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


For god's sake, just go to Ukraine and buy one there.

News / Europeén Union will finance the 2nd Warsaw metro line. Good news. [60]


Next time you're in Warsaw I'll show you where the lines will connect and then buy you a beer in the very decent bistro 50 metres away.

History / Polish bombers over Berlin in 1939? [19]


And half of them are actually Ukrainians not Poles anyway!

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


First there would be the cost of the land. Then the cost (and time) of getting the building permit. And the time and cost of getting the water and electricity connected.

Then the builder comes in to do his thing. Next you have a shell.

First you'll need to have the internal walls put in (it says 'building shell' and that will mean load-baring walls only). Then you will need to have it wired throughout. And have the heating system installed. And then have the water and sewage pipes put in (oh, did the builder include in his price a septic tank? Or did his price include connection to the sewage system? You did remember to sort that out, didn't you). Then you're ready to have all the walls plastered. And then have the whole house painted (inside and out, assuming that it has been left in a state ready to be painted and already has the insulation on). Then you're ready to have the stairs put in and get the floors installed. Then have the bathroom fixtures fitted and the tiles put in. Then have the kitchen installed. And then have all the electrical fittings done. And you'll probably want to have some sort of hard surface put down for parking a car on, and a fence and a gate too. Then you can finally apply for permission to live in your house.

How terri thingk that all of the above can be done for 120,000zl (she says allow 1,000 per square metre) is quite beyond me: the kitchen alone would probably cost 20,000zl!

USA, Canada / Polish man's visit a nightmare - Welcome To Canada [65]


No, they look down on you; and that is not because you are Slavic but is entirely because of how you behave and the utter rubbish which comes out of your mouth.

Law / Visa Stamp if you overstay (American with a Polish Wife) [29]

Their advice is entirely wrong: leaving the Schengen zone does not give you a fresh tourist visa. If you have been inside the Schengen zone for more than 90 days in the past 180-day period, legally you should be refused entry when you try to to re-enter. And even if you do leave and come back, you are still illegal from the time when you hit the magic 90 days in any 180-day period. Frankly, leaving for a day or two is either pretty much pointless (if you’re under 90 days, as you only then get an extra day or two) or the very worst thing you can do (your passport shows you are illegally in the Schengen and you wish to show it to immigration officers twice!).

The question is when did you apply for your karta pobtyu? If you applied 45 days (might be 30 days, I’d need to double check) or more before the tourist visa (i.e. the stamp in your passport) expires, the foreigners office are legally required to issue a decision with regard to your karta pobtyu. I say ‘decision’ because they are not required to issue the card within that time (and can take up to a couple of weeks to issue it).

So it basically depends on how long ago you filled your application. If it was 45 days or more before the tourist visa expire, you're golden. If not, you really need to make sure you don't get busted for something stupid like jaywalking. Personally I certainly wouldn’t bother going to Norway either way: it’s a waste of money at best and a chance to be refused entry to the Schengen zone at worst.

Food / What's your favorite Polish beer? [870]

Kaper is still in production. Sadly Heweliusz is not.

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]


What you mean is that you know so little about teaching (and what it is that you are supposed to be teaching) that you are pretty much incapable of discussing anything related to teaching.

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


OK, so it is 3k (according to you) but that's without the little extras that add at least another 50%.


Er, it isn't quite as simple as that, as a fair few people are starting to find out to their cost.

Love / Foreigners: would you have moved to Poland if it was full of fat/ugly women? [42]


No, the PF assumption being that foreign men are more likely to come to Poland and are far far more likely to stay here for more than a couple of years. In fact, now that I think about it, in the 15+ years I've been here, I have never met a foreign woman who had been here more than a couple of years and was not married to a long-term expat or a Pole.

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]


So you have taught a couple of hours and now feel that there is nothing you need to learn from discussing things about teaching. Your students really are so lucky to have such a dedicated and professional teacher taking their hard earned money.

