Travel / How come no one ever seems to pay for the bus in Poland? [63]


In Gdansk they either write the fine while moving, or both will get off with the ticketless person and threaten to extort more money from them once they're off the bus or tram.

There's a very simple way to avoid this-buy a ticket. You can buy tickets at every kiosk or from the driver. It's simple and you don't need to speak Polish to do it, although common courtesy dictates that visitors should learn at least a few words of Polish.

I've been using Dajan taxi (583 060 000) for five years. They're inexpensive and reliable.

Language / Meanings of 'stkę' [14]


ghoti

gh as in enough=f

o as in women=i

ti as in nation=sh

I love this. It drives my students crazy!

Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]


No more so than an ignorant non-registered poster should expect. Racist nonsense? This is a thread about the complexity of a language.

Travel / Will I get instantly laid with my American accent when I speak Polish? [34]


Not true. I only react react like that when I see what fools write. To compound matters, the idiot is from my country.

Travel / Will I get instantly laid with my American accent when I speak Polish? [34]

Another tool who hasn't bothered to register. He doesn't deserve any replies at all. And he doesn't even know that polish isn't Polish. He deserves any fate that befalls him.

Sorry. I'm in a curmudgeonly mood because of the OP.

Language / Polish language grammar books [59]

301 Polish verbs, Hurrah po polsku, Czesc, jak sie masz?, and even Polish in 4 weeks, although I wouldn't call it great.

Work / Salary and cost of living information - Krakow [257]

I've been in Poland for five years. I pay taxes but I don't pay ZUS. I pay 80zl a month for my private medical insurance. I'm American, have a karta pobytu and a contract with my school as an employee, and that's honored by the government. There are other ways to avoid paying ZUS but I won't go into them here.

Travel / Tri-city travel (want to see Gdansk and Sopot) [10]

And the best place to live. I've been living in the Old Town in Gdansk for five years. I love it here.

Life / Which services is Poland still waiting for? [218]

Customer service, :)

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


Probably true, but many students are supported by their parents, and obviously they can.


So am I but it's way to the left of mainstream thought. And of course they'll finfdfault with that opinion. So be it.


Exploitation. What world are you living in? A shopkeeper buys something for x zl and sells it to me for y zl. Is this exploitation? In your myopic view, you would probably say yes.

I give up. The content of this thread has become worthless.

Oh, property prices in Gdansk haven't come down much. Certainly not in the Old Town, only in areas where developers outside the area leveraged heavily against future developments to build new ones without having sold their existing ones and got called by their banks for repayment of their original loans. Two of them went bankrupt. Just desserts.

Adios, my contentious amigos.

Life / Poles always ask how much money you earn. Why do they do this? [30]

I have lived in Poland for five years. Nobody has ever asked me how much I earn now or how much I earned before I came here.

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

pip, I'm 100% with you on this one. You're not creating anything? True, but the transfer of money is what makes our world go around, and the person you buy from can buy or build another or just spend his gains on something else.

Exploitation? Hardly.

Travel / Special stories / anecdotes about Gdansk [11]

Not to mention that is was built in 1400 and that it's now a photo studio.

When you get here pick up a free copy of Gdansk in Your Pocket at most decent hotels. I get mine at the Scandic Hotel across the street from the train station or you could could check out inyourpocket.

You'll want to see the Old Town. As you pass under the Golden Gate to begin your trip down Długa Street toward the Motława River, stop to look at the photos of the city just after WWII. There was a faction here at the time that wanted to tear everything down and rebuild a "modern" city a la Warsaw. Thank God that didn't happen. When you see warsaw you'll know what I mean.

What other kind of stories or anecdotes are you looking for?

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

[quote=Foreigner4] Imo, buying residential property which you don't need in a place where there is shortage of it, is exploitation.

As you said, in your opinion. That doesn't make you right, and after reading your osts on this thread, i have to say that I think you're out to lunch.

Having said that, I'll return to the original topic. I haven't seen a drop in property prices in the Old Town in Gdansk in the five years I've lived here. Some apartments farther out have seen a little drop but that's not across the board.

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

[quote=pip] I will leave that to the Americans.

pip, that's a very generic statement and it's not applicable to all of us.

Travel / A 3-day trip to Prague from Krakow. Best travel options? [6]

I would opt for the train.

Work / Does it have sense to get TESOL for a non natve english speaker in Poland? [9]

I agree with the CELTA but I'm not convinced about the DELTA unless you want to become a DOS.

Work / Brazilian in Poland needing help - ideas to find a job? [22]


Nonsense. He's better than that.

[quote=Hipis]where the stafff speak Portuguese, Spanish or english

I believe it should be English. and staff without the third f.

Language / How hard is it to learn Polish? [178]


Maybe, but i don't think so. I studied Latin for two years in high school, then French for the remaining two. My university degree is in French, and I'm still pretty good in it, although a bit rusty. I also studied Italian for a year, picked up some Spanish in San Diego, and learned some Japanese when I lived there as a high school student, though not in a Japanese school.

Polish is by far the most difficult language I have ever tried to learn. I teach English, and my Polish students and friends tell me that they frequently make mistakes, sometimes while speaking, but more often when writing. When I ask them how that's possible, they tell me that Polish is difficult.

Difficult, yes. Impossible, no. Get a couple of good books, including a good dictionary, and find a Polish native speaker to help you. As one of my Polish friends says, the only hard part about learning Polish is the first 20 years. :)

Food / Comparison of supermarkets in Poland. Which one is the cheapest? [30]


I walk to my local markets. Any savings you might realize from driving someplace is negated by what you spend on gas.

Study / British Council CELTA in Krakow, how would you rate it? [60]

It's good. CELTA training is standardized so one is as good as another.

I don't usually answer posts from people who don't take the time to register but your question was a general one one so I made an exception.

Language / How similar are Polish and Romanian languages? [75]


No, it isn't. There are a lot of French words in English but that doesn't make them similar. If you think it does, you're sadly mistaken.

If you had read this thread from the beginning, you would know that the two languages come from completely different language families and are completely dissimilar.

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

That's because there is no bubble. He just doesn't get it.

Travel / Wroclaw airport to the city center-how? [5]

Thanks. Time isn't an issue, so I'll take a bus.One more question. There's a new airline in Poland that offers inexpensive flights within the country but I can't remember the name. It's something like OLT. Can anybody help me with this this?

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

The definition of a bubble has been posted here many times if you care to read the entire thread. There is no bubble in Poland.

Life / British Population in Trojmiasto [10]

There are at least five more in Gdansk. I'm not one of them.

USA, Canada / Would like to move back to Poland from New York after living in USA for 20 years. [155]


You nailed it. Take the jump. You only live once.

USA, Canada / Would like to move back to Poland from New York after living in USA for 20 years. [155]

And mine as well.


Sure. Why not? Come for the experience if nothing else. If you're looking for work in your field, Mazury-however beautiful-won't offer much, and teaching opportunities there are also limited. If you plan to work while you're here, you'll probably have to move to a bigger city. If you don't have to work during your stay here, then go wherever your heart takes you.

Come to Poland. Enjoy the ride.

Work / Briton teaching freelance - and the law in Poland [21]


I'm in Gdansk so I don't have personal knowledge of rates in Wroclaw, but on another forum for teachers I have read that 50 nett is good although that was for regular work in a school. Conversation classes may be slightly lower. I'd ask the school for 50 and see what they say.

Good luck!