History / Why are Jews pestering Poland for "proper" WW2 monetary restitution/reparations? [750]


Well said.

Study / International medium schools in Lodz? [8]

I am afraid you do not have much choice the only International school i found was BISC LODZ

bisc-lodz.pl/index.html
It must be private and expensive so maybe you could consider sending your children( especially if they are toddlers) to a public or private Polish School in Lodz.

Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]

If there are no hidden defaults your 1500zl/M2 house looks like a real Bargain Wroclaw Boy.
Why is it so cheap ? It does not look too remote from a big city.

Are you sure it is not in a floodable area?

Life / Who are the Polish singers (Classical or Folk songs) [11]

Thanks MyMom, it 's great.

Life / My impressions on Poland I: The People, Politics, The Countryside and Infrastructure [39]


You need to work on History and Culture a bit : To be a rebel when the Polish State ideology under the Soviet rule was Atheism meant precisely to be a Catholic, young hippies in Poland beeing behind the Iron Curtain fiercely defended Christian religion because it meant freedom and rebellion.

As for the seats in trams to be exclusively used by elderly it is a question of good manners and it is a prcatical thing as you don't want someone over 90 to be driving and you don't want that same person to fall in the tram if it stops abrubtly.

If in the country you come from it is not a custom to leave seats for the elderly or the invalids, then you have no lesson to give in terms of civilisation.

Travel / Cheapest eating places in Warsaw? [27]

No Come on, for this kind of fast food he does not need our recommendations, He' ll find the MacDonalds Burger King ,kebabs etc everywhere and it is not typical Polish.

For quick Polish fast food i would recommend to visit any Pierkarnia-Cukierna( Baker & pastry shops) where you can buy various sanwiches with Polish ham ( kanapki), puff pastry filled with Cabbage( kapuszniak) or with meat.

There are also ZAPIEKANKI ( a Baguette Bread with a choice of toppings such cheese, mushrooms ,meat, tomatoes etc ).

Life / Who are the Polish singers (Classical or Folk songs) [11]

Thank you so much MyMom and Grzegorz, i think i will start a relaxing Sunday listening to the nice Polish singers you recommended.
Thanks again

Life / Do you think that Polish people are rude? [951]

The Poles are not rude, on the contrary some men will kiss women ' s hand, offer to carry your heavy bags, people give their seats to pregnant women or to old people in trams etc, they are in general very gracious.

However Customer service is one of the worst in Europe, appalling, one can hardly exchange any item at a shop even with the invoice, one cannot get a refund for anything(One day at a hardware store in Galeria Kazimierz I bought among loads of other things an accessory which i discover I did not need and they made it extremely difficult to take it back even though it was still in the package and with the invoice! Same thing with a Polish friend who discovered that the dress she had bought did not fit, she went back with her invoice and the dress the following day and the shop keeper would not take it back!)

I have tons of examples like that the last one being at Aster in Krakow queuing for ages in the most messy organization in the world until some Polish clients started screaming at the incompetent staff who replied they were just employees and not responsible for the lack or organization at their headquarters!

So No the Poles are not rude andYestheir Customer Service is pathetic but they suffer from it too and are starting to rebel!

Real Estate / Restructuring of polish chf mortgage [42]


I would not defend Walkaway because what he advises is illegal and he might have sold his property and then who know walked away from his bank mortgage ,if he is a foreigner in Poland Polish banks will stop lending to foreigners because of the risk that they can walk away.

Life / Do you think that Polish people are rude? [951]


You 're hysterical Seanus ! Even in remote villages or working class areas eg Stalowa Wola men will help women carrying heavy bags and kiss their hand !

You are probaly not surrended by well mannered Polish gentlemen.... LoL

Love / Why Poland and Indian Sub-Continent? [30]


Yes exactly. I have never met yet a Polish person from Indian descent in Poland but it will take at least 1 generation to meet kids from inter marriages(not only Indian-Polish but Chinese-Polish, Iraki-Polish,jamaican-Polish ) in general in Poland, but elsewhere it is pretty common.

