Food / Where to find carob in Poland? [5]

What is carob? I'm not familiar with it at all - can anyone explain? Does it have any particular qualities that I should be aware of?

Study / There is no exam for Polish C1 level - why? [6]


Yes, in general, it's one big failing of the Polish exam system that they don't have the full suite of exams from A1-C2. They were supposed to be introduced, yet nothing has come of those plans at all. C1 was eventually introduced, but A1 and A2 are still missing, despite huge demand for such courses.

Real Estate / Can the Poland's apartment building coop be forced to fix the building's front door? [6]


This is still a major problem in some properties. A friend has non-stop problems with drunks urinating in her hallway because of it.

But yes, the management of the cooperative should fix it.

Work / Qualifications - Mgr Title on my business card? [17]

Yes, agreed. I don't think it's right to misuse an academic title in that way.

If anything, they should be addressed with their actual academic title and not a title that they haven't earnt.

Law / Can I rent a house as an office in Poland? [9]

Yes, you can use a living space as an office. You can even deduct some of the costs of the living space if it's used as an office.

Travel / How to make a reservation for clubs in Warsaw on Saturday nights [5]

Some clubs (when they reopen) will have online pages showing table availability. It can definitely pay off to call up and negotiate - I don't remember the name of the place now, but we went to one place in Warsaw a couple of years ago, and the online table was showing as a 1500zł minimum spend. We phoned up about an hour before opening and offered them 500zł - accepted without question. For a group of 12, it was well worth it.

Travel / Cheapest fare to poznan from Berlin? [10]

These days, there are special 15 Euro tickets available from Poznań-Berlin. The most expensive tickets are 40 Euro if you buy them on the day as a walk-up purchase.

Travel / Poznan to Wagrowiec travel advice [6]

6.9km, almost in a straight line along Bukowska Street.

Real Estate / Apartments too expensive for Poles living in Poland [54]

Yup, combined with interest rates being cut to nothing.

Love / Must go to confession before the wedding in Poland? [20]

Has anyone heard of similar demands before? I guess it might go on in dark Podlasian villages, but...really?

USA, Canada / Now American men want to marry Polish women for polish papers. [38]

A lot of South Americans are coming here for employment, funnily enough. It's because they're cheaper than Spanish natives, and it's much cheaper to employ them in helpdesks/etc for Spain than it is to employ them in Spain.

UK, Ireland / Religion and identity among Polish immigrants in the UK [20]


I spoke to a psychologist at a conference about this a few years back, and she said that the magic point is usually puberty. If they move before then, they're likely to assimilate and be taken as British without any real issues (even if the parents don't), but that if they go after the start of puberty, it's likely to be much harder for them and they're likely to return at some point, even if the parents stay.

News / Poland Sports News [1079]


It's the same with other ice sports too. PolAmKrakow talked about this with ice hockey - it's run for the benefit of those who run it, rather than for the development of the sport.

The very limited ice available in Poland doesn't help things.

News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [957]


I've read one interesting analysis of the Stasi that suggested that it was also consistent with them moving from physical abuse towards psychological abuse too around that time. I remember one example from the Stasi Museum in Berlin - rather than take someone in for questioning, they would simply mess with a person's life in such a way that it could be plausibly denied, such as by interfering with the order of things in their apartment, or simply making sure that they didn't receive things they were expecting, such as a university admission letter.

As not to be off-topic, I think it's clear that Poles have embraced the European Union in border communities. The current restrictions in Gorlitz/Zgorzelec are having a devastating effect on people, especially as it was so normal pre-Corona to go for dinner in Zgorzelec and for a pint in Gorlitz.

Food / Polish v Western farm produce? [14]


Much as I've disagreed with Polly in the past, he was right here. The amount of processed food in Poland is quite diabolical, while Polish farm produce is incredibly monotonous. Seanus was right when he talks about farming cooperatives in Slovakia - it's a huge reason why the Polish agricultural sector is lagging behind Western Europe.

Life / Internet access and cost in Krakow! Please help. [20]


It's amazing how much has changed. These days, Multimedia Vectra offer a 600mb/s connection in Kraków for 65zł a month, while the cheapest connection is 150mb/s for 45zł a month.

1gb/s is also common in cities and new developments, too.

