiscate. I suspect that people who bring it probably use private cars.

Travel / What color is the water in the Baltic? [13]


Dubai is getting popular now (pre-covid) with those who can afford it. The list above still stands, however a lot depends on which destination is being marketed by the big travel agents here. Crete is a popular destination due to low-cost resorts around Chania.

Travel / What color is the water in the Baltic? [13]


Some parts of the Baltic coast are dangerous to swim in. In others, you will find swimmers. As seas go however, it is a dirty one and cold.

Travel / What color is the water in the Baltic? [13]


No. It's very shallow and doesn't have the famous Black Sea undercurrents.

Travel / Pot in Poland for tourists [285]


No searches or passport checks at all within Schengen. 12 hours on the train to Warsaw, somewhat longer by car or bus. I'm told that there used to be random checks of buses however not nowadays. It's suspended at the moment, however normal borderless travel is expected to return soon; basically it's down to German policy. The current issue is seriously messing up the lives of people who live by the old borders and commute daily.


Especially if you go to the better, less touristy places. Eindhoven is also good; there are (or were, before Covid) plenty of visitors from Poland.

Travel / Pot in Poland for tourists [285]


Some kiosks in Warsaw sell ready-made tubes for people to stuff weed and tobacco in. They actually look quite nasty. It's easier just to roll a joint.


Probably more doable back when vaping was new. There are more worthwhile risks to take in life than smuggling weed through airports. In any case, there's little or no point here, especially as (plagues aside) there are no borders between here and Amsterdam.


No need to. Seeds (from the main Dutch suppliers) are sold openly here. For 'collectors'. Plenty of out of the way rural places to grow indoors or out for those who want to take that risk.

Travel / Pot in Poland for tourists [285]


Or that a 2p coin weighs a quarter and a 1p weighs an eighth.


Tiny baggies. A gram or less, ready bagged up. They smoke it in little crack pipes here, since none of them know how to skin up.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2222]


And an isolationist far-right government is??

I notice that the two posters promoting a far-right candidate both live outside Poland, happy to enjoy the benefits of plural societies whose values they'd like to deny Poland.


What weed is that?

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2222]


Bosak is pure comedy, the Roderick Spode of Poland. Now Sikorski is a man of vision; rapier sharp intelligence, broad outlook, not tainted by excessive nationalism and politically centre-right. His book, The Polish House, is very worth reading.

Ex-Bullingdon too, though we won't hold that against him.

Classifieds / Polish wedding with Polish and Yoruba speaking party or wedding (may be also English) host [9]

Wishing you all the best, and a great wedding!

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2222]

One reason they're trying to push through a highly dodgy election without Observers. There are interesting times ahead, especially as the economy is in a poor state.

UK, Ireland / Irish (live in London) moving to Poland [44]


You may need to do that yourself. The procedure is fairly simple in the UK.


No, however you should consult a tax adviser here.

UK, Ireland / Irish (live in London) moving to Poland [44]


Yes. you can. I've done that a couple of times.


If you're here for more than 180 days in the year, or Poland is your 'centre of interests' (i.e. you live here) you'll need to anyway. Polish taxation isn't as good as the `UK's though...

Work / Can I find a non-corporate job in Poland? [34]

Hi, I think you posted before under another user name. The guy fron Serbia, right?


The few used car dealerships tend to be family businesses; the used car market here is surprisingly small. Performing arts? It's possible, however as ever, 90% of the work goes to 10% of those chasing it, and 10% of the work goes to 90% of those chasing it. That is an optimistic estimate.

Law / Poland's citizenship by descent question. Polish great-great grandfather arrived in the USA as a kid. [76]


Some of the people that this is about have a single ancestor that left what had been and later became Polish territory 120 years ago; Most of their roots are from elsewhere. They already have citizenship of a country to which they feel a greater affinity, and in many cases can't even find Europe on a map, let alone Poland.

Since 1908 (a date mentioned by a poster), Poland has had three of its own constitutions, each one legally superseding the last. There's a very good reason that the government here doesn't want or need several million people from various countries round the world who don't consider themselves Poles and don't speak the language to obtain second passports in this way. It's difficult enough for actual Poles in Kazakhstan etc, whose family members were transported there against their will within living memory, or Poles in nearby countries that actually speak Polish and live within driving distance to obtain citizenship; never mind some guy from Mexico, Nigeria, Pennsylvania, Peru or wherever who's 1/16th Polish and just wants an EU passport.

There are all sorts of bizarre legal cases that reach the courts; none succeed. Should there be by accident a positive ruling in any of these 'Sovereign Citizen/Freeman on the Land' type endeavours based on defunct laws from a state that no longer exists, you can rest assured that the government would simply enact binding legislation to clear up any loophole. However there is no loophole to clear up.


In many ways it's the equivalent of those bizarre people in some countries who try to refuse speeding tickets on the grounds that they haven't consented to be governed and try to impose a million dollar fine on the judge as they're led to the cells.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2222]

Hence them trying to rush it through before disaster really strikes.