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Thinking of working or investing in Poland (Think AGAIN!) Experience and attitude of British toward Poland. [80]
Hello
I wish to express my experiences so others don't fall into the same trap.
Its now been almost 2 years since I arrived in Poland and still I am unemployed IT professional fully qualified. After two years its now invalidity so Poland has wrecked my career in IT as you know in technology changes happen so fast as to loose two year is to kill your career totally. Don't come talk guff about studding to stay valid as that requires money and since there is ZERO return on investment with ZERO income what do you think.
Lets start.
There are 2000 British expats living in working in Poland, a whopping 2000 out of almost 70 million Brits living in the UK.
To say the least this should be a ALARM bell as to avoid Poland. If your as silly as me to think your going to bring cash into Poland (Invest as encouraged by the UK government) Thinking your doing a good thing, Then your in for one hell of a ride or shall I say LOSS!
I started investing in Poland in 2012 and purchased a lovely development in Lodz only to realize the developer had no intention of completing. 2015 and the place still looks almost the same as it did when we purchased it... A WRECK!
(I almost did not purchase in Poland, after reading about Developers doing runners, but then the Polish Government reassured investors they have put special laws in place to protect investor) Clearly this was the biggest load of donkey poop anyone ever said.
After having a lovely chat with some of the workers who were doing some of the work for the other SUCKERS who purchased here it came to my attention that property in Poland is highly over rated. One conversation with the average polish citizen revealed the Polish home buyer is only interested in property for 40000pzl and what the state can offer for free. Hence there is no rental market here at all, making me the biggest sucker as the market we sell is so exclusive. Most polish people live in run down buildings but don't be fooled many of them are palaces inside and you will find a few nice cars in there. Reason is they don't have to fix these buildings so rent is cheaper at around 400pzl a month! With the amount of abandoned buildings around the polish people have their pick of cheap.
Dont forget there is a 20% tax if you sell before 5 years of ownership is completed. Lovely keeps you nicely tied in!
So now stuck with a LEMON I at least still had a job in the UK, oh wait redundancy and then with all the immigrants in the UK finding job was proving to be difficult. Yes seems been British in your own lands is a BIG NO NO, so off to the dole que what was the worst experience ever as I am not the type of person to ask for a hand out. Only too find, that owning property abroad invalidates receiving any help from the state as its seen as capital and needs to be sold first and the money used before any benefits can be received. After spending a rather large sum of my life savings in the UK it was time to go deal with the LEMON and try and sell it, or shall I say TRY REALLY HARD, PRAY and WISH
We packed up and headed to Poland, biggest mistake of our lives.
We arrive in Poland and renovated the developers stage apartment while staying with the in laws in the hope of getting it rented out to get some money back in.
Luckily my wife got some work a WHOPPING 2000pzl for a family with a out of work husband a small baby and bills! Needles too say we still were dipping into our savings. I was told to teach English... LOOK HERE get lost, I know there are jobs here and there are PLENTY of JOBS and ENGLISH companies and call centers what I will come too later, I wont even mention the rubbish problems with teaching English, Taxes and using your own car = NOT WORTH MY TIME or ANYONE, this crap is for hippies who are traveling the world and need to pay for weed!
We started advertising the apartment with a agent. 6 Months later NO ONE HAS EVEN VIEWED THE PLACE! We reduced the price with another 50,000 pzl!!!!! and still NOTHING! (This place is a joke, even the places for 40000pzl looks better than this appartment, the developer really done us in)
I have been apply for work and at agencies. I can tell you now they all will just flat out IGNORE you! Now I know a guy here in Lodz who went to promote their company at a job fair at the university, while walking around he asks one company what positions they have available....... Their answer....
"THESE ARE ONLY JOBS FOR POLISH"
Thank you very much that is all I needed to know. You do realize this is a racist statement I thought to my self and explains allot of whats going on here.
Well it always only gets better, I am sure you heard of the driving, well here is a few notes.
When in Poland the average pole does not drive the speed limit and well will try and intimidate you to drive faster or do some maneuver to get our of their way and nearly 90% of the time will cause YOU to almost have a accident or will. I now have taken it on to ignore the morons on the road. It works well as the honk and hoot and speed off in direction almost killing or maiming or destroying something and heaven forbid you are in front at the traffic lights if you dare drive off ahead of a polski, you would have given him the impression that you have challenged him or her to a race, and they very happy to participate while 400 pedestrians are around. I am sure your eyes will get bigger and a blank expression will come over your face, once I pulled away at a light to avoid the car with the hazard lights on in my lane a few meter up the road, to be block in by a girl, who thought it would be fun to keep me there. Narcissistic that's all I am going to say as it seems there are also some serious jealousy issues people cant get past. But don't worry, I am sure when you get a job in Poland (if you get a job) your clients and boss and work staff will not have any of these problems ;) There is no HIGH STAFF TURN OVER IN POLAND.. Not at all like at Infosys and other places. Its all just peaces.
