Work / Salary for a senior software engineer in Poland [195]

Fapper are these the same people who messed you around over the salary and were initially offering you 3000 zl? If so, forget about them.

But anyway even if it's a different company, a business who are so incompetent that they don't even know the terms on which they can employ someone and offer a job only to realise afterwards that you're not eligible for the visa, are a shower of tossers quite frankly and would be a nightmare to work for. Fapper, there are so many job opportunities in Europe, let alone in Poland, you don't need this kind of aggro. I'm afraid this kind of messing people around is typical of many Polish companies and they do it to their own people as well, not just foreigners. So just chalk it up to experience and be prepared for a lot more of it before you find the right job.

There is no advice anyone here can give you regarding how to work around the scenario. It's a purely internal affair that's up to the company to solve. But as I say, you're better off just moving on and looking elsewhere. Don't put your life on hold waiting around to see what happens. Good luck.

Love / Polish girl "loves" me, despite not meeting in real life first [56]

But Nellie dear you have firsthand experience of Poles from your many friends in university who are from Poland, so why would you base your views of Polish people on a Polish-American forum where many members are not Polish at all? Get away outta that you big old tin-roofer!

Love / Polish girl "loves" me, despite not meeting in real life first [56]

God Almighty, you really are a bunch of unmitigated eejits. It's hard to believe you're grown men. Imagine believing any of this rubbish.What sort of a half-wit Skypes with someone for six months and then feels the sudden need to unburden himself on forum like this one, seeking the guidance of the justified ancients of long distance 'lerv'. As he's named himself after a performer - I would hesitate to call him a singer (you all got the Ozzie Osborne thing didn't you?) I'm re-christening our Aussie friend as Nellie, after Nellie Melba, a fine Australian diva.

Now Nellie, you're the one who suggested in the first place that she's trying to scam you in some way. You did that on purpose to try to annoy people. This is a so-called Polish forum and you confidently expected that they'd all turn on you with pikes and pitchforks. After all as you yourself said elsewhere, the purpose of trolling is to make people angry. That didn't quite work because most people here aren't Polish. However a troll can only work with the tools he has.

As to why you should know anything about Poland, if you were really involved with a Polish girl for six months you would have learned quite a bit about it by now without even having to make an effort. And if you were such close friends with a Polish guy that you were hanging out with him when he was chatting with his girlfriend, then you'd already know something of Polish culture, unless of course you're a completely thick, ignorant lump. Oh wait a minute...........

News / Tesco out of Poland? Żabka and Biedronka opportunity. [73]

Yes Harry, you're right. I call the whole thing Hala Mirowska but anyway this is what I was referring to:

english.eurobuildcee.com/?page=news&id=20225&link=warsaw-looking-for-hala-mirowska-partner-

It seems they're planning a fresh food modern market hall and community centre. Well that's what they say but we'll see..........anyway the city is looking for a 'partner' for this venture. What do you want to bet it'll end up being Carrefour or similar!

News / Tesco out of Poland? Żabka and Biedronka opportunity. [73]

It went off-topic Harry because St Pollyanna couldn't resist lecturing me on my cafeteria Catholicism which was how we ended up talking about charity. Delph was questioning Polly about his charitable activities. which Polly had mentioned earlier. To be fair to the saintly one, I don't think there was any suggestion that the kids wouldn't get sweets if they didn't know their prayers, just that they had to suffer for them first :) He had said earlier in the thread that he played Santa in these places so really it was just part of the old 'have you been a good boy/girl/' routine.


And not just the centre. There are definitely fewer in general. Another problem is that EU regulations regarding food hygiene etc will eventually be more rigorously enforced and small home producers won't be able to meet the regulations so you won't see a woman sitting at the roadside selling chickens or homemade sausages or raw milk. Street sellers are beginning to be seen by the authorities more and more as hawkers, peddlars and undesirables.

