Law / Buying a USED CAR in Poland, my personal experiences and TRAPS to avoid !! [133]

I know next to nothing about cars so a few years ago I paid my regular mechanic 200PLN to go with me to a buy a car. He saw things I would never have spotted. He managed to get the price down and so I gave him half the difference. Everyone was happy.

Work / Proofreading - What is the going rate in Warsaw? [40]


Ah, now that would be telling.


I don't think there are many who proofread for a living. I mostly teach but it's interesting to get pr jobs in different areas. I do a lot of pharmaceutical and medical stuff, as well as just about everything else, and I've learned a lot by doing it.


That's about the size of it.

Work / Proofreading - What is the going rate in Warsaw? [40]


True enough. You have to be flexible, reputable and available. Once you've earned a good reputation, serendipitous little jobs that pay well for little work fall like manna from heaven. Not as often as I'd like, unfortunately, but yes, they do brighten your day when they pop up.

Work / Proofreading - What is the going rate in Warsaw? [40]


I charge by the hour. If you charge by the character, you can find yourself struggling with some godawful rubbish for ages and then getting paid very little. I cooperate with three or four translation agencies and they are fine with the arrangement.

Which agencies and how much do I charge? Ah, well. That would be telling.

Love / What strange/unnerving/funny things do your Polish wives do? [153]

Off topic, I know, but the word 'strange' made me think of something that happened to me today. I've heard just about every excuse for missing a lesson from my 'zaoczne' students, but today one of them asked if she could leave early beacuse there was a special mass in Sokółka, her town, to celebrate what she called the Vatican's recognition of the 'miracle' that occured there a year ago today when the image of Jesus Christ appeared in a communion host/wafer. I asked her if it just kind of looked like a guy with a beard but she wasn't sure. She was more interested in getting back because her house is next to the church and her family was keen to rent out rooms to the many pilgrims expected. I advised her to charge them double.

Love / What strange/unnerving/funny things do your Polish wives do? [153]

My wife complains that I work too hard. Then she complains that we are poor. The strange thing is that I don't work too hard and we are not poor. As a rule I'm not a fan of americanisms but "Go figure!" hits the spot.

UK, Ireland / Corned beef & Cabbage are typically Irish? [98]

I don't doubt it for a moment. 'Lard aux chou Mullingaraise', 25 Euro a pop.

UK, Ireland / Corned beef & Cabbage are typically Irish? [98]


I'm surprised it's gone off, or down, the menu. I was practically brought up on the stuff (perhaps because my mum was an immigrant!). btw, it should be noted that we are talking about boiled bacon here. Delicious.

Life / Mishmash facts about Poland and Poles [142]


I am willing to suffer.
It is considered unlucky to shake hands across a threshold.
Girls drip candle wax through the hole in a key and then interpret the shapes the wax makes in order to foretell the future (on St Andrew's night).

Poles don't cross their fingers; they hide their thumbs.

Real Estate / Cost to build in Eastern Poland - Ideally per m2 [71]


Avalon. You must be a Brit. An American would never have built 13 apartments! Could any American posters confirm that there is no 13th floor in tall buildings in the U.S.? Or that developers don't number houses 13?

Real Estate / Cost to build in Eastern Poland - Ideally per m2 [71]

[quote]Did you include the cost of all this "extra" running around in the 210,000 PLN that the project cost you?. If you had to put a figure on this, how much do you think it cost?[quote]

Of course not! The figure I mentioned represents the major costs. If I were to include all the incidental bits and pieces I had to buy, all the fuel used in running around, money lost through rescheduling or cancelling work to suit tradesmen (who very often didn't honour the appointment) and other costs, I'd have to add many thousands more.


I think he's got the message!

Real Estate / Cost to build in Eastern Poland - Ideally per m2 [71]

My oxymoron was a joke. It wasn't a nightmare really, just countless things to do, a lot of them requiring planning, supervision, paperwork, stamps, signatures, inspections, delays, unreliable workers, etc. etc. It became an obsession and completely took over our lives. I'm glad we did it but I'm also glad we didn't know before we started how much it would take out of us. Anyway, it was worth it, and now we can take it easy.

I would say to people thinking of doing a self-build that the most important aspect is finding a good builder who keeps his guys in line. The only booze on our site was a couple of cold beers now and then in hot weather. You hear all kinds of horror stories about builders drinking - even vodka - on site. We made sure our guys had plenty of bottled water, tea and coffee, and we fed them sometimes. A happy builder is a good builder.

Real Estate / Cost to build in Eastern Poland - Ideally per m2 [71]


My amazing Polish wife did more than I did, and for a short while she considered taking the course to become a building manager (easier than you might think), but after our wonderful nightmare we don't want anything more to do with house construction. We love our place but... never again! I'm happy to give advice to people who want to do a self-build but once in a lifetime was enough for us.

Real Estate / Cost to build in Eastern Poland - Ideally per m2 [71]


I don't know what tynk is but I like it already. If it's plaster, don't forget the polystyrene. My place is wrapped in 15cm all round. It's like a thermos flask.

