Polish-Canadian wanting to move to Poland - trying to start a new life, make friends, combat depression etc.

Hey Guys,

I am a 21 year old Polish-Canadian male that has grown up in Canada (Brampton/GTA area) for all my life and was raised polish. Speak both languages fluently and can understand Polish but have trouble writing it and speaking it in an intelligent/professional level. I just graduated with a marketing degree which wasn't my original major due to mental problems that have occurred for most of my life and in the past couple of years. Nonetheless, I am glad I got my piece of paper and didn't make my situation worse by not graduating and working some okay jobs that still gave me some experience and decent savings.

But, I've decided I've never really enjoyed living in Canada and want to move to Poland. Reason's being are:
- have ZERO close friends (bullying from age 10-high school then standard university struggles) *bullying was extreme*
- no motivation/drive due to depression & coddling parents that have made me scared to face my reality and take matters into my own hands
- poor job prospects(for me) in Canada and dating potential - I understand that it would be worse in Poland.
- high cost of living and rent/housing
- cultural standards dropping & cultural divide in Canada
(If you want details or more specifics as to what I mean, please ask)

Maybe some of you have experienced having overbearing parents or have never felt appreciated living here, but essentially I feel that I have the potential to live a second life and want to start fresh in Poland. I know that this is the cliche reason why people move but in my case I would say I need to be an environment where I don't have a voice around me saying hey don't spend money and try this or don't do some odd jobs to make income out of embarrassment.

I was wondering if there are any places where I could meet Polish-Canadians that are actually decent people or anyone that has contacts in Poland for potential employment? I am just in the process of getting my polish passport as I just received my PESEL so I would be eligible to work and live in Poland. Also, its obvious I need someone to talk to as well.

Thanks,

Hey,

Firstly I don't have anything about living in Poland to say just yet (trying the move myself) and I'm not Polish, so I hope someone will give you the specific advice you're looking for shortly.

What I can add is that it's normal to feel a little bit down with life in general at a young age for one very important reason: the person you are today is still far from the person you'd like to be. The same principle applies to your situation.

I was down about life for many reasons at 19, 20 and so on but gradually it started improving as I started making moves in the direction I wanted to go. Still working on it, mid 20's now, but I can confidently say each year has been better than the last, and I'm happy with how things are moving along.

Chin up and good luck!

I would highly recommend networking with some fellow poles and visit first. You don't want to jump right into such a big decision especially if you don't have the funds or prospects for work just yet. Be prepared to make a fraction of what Canadian jobs pay even with a bachelor's but then again many things are cheaper. I can give you the names of a few corporations that pay decent by polish standards in my city but never really looked outside of it and even then it was more out of curiosity.

Also private practice medicine in poland (outside of zus of course) is great from my experience in the sense that its cheap and the medicine is holistic. Not sure about psychiatric care but general practice and dental is great from my experience. Maybe they can help you get off the strong ssris and maois or find some more appropriate meds with less side effects.

I have my ups and downs too. Such is life. You find something that you enjoy and move on with your day to day responsibilities. For me it could be kayaking, travelling, riding the hog, going on a date, sparring at the gym, drinking at the clubs whatever. Find a few hobbies and people who are interested in them. Its a great way to meet people, network, make friends, meet a significant other, etc.

The best advice I can give you, is this. You yourself will still be the same person inside your head (no matter where you live) unless you reach out and seek help. Going to a foreign country where you don't know anybody may be a good or a bad thing.

Remember - you must allow others to help you. Improvements will come slowly and it may take years and years before you start to actually like yourself and like the person you've become..

Look on-line for Canadians in Poland and join their groups.

God bless all children of Slavia who have found the scent. Good choice to come back to Poland instead to be assimilated by the Anglos or Arabs, what is all the same in perspective. Once when in Poland you can invest in some small business which can grow in big one eventually. Sure you can make friends and form family. Combat depression by dedicating yourself to Slavic cause, by moral support and donations to salvation of Serbian Kosovo. Travel allover the Slavic world, glorify and stimulate business in Poland and in Slavic world. Force yourself on tireless activity.

@terri
Thank You Terri and everyone else, I really appreciate it.

I would just add as well that my family situation isn't the greatest, every side has mental illness or some addiction/homelessness. I just stay active now even though I do nothing workwise or lifewise. It just sucks where you can go weeks/months without talking to anyone, I'm not some autist too, I just avoid people because of my negative experiences living here. At least when I visited Poland, I never got the haha Nazis or you would've survived the holocaust bullshit that I got growing up. University was supposed to be a place where I could connect with lik- minded introverts but I never got that chance and realized most Canadian youth are spoiled so I want to meet people that have gone through some struggle like myself.

RedTerminator13, dobri brate, once when you are in Poland, you should in any case come to Serbia, for some time at least.

You would love nature and people who love Poles. See, people here all went thru struggle. As one of our internationally respectable psychiatrists said on symposium held in Romania few years ago- ``Serbs wouldn`t be normal if they are quite normal, considering all what they survived.`` You know, all that economic and political pressure from EU, their mass media hysterical propaganda, evil meddling in internal affairs, their sick collaboration with Islamic league and all that. Plus that horrible NATO bombing in 1999, to put cross on myself when I remember (one don`t wish to have nightmare on it). Anyway, what I want to tell you, when we are at mental struggle; person can survive, win over all circumstances and continue his/her life.

God bless you, man, on your voyages.

good post brother brat. You would do well if you hang out with guys like me not original Polish at least at first. them knowing you are either from Canada or USA even if you were born in Poland or were Polish they try to to exploit you. unless you find good highly educated people like a good company good life etc.

" dobri brate, once when you are in Poland, you should in any case come to Serbia, for some time at least."

i agree and also go to Croatia to Dubrovnik to compare the two and see the difference in people or culture. you will see Dubrovnik is beautiful fancy very European or Las Vegas like but lacks the real or genuine people Serbia has.

Las Vegas is a freak show, not a city.

I don't know what you don't like in Canada.
Yes, the standard of living is high, and that's why you pay high rents. It's connected.
If you live in a cheaper place, that basically means you will earn a lot less also.
I myself have been considering move to Canada for a long time, but never realized it , partly because you need to give money to Canadian lawyers just to analize your situation..

If I knew I'd be 100% (or close to that) able to go I'd be probably be there by now.
At that age people rarely make good life-changing choices.
When I was 20 I firstly flew to the US... and I didn't have a damn idea where I was at that point of life. I mean I like it and everything but I wasn't commited to want to stay there. Some 12 years forward I feel sorry that I didn't tried harder to settle there permanently. I was just enjoying life and wasn't thinking about life- long term. Now at this age 30+ I'm not having the same chances of doing something.

Remember that not everything you do is for good. There's also an option to move to another place in the same country if something goes wrong. I think lots of people don't realize there is this option too.