I am really sad about Halla Mirowska because it's one of the few really 'old' shopping sites in Warsaw which was a proper market before the war and I know it will be unsympathetically developed. It won't be 'restored', it will be modernised. One could do a lovely development there on a smaller scale but in a similar style to the Leadenhall Markets in London. Why not recreate something of the atmosphere of Warsaw shops at the time when Halla Mirowska was built, with some period shop fronts etc. I actually like it the way it is now, run down and slightly tacky though it is, because it is 'authentic'.

Law / Granting Polish citizenship by the President (for money) [15]

Ironically Hungary was one of those countries who vehemently opposed refugee quotas a couple of years ago (though of course they backed down on that when it came to the vote) and yet they were quite happy to sell you a passport for the right fee. If you're familiar with the British broadcaster Stephen Fry, his grandfather was a Hungarian Jew and apparently he said that a Hungarian is the only man who can enter a revolving door behind you and come out in front of you :D

Law / Granting Polish citizenship by the President (for money) [15]

That's good. There's something decidedly unsavoury about allowing people to 'buy' citizenship.

Law / Granting Polish citizenship by the President (for money) [15]

It's gone up. It now costs 300,000 euros plus 50-60,000 in fees. Basically you're buying government bonds. You get residency after six months and you get the citizenship after five years and they return your money. I found that out in less than a minute. Try some googling.

Love / I want to know, how do I show the Polish women that Im interested in knowing her? [10]

You sound immature in that you sound like a teenage boy with the old 'how do I let a girl know I like her' thing. You don't sound as if you have much experience with women.

Yes, you're right that there can be cultural differences but the cultural differences between Poland and western Europe or America or Australia are not that vast. With respect you don't sound like a native English speaker so I don't know what the culture is like in your own country but if you're from any of the places I just mentioned, then you should have no trouble interacting with a Polish person.

Now, without wishing to be unkind, you come across as one of the following, a) a kid, b) a simpleton or c) a troll. So that's all the advice I'm prepared to give. Best of luck with your romantic pursuits!

News / Tesco out of Poland? Żabka and Biedronka opportunity. [73]

Balls to that. One's personal comfort and convenience is the normal way of thinking Saint Pollyanna as you well know. My own philosophy is to buy Polish goods if I have the opportunity and if it's what I want and the quality is good. If it ticks those boxes I don't mind paying a bit more. I accept that home produced products everywhere have to compete with imports and can't always be priced as competitively. I would be more concerned about the fact that small local businesses are being forced out of the market by being charged exorbitant rents in newly constructed shopping centres and mixed used blocks. I've seen many small shops disappear as places are 'renovated'. I believe Hall Mirowska is next. I suppose the exterior 19th century facade will remain and the quaintness of the interior will fall victim to the usual plate glass and metal and we'll have yet another Rossmann etc.

Love / I want to know, how do I show the Polish women that Im interested in knowing her? [10]


You can't get to know someone through texts. Anyway if you already know her well enough to have her phone number and are texting her regularly then do what Dominic says and just ask her out for God's sake and get to know her in the normal way. Also, it's true that her being Polish is irrelevant in terms of whether she wants to have a relationship. Some single mothers with a young child don't want a guy in their life and some do. Nationality doesn't really have any bearing on that. As for Polish women in general, when it comes to 'dating new guys' they are not at all shy. However be warned that once they decide to get involved with you they expect a lot of committment quite quickly. They expect the relationship to go somewhere - and fast, by 'western' standards.

To be honest though, you sound a bit too immature to be considering a relationship with a woman who has a kid. Just don't start anything if you're not ready to fill the role of step-father at this point in your life.

