Life / What would it be like to live in Lomza? [60]

Hey andysterdam,

Don't know what your status is with this whole situation. But thought I would try and help. I am an American living here in Lomza. My husband is from here. I taught at a private school teaching Callan method. Super easy and very easy to get a job teahing it here if you are a native speaker. If you wife want a contact number just email me and I will get the info for my former school.

As for Lomza...huh...well, dont expect a huge night life or much to do, some pubs, more to do in the summer but not so bad really. But the bright side is that if you are into nature you have it made here. River for swimming and fishing, Mazury just a short hour or 2 away. My favorite is Ruciana Nida, because it is only an hour and we have a friend that owns a beauitful hotel/camping/boat rental place on a lake. Also fantastic fresh fish! MMM!

Warsaw is only 2 hours away and Bialystok about an hour...if you drive like a crazy Polish person. Bialystok now has a shopping mall with cinema, bowling and the works. Also the area around Bialystok is lovely.

If you can afford a care get one, or better yet send on from Canada, we are buying a few cars in the states to send here and sell since the dollar is so low. After you finish you can sell it and probably still make money!

You will also really get the Polish experience here as the number of people who speak English are low. But that can be really good.

As for restaurant and shopping well, it is getting better. There are a few more restaurant in the last few years and there are now 2 larger grocery stores like a Tesco.

Also (shameless self promotion to follow) there is one of the best meat production factories in the country here (it is owned by our family) ask anyone around here about meat from Podgorze and they will tell you.

I know only a few other native speakers here, one Canadian woman from Manitoba and another American. There may be a few more, but I have 2 kids now so I am sort of out of the loop.

Your pay should take you a long way here. Rent is fairly low. But I find food and clothes expensive. I only buy clothes and shoes in the states. Gas is outrageous.

if you have any question just ask away!

Life / What would it be like to live in Lomza? [60]

My good friend Ania teaches Helen Doron classes at an English school in Lomza called Educo. They are excellent for yong kids.

You can call the office at 512-022271

USA, Canada / The proper behavior an American should show when visiting Poland [115]

Never refuse what is offered to you if you are a guest in someones home. If offered a drink accept one, do not say no thank you. Polish people are fantastic hosts and to refuse is very insulting.

Don't make a big reaction to the lack of deodorant (mostly older generation), it just is how it is.

Use an internal filter and stop yourself from saying "why would they do it like that? We dont do it like that in the states?" Think it, just don't say it.

Do not expect people to speak English, this is not an English speaking country. Rather read a bit and try to learn a few basic words, people will be much friendlier.

Do not expect shopworkers to pay you any mind, they wait for you to show interest in what they are selling. My first few years here I was appalled at the last of customer service...now it just is what it is.

A great (but hard to find book) is Shortcuts to Poland, written by an American expat living here for a long time. Her observations of cultural differences are spot on!

Australia / Australia... Poland was recovering from a world war where were you? [13]

What are you smoking surge?

Life / Exam for Drivers License in Poland; English? [99]

What exactly is "the arch"?

Life / Exam for Drivers License in Poland; English? [99]

Thanks for the answer. Sadly I have put off getting my prawo jadzy for far too long.

Life / Exam for Drivers License in Poland; English? [99]

I have tried to search here before but information is so conflicting.
Do any of you know where I can take driving courses in English?

Life / Exam for Drivers License in Poland; English? [99]

Merged:Have any of you expats gotten a Polish drivers license?

I did a search here but information is so conflicting. So how did you do it? How much did it cost?

I have a current American drivers license. I am wondering about the legal way to get a Polish drivers license. Do I need to take the exam or can it be tranferred?

Thanks for your help!

Oh and I live here full time and will for a long time. I am legal here with my Karta Pobytu.

I started doing some other research and have found some interesting sites. and specifically for Americans
poland.usembassy.gov/poland/driving.html

Feedback / A Personal Request to all PF members [119]

That was an excellent post. I have been a member here for a while. I am an expat in Poland living here for 7 years. I would love to take part here more, but honestly some of the people admin allows to stay here and take part are just plain horrid and do not add much of anything.

I am a moderator on another parenting forum, we allow open membership, but trolls and pot stirrers will be banned. We allow free speaking but when you cross the line and make the forum an unpleasant place to be you will be banned.

