History / Origins of Polish Slavs [139]

In my experience, Poles are friendlier than Czechs but not as friendly as Slovaks. I don't think they're especially moody, but Poles do tend to be impatient. They can also be irritable and easily annoyed by fairly trivial things. It's not uncommon to see them get angry in public. For example, in the supermarket, a customer might complain about how few checkouts are open and the sales assistant will get annoyed and raise her voice and then the customer will shout back and the exchange will carry on while she puts his shopping through. She will then be angry and snappy with the next customer because she's still upset and annoyed over the man who complained..........

Now people might say, well, that can happen anywhere in the world, not just Poland, which is true. But, I'm Irish, so I can tell you that in Ireland if a customer complains about the checkouts, the usual response from the assistant will be 'I know, it's a disgrace isn't it. I should have had lunch half an hour ago.' The customer will then reply 'That's awful. You must be starving.' See the difference? Poland - anger and defensiveness, Ireland - empathy and sympathy :)) What's it like in your part of the world?

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


There is nothing nuanced about Polish politics. In Polish society everything is either 'something' or 'nie something' and nothing in between.

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

Well, do you have anything of value to contribute to the discussion?

Law / Maximum alimony in Poland [2]


Do you mean child maintenance? Or alimony to wife? For alimony to wife, if you admit fault in the divorce proceedings, then the alimony carries on for the rest of her life or until she remarries. If it's child maintenance itt stops once the child finishes full time education or is working and earns enough to support themselves. But in theory it can be started again at any time in a child's adult life, if for example they lose their job and need help from parents or if they decide to return to college and do a masters when they're 25.


No, no upper limit.

Travel / Will corona kill my plans? Travel to Poland [18]


The figures being released for infection here are not believed to be accurate PolAm. Who knows what the true rate of infection is. But they will have to ease off a bit on the border restrictions at some point.

Food / Confusion over flour names in Poland [46]

Yes you can, it's regular, ordinary flour made from wheat.

Study / Coming to study at UITM Rzeszow, Poland [10]


You need to check with the university. Depending on the content of your degree, it may be automatically recognized in other EU countries but it may not have automatic recognition and you will have to apply to have it recognized. Some details here:

ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/services/free-movement-professionals/qualifications-recognition/automatic_en

It's really better to ask the university admissions office.


numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Rzeszow
If you get a room in a shared apartment you will save money on rent.

Travel / Will corona kill my plans? Travel to Poland [18]


Really, Mr/Ms 'Real' Pole?? You don't seem to follow the Polish news. According to the Minister for Health, Szumowski, speaking yesterday, the peak will be in the Autumn anytime between September and November. Of course he's talking rubbish as usual, but it's official rubbish. Were did you get your information from?

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

What are peoples' thoughts on the staff changes at Poczta Polska, just in time for the postal election.
Following the sudden and swift dismissal of his predecessor, Tomasz Zdzikot the new head of the postal service is a PIS member and has trotted on over to the post office from the Ministry of Defence. Three other staff changes too including a new HR manager who comes from TVP and who is a former PIS councillor.

Travel / Will corona kill my plans? Travel to Poland [18]

As Jon says, better to cancel. There's no way of knowing what the situation will be in September. Even if restrictions are lifted, they can be reimposed again at any time if the virus starts to spread again. You might make it to Poland but it won't be much fun if everything is closed and you're stuck in a hotel in quarantine. If you're coming to Europe from America, that's a trip of a lifetime for many and you want to enjoy it. Better to move your trip to next year.

Law / Poland's Inheritance Law Without Will [21]

There are two kinds of assets which somebody can leave in a will, moveable and immoveable. A flat or house is immoveable. Immoveable assets located outside the UK are usually governed by the law of the country where they are located, so you have a chance of being able to make a claim on the flat. However, if your dad made a will invoking EU succession rights, then you don't have a claim. You need to see a copy of your father's will to see if he stated that he wanted UK law to be applied to his estate.

Also, it's possible that your dad already sold the flat, perhaps years ago. If that's the case then you're not likely to be able to do anything about it. But if the flat is still there, and your father's will didn't use the EU Succession regulation, then you may be able to get a Polish court to recognize your claim. You will need a solicitor though.