Genealogy / The typical Polish look, or all Eastern Europeans [656]


You're right. I never thought about it that way.

Real Estate / Cost to build in Eastern Poland - Ideally per m2 [71]


What does 'in one go' mean? There's a Polish saying about putting your enemy in a new house for the first winter, meaning that a new house should not be lived in until it settles, which entails a period of 'wintering', if I may coin a phrase.

We wanted to put windows in our place at the end of the first building season but our builder told us that it would be better to just board up the holes and let the house get really cold over the winter. The following season the rest of the place was built and the third year, this year, we've done the finishing jobs, like final plastering outside. Three building seasons, in other words three years, is not such an unusually long time to spend on building a place here. Remember, it's not like the UK, where most new houses are timber-framed and thrown up in no time at all. Here, they have to be solidly built because of the weather.

Having said that, it is true that the country is littered with half-finished projects.

Real Estate / Cost to build in Eastern Poland - Ideally per m2 [71]


Who needs an architect? There are thousands of house plans available online for about 1500-2500PLN. There are so many to choose from that it's a problem settling on just one. Then you can pay an architect to modify the plans if you want. This option is much cheaper than having an architect-designed house. I paid 1500 for plans and another 1000 to modify them.

Life / Racism in Poland - the future [441]


Sorry to sound like Vicky Barker but I can't believe you just said that. Your other half might just as likely have been insulted by the local Peterborough twats or even local Poles. As for wishing gallants thugs to have been on hand...(shakes head...Seanus, Seanus.)

Life / Racism in Poland - the future [441]

Joe P.[quote=joepilsudski]Poland will not see any significant influx of Blacks because the language is too difficult
Thanks a lot, Joe. I badly needed a laugh. How's Joe junior? Sitting at his daddy's knee and drinking in words of wisdom no doubt.

Life / Racism in Poland - the future [441]

I haven't read such crap, even on this forum, for at least...two days. The Kingdom of England? What have you been reading? The BNP website? Your Majesty, go to the library and ask for a simple history book.

While you're at it, ask about adult literacy classes in your area.

Life / Racism in Poland - the future [441]

Only if you tell them what you think about Poles in the UK.

Real Estate / Cost to build in Eastern Poland - Ideally per m2 [71]

Rebuilding/renovation of a house in poor repair can cost as much as a new build. When we bought our land there was an old house on it which we intended to renovate. We got an architect to come and have a look and he said that it would cost as much to get it up to spec as building a new place. That's what we did and now use the old house for storage and gardening stuff.

Your insurer's quote sounds fair enough.

Real Estate / Cost to build in Eastern Poland - Ideally per m2 [71]


Exactly. Every builder worth his salt has a generator. They wouldn't use electric chainsaws for anything; they use bench saws. I think sister act was badly advised and under-prepared. Her building manager and/or builder should have got things moving with regards the utilities.

We built in the east, where labour is cheaper, so I reckon people should budget for 3,000PLN/m.

We had to pay a higher rate for electricity until the building manager had signed the last page and the authorities has given us final permission to live in the house (a year after we actually moved in). Then the electricity company put us on the normal rate. It's a rip-off, but what can you do? Well, if you have wonderful neighbours, you might be able to come to an arrangement to hook up to their supply. We did that in the early stages when the guys were mixing cement for the foundations and cutting reinforcing steel.

Life / Do you think that Polish people are rude? [951]

A month ago I was waiting for a check-up in a medical centre. I'd offered my seat to a woman but she refused it, saying that she had a bad back and felt more comfortable standing up. An elderly lady doctor left her room and started loudly berating me for sitting down while a woman (incidentally much younger than me) was standing. The other patients all had big sh1t-eating grins as they enjoyed my embarrassment. ffs

Law / Opening a Mini Market Store in Poland. Starting cost / Expected monthly income? [22]

If you find a good answer to that question, please pm me.

Love / Do Polish men make good husbands? [106]


There are strong demarcation lines regarding what women do or don't do in Poland. I've seen a couple of women driving buses but I've never seen one chopping wood or fixing a car here. In the UK I've seen women working on road repairs (ok, only a few). A friend recently told my wife that he'd heard from someone that she uses a scythe in our garden to cut long grass, and wanted to know if this were true.

Poles making good husbands? The good ones are good; the bad ones are bad, like everywhere. If you can assert your position over the mother-in-law, you should be alright.

History / POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country? [1080]


Blimey, haven't heard that since the old queen died.

History / POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country? [1080]


You're referring to Kaliningrad, right?

Life / Poland: worst teeth in the world? [98]


Yes, it would be painful. As you say, this Kraków clinic is a swanky outfit catering for foreigners. I can't imagine it would cost anything like that at your friendly local dentist operating out of a room in a high st. block.

Life / Poland: worst teeth in the world? [98]

One Kraków clinic quotes 58GBP on its website.