Life / Things that annoy you in Poland. [114]


I can tell you're not a Pole. ;)

If you're a Westerner it takes a lot of getting used to. But remember this...

There is usually a reason why people do things the way they do. And sad but true, the reason for many things the way they are in Poland is because it is a territory that has known very little peace and freedom.

Freedom comes at a price though. And although there is peace now, and the younger generations are adapting to cope with it, the older Poles have been swept aside and have trouble adapting. Give it a generation or two of people born into freedom and prosperity and we will see attitudes change. I'm sure of it.

I think Poles both in Poland and abroad, though, will be surprised at how many of the "lost generation" who buggered off to UK and other countries when Poland joined the EU decide not to come back. Nearly all of them went with the dream of making a stack of cash and coming back to buy/build a dream house/start a business. But a lot of them will like the easier lifestyles available to them in the West.

Life / Things that annoy you in Poland. [114]

Hee hee. Well if you're in Wrocław they are LOL. I thought they were redoing most of the major roads through town though?

I haven't come across many cobbles in the £ódź/Zgierz area though. That motorway from Cottbus to Wrocław is kind of "special" don't you think? Baboom, baboom, baboom. Like travelling by train. ;)

Life / Why Do You Love Poland? [907]

Cost of living
Prices of food and drink
Cost of land and building (although it's going to go up fast)
Summer weather
Watching it progress from grey abomination to a land where everyone has a mobile phone (over the last 15 years).
Castorama, OBI, TESCO, Auchan, REAL ;) (much bigger and better than UK)
My workshop (about as big as our UK house LOL)

Language / Funny/strange/deviant words in the Polish language [35]


h and ch are pronounced the same in Polish so anything with that ending gets a schoolboy snigger. ;)

My wife was telling me about a hilarious latin lesson when they were learning the declension of hic, haec, hoc. And someone had to read it out without laughing. It goes something like this...

hic haec hoc
hunc hanc hoc
hujus hujus hujus
huic huic huic
hoc hoc hoc

...bet it was hilarious.

Life / Why Do You Love Poland? [907]

Knew someone would say that. ;)

Life / Why Do You Love Poland? [907]

You got a link to back up that claim? I don't dispute that the life expectancy is lower than many other countries, but "most people die before 50" is utter rubbish. (I also agree with you that the free healthcare available is poor).

I found a link here: stat.gov.pl/gus/5840_894_ENG_HTML.htm

The worst life expectancy voivodeship in Poland is £ódzkie (great, got a house in Zgierz, but only there a few weeks a year).

For males born now, the life expectancy is 69, for females it's 78.
For males of 45 the figure is 72 and for females 79.

So there is some credence to your comment about expectancy lowering, but your comment about most people dying below 50 is complete cobblers.

Life / Cost of converting cars in Poland to left-hand drive [58]


You can't tax your car without an MOT, so that's not particularly helpful unless you will insure your car with przegląd and not tax it at all - in which case you will be illegal (although it's doubtful you'll be caught if your car never returns to UK).

Love / I love my Polish girl! Wanted to share my story. [55]


Although nobody in my family actually said anything to me about it, I think some of them had these thoughts too. Well that was in 1993 when we got married and we're still together.

Her family have accepted me and mine have accepted her. To be honest though I think her family were more against it than mine because it was "obvious" that we would live in the UK. Not much traffic going the other way - even now. :)

If your family are very vocal then you'll just have to put some distance between yourselves and them for a while so you can give yourselves a chance. Once they see she's here to stay they will learn to accept her. If not, they can sod off. (as long as you're not counting on a juicy inheritance).

Don't let love completely cloud your judgement though. You have to try to be a bit objective and see if there isn't something in their arguments. There may be, there may not be. Without knowing you guys it's very hard to judge.

Another piece of "sage advice". Don't make any kind of commitment until you have met and spent time with her family. Unless you can see where and who she came from, you have no idea what you're dealing with and what she will turn into when problems hit.

(When you are young and in love everything seems overcomeable, but some things get harder with time).

For example. Is she an only child or has she brothers and sisters? If she is an only child. What will you guys do when her parents get ill and die? Yes, you marry the whole family. So best to see what you're getting into.

Love / I love my Polish girl! Wanted to share my story. [55]



OK. Supposing the happy couple decide to live in the UK or elsewhere. In 10, 15 or 20 years, if she is an only child, her first parent may get ill and die. No probs. The other parent will take care of them.

When the second parent gets ill. Perhaps there will be a need for long-term care while they deteriorate and die? It's a possibility I never thought of when I got married, but we had to drop everything and move to Poland for a year and a half to look after my wife's dad before he died.

Of course there are other choices, like...

let him die. But could you live with yourself?