USA, Canada / Now American men want to marry Polish women for polish papers. [38]

Certainly not much has changed in 10 years. There's more and more Ameriacns looking for an easy way to EU residency/citizenship, especially in cities like Kraków and Wrocław. It rarely ends well because of the cultural differences, but by the time they get divorced, they've already got permanent residency.

Poland recently changed the rules to allow for permanent residency to be acquired after only 3 years of marriage, too.

Work / Qualifications - Mgr Title on my business card? [17]


Interestingly, in teaching, they're still used as well.

Having said that, the Polish high school culture of calling a teacher "professor" when they don't have such an academic title is completely wrong. I have a friend who is a genuine professor who teaches at an academic high school connected to the university, and he said that they tell students from the first day that they should always use the correct academic title to address someone.

I remember finding the use of academic titles at the university to be quite strange to begin with, but actually, it works well when you consider that it's recognition of their professional achievements.

I still think it's worth putting an Masters-level qualification on your business card, but putting BA/lic.is ridiculous.

News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [957]


I've always thought that East Germany should be looked at as two different eras: the pre-Basic Treaty and post-Basic Treaty.

Real Estate / TBS real estate in Poland [9]


Still happening, though there are some problems relating to the management of them. I've seen an article a few weeks ago about one President that embezzled a significant amount of money from the TBS company, as people had to pay sky high administration fees to fund his lover's lifestyle.

I'd be very wary about taking a property in one of those investments unless I knew for sure that the management was efficient and effective.

Travel / Renting a car in Jelenia Gora [4]

Funny thing is, this advice has completely changed these days. Local Polish companies are reliable and trustworthy, while the bigger companies are using the same tricks as they use elsewhere. If you're in Jelenia Góra, I'd recommend also checking out carsharing companies - for instance panekcs.pl/gdzie-jestesmy/dolnoslaskie/jelenia-gora - the price is very favourable, especially with how easy they are to use.

Real Estate / Apartments too expensive for Poles living in Poland [54]

It was bad in 2010, but it's even worse now.

The average price in Warsaw is now pushing 11,000zł/m2, while provincial cities aren't much better. I've seen one report suggesting that prices broke the 10,000zł/m2 barrier in Gdańsk, and even in Nowa Huta in Kraków, you can pay over 8,000zł/m2.

How can an average Polish family ever hope to pay this kind of price?

Work / Regarding demand of physiotherapy in Poland [21]

Go for nursing, as it'll be easier to get your qualifications recognised internationally.

History / Vilamovian language - now that's something interesting [24]

I found this video a while ago - it's of a presumably native speaker speaking, and I can barely understand a word he says.

youtu.be/UtNiVX7ofDM

It's fascinating - if I didn't know better, I'd assume it was Dutch or Swiss German!

Has anyone been to Wilamowice/Wymysoü?

UK, Ireland / Religion and identity among Polish immigrants in the UK [20]

Ten years on, it would be interesting to know how people who emigrated to the UK as kids have now turned out.

I know a couple of examples, and while they identify as Polish, they're very much culturally British. They're lacking 'adult' vocabulary from Polish, and you can see that in terms of behaviour, they're also much more at home in the UK than in Poland. Religious identity seems to be much weaker as well, probably because there's no real push from grandparents/other family members to attend church.

News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [957]


Not allegedly. China are already very, very deep into Serbia and to a lesser extent Montenegro.

News / Poland - A True Bastion and Defender of Free Speech [250]


Hahaha. You need to understand the difference between the rantings of Ziobro and reality. He also promised "veto or death", then when the time come to leave the government, he backed down because he didn't have the courage to follow through with his words.

Don't worry though, we appreciate that the finer parts of Polish politics are lost to you.

It's also nice to see that you approve of government and legal interference in the operations of private businesses. How communist of you.

Life / 200zl mandat and 3 points for not wearing seatbelts? [75]


Probably won't happen now that Gowin has publicly come out against it.

Is this government actually talking to each other, or are they just too busy stabbing each other in the back?

News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [957]


It's different, though. They don't see them buying up all sorts of property in London, they only see the skin colour and the accent of the bloke working as a security guard in the local Tesco.

News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [957]



Meh, do we want that for London?

I know what you're talking about, but this ultimately implies selling out the country to the highest bidder just for the sake of not being in the EU.