Life / Flowers on a grave in Poland - how to order and deliver from abroad? [9]

Just use an Irish Interflora type florist.

Life / Polish neighbor problems [6]


Where? What country?

News / RUSSIA TO MAKE PUBLIC THE KATYN FILES... [274]


They were teaching you about Katyń in a UK school in the 1960s??

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


Poles are not known for their flexibility as you'll soon find out :)) I'd suggest you take a look at this, read pages 76-79, it's a fairly accurate summing up of Polish business culture. I think you'll find it useful and much of it counts for everyday life too:

//bpcc.org.pl/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/11465/Doing_Business_in_Poland_guide_reklama.pdf

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

Hi Roibeard, be careful about this. You don't know when you'll actually be able to relocate with all this virus business, and you'll be living on a Polish salary in London. The exchange rate is not great at the moment and is not likely to recover soon plus it'll be subject to fluctuations. I assume you're on a three month trial period first but if it's a longer contract, check to make sure there isn't a penalty clause for handing in your notice during the duration of the contract. It's common in IT jobs anyway. They stick a HUGE fine on you if you leave before the contract is up, 50,000zl is not unknown!

UK, Ireland / How to pay a Polish utility bill from UK? [6]


That would be the bank account number of the utility provider. You should put PL, the country code for Poland, in front of it when making the transfer. That's the IBAN, the international bank account number. Depending on your bank's software you may need the swift/bic code as well. You can look it up here:

transferwise.com/gb/swift-codes/

You also need the name of the utility provider eg Innogy or PGNIG or whatever company they are.

Ideally you should get the number of the 'Faktura' (the bill) and use that as your reference when making the transfer but if you don't have that you should use the customer's utility account number. It's really better to have the Faktura number though.

UK, Ireland / Poczta polska Coronavirus - packages from Ireland [6]


Ná habair é :) Couldn't ignore the plight of a fellow Hibernian in this alien land ;) At least you'll have a parcel to look forward to when all this is behind us!

UK, Ireland / Poczta polska Coronavirus - packages from Ireland [6]

As far as I know, they're not handling international deliveries at the moment :( Complete nonsense - the dreaded lurgy can only survive for a few hours on a surface and as the package has been in the country for two weeks, it should be safe enough!

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

Firstly Dolno, the law states otherwise and it would be plain silly to break the law on purpose.

Secondly, you might find that even if you got insured, the insurance would be invalid in the case of a claim.

Thirdly, after the end of this year, the UK will be a third country, not an EU country anymore and that makes a difference.

gov.uk/driving-abroad/driving-if-you-move-abroad

According to the above link:

If you move to an EU country before 31 December 2020 apply to exchange your UK driving licence as soon as you can to make sure you get one before 31 December 2020.

Obviously the advice above is given in order to make things easier for those with a UK license as it's still unclear what their legal situation will be after Brexit.

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

You have to exchange your UK license for a Polish one if you're going to be living here, but with Brexit, that may not be so straightforward. Previously, you were just exchanging one EU license for another. You'll just to have to wait and see what the situation is by the time you move here - you go to the Urząd Miasta and fill in the necessary forms (the equivalent of the town council) but don't expect anybody there to know their arse from their elbow as the whole Brexit thing will have them in a state of total confusion ;) That's the thing about Poland, Roibeard, the simplest things can take ages and be quite stressful but everything gets done eventually.

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


They are just about stopping short of it and only because they have neither the balls nor the competence to accomplish it.


Exactly. I wouldn't want to raise a four year old in this country because who knows what it will be like here 20 years from now. Ok, you could say that about any country I suppose, but Poland is not a long established democracy and there is no guarantee that they will even remain in the EU. Membership of the EU and having to conform to its standards to some degree is the only thing that prevents the place from turning into a complete banana republic.


There are plenty of things about Poland that are superficially attractive, but I'm afraid I can't like living in a country where my husband can't get an ambulance when he's lying on the floor in the worst pain of his life to be told 'do you think we can send an ambulance just for a stomach pain, take an ibuprofen'. He had kidney stones as it turned out - could have been a burst appendix or a burst ulcer as he has gastritis.......could have killed him Maf. So no, I don't like living here because everything here is random, always 50/50, you may be lucky, you may not.

