Moving to Poland - what is the most important thing I need to do, once I'm in Poland?

Hey,

This is not a thread asking if I should or should'nt move to Poland. because I've already brought a flat in Mysiadlo. :)

Both me and my girlfiend (and soon Son) will be moving to Poland to start new lifes. we have purchased a great little 2 room appartment 56 sq metres or so. and the plan is we will both teach, me as a native English speaker in a private School and her in a public school (her sister will apparently help with this)

My questions are around. what is the most important thing I need to do, once I'm in Poland? with regards to registering with the local authorities ect. and is CELTA or TESOL essential to teach in Poland?

Many Thanks

Chris

Wow! Mysiadło is a great place!

We spent last Christmas and New Year in Mysiadło and it was amazing. My girlfriend is from Lublin originally, but we needed to be near Warsaw to find work.

So we sold everything in the UK, brought an apartment and in October we'll be moving over.

Can you see your place in the photo above?

Best of luck, I hope you have a great time there

I don't know if I can see my apartment :) but we're moving to ul Topolowa mysiadło. So if it's in the photo then, yes.

Yes, it can be there. Can you see those tall blocks at the bottom right? Topolowa street runs just behind them. The U-shaped housing estate with pinkish roofs is in Topolowa which is cut by the photo edge in half.

mapa.nocowanie.pl/mysiadlo/zdjecia_satelitarne

Unless you want to work for a second rate school or teach Callan, you should get a CELTA. It's that simple.

In Warsaw, any school worth working for (ie, one that won't screw you around/over) will demand it, unless you have significant prior teaching experience. A degree is also a must.


You do realise that wages are pathetically low for "newbie" teachers, along with many, many students graduating each year who need a job? It's not going to be an open-and-shut case of "hello job".


Find a job.

There's no government control of private language schools in Poland, so you theoretically could teach without any qualifications, experience or ability. You could do cash in hand private lessons but you are probably up against a fair bit of competition and it would take time to build up the students.

Working for a language school, check :

How much they'll pay you
How many hours they want you to work
What kind of contract you're on
Whether you have to travel to classes
What kind of classes they want you to do (kids, business, individual etc)

I'm sure the others on the site can give more ideas....

A CELTA will give you enough to get though your first few classes without looking totally incompetent but it's main function is to show the employer that you have made some kind of commitment to the job (hence you are probably not an alcoholic / p@do phile etc). It'll get your foot in the door at more schools - you can find a list of them at ang.pl

I have a feeling he is talking about Misadlo that is just before Piaseczno on the outskirts of Warsaw. There is a Topolowa street there --I think there is a carpenter on this street?

I used to live out there.

First of all prepare yourself for the traffic. I don't mean to be a downer but we moved out of this area because there was so much traffic all the time and no infrastructure. To many people live in this area. on Pulawska there is lots of traffic all the time. If you accept the constant traffic, you will be fine. my kids were on a school bus for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening- it is too long of a day for them.

However, congrats on the new place- you will probably really enjoy it, there is a nice kids park at the school that is close by.

I can't help with the teaching info but I can give you a head up as to what is good in that area.

pip
Mysiadło. Your assessment of the area is spot on. Not exactly a vibrant place but good for supermarkets.

I lived out there for 5 years. It is a good place to live but like I said- an hour each way on the school bus is too long for my kids. They were out the door at 7:30 and got home at 6. It was too long of a day.

You will get the know the shortcuts pretty quickly- and if you need to get to centrum you will find that taking your bike is faster.

My cleaning lady and her daughter live in Mysiadlo- if you need a good cleaning lady just pm me and I will give you her number.

Ok, so. if the job market isn't great. Would you say £20,000 is enough money to start a translating business, If of course my girlfriend passes the exam?

Are there any major barriers?

you could probably do it for less than that!! what is your overhead? if she works out of home there are so many expenses she can deduct.

the most expensive would probably be the advertising and a good computer system- what else do you need?

certification to translate legal documents.

It's not just as simple as passing the exam - has she done the course beforehand?

Sworn translators can earn good money, but many of them are found in more corporate environments.

2000 quid would do it but how are you going to get work? You can register with established agencies and get jobs from them (you don't need to be a sworn translator), but they will ask your gf to do one or two sample translations EN-PL and PL-EN, and they would expect it to be good.

Get CELTA if you don't want to work for a mickey mouse outfit or, even worse, Callan. And brush up on your punctuation!

I believe there is also a limit on the number of registered sworn translators, in the districts of Warsaw.

