Proper dose of life in Poland... the harsh realities.

This is not a comparative study. This is about the harsh realities of life in Poland, repeat, Poland. What does impressing you and your being alive have to do with the thread?

If you choose not to mention harsh realities then please go to another thread.

Harsh realities:

1) ZUS overcharging

2) A defeatist ethos in many people

3) An ever-increasing credit society

4) Too many workers abroad

5) No basic manners in some places

6) No concept of gratitude

These are just some. Your turn :)

I havent said this! All I said is: YES these are typical realities for ex-comm countries - the life and social system in the past MADE this things THIS way. I'm not SCARED of these realities. I HOPE they will be improved in the near future, so that I can benefit on living in a normal country while I'm still alive ... if they improve after I'm alive - it is still ok, but I won't be able to see them with my eyes.

There is no topic to argue about here - you're trying to make it out of nothing I said ... and I'm too lazy to keep on defending myself - I don't care that much honestly what your mood today is and whether you get my point right or not ...

Rtz, I feel the Polish psyche more and more. My wife is Polish and I live in and amongst Poles very often. All I was saying is that deflection is commonplace and it would be good for you to address specific elements of the thread, especially being a native Pole. It strikes me as odd that Poles speak out against their country on the streets and behind closed doors but choose to deflect on fora.

Please don't be so defensive, I just want you to stay on track and discuss harsh realities for the 'przyciętny Polak'.

I am not polak :) at least not yet :) My origin is Bulgarian and I've seen even worse things in my ex-country ... that's why these are completely workable-out and I believe Poland will overcome the bad old-inherited past (but also keep some really good things from that time too - there are such!!) ... and move on!

I choose to move and live in Poland - for I see light at the end of the tunnel - something I can't see in Bulgaria. Apologies for misleding you that I am native :) (I'm doing my best though, and I am slavic!!!)

Poland is not for everybody.

Aha, I stand corrected rtz. I broke one of my own rules by making an assumption.

Anyway, what is your connection to Poland and what is your conception of the harshness of life for some here? Rising prices would be a good start.

I recently saw a documentary regarding mental institutions in Romania on BBC news it was absolutely shocking. i can imagine Bulgaria to be similar.

Let's put it this way ... it was really bad ... Bulgaria is going through a huge change, this should have had started 20 years ago ... and it was postponed - now it really started ... alas I don't have another 20 years to loose ...

Really bad in what way? Social unrest? Abject poverty? What changes? Poland has done well with regards to GDP, it is on the way to becoming stronger and offsetting some of the hardships.

Really bad means: from the 7 000 000 we used to be ... 1 000 000 is abroad 4 000 000 are above 60 y/o 2 000 000 live and work in major cities ...

10 000 are worth of anything at all.

10% own 100+ mil. EUR in Swiss accounts and don't care about the rest ...

Most kids grow without parent's real care (their parents are too busy with surviving to control them)

- they don't want to go to school, if they go they think childishly and immature and have no good examples in life and are blind to other choices life has to offer.

Kids are not motivated in any way ... This means that near future doesn't promise anything good.

To be worth of anything they will have to re-discover the power of being well educated at their late 20s instead when they were supposed to ...

Whoever is talanted and capable - leaves anyway ...

It will take another 20 - 70 years before life goes to normal.

I heard that Bulgaria only spent 1% of the E.U. funds allocated to it, is that true?

And Poland spent about 98%, this money goes to the new motorways etc...

I edited a bit my previous post. Yes, the good news is that EU won't release funds before BG proves - is capable of giving them to projects, rather than someones's Swiss accounts...

The bigger problem is: education and qualification is an undiscovered-yet power which BG don't have and won't have soon ... everyone will have to re-qualify and be motivated before anything good to come ...

... and I don't have that much time!

I hear you man and thats a good post. Its just ranting at the end of the day, i dont like to witness injustices and i see a lot of it around here.

