Life / Car test..The Polish equivalent of the MOT [36]


I still don't know how it passed a Polish one!

Maybe they were too busy laughing to actually test it?

Law / Polish EU Drivers Licence - can I get one the easy way (by paying for it)? [185]


There should be nothing stopping you - you'll need to apply for a visa to stay longer than 3 months in Schengen, but if you've got proof of funding and a clear plan to return to Australia, I very much doubt they'll have a problem. The driving licence and IDP is enough to drive in the EU.

Law / Setting up small business in Poland? [191]


Fingers crossed, but I went and handed in the forms yesterday and was at the window for a grand total of 3 minutes. Maybe times are indeed changing?

Law / What is the quickest and cheapest way to send money to a bank account in Poland? [37]

moneybookers is the easiest way :)


Never, ever assume that charges will be 'nominal', particularly where non-Euro EU withdrawals are concerned. In fact, it's dangerous to suggest so - charges from a UK account can be as high as 5 pounds for every 100 withdrawn.

Law / Setting up small business in Poland? [191]


Just starting a business to deal with my teaching, it's much easier to do it myself than rely on schools to actually do the paperwork properly.


If you're an EU citizen, it's painless provided you have the relevant 5 year residence card. Non-EU citizens might find it much harder going, particularly if they don't have the right to legal residence.

There's a specific office in every city dealing with 'dzialalnosc gospodarcza'.

Law / Setting up small business in Poland? [191]

Do you have the plastic ID card? If so, it shouldn't be a problem for you at all. If you've still got the old ID booklet (or none at all), then you'll need to get the plastic ID card before being able to register a business. But because you're Polish, you shouldn't have any issues apart from needing to have an updated ID card.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


If you're coming back to Poznan (you are, right? Chris misses you...) - then yes, it should be definitely possible to pick up something mid-term. Even if it's Callan for half a year, it's not such a bad job as it'll get you used to teaching without being thrown in at the deep end. And at least as where Poznan is concerned - you can actually end up better off teaching Callan than traditionally due to the lack of preparation needed.

We'll all help you out if you're here, too :)

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

Sort of, sort of not - it's probably best described as Callan combined with traditional teaching to supplement it. 2nd year now, though it's definitely the last!

But I've done some maths (and asked around) and I'm getting paid just a little bit under what they're paying in traditional schools - so if you count in lesson preparation and marking time, I'm actually better off teaching this way in terms of actual money.

(and, to be fair, I'm a lousy grammar teacher and don't particularly want to teach traditionally!)

Law / Setting up small business in Poland? [191]

Easy enough, I imagine, but you can only get it once you're in Poland.

Do you have a Polish passport?

Law / What is the quickest and cheapest way to send money to a bank account in Poland? [37]


I wouldn't trust UK banks not to apply mysterious fees regardless - because it'll be technically cross border and the UK Government has disgracefully allowed UK banks to almost ignore SEPA :(

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

It's the name of a 'method' that focuses on communication in English. It's outdated, but it's a catch-all term in Poland to the 'direct' method - have a look at

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_method_(education)

What's your e-mail address? I'll send you the materials so you can have a look :) It's not the greatest thing ever - but for a new teacher who wants to get used to the ropes, I can recommend it. The nice thing about it is that it gives you a gentle introduction to the classroom so you can try new things out (a good school will let you experiment!) while still being able to return to the 'method' if it goes badly wrong.

(the other thing is that you definitely don't need the CELTA to teach it!)

Law / What is the quickest and cheapest way to send money to a bank account in Poland? [37]


It doesn't help that the banks are less than honest if you ask them to do a transfer - they'll almost certainly send it by the method that makes them the most money.

You'll also never get a straight answer from them when it comes to how much it'll actually cost as well.

Law / What is the quickest and cheapest way to send money to a bank account in Poland? [37]

The world's local bank, indeed!

