Moving to Poland from Ireland - starting a professional life

Moving to Poland from Ireland
Confused on what to do.
Teach English or open my own business but (not teaching)

Well a few questions

- do you speak Polish or at least understand a bit ? Without that then running your own business will be quite challenging.
- are you qualified as a teacher (you will need some kind of TEFL qualification which takes a few months). I don't think it's so easy these days just to turn up and start teaching.

- what job do you have in Ireland - any skills that might help you here ?

Irish, if you wouldn't want to run your own business in Ireland, then I wouldn't suggest doing it in Poland. Running your own business is a lifestyle and career choice that's not for everybody and it's much, much more difficult in Poland than in Ireland. Same goes for teaching really. You could possibly do it for a while, even without any background in it, but it's not everybody's cup of tea. It's best suited to people who, surprise, surprise, actually want to be teachers :)

As CMS says, you're better off looking for some kind of job based on whatever skills and experience you already have and where you don't need Polish. There are a few websites with jobs for English speakers in Poland. Just google it and have a look.

@cms neuf
My husband is Polish I do understand more then I can speck. I'm learning at the moment. I'm just curious about the move and what to do..I'm very open minded

@Irish1234

You need to remain open minded and accepting.
Some things in Polish attitudes and culture are very similar, especially with the older Catholic generation.
But you will find many attitudes that may even shock you.
Many of them caused by years of Communist rule.
But not all.
There is more racism in Poland than in Ireland.
But when it comes to party time, celebrations and drinking, you will feel quite at home.... :-)

Good luck :) it is certainly an easier place to live than it was 10 years ago. Maybe start off teaching English or doing call center work while you research other business ideas. Also try not to live anywhere too remote if you don't speak Polish - in towns it is much easier to find English speakers

Good point.
If your Polish is not great, you will struggle outside of rhe cities and talking to older people.

Why are you people assuming that she doesn't want/need to learn as much Polish as quickly and thoroughly as she can?

One of the reasons I learned Polish was doing projects around people who didn't speak English.

Language is the key to successful integration in Poland (never met anyone well-integrated without very functional Polish) and to do that you need to put yourself in difficult awkward situations where you struggle.

OP: Speak Polish as much as you can with everyone (even if it seems they know some English). Any Pole who discourages you from speaking Polish is not your friend.

Because Polish is a bloody difficult language to learn.
I am fluent in English, French and Polish and can get by, just about in German.
I can write in English and French but am still scared to write in Polish.
It is one of the most difficult European languages to learn.

Very learnable if you're in Poland 24/7 I've known people from over a dozen countries who've learned just fine....

You can be as fluent as a native in a foreign language but very few people master the skill of hiding their accent.
If I speak a sentence of words in Polish that I am very familiar with, with Poles, I can pass as Polish.
If i use words that I am not so familiar with, Poles hear my accent.
They are not always sure what it is but often guess it is British.
When I speak French to French people that I don't know they will not believe that I am British.
They usually think that I am Belgian or sometimes Swiss or Alsatian.

Couldn't have said it better myself, Milo.
A Pole once told me I spoke Polish so well, no
Pole would think I wasn't Russian!
:-)

You can speak and understand a language fluently, but you can never hide your accent.....

Damn straight you can't.

Except there are no real pubs :(

Sad but true.
I love British pubs but Irish pubs are even better, especially when some music is being played by some of the locals.

If the "piwiarnie" right here in Greenpoint are any indicator, are you sure Poland doesn't really have a pub culture? Recently, we were at such a watering hole and I at least found the atmosphere most convivial:-) Then again, unlike in London, never noticed any children in the Polish version.

Very smart.


Depends on your other skills. Calm. Think. You fill find scent.

LOL at some of the eternal gloomsters and doomsters on this forum - guys with that attitude no business is ever going to work out, just like in Maryla Rodowicz's song "Ja byłam zatrudniona, w wesołej pewnej rewii, niestety był niewypał, aktorzy zawiedli. Nie mieli nadziei, że biznes ten się uda, więc biznes diabli wzięli,".

I personally manage 3 different businesses and had so many mistakes and insolvencies in the past with my own ventures. Good, that's an integral part of entrepreneurship and learning.

@Irish1234
Awesome that's great which part of Poland will you be living in? Basically the best is Warsaw, Gdansk/Sopot (The Tricity) and Wroclaw. In all of these 3 places you will be able to teach English to a large market of people, especially students but also adults and professionals as a native speaker. I'd start by opening a self-employed teaching business - teaching English as a native speaker.

Then, you could publish your own books on teaching English as a native speaker in Poland and start actually training and providing L&D for Polish teachers of English and in multinational organisations of which there are plenty in Poland in these 3 places. For the start, however, a self-employed teaching business as native English speaker would be best.

By the way OP whenever you encounter any and all gloomsters and doomsters in Poland, of which there are many, just laugh it off internally and use it to your advantage, never take it personally it's just their whining as a way to get-by : D You have to find some humour in this, I'm fully Polish and believe me I was once like this as well, it's all the matter of your personal outlook - three people will describe the same empirical reality in 4 distinct ways, especially in Poland

Where in Poland do you hail from?

@Lyzko
I will be moving to Olsztyn

Best of luck!

Must be a bit of a culture shock from Ireland to Poland.

@Lyzko
Of course! It's way different then here in good old Ireland but that's what I love about it. Haven't moved just yet but my husband is Polish so that makes it abit more easier.

Aside from the fact that you're both Catholic, I'd imagine the more subtle cultural differences take a while to get used to....even if you end up speaking English between you.

What do you find different about it?

@Atch, while I realize I'm being awfully rude by preempting your question on Irish1234's behalf, one of the major differences I've observed between Irish and Poles, is that the former are typically one to joke wonderfully and openly about being a Catholic! They have, so it seems, not only the gift of gab, but more important, a talent for self-deprecating wit.

The Poles, at least those I've known and with whom I'm still in contact, really don't joke about their faith! They tend to take it much more seriously and ritualistically, particularly when speaking with strangers aka foreigners.

Sorry about that:-)

@Atch
The difference between Irish and Polish?
Well , we joke alot and smile more we are not complainers. We are open minded people.
Polish people takes things more serious. Not saying they don't joke or smile.

I was more interested in the things you love, that are different to Ireland. I can't imagine you love that Polish people are not as easy going and humorous as the Irish ;)

I don't think that's entirely accurate. True, there is not much banter or small-talk between strangers in Poland, but when you get to know people better, they can be every bit as humorous as the Irish. It only takes a bit longer to earn their trust. Oh, and you would have to learn Polish to a near-proficiency level to see and appreciate that. Obviously, there's not much space for relaxation and "easy-goingness" in a conversation where one side is not fully comfortable with the language they are speaking.

I completely agree. But the point, as you agree yourself is that in Poland you don't get the casual humour from strangers that you do in Ireland. Also Torq, people in Poland are much quicker to get annoyed/angry over trivial things than the Irish who will either shrug it off or make a joke of it.


But that's the whole difference. In Ireland people exchange banter with complete strangers - it's part of our culture. Humour permeates everyday life and encounters on a level that you don't find in Poland.