Then there is the problem with the way we look, don't be fooled they know your a foreigner. No matter were you go people will watch you like a hawk! ALL THE TIME! We have to were sunglasses to get them to act normally! Its really off putting and sometimes very annoying and just like this film
youtube.com/watch?v=oQ6aHTngQEg
Oh and then there are the THUGS who hang around the street corners, Yes even now! Regardless what people say and how nice they make it and the high street. There is still DOG poop all over the pavements, no one cleans and makes me worry what my kid is dragging around under his shoes, there is SPIT and GOB all over the place not to mention the few drinkers who have left their lunch or god know what it is on the pavement. The best is the STALKER CRIMINALS who actually try and follow you home to see where you LIVE! That is the creepiest stuff ever and make me and my family FEAR for our lives, this has happened a few times now, if it was not for my military training I would not even have noticed, but lucky they pretty dumb as you can spot them, its the ones I don't spot I worry about. Recently a bum broke into the building got access to a apartment not used and DIED there! Just lovely! Peaches.
You know we give this place a go, and it only gets better, after realizing the racist narcissistic polish are not going to employ me and that I am stuck here we need more income so we purchase another finished flat and rented it out in the hope to sell the lemon as this property was small and cheap and below the UK level.
So far we made 700pzl over 6 months! The average polish renter is very demanding, new washing machines wanted because the old one was too loud! I kid you not, fix this and that and this and that. ENOUGH!!!
I want out! I came to do some good an all you get is the middle finger.. rich foreigners TAKE TAKE TAKE
They never give a bloody thing other thank take take take, Now I am sure the people will start saying POLISH REALITY
That is all a load of toss, Reality is there is plenty of jobs here, just not for YOU foreigners, Reality is they want you to think that their reality is poor uneducated people don't get jobs and that is the level they see you at.. While the guy drives off in his new 4x4 or what ever new car you can think off. Reality is you dont have to teach English here there are plenty companies who are required to speak English only in Poland, sadly the recruiters in these buildings are Polish and offer Polish ONLY JOBS, I bet your CV will be filled in the TRASH! (Rich foreigners why they need a job in Poland, don't they understand polish reality, now where did I put my new SUV keys again) Do you really need to wonder why there is only 2000 Brits in Poland.
I cant even count the times I have heard the stories, BRITISH with POLISH, Polish gets job few years latter they back to England, USA and Polish again Polish gets job a few months later they back to the USA as each time is the same thing the foreigners DO NOT GET JOBS IN POLAND
The lucky few get pleb jobs and the other MAINLY GET A JOB from outside Poland probably because they used a recruiter in their own countries.
So where am I now, trying to get OUT, but with the UK so full its difficult, So here we are with the 1 million poles in the UK there taking our jobs and the 2000 of us here getting the middle finger even after investing here, bringing in money to the country, POLAND HAS NOTHING ON OFFER FOR US
We tried to sue the solicitor for not putting all the facts out but it seems no one will take the case, I am told if anyone sues the other they will never get work again, but hey its always cool to milk the cow dry before you shoot it in the head and eat it.
Now in the UK I read British people having problems integrating with the poles, I can relate to this, making polish friends is nearly impossible and just like in the UK they seem to prefer been with their own.
So this has been a lovely two years of chatting to myself, a baby and a wife who wants to relax and not talk after a long day at work, its OK the depression I had when I was in the UK is now totally gone, its actually transformed into some sort of shutdown hibernation as my mind barely able to cope with all the stress. Not to mention the great medical treatment what seems to be NOTHING!
I am sure you will think, go out and socialize... yes that cost money! Money requires having a job!
Marriage in runes, career in runes, finances in runes, family in runes, fearing for your life, life saving depleted, inheritance depleted, health depleted
THANK YOU POLAND
BTW
the developer is now a renovator. Of course to avoid any problems with the law
Still he operates and continues to RENOVATE but just he cant give a toss to actually finish the job in our block
I am sure when you get a job in Poland (if you get a job) your clients and boss and work staff will not have any of these problems ;) There is no HIGH STAFF TURN OVER IN POLAND.. Its all just peaces. Some companies take pride in only loosing half their work force in a year, but hey no jobs for you,
The staff turn over is the reason there are so many jobs available, even the polish don't want them. But not for you, sorry
go back to the UK and send only the money and fly back and forth, don't worry about family life .... just send the money OK!
I was actually told to do this !!!!