As far as funerals are concerned I'm surprised you don't know that there is a ZUS grant which covers the basic cost of a funeral (otherwise most Poles would be buried in their gardens).

As far as inheritance goes - yeah - fair payment for looking after them - if you're lucky enough to get any.

My main point was "you need to meet the family because you are marrying into the whole lot and there may be unforeseen consequences". That's the advice my son will be getting if he ever thinks of marrying a foreigner of any description.

Love / I love my Polish girl! Wanted to share my story. [55]


That works to an extent, but other people's situations are different.

If he can't get a well paid job in Poland (and let's face it the opportunities for non-Polish speaking foreigners are pretty dire unless you want to teach English - and if you have another career that's not a very attractive option) then they will be much better off pretty much anywhere else in the world.

Money isnt everything, but the economics of it DOES matter. If it were the other way round and he was a girl I think it would matter less. Mind you I don't see a whole bunch of English girls marrying Polish guys and moving to Poland (hee hee - let's not go there). :)

Love / I love my Polish girl! Wanted to share my story. [55]


Not really. It makes perfect sense on many levels. I won't say more lest someone takes offence. ;)

Love / I love my Polish girl! Wanted to share my story. [55]

Not sure it covers all that though. If I recall correctly the funeral grant was about 5,000 zl which covers the basics. The stonemasons for a fairly basic setup cost almost the same again :(

-----------------
BrutalButcher living up to his name. ;)

Nothing wrong with being mature enough to ask for help - particularly from a pre-qualified focus group.

The correct answer is in this topic somewhere. The hard part is choosing who is correct. Good luck to the OP with that choice.

Love / I love my Polish girl! Wanted to share my story. [55]


In terms of percentage growth maybe. But what about in terms of size? Why are things like electronic goods/computers more expensive in Poland? Size of the market.

You also say speaking Polish is not much advantage but in the same breath jobs are hard to come by if you don't. Well that's one fairly major advantage don't'cha think? ;)

If Poland is so rich why are they all over in the UK earning money?

Love / I love my Polish girl! Wanted to share my story. [55]

I do believe you're right, but I had to read it twice more before I could fathom it. ;)

Study / "MAGISTER" OR "MASTERS DEGREE" - ARE THEY THE SAME? [75]


I thought MScs usually only took one year? Mine did - and so did all the ones in Chemistry that I looked at. This was in 1993. Perhaps things have changed? You can do a PhD in 3 years, why would you want to waste two on an MSc?

Life / Fat People in Poland? [161]

I first went to Poland in 1993. One of the most striking things I noticed was "no fatties". Where do they put them all? I thought.

Eating habits, wealth level, social conditioning, more natural exercise and other factors combined into a more active lifestyle all contribute to this.

Unfortunately, these days you see the youngsters (10-15 year olds) on their mountain bikes sitting outside the local shops chugging down bottles of coke and eating packets of crisps (chips if you do US English). When you go to the beach or the swimming pool, you see the curse of the modern "up and coming wealthy" nation, which is...

FAT CHILDREN.

Makes you want to cry. When this generation has children of their own, the difference will have been eliminated by big businesses like Coca Cola, Lays and all the other multinationals - including the computer and video games makers.

It's so sad. It's one of the few things I used to think that Poland had got right. If they were to immediately ban advertising to children (as Sweden) it might not yet be too late. But I fear it is.

Life / Fat People in Poland? [161]


Up to there you were doing OK. The rest was pure blubber. ;)

Life / Why Do You Love Poland? [907]

But he was wisiting. ;)

Life / Fat People in Poland? [161]


Generally, members of the opposite sex. But if you are past reproductive age, then nobody really.

You're right though - it shouldn't matter (but it does).

Genealogy / What are common Polish character traits? [417]


Traits out for the lads.

OK, what about unashamedly nosey/curious? Neighbours always in each others' business.

And balance that with a good one. Always lending things to each other, so each street only needs one ladder etc. instead of everyone having to buy one.

Genealogy / What are common Polish character traits? [417]

Rather depends doesn't it? Generally I find it a bit intrusive, but while they're watching our house if we're away, it's helpful. ;)

Life / Why Do You Love Poland? [907]

That makes four of us who thought so then. :)

Food / Traditional Polish Soups. [85]

I don't know the name żurek, but that looks a lot like my wife's biały barszcz, but with egg in it. Is it a similar thing?

I really like krupnik, czerwony/biały barszcz, grochówka and zupa szczawiowa.

We usually have egg in szczawiowa likeyou show there for żurek.

Life / Cost of converting cars in Poland to left-hand drive [58]

Right Hand Drive to Left Foot Drive? ;)

Real Estate / House prices in Poland to drop more or rise again? [228]

Great post Majatek. :)