Real Estate / Residential real estate values go down in Poland [455]


The research I'm seeing is that it's more 40 to 45 that is selling best. It seems that location is key right now (people are now more willing to travel a little bit further in order to get flats which are a little bit cheaper).

Love / Foreigners: would you have moved to Poland if it was full of fat/ugly women? [42]


a) I thought you came here with your husband when he got a job here (didn't you?).
b) I have never actually met you (so you could technically be a 400 pound teenager who lives in Des Moines).

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]


No necessarily. If the wife/son in question have the skills, experience and qualifications to do the job, I see nothing wrong with it. It's even possible to argue that they should get the job over slightly better qualified candidates as the relationship the employer has with them is very much a known quantity and so there is no risk of personality clash (those tend not to come out during an interview).

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

Well, if they are friends or family of yours, they're unlikely to have discovered the ceiling amount.

Love / Foreigners: would you have moved to Poland if it was full of fat/ugly women? [42]


I believe the correct term for those is not 'sweathogs' but actually 'British tourists'.

Real Estate / Residential real estate values go down in Poland [455]

The difference is that there is still demand for that kind of property but that the demand for 70-80 m2 flats has dropped (and the demand for large luxury flats has dropped even more).

Love / Foreigners: would you have moved to Poland if it was full of fat/ugly women? [42]


What's wrong with Subway? Pick the right options and you can easily eat three meals a day there and consume less than 1400 calories per day.

Love / Foreigners: would you have moved to Poland if it was full of fat/ugly women? [42]

I've met more than a few who were just here for the money, I even know some who still come for the money (although admittedly now the cushy expat packages are generally a thing of the past, much of that money is the money that they will be earning after being promoted when they return home and are promoted).

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]


That very much depends on whether one views the only tolerable children as being those which are at least a couple of hundred metres away.

Food / What's your favorite Polish beer? [870]


There is some Polish beer which is very similar to Ukrainian beer. And vice versa, in fact I have heard of Ukrainian beer being tried to be passed off as Polish beer, but never with any success.

Real Estate / Residential real estate values go down in Poland [455]


Me, for example: my place is only 50 metres but it's only me and the cats most of the time and I can walk to work in ten minutes (takes at least 15 to drive at rush hour).

Food / Coffee in Poland: cheap and undrinkable / expensive and good [89]


Yes: local specialist shops. I use a little one halfway between San Lorenzo restaurant on Jana Pawla the McDonalds on the corner of Solidarnosci and Jana Pawla but there are lots dotted round the city. Another alternative is Green Coffee: they sell their coffee beans to go and it’s all freshly roasted too, not sure about the price though.

Real Estate / Residential real estate values go down in Poland [455]


I've got three cats thanks.


Yes, and if it keeps going down at current rates for a few decades, I'll have lost money on my flat.

Real Estate / How to get my property back in Poland? I left 36 years ago. [59]

Are you still married to her? Was the property acquired during the time you were married? If the answer to those two questions is yes, you are most likely still the owner of half the property as it will be common property.

However, the first thing to do is to try to settle this matter with your wife without getting any lawyers involved. Getting lawyers involved won't mean there is any more money for the two of you to share, it will just mean that there is less money for you to share. I'd suggest you ask her to have the property valued by three independent valuers and then ask for half of the average of the values. You can discuss with her payment terms (i.e. all spread over say ten years, half now and half over ten years, all now, etc).

If that doesn't work, you need to contact a lawyer in Szczecin. I can't recommend anybody there personally.

UK, Ireland / Culture shock (my neighbours in the UK are Polish and Slovak) [88]


History lessons at Polish schools do leave quite a bit to be desired. British schools aren't really that much better, but at least Brits have less experience with history changing!

Food / Coffee in Poland: cheap and undrinkable / expensive and good [89]


Was that the groupon offer at half price? I was tempted until I saw the courier charge was 20zl for a 50 gram package!

Real Estate / How to get my property back in Poland? I left 36 years ago. [59]


In 1981 what?

Real Estate / How to get my property back in Poland? I left 36 years ago. [59]

So try and settle it with her and then speak to a lawyer if she won't settle.