Work / What should I study for easy job in Poland? [9]


Fair point Delph. Actually in Poland, there are plenty of people with degrees in everything ranging from science to law teaching in kindergartens, but not qualified in early childhood education/care. Some of them do a few courses in child related stuff so their qualifications look a bit better on paper. Anyway, I meant a 'playschool' as in a 'free' play room in a creche as opposed to guided/structured play. Yes I know what you mean about the unqualified roles.However there are professional qualifications for nannies such as the NNEB diploma (I'm sure they have similar in Oz) which are suitable for people who aren't academic but want to work with children, perfect for a posh nursery in Kensington, Lady Di style :)) And it would impress a silly, snobby parent who wants to engage a nanny for her children 'she's a fully qualified nanny you know'. Mind you, who'd want to work for someone like that.......


Not quite true. It depends on the role they're hiring for. If you're just going to be in the baby room in a childcare centre changing nappies, feeding and playing with babies under a year old, then being warm and affectionate, vigilant and having a hefty dose of common sense is the most important thing. Plenty of unqualified women who have been mothers themselves are very capable in that role. But such work doesn't generally pay enough to live on.

Work / What should I study for easy job in Poland? [9]

She says she has basic Polish Lyzko.

@Ewa, Dominic B generally gives very good advice so you'd do well to think over what he says. It's generally not a good idea to go to a foreign country (and that's basically what Poland is for you despite your dual nationality) without some decent qualifications under your belt. There is no quick way to get a qualification that is going to result in employment with long term prospects for making a good living. It would be much easier for you to take up whatever study options are open to you in Australia and go to Poland after you've qualified. If you want to get a qualification in childcare, the most basic one that's worth the paper it's written on will take you a full academic year. If you enjoy the work, then go for a two year course such as Nursery Nurse with a management module in the second year, which would qualify you to lead a room in a playschool and eventually perhaps manage a creche when you have some experience under your belt. Make sure it's internationally accredited. It probably won't matter in Poland but if you're investing two years of your life in studying you want a qualification that will take you anywhere in the world. Don't discount places like Dubai or Japan where they pay well for English speaking childcare workers with a proper qualification.

Work / What should I study for easy job in Poland? [9]

Ewa how long do you plan to spend in Poland? You say you're Australian so you can't work in Poland legally unless you have the right kind of visa. However, if you have some experience in childcare, maybe a job as an aupair would suit you. That would provide live-in accommodation. Otherwise I can't imagine what kind of job you could find, on which you could survive. Salaries for unqualified, unskilled people are really low. Yes you can teach English without a teaching degree. You could take a TEFL training course before you leave Australia which would give you a basic qualification in teaching English as a foreign language, but the competition is fierce as there are plenty of well qualified and experienced native speakers in the larger cities and the work at language schools is often not especially well paid.

Law / Highway Code equivalent in Poland? [7]

Well judging by the way people drive, I would have thought not. However after a bit of rummaging in the internet attic I found this, published last year po Angielsku, it doesn't really compare in range and detail to the British highway code but it contains some of the basic elements:

mib.gov.pl/files/0/1797229/wersjaEN.pdf

Not much about the rights of pedestrians, but plenty about their obligations. Enjoy!

Oh yes, and all the road signs are on Wikipedia.

Travel / What on earth is happening with the Second World War museum in Gdansk ? [5]

I just checked on Trip Advisor. It has the most up to date information, reviews by people who've visited it since it opened and one review from two days ago. Apparently they had been limiting the number of visitors allowed in so had restricted sale of tickets, then gave free tickets and are now charging again and have lifted the restriction on numbers:

tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g274725-d8456607-Reviews-Museum_of_the_Second_World_War_Muzeum_II_Wojny_Swiatowej-Gdansk_Pomerania_Provinc.html

Apparently you by the ticket there (long queues) and then you have to come back at a specified time!! One woman had to wait two hours after buying her ticket! I think it's really a matter of just tootle along, bring your sandwiches (because there's also conflicting information about whether there's any coffee shop/restaurant!), expect the worst and hope for the best.

Love / Polish girl "loves" me, despite not meeting in real life first [56]


Poland is not a third world country. She's an EU citizen with the right to live in any country of the 27 EU member states or the EEA countries so she's in a better position than you, as an Australian who have to jump through hoops to do that.

