USA, Canada / If America is so bad, why move here? [254]

After living in Poland for eight years, it's back to the States with my Polish wife and little kids. It's tough in the States and it's tough in Poland, but I just think that in the big picture there will be more opportunities in life for us and the kids in the States. No I don't hate Poland and don't want to say anything nasty. No I don't want to play the "you ABCs are so XYZ" game. Yes Europe has a greater population and GDP than the States, but the chances of my kids finding work in Spain or Denmark while only speaking Polish and English are pretty slim. No nastiness or petty remarks, it just comes down to math.

News / Polish Independence Day-Beware? [59]


Wow I see the ol' anti-American sentiment is alive and strong in Poland. I'm not surprised; I had many more problems in the eight years I lived in Poland than in the five I have been in Saudi Arabia.

Real Estate / CZYNSZ - payment issue - help [43]


If you've got a wine cellar and just use this place as some kind of holiday house, then you've got the cash to cover this. I understand that you feel scammed, but I think you're stuck. I am also a foreigner not living in Poland in the flat I own, and just got spanked for 2500 zlotys for an increase in the czynsz which I didn't know about. Suck it up and smile.

As far as selling the flat to get around paying it, good luck. Maybe if you sell the place without an agent to somebody who doesn't know that they have a right to proof that all bills are paid.

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

simo007 I myself applied for Polish citizenship, but in the end chose not to take it. I just didn't see any advantage to having it. I have the staly pobyt already and it gives me everything I need. I also bought two flats in Poland even with czasowy pobyt, so I don't think that having citizenship really does much for you in that area unless things have changed. I wasn't judging anybody or insinuating that people go to Poland just to leech off of the EU, I just don't see the advantage of having a Polish passport. If you want it, go right ahead. No, prosze bardzo.

Language / Naming / Nicknames for Aleksandra or Alexandra? [24]

Amathyst, for as many times as I've read your response, I can't make sense of it.

If a kid/person constantly has to say "no it's aleksandra, not alexandra" they may get sick of it.

It's my two cents.

Language / Naming / Nicknames for Aleksandra or Alexandra? [24]

We named our son Aleksander when he was born in Poland, and now outside Poland he is one of those kids that always has to correct his name when people spell it wrong. Decide where he's going to grow up and choose that one.

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

Why would you want to become Polish? This is not to say that there is anything wrong with being Polish, but why not just get the Staly Pobyt and be done with the paperwork for 10 years. What's the advantage to being Polish other than the benefits it would give you in the EU?

Study / The worst of Polish education. No wonder Polish universities are bottom of the list. [142]

When I started teaching at a Polish university in 1999, I was shocked at how much the students tried to cheat. The whole ramming-the-information-down-the-students'-throats thing has always turned me off to Polish education. My students were very smart, but were practically forced to cheat. Tell me, what is the advantage of knowing the capital city of every country in the world?

Study / National Louis University Nowy Sacz [18]

I thought that town's name was Nowy Sracz.

History / Why have Poles contributed so little to Academics? (Particularly Science) [180]


There's definitely an edge to a lot of the comments on this forum, mine included. I lived and worked in Poland for eight years, and was often times frustrated there. Sometimes I have to remind myself of all the nice things that I experienced there.

History / Why have Poles contributed so little to Academics? (Particularly Science) [180]


When I worked at a Polish university, I saw professors working in one or two other places besides their original place and earning lots of money. What do you think life is like in Poland for lecturers? THEY work two or three jobs just to keep the family fed and the lights on. Don't look to me for sympathy for those poor Polish professors.

Real Estate / Question about Czynsz (Building maintenance fees/utilies) in Poland [129]

That's very kind of you, but it's fine. As I wrote, I don't feel that we are being cheated, but am in shock at the cost of things in Poland.

Real Estate / Question about Czynsz (Building maintenance fees/utilies) in Poland [129]

The inside of the building is post-WW2, really. The outside is alright, but the place needs a lot of serious work. They just replaced all the water and gas pipes. There's also the roof to do and the stairwell. It seems to be a bit only when I take into consideration how much people earn in Poland.

inkrakow, you don't need to dig up old bills. Thanks though.

