Moving for TEFL job to Poland, what can I expect?

I am moving to Poland in about six weeks for a TEFL job. I've traveled a lot, but never been to Poland and I'm not really sure what to expect. I'll be living in a town called Zwolen, about 30 km outside of Radom. What can I expect with the food, people, language, culture, weather, safety, the town itself, anything.

Thanks!

Just take care on the sleeper trains for mafia gassing you while you sleep ;)

I would seriously reconsider it. It's a nowhereville village (town is pushing it), and Radom is universally seen as being a bit of a dump with very little to do. It's also likely to be a very conservative place - which is great if you enjoy the church and tedium, but it'll be hellish if you expect anything exciting to happen.

You can expect to be rather lonely there - the odds of there being any English speakers your own age are very low, outside of the people working in the school. It's also worth noting that such a school is likely to be tiny - so you will be a big shot, but equally so, you'll have all the drama associated with it.

If you want, PM me what they're paying you and I'll give you a fair assessment on the deal.

I agree, reconsider it or you will regret it. That place doesnt sound too appealing. There better places in Poland.

it could be some start... and relocate later on after getting an idea about Poland...?

I just want to balance things out a little. I loved village life in Poland, both in Kantorowice and in Kolbuszowa. Though I enjoy that laid back way of life in general. Can be a bit boring but you find things to do. Hiking, fishing, rallying ect!

When i'm in Poland i always gotta drive through it on my way to and from the airport in Warsaw, it's a little boom town, Radom nearby is pretty nice, clubs.

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To be fair, I'm not really looking for a buzzing nightlife. Good restaurants, a little shopping or a park to sit in are a lot higher on my list than scene bars and clubs. I knew when I took the job that it was going to be a small town. I'm just more curious about what the actual town looks like, or if anyone has been there and can tell me anything important about it.

They hire people called mohair berety to inspect foreigners and actually allow castration in the event that anyone steps out of line. They are quite strict there. They are the Polish mujihadeen.

...and don't ever eat anything you don't recognise.

I can almost certainly assure you that there's unlikely to be any good restaurants or anywhere worth buying anything from in that town. Sure, scene bars and clubs suck - but you won't have *anywhere* worth drinking in such a small place - even a friendly local probably isn't going to exist there.

The thing is that Poles tend to have quite closed social circles as it is - you'll find it very difficult in a small town to actually integrate at all.

The other thing : I've heard of a few cases where foreigners going to small towns have ended up in trouble because their employer couldn't afford them. It's normal practice in Poland for schools to cut the most expensive employees first - and they will be the foreign native. In a small town, your choices are incredibly limited if the school has to cut your hours - you might want to consider job security as being next to non-existent in such a place. Ignore what the contract says, unless you can happily afford to sue them in a Polish court.

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