Love / Urgent Relationship help - wife wants to stay in Poland [118]

Paulina I hope you paid more attention in university than you do here.

Some of my comments were about Polish women in general. Some were about the OP's wife in particular. Just to clarify:

It's my experience that there is a well established custom in Poland of husbands (and sometimes wives, yes I agree) working and living in another country for years on end with visits home ranging from frequent to less so. So it's a cultural norm that doesn't cause any surprise in a community and which many women accept as normal. The OP's wife doesn't think there's anything odd about it so she can't see why he's making an issue of it. In the UK on the other hand it would be considered a very strange, unnatural and unsatisfactory way of life.

However, my other comments about children first, herself and her family next and him last as her priorities were about that woman in particular. Having said that, there are a lot of women, not just in Poland but everywhere, who after ten years of marriage have largely lost interest in their husbands romantically, haven't forged any bond of deep friendship with them and thus their closest emotional attachment is to their children

Love / Urgent Relationship help - wife wants to stay in Poland [118]


Paulina, I'm talking about Polish women married to men from the UK or Ireland or living there with their Polish husband boyfriend. I have known quite a number of them. They live in England or Ireland for a few years but then decide that the ideal situation would be if they could go back to Poland because the money their husband earns would go much further there. It often starts out with the man supposed to join her in Poland after six months or a year, you know get a bit in the kitty and then follow on but the he can't find work there and he ends up staying in the British Isles. I knew one Polish girl who hadn't had her baby yet but had the whole thing planned and - wait for it- he was to visit her every six months! The arrangement is often suggested by the woman in the first place.


And there it is in a nutshell. I was always astonished by the lack of any obvious sentiment but that's the way it is. Polish women have a very practical outlook on relationships. To be honest I think they seem to prefer it as they don't have a man under their feet requiring attention.Once the man gives them the family they want, and provides for that family they are content. That's what they expect from marriage.


I was referring to that particular woman based on how the OP described his situation, not women in general.

Love / Urgent Relationship help - wife wants to stay in Poland [118]

@Britboy, don't take any notice of Gregy. He's a total eejit. He's being deliberately obtuse here because he wants a row with someone. By the way he fears and hates women in equal measures so don't mind all that defending the women of Poland lark. He's an ignorant lummox and not worth your attention.God Bless :)

Love / Urgent Relationship help - wife wants to stay in Poland [118]

@ Britboy, one of the problems with getting advice from the world and his wife is that they tend to bring their own issues to the table and those issues influence the advice they give. That's why people go to professional counsellors. As part of their training counsellors have to go through therapy themselves in case any unresolved issues they have may influence their judgement and ability to be objective with clients.

You'll get plenty of well meaning and conflicting advice from many members so now that you've found out the basics of what you wanted to know, perhaps it's time to withdraw for a while and think it over. Best of luck.

Love / Urgent Relationship help - wife wants to stay in Poland [118]

There are a couple of factors to be aware of.

The law in Poland states that a child's material status should not suffer as a result of their parents divorcing which is obviously not possible, but that's the legal standpoint and the basis on which maintenance is decided.

The judge has complete discretion in deciding the amount of maintenance.
The amount of maintenance is not decided in the same manner as the UK by looking at the father's income and his outgoings. It's decided not on his earnings either, but his potential earnings. So in theory, if the judge thinks the father could get a better paid job than the one he has at present, then the judge can award a higher amount of maintenance than the father can actually afford.

As your earnings are very high by Polish standards, worst case scenario the judge could decide that you are well able to continue paying the amount you currently pay. Remember he doesn't have to take your own expenses into account.

Finally the court usually sympathises with the mother.

Having said all that 1500 per child sounds reasonable at the moment. But she can apply to have that increased every six months I think and believe me, she will. She will be able to find many things which the children 'need' which are going to cost extra, especially as they get older. Now she may not be awarded an increase but she may keep the pressure up.