Better ranting on a forum than in real life. Let people fight their own corner, many Poles are good at it. If they live under harsh conditions, they either change or live more modestly.

Why? That makes no sense to me. Better for who? Do you think people here deserve more to be irritated than your neighbor?

You knew exactly what I meant so I'm not gonna play your games. Please start addressing the thread.

Settle down nancy. I don't know what you mean. I truly do not get why it is better to rant here to us "not real" people than to real people.

I am not playing games. I say exactly what I mean...unlike you it seems.

Because it's largely anonymous. I have no idea what you look like. I wouldn't rant in a bar as the vibe is different. You have to respect other peoples' personal space. Here, anyone could be anyone.

So, I state once again, your views on the thread are? I've given you food for thought above.

Pretty sure I already commented earlier in the thread

Well, you've made your points so why are you here again?

Having to pay 22% VAT is a harsh reality in itself.

I'll tell you what's harsh: I was attacked outside an ATM by one older man leading four younger men, sitting outside an ATM at ING bank waiting for victims. I managed to get away, careening through the streets in a panic. They punched me in the face and tried to block my car but I decided it was me or them so I drove through them. People are attacked at ATMS's once in a while in the states, but not in the afternoon with hundreds of people around busily ignoring it. And basically, almost never. Krakow was this curious mixture of this primitive, lawless culture with a thin veneer of "we want to be an EU member" whitewashed over it. The life of the "average" American is safe and peaceful and we have a fully functioning judicial system that for the most part if on our side. What people who do not live here see is the movies and media; which portray basically entertainment and sensationalism. I'm 67 years old.

"When in trouble, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout"

Your "careening through the streets" made me chuckle ;)

Well, I can safely tell you that ATM attacks are far more commonplace in Scotland than in Poland. You just got unlucky. I wouldn't describe that as a harsh reality of Poland's.

I read an article in the paper the next day after the attack about this very problem. I was just saying it seemed to be more common than what I'm used to so to me it was a harsh reality of living in Krakow. Too bad about Scotland.

Beelzebub: I know. It makes me laugh now. Just yesterday I was watching a movie where the characters were doing just that: careering around in traffic trying to get away from the bad guys and I laughed and said to myself, that was me! Can you believe it? An old woman running from the bad guys. Of course at the time I was so terrified and was awake all night wondering if they were searching for my car parked on the street. And I had a big black and blue on my jaw where the guy punched me through my car window. I had my purse on the car seat but I always lock my doors when I get in; thank god because one of them was pulling on the door handle.

Did you know that 1/3 of Polish employees work on 2/3 of Polish people which are unemployed (pensioners, privileged groups, unemployed) ? This IS the most unjust society in Europe.

But I have one question. Every time I see you, you moan. Is that makes you feel better ?

There are some outlined here,
youtube.com/watch?v=jaLu7_i7zfI
Sb I know was recently deported.

Bwahahahahaha. Gwahahahahahahahaha.

Tough is getting a visa extension in Dushanbe. Tough is trying to get a permit to work on contract in Samarkand. Residence permit in Poland? boo hoo. The folks in the video come off as whiners.

Well, they are but so are many :(

There was a shocking reality at the Onchology center in Kielce this last Monday 1st March, there were around 400 people all trying to make appointments for Cancer screening, the first appointments being issued were for December 12th this year. Lets not forget this is cancer were talking about here, the disease which spreads and invades organs at an alarming rate far to often resulting in death if not caught as early as possible.

Many of these people will need to pay bribes to have their very lives saved.

That's a very good point, WB. My cousin died of cancer when she was only 23. Ovarian cancer it was. She had access to cancer screening treatment. She was told by other family members that she was being hysterical so she didn't get a check-up. That was a costly mistake! I couldn't imagine the situation where you don't have a quick point of reference to get seen to.

You are very right to say that you cannot put a price on such things. Too many people have become desensitized and can't put themselves in the shoes of the potential sufferer.