Life / Poland vs Hungary for an expat? [34]

Agreed.
Vienna is not a too distant 2nd IMHO...

Life / Poland vs Hungary for an expat? [34]

... not to mention those sexy Hungarian women... ;-)

Work / Job opportunities for experienced US Civil Engineer in Poland - any hope? [30]

UK is similar - folks from Asia, Africa, South America, etc - no issues as long as you are willing to work... but Poland begs to be different... ;-( No clue why they insist on being this way...

Life / Tap Water quality in Poland [44]

One other very important issue related to this topic is air quality... This is a huge issue in Poland in the heating months (so Sept to May). Generally, the first thing that you ntice you when arriving in Poland from the West is the choking/smelly air - generally, the southern half of the country is much worse... Kraków and Śląsk are the worst. This is due to people heating their homes with very poor fuel (coal derivatives) and using old style furnaces, because gas and electricity are very expensive - even more expensive than in the West without compensating for the differences in income...

This is the next huge issue the country needs to address instead of pretending it is OK to do nothing. Estimates say between 30,000 to 50,000 people die each year due to the air pollution - so half a million a decade! Compare that to road fatalities of about 2,800/yr... ;-(((

Life / Poland vs Hungary for an expat? [34]

I am sure you will find some more examples of decent architecture in PL if you scratch the surface a bit...

Life / Tap Water quality in Poland [44]


Yeah - and what to do with the tons of plastic...? Sounds like solving a problem with a bigger one... Not sure all the hype about lead is justified...

In Poznan there was a good poster recently by the municipal water company: "Nie daj się nabić w butelkę - pij wodę z kranu!"

Work / Job opportunities for experienced US Civil Engineer in Poland - any hope? [30]

Yeah, I have to say that the job market for foreign civil engineers, in general, continues to be very poor (there may be some options for lower grade CAD techs or number crunchers in building structures that are paid poorly). I got so disheartened to hear that I need, at first, to do 'nostryfikacja' of my diplomas (yeah, believe it or not, US education is not up to their standards, they said). After I have jumped that hurdle, which was painful, long, and costly, I was told I now need to have the equivalent Polish professional licenses to practice. After completing that hurdle, which again, was long and painful, I was told all is now in order - and all I now need is to have some considerable Polish experience under my belt... So you end up having to compete with the fresh graduates half your age as an assistant fat not much more than minimum wage. No thank you. A complete joke. Needless to say, I have given up on the idea completely and found work in the UK.

If you are still young enough there is hope for you, just do the right thing and switch to IT right NOW - any flavour will do! - just forget civil engineering altogether ...

Best of luck.

Travel / Best place to exchange money in Poland? [98]

I don't know any other places except the banks - and their rates are always lower.

To get best exchange rates, you will need to sign up to on-line exchange services such as walutomat.pl or cinkciarz.pl - best real time rates and small provisions.

Life / Cheapest Marlboro White and Lambert&Butler cigarettes in Poland [17]


Believe it or not, there exist limits on transporting legal drugs (tobacco and alcohol) within the EU.
ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/individuals/travelling/within-eu_en

Not sure how this works in practice, but with a 100 cartons, I would imagine if you ever get stopped and checked by the Customs Police you will no doubt be questioned and will have to convince them that it's all for personal use (good luck with a 100 cartons in your boot), otherwise probably a (hefty?!) fine will be imposed.

Law / Buying a USED CAR in Poland, my personal experiences and TRAPS to avoid !! [133]

Gniezno does not have a good reputation - a lot of revived post-accident/major repair sales... I would rather look for a private seller.

Po polsku / Krótkie tłumaczenia z polskiego na angielski i z angielskiego na polski [32]

Lekcja angielskiego - Kabaret Łowcy.B

Hehe, tych dwóch nawet by uszło za Brytoli (z wyglądu), nie?

youtu.be/ZIjMXl-vC60

History / Poland and Britain started WW2 [307]

Perhaps, but let's not forget the effect of huge propaganda in Poland before the war, where people were made to believe that the Reich was really not as strong as they seem, and Poland stronger than in reality. I remember reading S. Lem's recollections of that period. Either case, I personally believe there was a serious case of wishful thinking versus betting on reality, i.e. everyone's out for themselves when the **** hits the fan...

Travel / Fishing in Poland - where to go, what to catch? [79]

You are a foreigner and are asking legitimate and very important questions. Well, almost any Pole will tell you that actually there is no good reason for this state of affairs... other than lack of common sense. That's one of the major problems with Poland today. Lack of common sense and no faith in human decency - hence everything needs to be regulated by law to the nth degree. The bureaucrats will no doubt argue that's needed to protect the rights of the citizens, bla bla bla... does anyone actually believe it? I doubt it.

Love / Woman 28 single, too late for a relationship with a Polish man? [67]


That is perfectly common in smaller towns and rural areas, where the "country bumpkin" mentality prevails...

Travel / Why do you visit Poland? [223]


The prices are also much lower in Vietnam or Thailand. This is simply because people's incomes there are much lower and so is their free spending money as compared to the countries you mention.


It certainly gives that impression in some parts of major cities or expensive hotels, but just scratch the surface, another words live and work like an average local, listen to the media and the church rhetoric and the charm will quickly evaporate...

Law / Statistics of crime rates in Poland [42]


And that's the key issue. Plenty of inmates for minor offences, yet worst scum sentenced for murders, rapes, and assaults get off the hook just too easy... not sure why the entire legal system does not get a proper overhaul to remedy this - after all this is a fundamental issue.