Real Estate / Question about Czynsz (Building maintenance fees/utilies) in Poland [129]

The place is 76m2. What you haven't included in your list is trash and scieki (as my wife calls it). There's also 300+ for the fundusz. I am not worried about the management company cheating me, because we get all those statements when we do make it back to Poland (we live in another country). It seems like 670 is pretty steep considering that a school teacher takes home about twice that a month. I'm just always blown away at how much stuff costs in Poland in comparison to what people earn.

Real Estate / Question about Czynsz (Building maintenance fees/utilies) in Poland [129]

Yes Teri we have all of those things, but is 670 a month a lot? And is it possible that the fundusz will someday stop? The reason I seem out of the loop on all this is that we live in a different country and manage the place from there. We're not always up on the current goings-on in the building.

Real Estate / Question about Czynsz (Building maintenance fees/utilies) in Poland [129]

Merged: What is a lot for czynsz?

I own and rent out to studentki an old run down flat in an old run down kamienica in Poznan, and the czynsz just went up from 522 to 670/month. It seems like a lot. Part of that is the fundusz remontowy, which my wife says will cease to be charged once all the improvements have been made. But when in the hell will that be? The stairwell is circa 1945 and many other things need to be done to the building. Is it possible that the building association will one day stop charging for the renovations?

Life / Do Polish parents let/encourage their kids to **** outdoors? [40]

Yes that little video is what everybody who has lived in Poland has always wanted to do.

Life / Do Polish parents let/encourage their kids to **** outdoors? [40]

At least somebody is taking the 'law' into their own hands.
youtube.com/watch?v=bJQHyxCjB2k

Law / What's the best way to transfer £20,000 into PLN [31]

I've got a dollar account in PEKAO that you could transfer it to. :)

Law / How deep is the Gloom in the Poland's Economy [84]


Really? What's the minimum wage for a waitress? And let's not assume that all restaurant owners are paying ZUS for all their workers.

Law / How deep is the Gloom in the Poland's Economy [84]


In 1999 a waitress in my friend's cafe in Poland earned 5 zl/hr and a coffee cost 5 zl. Today the waitress still earns 5 zl/hr and now coffee is 6. So a person has to work over an hour to buy a stinking cup of coffee? Wouldn't this make you gloomy? Where are the statistics to cheer that person up?

Life / Poland: worst teeth in the world? [98]

I had four fillings while living in Poland and have had to have all four replaced since leaving. Yes, cheap. Good, not necessarily.

Life / Poland: worst teeth in the world? [98]

Never saw a kid with black teeth in my life until I came to Poland. I don't know if it's a lack of oral hygiene or the extreme amount of sugar kids are allowed to eat. Probably both.

Work / Most Attractive Maid? Is a picture required with some job applications in Poland? [8]

Just the general practice of having to show a picture to get work is a little.... Can't put my finger on it.

Life / The Blame Game (Have you ever noticed that a Polish person is never wrong!?) [205]

I've always looked at this as somebody always having to be guilty, i.e., a sinner. I thought it was a Catholic thing.

Food / "Modern" Polish cooking (funny video clip) [21]

Gross he touches the raw chicken with the wooden fork and then goes and touches the other ingredients, especially the lettuce. Doesn't he know anything about food hygiene?

Life / Worlds most liveable cities (Krakow or Warsaw don't even hit the radar screens) [104]


I can't imagine that Warsaw is so different than the rather large city I lived in in Poland, but have you been sniffing model airplane glue?!?!?

It didn't bother me so much when I was single, but taking my little kids for a walk in the city drove me nuts with the vast amounts of feces and urine (not sure if it was human or dog) as well as broken glass everywhere. I was just in Poland on holiday and was taking a morning stroll at 6:00 when I saw a huge pile of dog sh*t right in front of the door to Costa Coffee. That about sums it up.

It's true that some Polish people are really nice, but I just can't get past that coldness and unwillingness to help. I've definitely seen improvements in this area, but it's got a ways to go.

Real Estate / How bad was it? '' a 'luxury' apartment with electricity and heating" [21]


I suppose they took out the piec and put in a fireplace for a summer project, and then realized in winter that it wasn't such a god idea.