Sadly the riff raff here are allowed to rome free, they jump in an mock people who are only looking for help and information. This forum could be a really great resource for those living in or interested in information about this wonderful country....but fact is that it is overrun by a few bullies who contribute nothing good.

I rarely post here and sadly I find myself reading even less due to those posters who should have been banned long ago.

Off-Topic / So...which of you are actually IN Poland? [41]

Ha! After some of his nights out with the guys I wish it was a dancing pole I was married too!

Off-Topic / So...which of you are actually IN Poland? [41]

I am so pleased to read that so many of the transplants like it here. It took me a while to adjust, the first 3 years were really hard. Lack of decent Polish made it so hard. But now after this long my Polish is quite good and I can get by, that opens up a whole new comfort level being here.

I spent the first few years asking when we would be moving home to the states. I was afraid of what would happen when our kids got to school age, how would I help them with homework, how could I check it, how would I go to teacher meetings? Now I am not so worried.

The longer I am here the easier it all becomes. I can now appreciate the great things about this country. Up this way we have great access to traditional all natural meat (yeah it helps that it is produced at our factory), locally grown produce, local cheeses, serek, and general dairy (Piątnica) and other great local food. I love being close to Mazury. I can appreciate the people more now and I have finally figured out how to deal with the over pushiness of Polish hospitality ;), I have stopped pining for things from home, I find myself buying less and les when I make trip stateside. I also have figured out how to deal with the lack of conveniences that we have everywhere in the states.

I have come to love this country as my own and I am proud to be a permanent transplant!

Off-Topic / So...which of you are actually IN Poland? [41]

Simply gorgeous chichimera. I am so thankful we are fairly close to Mazury. We do short trip all around the lakes area in the summer and Autumn.

I can't wait to start sailing again. I had just started to learn to sail before we had kids and they are just now old enough to take out. I hope we can get on a boat with them this summer!

If you don't mind sharing where are you located? PM if you like!

Travel / Indian or Mexican food in Warsaw. [60]

One of my Warsaw foodie friends took us here to the one in Żoliborz. The Indian food was food but the Thai was fantastic!
dzikiryz.pl/

The food was out of this world and the atmosphere and staff were awesome. Prices were not that bad for Warsaw either.

Life / Are Polish roads really this bad? [237]


Actually they are making a highway from Bialystok that will connect to Warsaw. Here in Lomza they are already starting a lot of in town roadwork and the last few years they have done a lot of between town work, making new bus stops and widening roads a bit.

Of course it could be more and better but they are working on it.

My main problem with Polish roads are that when they redo old roads they use ****** materials that break down and wear very easily resulting in them needing to be done again much sooner that roads stateside. I also really wish they would get these highways done quickly...the TIR's (semi trucks) are killing the roads, the indentations their overloaded load leaves are a killer.

Life / Are Polish roads really this bad? [237]

Very true about this winter, it took it's toll up this way for sure.

Life / Are Polish roads really this bad? [237]


They are very strict in the states about over weight trucks, there are weigh stations on highways and there are rgualtions on how often they must stop at them. Also the fines are huge if they are overweight and the truck can be impounded.

Life / Amazon Kindle in Poland? (updated Kindle 3 3G) [10]

I don't have the 3G but I have the WiFi and it works here just fine!

UK, Ireland / Raising Bilingual Children - How are you teaching your children? Your experiences? [74]

We have two children, 5 and 3. They are completely bilingual. My husband is Polish and I am American. I only speak English and he and his family only speak Polish, we live in Poland. I have a few Enlgish speaking friends here who play with them in English and we do Skype calls with my family.

They watch some tv and movies, we switch it up so they watch in both languages and switch the language on movies so they watch the same film in one language and next time the other.

They both have a bit of language switching from time to time, but they get a bit better everyday. They will attend a Polish school here and I am ordering some elementary English homeschool books from the states.

They used to play mainly in Polish, but this summer I took them for 5 weeks to the states and they have switched to playing mainly in English. The more time goes by the more they go back to a bit more Polish.

Life / Expats/Immigrants in Poland: Needy, Greedy or contributor. Which one are you? [118]

Odd categories. Your definition of needy is a peculiar one, you must know some strange expats, and that definition does not include those who reltaionships are stable.

I must admit that my view of many expats is an unusual one. I find many of them social misfits, it seems many left home to find a place where no one knows them and they can start over, but the misfit part always shows through.

