News / Goodbye Sunday Shopping in Poland - Hello Electoral Reform [246]

It is nothing to do with the EU - what other countries do is their choice, there is no EU law on opening hours. In this region then I think it's only Slovenia that bans Sunday trading, Hungary tried but it only lasted a year because it was so unpopular.

In Poland I think about 40 percent of people support the ban - next year there will be no Sunday's open so that number might go down.

News / Goodbye Sunday Shopping in Poland - Hello Electoral Reform [246]

But there are plenty of people who work on Sunday - police, tram drivers, waitresses, people in gas stations, mcdonalds, parking attendants, priests etc. why not give them a day off too ?

when I was younger I often worked on Sunday and it never bothered me much - was a way of putting food on the table

If you ever visited a store here you would know that at least half the weekend staff are students or Ukrainians who like the extra cash

I was just out cycling with my son - I noticed that on this niedziela handlowe every store had a full parking lot.

News / Goodbye Sunday Shopping in Poland - Hello Electoral Reform [246]

I'm extremely organized (with a z) but with work, young kids who need taking to sports and music and doctors, old relatives to look after and a farm to take care of then one extra day to go to shops is kinda nice. In the week it is almost impossible to go shopping with the whole family.

Yesterday every shop was rammed and it was bucketing with rain so all round a miserable experience. What is wrong with giving people choice ? If you want to go to church on Sunday then go. I go myself but would often go to a mall later in the day.

Law / Getting a job in Poland with a working visa - Need legal advice... [9]

The visa is specific to the employer - since you left that job you need to start from scratch or maybe find an employer who is willing to go through the process for you. It is quite a lot of effort for the employer and being as you already left one job they might be worried that you will be wasting their time.

There are others here who will give you more precise advice.

Polonia / Poland, Germany, France, Spain or Greece? [35]

I wouldn't say Sofia is a hole - I visited a few times for work and really liked it. In terms of beauty however it is certainly no better than Krakow - both are similar, an interesting Centre full of quirky cafes and interesting sites but ringed by some horrible commie era housing.

News / Years of Poland in the EU - assessment of pros and cons [1199]

I recognize it - a n ugly square between a brewery and the station, a few malls and a giant stadium - it has not been an attractive town since 1944

News / Poland Parliamentary Elections 2019 [93]

This thread is about the elections in free democratic Poland - PiS won and whether you like it or not it was a democratic process. Maybe you should try that in Russia some time ?

Can we now get back to taking about that and let Rich enjoy his tram ride home

Real Estate / Buy Land in Poland and Build a House from Wood [6]

You first need to read about the restrictions on buying farmland - which apply to both Poles and foreigners. Basically you need to be a registered farmer.

For your plans you might like to buy a small plot next to a lake where it would be easier to get permission, but you will also probably have some neighbors. A wooden house is just for summer ? Winters are going to be a big problem if you want to live their year round so make sure the road is passable and you have a water supply.

News / How could PiS better spend billions instead of 500+ ? [280]

What do people think about the ZUS relief for small business - generally I am in favor, and PO had lots of chances to do that when they were in govt. on the other hand the kind of businesses it is aimed at are in my view the ones most likely to employ students and immigrants without paying thee ZUS !

Also going to create tax traps where at some point it is not worth to earn more as you will lose the ZUS benefit.

News / How could PiS better spend billions instead of 500+ ? [280]

Lots of people do go private Ironside, but part of the reason I pay my taxes on time and our very high ZUS is to have a health service that my family can use. If that is getting worse because the money has been given away to bribe voters then it will erode people's belief in the system.

News / How could PiS better spend billions instead of 500+ ? [280]

But giving money away can be done at the stroke of a pen. Reforming hospitals and schools takes years of expertise and effort and the problem is that PiS does not have a lot of smart people in its ranks who are able to do that

. Health and education have not stood still in the last 4 years, they have gone backwards - probably not easy to perceive if you live in Australia, so the government should present concrete plans for them

News / How could PiS better spend billions instead of 500+ ? [280]

Yes but there are plenty of functioning welfare states in Europe that have high taxes but deliver good levels of health and education and relatively low work weeks - Sweden, Austria, Germany etc. Not socialist but rather social democracy - Poland seems to be going down a different path of handouts rather than a contract between the citizen and the state.

News / How could PiS better spend billions instead of 500+ ? [280]

I wasn't that bothered by the first round of 500+ - I travel often in small Polish towns and know that life was very hard there for young families, the stimulus mostly went on kids things and the cost to the budget was not huge and a lot came back in VAT and retailers profits.

Now I am getting very concerned with the constant handouts - more and more, combined with shrinking the tax base by exempting people under 26 (why ?) and an early pension age.

