History / Polish mathematicians who solved the Enigma machine [86]

Probably the best easily available publication describing the history of breaking the the Enigma is History of the Cryptanalytic Bombe by Jennifer Wilcox from NSA's Center for Cryptologic History .

polish-dictionary.com/enigma-machine

Law / Foreign retirees taxed in Poland? [25]

More accurate information at poland.usembassy.gov/tax.html

Law / Laws on walking a dog in Polska [67]

Monia: Indeed, my knowledge about the (legal) right of hunters to shoot a dog that is not on leash in a state forest was not up to date. That was the case until the end of 2011. starting from 2012 it is not. As for "you can keep your dog without a muzzle and leash anywhere you want", probably not, see biuletyn-prawny.pl/konsekwencje-puszczania-luzem-psa-w-lesie-7.html

Law / Laws on walking a dog in Polska [67]

As far as I know the woman was correct saying that a ranger could should your dog if it was off leash in a state forest. This is extremely unlikely to happen in practice in the presence of the owner. We walk our dog every day in a forest and typically he is off leash - except when passing by other dogs.

There are people that are afraid of dogs or just don't wish to be sniffed. Because of that it is a polite thing to do to keep your dog from coming close to people unless they explicitly say it's OK. If you can't do it without a leash, then use a leash. This is for your dog safety too - they might use a pepper spray on your dog and you if you react violently to that.

What you said about hiring a hit man and burning a house classifies as "groźby karalne" (art. 190 § 1 kk) and could land you in prison for up to 2 years if she a had a witness or a recording device on her.

USA, Canada / If you moved from US to Poland, could you please share your experience? [16]

I moved to Poland after 15 years in the US 4 years ago. I had maintained contact visiting about every two years so it was not much of a culture shock. Of course lots of things are different here and there are things that annoy me (like smoke everywhere, burning plastics in fireplaces, customer service), but overall I consider the move a success and a right decision. I think the right motivation is the key. The main problem of course is that Poland is a much poorer country. If you want to move because you think life in the US is financially hard for you and you expect to improve your standard of living, then you will very likely to be disappointed. If you move because you value closer contact with family, you know you have means to support yourself in Poland and the material standard of living is not that important for you, then you are more likely to succeed.

Travel / Weekend getaways around Wroclaw? [6]

I recommend Stawy Milickie and forests between Skoroszów and Milicz. You can get to Milicz by train I believe or go to Trzebnica by train (a very scenic ride by itself) and then take a bus to Milicz.

Also, Jodłowice near Brzeg Dolny.

wikimapia.org/#lang=pl&lat=51.509597&lon=17.304668&z=13&m=b&show=/17858682/pl/Stawy-Milickie
wikimapia.org/#lang=pl&lat=51.284467&lon=16.797452&z=15&m=b

USA, Canada / Moving back to Poland after 7 years in Canada [22]


The way I did that was to send out resumes about two months before a trip to Poland that I was planning anyway and stating in the cover letter that I currently live in the US, but am planning to move to Poland and will be available for an interview in the specified time.

Life / Moving to Poland - Wrocław/Gdańsk? [11]

If you decide for Wrocław, you may want to consider sending you CV to DEVnet. They do financial software and they are hiring.

Food / What exactly is Polish Bread? [67]


Yes. Even those made with "zakwas", which is just a kind of yeast naturally occurring in rye grain. Unless you are allergic only to specific kind(s) of yeast you probably safer not eating bread.

Life / Help with US appliances in Poland - Power converters? [3]

I am using two Seven Star TC 1500 W converters that I bought on Amazon similar to the one at: 110220volts.com/TC-1500.html. One is used often with a 10 Amps vacuum cleaner (makes it 1100 W I guess) with no problems. I think it is better to buy two 1500 W than one 3000 W. The appliances will be in different rooms and if one breaks you can still use the other one.

Law / Let's see how good is your Polish income tax law knowledge :-) [8]

I will take a shoot. Since you reside in Poland (for more than 180 days a year) you are a tax resident here. That means that you have "unlimited tax duty" (nieograniczony obowiązek podatkowy) and you should report all your income (including money you earned elsewhere, bank interest, dividends etc) to Polish tax authorities and pay income tax on it. Now how this can be done technically I don't know. Since your employer does not have a legal entity in Poland it can not issue a PIT-11 to you (kind of like W-2 in the US). I guess from the Polish tax authorities point of view you can not be recognized legally as an employee of a company if that company does not have a legal presence in Poland.

Study / 90% of Poles have university degree? [57]


I am sure that 90% of those with Ph.D. now would not pass the today's Matura. Of course it is easy to know stuff related to your job now. I personally would pass mathematics and English and fail on everything else. If you have doubts, sit down right now and write an essay about "MONARCHIA KAROLA WIELKIEGO - IDEE, STRUKTURY, FUNKCJE". Good luck.

Food / Bread Baking in Poland [65]


I am a big fan of Real Bread so when I lived in Tennessee I learned to bake it. But later in San Francisco Bay area I found two places where I could buy bread better than what they make in Poland nowdays: Andersen's bakery (they may be called Grain Do'Or now) and Trader Joe's.

I live in Poland now and I still bake bread sometimes. It is easy and fun. Here is my recipy:

1 Mix 3 cups of wheat, 1 cup of rye flour, water, 1 spoon of salt and sourdough culture. I use a Kitchen Aid mixer for that.
2. Let it rise for 12 hours, then mix again and put in an oven safe bowl.
3. Let it rise again, put it in the oven and bake at 220 degrees C for 30 minutes, then at 200 for 30 minutes.

I have tried and I don't believe you can bake a good rye bread in a bread machine. They don't reach the needed temperature. They are good for mixing though.

The trickiest part is to get the sourdough starter. Regular baking yeast is OK, but not as tasty. One can try the procedure at thefreshloaf.com/node/233, or ask friedly guys from carlsfriends.org to ship you some.

Real Estate / Polish mortgage providers - overview of offers? [10]

I think maxmoney.pl might be what you are looking for.
Do tell us your experience if you decide to use them, that would be a very useful information.

Law / Shipping a car from USA to Poland [85]

Depending on the make cars in Poland cost between 20% to 100% more than the same car in the USA.

I moved do Poland from the USA in summer last year, shipping my household and one car. I think shipping a car is worth it if:

- the car is worth at least $6000 in the USA
- you are able to prove that you are moving to Poland permanently and claim it as part of personal and household effects (mienie przesiedlencze).

repatinpoland.wordpress.com

History / Life in communism vs democracy in Poland [234]


As some old mathematicians say, socialism is like complex numbers. There are two kinds: real and imaginary. People like you talk about imaginary socialism. As long as it stays in people's imagination it is OK. As soon as they start to implement it on a larger scale it becomes real. Sometimes it only means humiliation (like shortage of toilet paper, see the last black and white picture above). Sometimes 1/5 of population die as a result.