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

That's a rather misleading statement on your part Dolno. You have very low outgoings as you own your home and don't have a child to raise.

Hi Roibeard, I'm Irish, married to a Polish man. First came here in 2006 for a holiday, loved it, moved here later that year - hated it!! We went back to Ireland and came back to Poland in 2015, so this time round I've been living here four and a half years - I can tolerate it but I'll never really like it. However, many Irish people have settled here quite happily so maybe you'll be one of them.

Yes you can live well off 14,000zl net, if it's 14,000 gross (brutto in Polish), then about a third will go in deductions so 9,000 or so is ok, very good by local standards, but you'll need to have up to 20% of the purchase price if you want to get a mortgage and at least a year's employment under your belt. So if you're trying to save that deposit from your salary and pay rent as well, you'll have to watch the pennies.

One thing I'll warn you about is the air quality in Kraków which is literally toxic, especially during the winter months.

The other thing you need to be aware of is that Poland is very much a post-communist country with a right wing authoritarian government.


You will absolutely need to learn basic Polish for simple everday interactions. It's not easy to just 'pick up'. I'd advise you go to lessons.

Good luck with everything, hope it works out :)

History / Modern myths and legends about communist past in Poland [250]


Because he's a complete ignoramus :-D Now - said she emphatically, crossing her arms over her pinnie and settling herself more comfortably against the garden wall - I'm no expert on architecture BUT...............modernism wasn't just confined to architecture and the whole modernist movement in the arts long pre-dates Communism and all those old Bolshies. Modernism has its roots in the late Victorian era.

Life / Asking cost of living in Poland [24]


May I ask why?

Take a look here. This site gives pretty accurate information. Bear in mind that while certain items in Poland are comparatively inexpensive, prices of things like clothes, electronics, phones,computers etc are the same as western Europe and when you're getting a local Polish salary, you'll feel the pain!

numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Kielce

Also take a look at job sites like this one to get an idea of salaries and job offers:

stepstone.pl/5/wyszukiwanie-ofert-pracy.html?&ke=&ws=Kielce&

Life / Asking cost of living in Poland [24]

Have to be honest, you really should have found out about the cost of living before buying a house!

As to salary, that depends on your profession, your qualifcations and experience and how fluent your Polish is. As for family of five, does that mean you have three children? How old are they, do they speak Polish,are you planning on private school or state school for them?

Life / St Patrick's day in Poland [272]

Thank you very much :)) No parades this year in Ireland because of Coronavirus but people round the country are organizing small family events and some people will have be having neighbourhood sing-songs with everybody joining in from their gardens :) Plans are to share these things via the usual social media channels.

rte.ie/news/ireland/2020/0317/1123651-st-patricks-day/

Life / How to send a Mother's Day card to UK when Poczta Polska won't accept International deliveries? [3]

It would be better to send something from within the UK using a site like Interflora. It wouldn't cost that much for a small bunch of flowers or other Mother's Day gifty type thing. Possibly less than sending a letter via a courier.

Language / Diminutive Words for Breads, Loaves, etc [20]

You can't say 'Chlebuśka' because of the rules of Polish grammar :) the noun 'chleb' is masculine and therefore can't take an 'uszka' ending. You can say 'chlebek' but that's not especially cute, just a regular diminutive, more like speaking coloquially.

A bread roll is a 'bułka' which is a feminine noun. The diminutive of that is 'bułeczka', the plural 'bułeczki'. Again, you will hear people using those diminutives all the time, not just to children, but in everyday interactions. For example, a customer in a bakery may ask for ten 'bułeczki', rather than 'bułki' which is the standard/dictionary form of 'rolls'.

It's a major feature of the language, the cute-ifying and diminuifying of words :)

Law / Where can I check in Poland my company formation status and tax number NIP and REGON? [95]

When you make the transfer, your bank's software will usually reject the transfer if the bank account name does not match the number. The transfer can't make it through the system unless the name Ekovita goes with that bank account number. That's how it is in Europe anyway but if you're in another part of the world and if you feel very anxious about it, go to your bank for further advice/clarification before you send any money and let them make the transfer on your behalf rather than doing it yourself via internet. Only send the money if the bank uses both name and number for the transfer and can verify that they match.