Law / Setting up small business in Poland? [191]


Hmm...I think you might have some problems here - as far as I understand it, a Polish citizen registered in Poland should have a dowód osobisty. There's no requirement for a Polish citizen not registered in Poland to have such a thing - but as you're on computer as being registered in Poland at that address, you might have problems. Best bet would be to contact the Urząd Miasta in the place where you're registered and ask them for advice - unfortunately, they might very well fine you for not having one.

Work / Polish Residency Cards. Is there a Permanent ID card for Foreigners? [37]


All you'll have to do is renew the residence permit - and as you've already got one, it should be a complete formality. There's no ID card issued for EU citizens (unlike Estonia, which gives EU citizens a nice ID card that's suitable for travelling within the EU!) - just a bit of paper with a stamp. Likewise, when it's renewed, just head back to the relevant city office and get another 5 years of registraton.

There may be the option of going for permanent residence (and getting the appropriate piece of paper confirming this) - but I believe you'll have to have 5 years of living here before you can apply for this.

All in all, should be painless. At least in Poznan, they appear to not be particularly bothered about EU citizens anymore and make it easy fo them.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


Actually, he's not very pro-Callan and can probably tell you in ten million ways where it fails.


I don't think anyone's arguing with the fact that it's out of date. But a good school will encourage creativity with it - and if it's used for the foundations of learning, supplementing it with proper grammar teaching - then it's actually not terrible for complete beginners. But this does take talent from teachers - and good teachers will let students speak freely and not insist that they stick rigidly to THE METHOD.

Of course, bad schools will stick rigidly to it - with the subsequent consequences of being absolutely terrible. Different things for different people.


Which backs up our point - it's fantastic for new teachers to get to grips with the teaching environment. And more to the point - if you're doing it solely for money, then Callan can actually be better for the teacher than traditional lessons because of the comical lack of preparation needed.


The thing is that he'll be coming mid-year and won't have lots of schools to pick and choose from - he'll be looking to get whatever he can. In this circumstance, working in a Callan school just to get to grips with things is not a bad idea at all. Yes, it's rubbish - but it crucially should allow you to experiment with things before you start in a 'real' classroom.


Which again, if you're talking about solely money - it's much better to teach Callan and have no preparation for 45zl an hour than it is to teach traditionally (with lesson prep) for 50zl an hour.

Work / Polish Residency Cards. Is there a Permanent ID card for Foreigners? [37]

Oh, tell me about it.

Unfortunately, the Polish state decided that upon implementing the new regulations for EU citizens, a piece of paper with a stamp would suffice - probably because most EU citizens except the Brits and Irish already have ID cards and so there's no point duplicating them. It's a fair point - ID cards don't have any use here in an electronic sense, so there's no point giving them to people who don't actually need them. Unfortunately, us Brits and the Irish got screwed by that decision.

I know it sucks, I have to carry my passport too for these things - but unfortunately, that's the way it is. The only real option if you want to get a card is to take Polish citizenship - or, if you really want one, get yourself an Estonian ID card which are quite easy to obtain.

UK, Ireland / Sad life of a Polish migrant in the UK. Ch. 5 - Racism [259]


Not really - a lot is more to do with the fact that while Canadian kids all play hockey, it's not so much the done thing in America. Also, apart from North America - the main place for hockey is Europe.


Err...Jarome Iginla and Donald Brashear, to name two, might just want to argue with you. Iginla's even the captain of the Calgary Flames and Brashear has made an entire career out of beating people up. Even going back, Grant Fuhr, who is now long retired, made the Hockey Hall of Fame as a black goalie. Even Freddie Brathwaite was quite a well known black goalie.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


'right' in Callan's world was written from the perspective of someone who had learnt from teaching soliders, who were used to the idea of discipline and respect. That approach won't work for Polish students, that much is certain.


I don't think anyone is disputing this - but from the point of view of the teacher, it has benefits. And it does depend on the learner - there are people who simply want to get to a basic communicative level in a short period of time - not *everyone* wants to sit the CAE exam.

