Life / Are Poles mentally more Eastern European or Western European? [170]


Yes, I think a lot of people truly believed in the idea, at first. Heck, for a while, right after WWII, it looked as if the USSR was on its way to surpass the US economy, even from here. The fact still remains that Poland could not do much without Stalin's approval at the time, with the "liberating army" still hanging around.

Life / Are Poles mentally more Eastern European or Western European? [170]


I don't think there was much of an option at the time. Perceptions are stubborn, though. It takes at least a generation to change them.


yes, we consider ourselves special. now, if only the rest of the world were so easy to convince :)

Life / Are Poles mentally more Eastern European or Western European? [170]

Let's face it, the main reason for everyone denying that Poland is part of Eastern Europe is because for decades Eastern Europe was synonymous with communism, bad government, corruption, and economic weakness. It's a matter of connotation, not denotation. The argument whether it's Eastern, or Central, or whatever else, revolves around that perception. For a very long time, Greece has been considered part of the "West" even though it's technically much farther east than Poland. Now that their economy is an epic clusterf*ck, not that many people would instinctively put it in the same category as Germany and France. Until Poland becomes "like" Germany and France in the common opinion, no amount of arguments to the contrary will free it from the stigma of Eastern Europe.

News / Communist era 'newspeak' appeals the most to Poland PiS supporters (what a surprise) [89]


that's pretty sad. Ever since I left the country, I always had the impression that people in Poland were in general much more educated than people here. I guess things change.

Life / Are Poles mentally more Eastern European or Western European? [170]


ha...

given that we generally balk at being bunched together with either Russians/Ukrainians, or Germans, or Czechs for any reason whatsoever, we're definitely Central. Hell, most Poles don't like being bunched together with other Poles...

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


1. but it does. you open a business, you borrow money, you make something/build something, you sell it at a profit, you pay off your debt. the key is to make opening businesses and borrowing money easy. that's where the government steps in.

2. so far there are far too few properties. more properties would bring the price to a level where people can afford them and developers can still make money on them, just like anywhere else in the world.

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


can you tell me more? i'm not talking about building houses and selling them at a loss.

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


I lived in Poland in 1989, D. But it was 22 years ago, and the world moved on, so no point on harping on it

you're not making any sense. what is the problem? it's not physically impossible to construct buildings efficiently and quickly, it's not beyond human ability to promote competition and stimulate the construction business, and there isn't a shortage of land, either. why can't there be a larger supply of apartments or houses? because Londoners choose to live in the suburbs? is that your argument?

D, you're seriously looping. first you're saying people all over Europe can't afford TVs and vacations, now you're saying that they can, particularly in combination with nice cars, and all of this somehow makes you think that my family were non-achievers. wtf, D?

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


oooh... heavy stuff. where are you from, again?

it's not American economics, it's universal economics - demand for goods stimulates trade, and production, and job creation. in ANY country.


you mean most Europeans don't have TVs? or disposable income? this is such bs, i'm going to skip that


it may not be affordable to Poles, but it is affordable to those who live and work in those countries, and I don't see a reason why there couldn't be any in Poland.

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


i don't know dude. i'm telling you about simple economics and you're going all crazy a$s about TVs and how I'm pissing all over Poland...

more cheaper housing would not hurt anyone in Poland, and there is no reason why a working person in a developed country couldn't afford both comfortable living accommodations as well as TVs, vacations, and whatever else.

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


oh, cry me an effing river...

you are entitled to see the world as divided into the rich and the lazy, or to prescribing the age when people should get married, move out, have children, and buy property all you want. but you're not entitled to your own facts, and the fact is that that there aren't enough apartments or houses compared to the population. there haven't been for long decades, and nothing has changed. which makes people tied to where they live, it's more difficult to move and find a better job, invest in their own business, etc.

Easily available affordable housing allows for more flexible workforce, and for a more skilled workforce, too. Remember the "a car in every driveway" thing? That assumed that everyone HAS a driveway - again, affordable, easily available housing. And now that you have a driveway, you also want your own fridge, dishwasher, washer and dryer, and a new set of bedroom furniture... And then you want someone to come fix the shi*t, and buy insurance in case the sh*t burns down one day, and a vacation to get away from all this sh*t. Which means more people are buying more sh*t, so more people are needed to make more sh*t, so more jobs, more trade, more services, better economy all around...

but why do all that, when we can just call people lazy or have them wait till their 30s to have kids, for lack of space for the crib?

Law / Weapons laws in Poland. Carrying a concealed handgun? [918]


paranoid much?

Law / Weapons laws in Poland. Carrying a concealed handgun? [918]

i have statistics that say your statistics have been pulled straight from your a$s. would you like to see them?

