Quality of life, women in Poland vs here in America - Is 14 days too long to stay there for holiday?

American here. Am thinking of staying 14 days in Poland in springtime of next year. My main purpose is a fact-finding mission....to see what the quality of life is in the country vs. here in America. I am of Polish ancestry and am learning the language little by little.

I am thinking of staying in Gdansk and then traveling by train to Warsaw and other places of interest. The 2nd reason I'm going to Poland is to check out the women there....not for "sex tourism" but just see if they are any different/better than what we have here in California. I dated 2 American Polish girls prior and we seemed to be a good fit in a lot of ways.

Where can I go for nightlife (no strip clubs or raunchy bars). I'm in my early 30's, in shape, white male. I'm 3/4 Polish ancestry (great grandparents), the rest Austrian.

I own my own (small) business so if I were to move to Poland in ~1-2 years....I could afford to not look for a job for a very long time.

I really don't know where to start researching so I figured I would make a thread here.

Any input/advice is welcome.

Basically I'm tired of the high cost of living in this country (I pay $1,750/mo. for a 2 bedroom apartment....and this is down from the $3,800/mo. I paid when living in a more affluent part of Orange County). Yes, I know I could move to the Midwest, but I don't deal well with extreme heat, cold or humidity. I have seen the climate in Gdansk is "mild" and on the cool side....but not like super crazy freezing or hot. I also like being near the ocean.

In my opinion I feel that is too short for an anthropological study. I also figure that you need someone close by with you that knows the place to show you around as you still need to learn the language, to tell you about good places to live, things to do, job/market etc. maybe bring along a relative or friend. I feel things are much more interesting if you have someone to tag along to share the experience with.

You should do it, it will be fun.

It should definitely be cheaper than in the Orange county, but there are things to consider too:

- 14 days won't be too many (you'd be sleeping on day 2-3 anyway to adjust to time difference ;),

- expect not the greatest weather (Gdansk/Warsaw? - it might be compare to Cleveland, OH). Take enough clothes or else you'd have to overpay for clothes, sometimes 50-100%,

- The Baltic Sea is cold (during summer too) and it's not an ocean,

- buy an extra iPhone or a good laptop; you would sell it with profit quickly ;),

- think Euro vs. Dollar. In the US you could buy more (Chinese, but still) stuff for the same money; expect to pay for small things like extra napkins or toilet,

- Polish girls.. 2 weeks is too little time, but you shouldn't be disappointed.

Thanks...I was trying to get my Australian cousin to come out with me....but his girlfriend and I do not get along.

So I'm forced to travel by myself. All my other friends have full time jobs so they can't go with me.

I don't have problem making new friends....and I'm hoping I can just find a place where people congregate for drinks or whatever and meet some new friends. Are most people friendly in Poland?

I realize it's mostly the same wherever you go in the world.....but where I'm from people are more concerned about what you drive and how much you make. It gets old after a while.

So is there a lot of places to meet people in Gdansk? Is it more of a tourist trap or is it a thriving bustling city to perhaps start my search?

Or would you recommend I start some place like Wroclaw or Warsaw? Only reason I am thinking Gdansk is because my family is from that general area (many many many years ago).

I love history (medieval) and intend on visiting old places of historical interest, as well as checking out the social scene.

thanks again.

Gdansk is on north of Poland so it should be a good place to start (I know someone on this forum who has recently been there and he may share his story; in general, it's one of the top cities to visit in Poland, and in winter it's not going to be touristy). From there you could take a train or bus to Warsaw, then I'd suggest Wroclaw and Krakow. From Krakow return to Warsaw to flight back to the US (unless you take off from Germany). Yes, people are friendly and there are no guns on the streets so you should be as safe as in gated community (if you are a reasonable man ;).

Thanks.

Is there much nightlife/place to meet people on weeknights? Or most people just come home from a long day at work and turn on the t.v. and make dinner and call it a night?

I found round trip from Los Angeles to Gdansk (one stop in Berlin) for only $1,000. I think that's the cheapest I'm going to find and if I wait any longer to buy the ticket it will jump up in cost.

Is there like an online dating site for Poles or something (that's not a mail order bride scam)? Was thinking if I could meet a girl (just for friends) on there, maybe I could hang out with her and/or her friends.

The last time I traveled internationally...I went to Australia and then Cairns. I was by myself in a hotel room for 1 week and I was bored out of my mind. Granted, I got sick on the plane ride over and I was not feeling too good, I could barely drive a car....but I really want to avoid that this time around.