Ultimately, it's good for people who want a crash course in the language. It's useless for those that actually want to become fluent, and it's useless for those with time to dedicate to the craft. But for those who want to just come twice a week and learn enough to communicate, it's not actually bad at all.


What language school does deliver? This is subjective as hell - particularly as so much depends on the individual. I know one woman who uses Callan as the basis of her learning, who supplements it with grammar and uses every class as an opportunity to learn more. It works for her, she's highly motivated and crucially, Callan lets her monitor her own progress in the language.

One thing is certain though - Callan itself is much, much better than the 'new' methods being derived (ripped off) from Callan in Poland.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


It's probably the only way to actually define it - as a method that's suited for people who can unquestionably obey what's presented to them. As I was saying previously, the better schools will mix it up a bit and make sure that people understand what they're mindlessly saying - but those schools that strictly demand '30 paragraphs revision, 2 readings, 2 dictatons and 5 paragraphs of new material' are nothing but meat factories - with the corresponding absolute lack of customer satisfaction.


Not arguing there at all - it's not a terrible option to have available, but it should just be that - an option. The schools exclusively using it (and using no other material) are nothing but crooks, in my opinion. But then again, what can you expect when Callan themselves promote the fact that you can open a school with nothing but one book and some chairs?

Work / Polish Residency Cards. Is there a Permanent ID card for Foreigners? [37]


As far as I can tell, they have a very similar system to Poland in terms of needing to register somewhere - but, the crucial difference is that you can do everything by post, and there's no nonsense with title deeds to the flat or needing to prove why you're here, just you have to prove that the landlord will let you register there (so a letter is enough). There's also no need to tell them anything (or get any pieces of paper) until your inital 3 months is up - so they have absolutely no way of checking.

The whole thing seems to be thought out quite well - and the crucial thing is that the EU ID card is valid for intra-EU travel too.

Might be a crazy way to do things, but if you could find someone willing to register you there and are willing to make the trip up to Estonia to give the fingerprints and pick the card up, it might very well be worthwhile.


Could you not just get Polish citizenship?

Love / Scottish & Polish relationships [229]


Lies, I go out and end up throwing up all over the Rynek here, just like a typical disgraceful British tourist :(

(three beers was all it took, I've never felt so ashamed...)

But no, Scots and Poles get on quite well, or at least the non-Rangers following part of Scotland does. However, as a proud Aberdonian, I can quite happily agree with Poles that Rangers fans should be kicked in the face and spat upon for good measure :D

Work / Polish Residency Cards. Is there a Permanent ID card for Foreigners? [37]


Hang on, I thought they weren't fingerprinting people for British passports? I thought this was one (among many) cockups with the biometric passports, that all the data was simply a reflection of the photo as opposed being 'true' biometrics?

(mind you, I agree with the sentiment of not wanting to give them a thing)


Much cheaper passport renewals though, have you seen the disgraceful prices charged by the British Embassy for passports?

Work / Does it make sense to move from the UK to Wroclaw for this salary? [50]


Nonsense. Food costs are ridiculously cheap in Poland - a kilo of chicken breasts is about 13zl at the moment, and that's in the city.

I can knock up a huge pot of spaghetti bolognaise, made from nothing but fresh ingredients (except the spaghetti itself) and without skimping on anything for less than 20zl - and that's enough to feed 4 people for two dinners without being greedy about portion size. Heck, a kilo of tomatoes is as cheap as 1.20zl at the moment.

You can get 6 cans of beer (enough to get any non-strong beer drinker ruined) for less than 20zl.

Of course, if you buy frozen food constantly and don't cook from fresh, you will end up spending 1000zl a month easily. But anyone that can cook, or at least someone that isn't afraid to try will find Poland incredibly cheap for food.

Having said all this - 4500PLN gross seems terribly low, unless the working conditions are beyond fantastic. I'm not one of those expats who claims that there are huge salaries everywhere to be found - but unless it's for an 'infomatik' type job, it seems on the low side.