If you are a high taxpayer and generally a liberal caring sharing person then it is easy to understand the safety net for those who need it and the need for a health service and good schools. What is more difficult to stomach is no questions asked handouts that you get basically for breathing and eventually the taxpayers will get up fed up about that. PiS did some good work to squeeze tax evasion but that is not an exhausted way of funding these promises - the only alternatives are either higher taxes or more debt and neither will end well.

News / Scandals, conflicts, tensions, arguments - real life examples from Poland [492]

Maf the irony of this is that the NIK is supposed to be the organization that supervises govt probity !

News / Scandals, conflicts, tensions, arguments - real life examples from Poland [492]

I think he read it in Pravda during the tram ride home

In fact it has almost doubled over the last 10 years - doesn't matter if its PO or PiS - Both have benefited from the economic effects of EU membership and lots of investment

Off-Topic / Random Sports News [855]

It is weird my Alma mater in the US sending me emails 3-4 times a week to donate while at the same time paying a salary of several million bucks to the basketball coach. Of course I realize that the sports is an important way of developing a lifelong connection but all the same there are few other public servants who get that kind of cash !

Life / Owning a house in true countryside of Poland - stories [692]

He means that even for Polish citizens there are restrictions - you now have to be a registered farmer in order to buy and some other requirements like living a certain amount of time there.

I haven't heard about your solution but it sounds risky - I would be very cautious about buying a building without title to the land underneath.

Travel / Which places in Praga, Warsaw are MOST DANGEROUS at night? [15]

Plenty of new investment in Praga - new malls and housing and the Google campus

News / PiS and Russian political/economic interests [70]

What are the economic disadvantages? Can you pount to one economic statistic that has got worse in Poland since 2004?

Inflation ? Unemployment? Employment ? GDP ? Inequality ? Exports ? Anything ?

News / Scandals, conflicts, tensions, arguments - real life examples from Poland [492]

The answers will of course be depressing - referring to what PO were doing four or five years ago.

I don't know why they can't have clear rules about what is and is not paid for when it comes to travelling back to your home constituency. It's really tremendous arrogance

Classifieds / I am selling my Polish money [22]

They are worth nothing i am afraid - mot enough even to buy a can of Coke

Life / Owning a house in true countryside of Poland - stories [692]

Also fancied getting goats Paw but was put off by their strong smell

Our neighbor has an enclosure with about 15 danielki and makes pretty good money from that

Life / Polish people and TV Series - so good and hilariously spot on :) [99]

For that kind of thing then nomrally the morning shows - Dzien Dobry TVN or PnS. But they don't normally sit on a sofa, more like a recorded interview in some studio.

In the late nights there was also Szymon Majewski a few years back - a mix of pranks and interviews a bit like Stefan Raab in Germany.

News / Scandals, conflicts, tensions, arguments - real life examples from Poland [492]

Of course PO were corrupt - but part of the election promise from 2015 was that PIS would end this corruption and patronage - they have not done that and I agree that it has probably got worse.

As for Macierewicz being married - well it is conceivable that some married people like to experiment.

History / MAP OF POLAND IN 1880'S [95]

Some parts were - like Wloclawek and czernikowo probably right on the border.

Maybe Chasniki in Belarus ? Was a Jewish town up until the holocaust

News / Degenerate "rainbow" eyesore to disappear from Saviour Square (Plac Zbawiciela) in Warsaw [297]

Was taken down a few years ago but they are talking about a new hologram version.

Plac Zbawiciela is still one of the main hipster areas of Warsaw and a good place to get a late drink

Genealogy / Want to find a person [773]

If you know the name of the club then try its fb or instagram page

There might be a Ukrainians in Krakow fb group - sonewhere where people arrange transport, accommodation and work. You could leave a message there.

If it was a strip club then she probably used an alias.

If a normal club then if you are that desperate why not just get another Ryanair flight and find her.

Always ask for a number if you like someone!

Off-Topic / Random Sports News [855]

Here's a radical thought - like millions of people i like both football and the American version (prefer college to NFL but will watch both)

Not really keen on rugby but it got much better after going professional

Food / What Polish foods and brands do you miss when you go to other countries? [216]

Prices of lots of fruit and veg are going up sharply - a dry summer but also high fuel costs, closed sundays, the proposed retail taxes and higher wages both for fruit pickers and supermarket staff.

Off-Topic / Random Sports News [855]

Your team is not called Ohio but rahther Russia and they have underperformed for many years when it comes to football - even when the USSR were good it was mostly due to Ukrainian and Georgian players and they never gelled during tournaments.

No coincidence that football is one of the most difficult games in which to get an unfair advantage through drugs or bribing officials. Too much luck involved and underdogs always have a chance.

Of course the USSR and Russia have plenty of success when judges can be bunged some cash or weightlifters can be doped up to the eyeballs