I am married to a Pole. I have lived here for 9 years and we have two bilingual children. I have taught English, but have stopped for now to stay at home.

So I guess from the choices in the OP I am a contributor/needy...just not sure what is so needy about a stable marriage and family.

There are many reasons to come to this wonderful country, some are selfish, some to take, some to give and some for love. For me the more important category for this thread would have been are you a contributor/integrator or not.

Food / Where can you buy a crockpot aka slow cooker, in Krakow? [38]


You rock! Crock pots are awesome and those of you who can't understand them have obviously never had one!

Food / Where can I buy cast iron pans (żeliwne patelnie) in Poland? [19]

The best ones are old ones handed down through the generations. I so wish I could bring my grandmothers here!

Food / Where can I buy cast iron pans (żeliwne patelnie) in Poland? [19]


LOL...I am the OP!

Love / I'm a black African man and can't cope with my Polish mother in law [34]

Hi Negra,
I have been married to a Polish man for 9 years and I have had a few issues with my MIL. But looking back I realized that most of them were just me trying to butt heads with her culture. The role of the Polish Babcia is very defined and it is instilled in them from an early age. I could not understand the soup thing for a very long time, but now I see it's value. First of all it is a great way to get veggies into a kid. But second and most importantly is it part of the culture and I live here as a non native and since it is not one that harms anyone I decided to stop resisting it a long time ago.

As for doing daily shopping...well again falls under culture. The older/middle age generations grew up like this and they are rather grossed out by supermarkets...and again age and time has taught me that fresh is best. If she wants to go do the shopping why would you want to stop her? I have two kids and take all the help I can get. My father in law goes to the bakery and brings us fresh bread every day, it used to bug me. But I decided to embrace it and after some time my preception changed.

As for the money spent, you need to sit down with her and have a good long talk. But it will not be taken well if it is you laying down the law and expecting her to be the only one to admit fault and to change. IMO it should look something like this:

You: I greatly appreciate all the help you give to us and I think it is wonderful that you make some fantastic homemade food, you are a great cook and after doing some thinking I see that since soup is important to you for the kids that maybe I should look at it differently. But we really need to work on a budget.

It really sounds to me like you are fighting her culture...but you live here in Poland. It is rude to fight the culture of the place where you live. I think you could do well to take a good hard look at yourself and your perceptions of things. I know it is hard to veer from our own upbringing and embrace that of another but polish culture and their ideas do have value. If you plan to stay here you would be wise to work on changing your perception, stop trying to fight who she is and work harder and making compromise on your side and getting your wife to work with her mom to get some compromise from her side.

Food / Where to buy inexpensive coconut oil in Poland? [7]

I am also looking for it. I had book marked this earlier. efavit.pl/pl/c/kokosowy/45

I am also looking into ordering coconut flour for them!

Life / Gifts from Poland (I'm returning to my country after a year in Poland) [36]

Just curious but where are you headed? If it is stateside then don't bother bringing the keilbasa, they will take it at the airport.

Language / 'lubię, lubisz' - Infinitive [86]

The same as in English. When we say I like to listen to music. It the same. In Polish you use the infinitive after the verb like.

Life / Polish water safe to drink? [50]

pip
Is this the article?

Life / Life in Lomza - Is it a cheap place to live? [9]

This one I can help with! I live in Lomza and have for 7 years now. The owner of Lingua (Steph) is a Canadian who had also lived and taught here in Lomza for about 8 years. She decided to open her own school this year and has many students who followed her from the old school to this new one. However, I know very little about the school other than that she and the few teachers that I know are excellent teachers.

Lomza is a fairy cheap place to live. Rent is cheap compared to a big city and food is very reasonable.

Entertainment...huh that is a tough one. There is a movie theatre but they are now building a new shoppng center. I have heard rumors that it will be a Tesco and others that say it will be a mall with a theatre and a Tesco. One thing I can say is that Lomza is growing and getting better every year. Shopping is also better than it used to be.

Yes there is a hospital. Quite a good one. I delivered both of my children there and also was in a few other times. It also helps to know doctors. I am quite sure though that Steph and the others will help you out if the need arises.

If you have any more questions feel free to contact me on here. I will be happy to help. There are actually only a handful of expats in town but there are a few great bars with lots of people who are very interested in meeting English speaking people.

May I ask...and I know this may seem strange, but are you introverted? Extroverted? Shy? Outgoing? What are your interests?