Speak to these guys Papieza, getit.pl/en/about_the_company/ the owners name is Piotr, he will tell you exactly how the market works in Warsaw.

Good idea - if there's one thing Warsaw lacks, it's translators

I take it your tongue was in your cheek when you wrote that, but in Poland the problem is in finding good translators. There are still too many around who got their stamp automatically on gaining their MA in, e.g. English Philology. I spend quite a lot of my time proofreading the work of Polish translators and I have to say I'm underwhelmed, sometimes shocked. The new system of courses and exams is a good start, but it should also apply to translators who had their stamp before the changes.

I'm a professional translator living in Poland, and the biggest problem your girlfriend is going to have is finding stuff to translate. It's easy in my case because I'm an English native speaker with 29 years of experience and a specialty (med/sciences), and therefore have little competition. A Pole is going to have a much harder time, especially if she doesn't have a specialty. The really good clients rely on word of mouth. Without a reputation, she will have to rely on spamming, spamming, and more spamming to get enough work to keep your family fed. The competition is FIERCE, and the only advantage that you and your wife have is that you have some serious cash to fall back on and give you time to get established.

As for you, finding a well-paid position at a reputable English school is hard for newbies. A Celta or equivalent is a must. DON'T work for fly-by-night outfits or Callan schools. You'll regret it. Again, the better your education, the better the chances, especially as you have no experience. Aggressively contact all the reputable schools you can find IN PERSON. The time to start looking is NOW. In any case, you have to be able to start working at the begining of October, when the semester starts. After that, you're up shit's creek. Finding a job over the internet is extremely difficult. You should move to Wawa IMMEDIATELY because this is the time to be looking for a job. In October, it will be too late. All the jobs are gone.

Again, all the best teaching jobs at the best schools are already taken by highly qualified and experienced teachers, and there is little room for unqualified newbies, especially in Warsaw. Don't expect work to just fall in your lap; you have to go out there and aggressively market yourself. I needn't tell you that buying an apartment without having first found stable jobs for both of you was a foolish thing to do. I wish you luck, though.

Well, I will study an intensive CELTA in September. So unfortunately will be unable to move immediately. I think my experience may help my cause though? I'm 34, I have an MBA from Cardiff Uni, 13 years managerial experience, (mostley retail) lots of experience in presentations and in training classes.

As for my girlfriend, her sister is a public school teacher (same school for 9 years) which I think means she can't be fired? Or something like that. And she assures my girlfriend a job in her school. I thought about translating because. There is only 1 in Mysiadło and she is constantly busy. We were waiting 4/5 days for a 1/2 page document and she said that she just has so much work. If not translating, I was thinking about a PRET A MANGER type business in Warsaw.

It's good that you're doing that and you'll also find your presentation skills will help.

The first things you will need is a NIP to work and pay taxes - Urzad Skarbowa - local tax office.

Then register yourself to your address and get a Pesel - Meldunek is registration to an address, Pesel is needed for many things in Poland such as going to the doctor, getting loans etc.

As a foreigner you will need to get an ID card - Karta Pobytu.

After six months you are also supposed to change you driving license to a Polish one etc etc.

plenty of bureaucracy to keep you busy :D

You don't need a PESEL. I've never had one in twelve years and have had no problems going to the doctors, registering a Spolka z o.o., buying property etc.

Sure you can pay to go to the doctors but you cannot avail of free medical treatment without a Pesel, as you cannot be registered at state clinics etc without one.

There are some exceptions, as some doctors may circumvent the rules if you are married for example to a Polish citizen and sign off prescriptions to them etc.

You can buy property without a Pesel but some banks and financiers won't deal with you without one.
The main reason being many of the computerized databases are setup to only handle Pesel, as all Polish citizens have a Pesel.
Many if the systems are not geared towards foreigners, as there are so few in Poland.

Employment and setting up companies only requires N.I.P. and Passport.

It may have changed in the last few years but it used to be that you could not get a paid mobile phone contract (private) without Pesel - only the prepaid cards.

I had to get a Pesel to get a paid mobile contract with Orange.

I most certainly did avail myself of free medical treatment and never had a PESEL. I paid ZUS. And also had a mobile phone contract, fixed internet and cable TV etc, all without PESEL.

The first thing to do is remove the part of your brain that understands logic, because it will be unused here

Maybe this question is not very relevant to the whole topic, but I just noticed that many people are criticising Callan method? I am very interested, why?