Law / Bringing dollars to Poland, what interest rates can I negotiate? [32]


What bank is that ? That rate of 3% to 4% is extremely generous. Are you sure the bank you contacted is not going bust? Lol

Real Estate / Using Gumtree to find housing in Warsaw [7]

Gumtree Poland is very good for rentals in terms of prices and choice but you need to select the right section because there are rentals for Short Term and rentals for long Term. There are rentals through agencies and from direct owners etc

If you contacted a landlord and offered him to rent his place for 3 months when he wants tenants for 1 year ,he may not bother to answer your email.

And you are right the best way and the most efficient one is to call them and ask when you can visit a place, once you are in the flat you can discuss the details.

Be aware that most Polish possible tenants do not express their wish to rent immediately like in the US for instance , they need to think it over and will call the owner back the next day either with a positive answer or with a negative one .

For your search there are also Erasmusus and PF of course and loads of real estate agents in every city.

Real Estate / Websites to find an apartment for rent in Poland? [30]

Hello, do feel free to browse PF sections Housing Wanted or Housing Offered since there are already many recommendations of many Websites for finding apartments on these recent messages members posted.

Travel / How much PLN to take with me on my trip to Poland, Wroclaw? [10]

If you want to enjoy yourself for 1 month in Poland 2500 zl seems a bit tight, 4500 zl for 1 month at a small town should be ok.

Depends on your accommodation cost really.

What's the name of the small town you ll be staying in? You can already start checking the rental fees for 1 month .

Remember we usually spend more when on holiday than at work!

Real Estate / Websites to find an apartment for rent in Poland? [30]

Smurf Look at this one! oferty.net/mieszkania,Opole
As i said this website was mentioned in one of the PF postings about real estate Website

Law / Is having private students in Poland legal? Or a registration as self-employed is required [30]


Students are not responsible for declaring teachers 'income.
If Poland does not want to follow the path of Greece( right into the wall!) where cheating on taxes are a national sport and pride then Black economy should be erased and everyone should declare his/her income and pay taxes like in Northern Europe (Finland ,Norway, etc) because one day or another, citizens from countries which cheated for ages are on the edge of bankrupcy.

Don't you think?

Real Estate / Cost to build in Eastern Poland - Ideally per m2 [71]


Yes but it is less tiring and complicated to renovate an old house if it is in acceptable condition than to build a brand new house.

Also if the old house has a nice and typical Polish architecture you know like built in stone or a nice wooden house like those in Zakopane, it would be more interesting than a brand new one with an unremarkable architecture.

I remember beeing a bit shocked when traveling to Ireland and seeing all those "Villas" looking like Spanish Villas, instead of pretty Irish cottages.I thought it was ridiculous.

I mean it is true that for functional reasons it sounds more comfortable to live in a brand new house but I d rather keep in style with Polish architecture then if I were ever going to build a house in Poland or just look for an old one to renovate.

Law / Is having private students in Poland legal? Or a registration as self-employed is required [30]


Well you might advise your friend that without taxes a society /country will not have Education for everyone, Local Transportation for everyone, Health for everyone, roads and roadsigns etc etc and that he might aswell live by himself on a desert islandand be exonerated from any tax forever.

Just ask him a concrete question: Does he watch cable TV ? and if he does how do countries finance their Research and Development( satellites and so forth) without the contribution of everyone ?

How would countries actually finance anything ?

Law / Setting up SPZOO and SPK in Poland [16]

Here is a former PF post with accountants in Krakow:

I contacted the offices that were recommended to me by members on this forum, and also offices which I found via Google. I sent them a mail in Polish, explaining that I was thinking of changing for another accountant and looked for new offers. I copied/pasted the list of tasks, and pricing, from the contract I have with my present accountant. Here is the result so far. Price is without VAT and applies to monthly services. As a rule, annual statements are billed separately, usually at the cost of the equivalent of 1 month. Please bear in mind that those offers were tailored for me and would not necessarily apply to your case.