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]

delph.... not sure why you continue to bother conversing with imbeciles...

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]



What insults - just asking politely... surely, it must be something in your drinking water then that's responsible for the utter nonsense coming from you?


Now this is more like an insult - although to some hard working proletarians in say North Korea that would no doubt be an honour ;-)

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]


Ah, more of the same old from the 'only true believers' (jedyni prawdziwi wyznawcy sPiSkowych teorii dziejów) - what drugs are you people on?!

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]


Can't believe 1/3 of the nation is still supporting those asses.

Law / Statistics of crime rates in Poland [42]


As compared to...? One of the highest incarceration rates in EU.


Not a chance. The laws are either outdated or so badly structured, that convicts sentenced for the most horrific crimes end up serving a fraction of the time they would receive in more civilised countries.

Combine that with the totally inefficient and incompetent court system (one of the most expensive and slowest in the EU, mind you), and it becomes a recipe for an atmosphere of lawlessness.

Life / Do you think that Polish people are rude? [951]


Agreed, that annoys me as hell.


To be honest, that is not loud at all by Asian, American, or African standards... ever heard drunk Germans?

History / POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country? [1080]

All depends who (and how) is measuring... there are at least several other so called 'Centres of Europe' - two of them in Poland....

Life / Warsaw is a difficult city to adjust to (coming from Canada and having lived in South Africa) Prague? [46]


Not only the beer... Czechy win the comparison with PL in other areas such as ice hockey, car manufacturing (Skoda), awesome women and the omnipresent amateur porn industry... quite impressive for a relatively small country.

Travel / Can I visit Belarus in the rental car from Poland ? [17]


Not to be cheeky, but the short answer would be: not any of your business - the OP has not asked for a reason.
Stick to the topic.

UK, Ireland / The "Paracetamol Myth" - Polish people hesitate to visit UK doctors. [46]

No doubt the pharmaceutical companies are getting fat in Poland as Poles have got to be in the top 3 pill users in EU (think only French and Italians are worse)... there seems to be a pill/ointment/etc. for virtually even the slightest hint of discomfort...

One major drawback over Poland is that the NHS is in such a bad shape that it does not spend nearly enough on prevention... and we all know that 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'.

To make things worse, there is no affordable private practice alternative like there is in Poland where you could get your blood work or whatever lab tests done on a regular basis to monitor the key parameters without spending a fortune.

Po polsku / Jak zwykle chodzi o kasę! [48]


Twoja rada to: zamykamy oczy i udajemy dalej, że nic się nie stało i że rzeczywistość nas po prostu nie dotyczy, bo sobie tego nie życzymy. Nie wiem chłopaki co tam wciągacie...?


To przypomnij kiedy to PO czy inna partia robiła takie ruchy, po nocach i po kryjomu, a inni siedzieli cicho i mówili, że chociaż smród, ale własny i jest fajnie? PiS jako 1szy krzyczałby 'rozbój w biały dzień'!


Tacy ludzie nie opierają opierają swych opinii się na jednym źródle, z szczególnie na tanich gotowcach gdzie



.... zwłaszcza takim zmontowanym na odległym kontynencie, komentatorom-amatorom-ideologom, niby-patriotą (ale z dala), podżegaczą teorii spiskowych, których Polska jest zawsze ofiarą zydo-komuno-szkopo-ruso-masonerii-itd...

Nie wiem co tam wciągacie, ale taka logika normalnego człowieka doprowadzić może jedynie do wariatkowa...

Po polsku / Jak zwykle chodzi o kasę! [48]


Jest wręcz odwrotnie niż piszesz: działają na stratę, destabilizację, i osłabienie państwa (choć klepią co innego - a wszystko pod parasolem wroga ukrytego, wroga działającego z zewnątrz, czyli UE, Niemca i Ruska, itp. - czysta paranoja. Na trzeźwo nie idzie tego słuchać).


Gdybyś choć trochę orientował w sprawach finansów, nie pisałbyś takich bzdur. Rynku nikt jeszcze nie wykiwał. Po prostu uznali poczynania (Nie)Prawych i (Nie)Sprawiedliwych za destabilizujące i szkodzące gospodarce kraju - kropka.

No ale wyznawcom spiskowej teorii dziejów żadne fakty nie przekonają - tak jak Macierewicza co do przyczyn katastrofy S.

Po polsku / Jak zwykle chodzi o kasę! [48]


Widocznie żyjemy w innych światach. Rynek finansowy rządzi się własnymi prawami i nie da się go wykiwać. Jeżeli jedna partia z niespełna 20% poparciem uprawnionym do głosowania uzurpuje sobie prawo do własnego widzimisię, to co się dziwić, że UE przygldada się nam uważnie. Mieliśmy dobry wizerunek, statecznej i poważanej polityki i gospodarki. Nagle się to wali i raczej wiemy, że nie będzie lepiej niż było. Czy o to PiSowi chodziło? Pożyjemy, zobaczymy - życie pokaże jaka to była zmiana. Powtarzam jest tak, że rozrabia PiS, a cenę za to zapłaci państwo i gospodarka (czytaj zwykły obywatel).

News / Jacek Kurski, the new chairman of TVP (Telewizja Polska) [37]

Unfotrunately Kurski is one of the most detrimental politicians in Poland today - topped only by Ziobro and the chief propaganda minister Macierewicz.