Work / Does it make sense to move from the UK to Wroclaw for this salary? [50]


Easily. But if he has to buy 'branded' baby food (which is absolutely terrible in general, due to all the 'additions') and branded frozen meals, then he'll hit 1000zl easily. As I said - if you make your own food (including baby food, which is very easy to do!) - you can do it for far less.

Remeber, the minimum wage for a couple in Poland is under 2000zl. If you 'can't possibly live on less than 1000zl a month' - how are they doing it?


You can freeze the food so it's not the same thing 2 days in a row. You know, freezers aren't really a luxury here anymore ;)

As for nappies - he can use reusable ones and be environmentally responsible. Given the news reports about the Arctic being ice-free in Summer within 10 years, it would certainly be the most sensible option.

Clothing a baby? Not much. I see clothes on sale in my local shops for very little - you can clothe a baby for around 30zl easily. It won't be the most amazing clothes ever - but the point is that it can be done. The clothes are certainly functional and only 'brand' snobs would turn their nose at them.


Which shops and where? The only place I've ever seen ham and bread on a comparable price to the UK was in Alma - and 95% of people don't shop there. My local bakery sells enough bread for a family of 3 for about 1.50zl or so that's good for 2 days.

I think there was a quote by Wroclaw Boy of all people who said on here that in the UK, he'll buy 200g of ham. In Poland, he'll buy 2kg. That sums up the difference in prices quite nicely, I feel!

Sure, the cheapest food in the UK will be on a comparable price with the decent stuff here - but you're comparing Tesco Value quality in the UK to M&S quality in Poland.

Work / Does it make sense to move from the UK to Wroclaw for this salary? [50]


The crucial part is 'pack of ham'. Sealed packs here tend to be overpriced compared to buying it from the local butcher. You should know this, surely?


Of course - and this is why saying that 'you can't live on 1000zl a month for food' is nonsense when the average minimum wage Pole isn't likely to be able to afford such.

I would be shocked if some families in Poland spend 500zl a month on food, let alone 1000zl.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


Don't expect an answer, English schools here are shockingly bad at answering e-mails. Your best bet is to come here and see the schools themselves - if you can turn up, freshly qualified and willing to work, you'll find the hours. Certainly at that time of year, natives will have gone home after 2/3 months of the Polish winter and so you'll have opportunity there.

The one thing you have to do when coming here is make sure that your paperwork is all in order - essentially, you'll have to start your own business here (it's easy!) in order to get the residence card as schools are notoriously funny about getting work permits. But don't worry about this just now ;)

Work / Does it make sense to move from the UK to Wroclaw for this salary? [50]


This is the thing really - if you can't cook or don't have the time to cook, I can see Poland being incredibly expensive compared to the salaries. Baby food for instance - if you make your own, it's likely to cost next to nothing, especially if you just give the baby what's available seasonally. But if you buy the jars of branded stuff, you could easily go through quite a lot of money that way.

Work / Does it make sense to move from the UK to Wroclaw for this salary? [50]


I've just went and looked at my local shops (one minute walk away!). Cheapest available is 1.50zl at the moment in the two shops nearby, with premium, large, perfect tomatoes available (probably the best you can buy from the wholesalers) for 3.90zl. There's also others available for 2zl and 2.50zl a kilo. And this is in the middle of a random osiedle in Poznan - where prices are quite a bit higher than from the main fruit/vegetable 'ryneks' - maybe about 20% higher or so.

Of course, if you buy ham from the expensive butcher with a 'brand' and imported vegetables from the supermarket, you'll pay more. But for the ordinary person living an ordinary life - prices are much lower.

Work / Does it make sense to move from the UK to Wroclaw for this salary? [50]


From what I know, the salary is actually quite decent for what it is. It might be rubbish compared to UK salaries, but Poland is quite considerably poorer ;)