Trinity-CS
I had a long meeting with them. Great capacity for listening to the customer. English.
- one-time fee for taking over from my previous accountant : 1500zł
- monthly fee : 2000zł

QBilans
I had a meeting with them. Very nice people. Polish only, but I experienced that they would make a minimal effort in English for specific words I would really not understand.

- monthly fee : 800zł + 20zł for each invoice billed to a customer outside Poland (I would have 2 or 3 per months)

Kancelaria-MKM
We had a conversation over the phone. English.
- monthly fee : 800zł, but I think there would be an additional cost for something else which would result in a global fee of 1000zł, I should double-check with him.

Liliana Rawicz Raciborska
She made an offer by e-mail. Polish only.
- monthly fee : from 800 to 900zł

The following offices haven't replied yet :
Katarzyna Sadurska
Biernacki

I still have to contact the following, which I forgot :
Partenaire Pologne

Law / Is having private students in Poland legal? Or a registration as self-employed is required [30]


I personally think it better to tax consumption than to tax work.
In democracies we elect people to manage our country but are they always spending our tax money well? Of course not.
And are they always competent? of course not.
Some countries seem more virtuous than others ( the Nordic countries i mentioned like Finland etc) but they have their own problems too.
In other words we are seldom happy with the way our taxes are spent but in Krakow for instance i would gladly pay more 'city taxes" which i find very low so that my money is spent on public libraries, swimming pools, cultural centers, parks anything which we all benefit from.

Law / Setting up SPZOO and SPK in Poland [16]


I have seen companies which do have the extention SPZOO SPK and was wondering what it meant.( just type krakow spzoo spk and some will appear) but is it something usual i doubt it.

I have nothing against tax optimization but if the whole thing is a" montage" to only lower taxes i doubt the Polish Tax office will buy that and i agree with Delphiandomine( Good to see you back Delphiandomine by the way) that you should


Concerning the fees of accountancy firms in Krakow mentionned by a PF forum, they are outrageously expensive, unbelievable, it should never be above 800 zl a month MAX especially for a start up.

Well do keep us posted about the development of your business, it is very interesting.

Travel / Cheap hotel price in Warsaw? [16]

Xpertize i thought from one of your messages posted on the forum you recently found and rented a room for 950zl per month in Warsaw ?

As for hostels for 20-30zl per night I doubt there are any. Or maybe in a dorm with several people and no security for your belongings.If you found a hotel for 50zl per night last year it is better you go back there but the price must have increased from last year.

Law / Setting up SPZOO and SPK in Poland [16]

It depends on the Business you are setting up , a spolka cywilna with personal liability would be risky if you need to borrow a lot of funds or if it implies getting insurance policies( if a client or an employee sues you etc). What kind of business are you setting up?

If i were you i would just start with a spolka cywilna and as soon as i have good prospects and clients i would switch to a Spolka Jawna which just looks more professional and formal.

This way your company will already be "profitable" before modifying the structure because you'll already have clients.
As far as running business is concerned i don't think it a problem to rent an office and phone lines with a spolka cywilna, it might even be quicker especially if you are not Polish and appear as a foreign "businessman".

Same with signing contracts and agreements, why would clients care about whether they are signing with a company that is a spolka cywilna or a spolka jawna?

UK, Ireland / Why do so many Polish guys in the UK have a crew cut or buzz cut? [106]

Yes we see so many Polish men with shaved heads or really short hair in Poland.
If there were just a few it would be ok but in my opinion there are too many looking like skin heads .
I think it is a trend in Poland for men but in Southern Europe it is associated with "White trash,Hooligans and socially with Unemployed or manual workers.( Miners for practical reasons etc)

Travel / Best clubs in Krakow? No tourist traps. [64]

What's the age range for members/guests at Cien ?
What's the price for drinks in there?

Law / Applying for Polish citizenship through marriage. [116]


Congratulations Rodriguo for your new citizenship and for your optimism amid these hard times everywhere.
Out of curiosity what is the job you defined as your great job in Poland?

History / 1920 Battle of Warsaw - English trailer and film [55]


Amazing Polish actor, especially on the theater scene Divides his time between Poland and France.
That's why he is starting to look like Gerard Depardieu! Lol