One final thing. If you start a relationship with another woman in the future, her income will also be taken into account for maintenance purposes. Yes, I know it sounds mad but she is also liable for your childrens' maintenance. There was a thread on here a couple of years ago where an English woman was complaining about the fact that although her Polish husband was in full time studies and living with her in the UK, the Polish court had awarded a high amount of maintenance based on the fact that she was working. She couldn't believe that her salary was up for grabs, but there you go. To jest Polska!

Love / Urgent Relationship help - wife wants to stay in Poland [118]

Britboy, here's a woman's perspective. I'm Irish, married to a Polish man. It's very common for Polish women to expect their husband to work in the UK or Ireland and send money back to them, visiting them maybe once a month or even less often. It's a major cultural difference which people often don't realise until it's too late. Polish women have different expectations of marriage. Your chief role is the breadwinner and supporter of the children and they are the most important thing to her, her own wellbeing and that of her extended family comes next and you come very much last. She will not leave her comfort zone and her extended family to live with you in England whilst you continue to provide handsomely for her.

This isn't really the place to come for relationship advice but for what it's worth, it sounds to me as if this marriage has reached the end of its life. Your wife sounds self-centred, unsupportive and uninterested in you and your emotional wellbeing and that's not likely to change. She will get completely hysterical if you mention divorce, so be prepared for that. And she may make it difficult for you to even speak to your children, let alone see them for a time at least. She will also want her pound of flesh financially so gird your loins and get ready,

I know I probably sound very harsh - I'm not. I actually feel very sorry for you especially if you still love your wife and it's really sad to be parted from your kids and not able to live together as a family.


That's not very likely. Coercion and emotional blackmail are not a good basis for establishing a happy future.

UK, Ireland / What can I say/do about my Polish neighbours in the UK? [65]


The police will do nothing about noisy children, slamming doors etc.


In the UK it's dealt with under the auspices of enviromental health by your local council. You can only call the police if the noise constitutes a breach of the peace so a very noisy party for example would qualify, but not a noisy family shouting all day, slamming doors, telly blaring, dog barking etc. You have to report that kind of thing to your local authority.



But these people are not illegal immigrants. They have a legal right to be in the UK so it wouldn't make any difference.


That's very true.


Within Europe certainly there are certain cultures where people are much louder than others, Spanish and Italian come to mind. They really are loud! But it's not uncouth, it's just their communication style. Poles are a mixed bag. There is a culture amongst the men of gathering on the street, especially in entry ways or on corners to chat particularly during the summer months. I think it's partly because there is no pub culture so people socialise outdoors in the evenings. They can stand for two hours easily shouting and roaring with laughter. The dog walking culture in the cities means that many people take their dogs out in the evening and stop to chat with each other, so there's a lot of dog barking in the background. Poles are early risers and many of the younger ones stick the loud music or the telly on the moment they wake up so in summer with windows open, the noise can start at 6.00am and nobody really thinks anything of it. The OP's neigbours are behaving much as they would do in their home town probably.

Travel / Flying from USA to Poland in June - Will Visa now be required??? [31]


Would that be by decades of the Maoist Irish governments lead by left wing loonies like Charlie Haughey, Bertie Aherne and dear old Garret Fitzgerald whom you mentioned not long ago. What is your obsession with everybody being a Communist? I detest Soviet style communism, Marxism etc. As you well know Irish governments are very pro-America themselves with no appetite for hard line left wing socialism and I fully understand that the Polish government is the same. Most western countries are because it's in their best interests to be so. Maintaining good relations and economic ties with a major world power is always advisable.

The point I was making is - and if you're a prawdziwy Polish guy, you know this also true - is that Poles can be very stubborn on something they see as a point of principle and they wouldn't care about the loss to tourism, if they decided to make an issue of visas, even if it damaged the economy or hurt international relations. Look at what happened recently with Tusk and his re-election in the EU. Poland stuck their heels in and it wasn't well received by other EU members but they didn't care. They're not great on diplomacy by nature and they haven't learned it by nurture because there was no need for it under the old regime. So if Poland decided to make a fuss about repricocity (which I don't think they will) then they wouldn't hesitate to do it.