Law / Weapons laws in Poland. Carrying a concealed handgun? [918]


care to share?

Law / Weapons laws in Poland. Carrying a concealed handgun? [918]


what is the basis for your statement?

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


last decade

News / Poland fines singer for bashing Bible [159]


it did start like that, and then it evolved because a lot of forward-thinking people saw that it is beneficial for individuals to be able to criticize other aspects of a society, including other people's beliefs concerning "holy" objects. again, you can't have free speech if your goal is to be inoffensive, and if you can't have free speech, can you have democracy?

News / Poland fines singer for bashing Bible [159]


how did we start talking about the USA?

how is the inability to say anything you want good for any country?

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

Speaking about my own experience - I spent the first 10 years of my life in an "M3" - basically, a one-bedroom apartment, with a kitchen that when you wanted to walk in, someone else had to walk out... it was built in the 70s. my parents were happy with it because it had a balcony, and they only had to wait 2 years (!) for their allotment (przydzial). Then we got "allotted" an "M4." I remember that quite well - it was a big effing deal, almost a miracle, the family celebrated for like a week... The M4 had two bedrooms, some 50 square meters, and a kitchen that could actually accommodate a kitchen table. Ultimate luxury... There was also the case of our neighbor, who was a single man living in an M5 (unthinkable!), and half of the tenants circulated a letter to petition the "co-op" (spoldzielnia) to evict the guy, because he "didn't deserve" an M5, living by himself.

Then I came to this country, in my early 20s, and without much hassle I got an apartment of about 750 sf (some 70 square meters) with a club house, gym swimming pool, tennis courts, a shopping strip across the street, some 2 miles from a mall and 3-4 miles from an interstate. Without a "petition," waiting periods, connections, bribes, affordable on my f/t office work salary that was far from spectacular. Meanwhile, my peers "back home" were shacking up with their parents or grand parents with their spouses and young kids. Some of them still live with their parents, where the parents would occupy the first floor of a house and they would have the 2nd floor. My own cousin, who is about 27, is now in the process of majorly sucking up to my grandma, who is in her 90s, just so she can leave her the apartment. My high school friend lives with her husband and their twin boys in one bedroom, while their elderly aunt occupies the other room of an apartment in Warsaw, hoping she'll kick the bucket soon...

Do you have any idea how ridiculous this picture is, looking from here?

News / Polish People STILL denied US Entry [96]


way cool, thanks, TO!

News / Poland fines singer for bashing Bible [159]

that's not a very good reason to end up in court. the exercise of free speech is bound to be offensive, controversial, contentious, iconoclastic to someone out there. if we judged what can or cannot be said based on whether it offends someone, we couldn't say anything at all.


apparently not

News / Polish People STILL denied US Entry [96]

lol, they'd probably be happy with "Chinese" just to get it over with. and then they they took their suitcases and trunks and proceeded to set up their Czestochowas and Panna Marias...

News / Polish People STILL denied US Entry [96]

that's pretty interesting. technically, they were German nationals. Or Russian. Certainly the immigration clerks weren't interested in the nuances of border shifts in Europe. And I'm sure the immigrants themselves didn't care much what the form said.

News / Polish People STILL denied US Entry [96]

tell me more about that mistaken ethnicity? thought to be German by whom? the Americans?

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

in other words, if all people can afford is old apartments far from tram connections, there is an issue of price. If the average price per square meter is 6,000-7,000PLN, and the average monthly wage is 4,000, don't you think there is a little disconnect there?

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

wtf, D? somehow you're the only person who thinks apartments in Poland are cheap and plentiful.

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


it's not quite that simple, but in general it's true, not everyone can - or should - own real estate. on the other hand, availability of affordable housing is both a sign of and a stimulant of economic growth. there have been multiple examples of that around the globe for decades. that's why it would be quite advisable for the Polish government to look into it, and PDQ... same goes for roads, and schools, and healthcare.

News / Is there anything Poland won't do for money? "Wolf's Lair" - up for rent" [59]

i've only been there once, some 25 years ago. on a school trip. once is enough for me, though.
what's the difference? a visitor is a visitor, whether it's Moshe from Haifa or Jasiu from SP#4 in Krapkowice. it's still one of the most popular sites.

News / Is there anything Poland won't do for money? "Wolf's Lair" - up for rent" [59]


don't you think it would cost less if the government got out of the museum business?

News / Is there anything Poland won't do for money? "Wolf's Lair" - up for rent" [59]


??
of all the places they could see in Poland, 121 something thousand square miles, one in every ten goes to see the same tiny place? that's a pretty big chunk by any standard