Travel / Flying from USA to Poland in June - Will Visa now be required??? [31]


But I'm not. I was just pointing out that the present Polish government might, if they could, introduce visa requirements for Americans, not that they necessarily would.


But it won't achieve anything. You need the support of the other EU countries especially those that are in the same position as Poland. And even then it's ultimately up to the European Commission to implement it. That's part of the price one pays for membership, you inevitably cede some of your sovereignty.


But that's just words. What does it mean in practice? How would Poland then go about demonstrating this? Bear in mind that membership of the Schengen Zone is a treaty to which they signed up and you can't just rip it up retrospectively. If Poland had any issues regarding Schengen they should have raised them at the time of signing up. That's why Ireland is not part of Schengen, because we sacrificed that privilege in order to retain the Common Travel Area between ourselves and the UK. No such thing as a free lunch ;)

Travel / Flying from USA to Poland in June - Will Visa now be required??? [31]


But it's not Poland Johnny. It's the EU. The European Parliament isn't happy with the fact that certain EU countries (including Poland) have to get a visa for travel to America but Americans, under present EU law don't require a visa for holidays in the EU. If the European Commission upholds the vote by the MEPS then it won't be up to Poland to decide about visa arrangements. It will be an EU law.

Mind you, the present Polish government is very pigheaded and if they had their choice to arrange visa matters as they wish, and they wished to introduce visas for Americans, they would do so. Polish culture can be like that, they have trouble seeing the bigger picture and they are very much capable of cutting off their nose to spite their face.

UK, Ireland / What can I say/do about my Polish neighbours in the UK? [65]


There are certain basic things that will apply in this situation too. One of those is to keep a diary of the disturbances.


Easter is a big festival in Poland and yes, it's quite common for people to visit family. So it could be a very noisy weekend ahead.


That's understandable. But you'll have to do something otherwise nothing will change. If you don't want to to talk to them yourself then your only other choice is the council. Your best option really is to do as others have advised and keep a diary - do that for about a month. Then go to the council and explain about the disturbances and tell them how long it's been going on but that you've just started keeping the diary recently.

You mentioned in a previous thread that you're autistic. People with autism can sometimes come across as a bit overly direct/blunt and their manner can appear rather abrupt. If you're worried that may be the case and that the people at the council may think you're odd or 'difficult' it might be a good idea to see if you can get somebody to go along with you for a bit of support. The National Autistic Society has a helpline which can give you details of local support services in your area wherever you may be:

autism.org.uk/services/helplines/main/how.aspx

So make a plan and then carry it out step by step. You will feel a little better knowing that you are actively doing something instead of just worrying about it and make sure that you are accessing any support services available to you. Good luck.

Feedback / Removal of Polish diacritical marks [45]

No, it's not your PC Lyzko. I have the same problem.

Study / Help me In Finding Graphic Design School in Poland [3]

Hi Shawn. I would suggest that you take a look at the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology. You can take your studies in English there. They have an excellent reputation. They don't offer a pure graphic design option but they offer a Bachelors in New Media Arts which is art with an IT/Computer element including programming in partnership with the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. It looks very interesting and to be honest is possibly a better choice for your long term employment prospects, than a classic graphic arts with photography option. You can always continue photography in your free time (plus they mention 'camera work' as part of the course), keep building your portfolio and perhaps consider a post-graduate qualification in it. The fees at the Japanese Academy are ten monthly installments of 1280 zl which works out at around 3,500 euros and theres a 1000zl admission fee which is about 250 euros.

pja.edu.pl/en/new-media-arts/bachelor/general-information

Best of luck with it. Really hope everything works out for you :))