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ecocks
Joined: 06 Nov 2007
Posts: 899
Location: Gdansk, Poland
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 Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 7:30 am Post subject: |
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| Infinite wrote: |
| dynow wrote: |
aside from who.....is it simonporter00 with a newborn, the rest of the lot here is young and/or childless. |
actually... nope... two kids here... no car either  still doing plenty of travel...
Dynow, I think you should leave the adult talk to adults
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I'd venture to say that this forum boils down to 3 main types of people:
1) young, single, no kids, limited responsibilities. or at the very least, no kids.
2) gay. which pretty much mirrors #1.
3) people that gave it a try, took a long hard look at priorities and realities, and moved on. |
4) Adults, most with kids, professionals, I mean, real professionals with a solid idea on how to not just micromanage but also plan ahead and conduct marketing research based on facts and not hearsay or internet fora.
There's a reason why most of us never come here. This place could be a real well of knowledge and information, but instead, comments from people like Dynow, push the professionals in our field away. |
Yep on this. |
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billbob
Joined: 19 Nov 2009
Posts: 55
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| Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 7:57 am Post subject: |
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| This board went off topic on page 2!!! |
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delphian-domine
Joined: 11 Mar 2011
Posts: 674
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| Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:37 am Post subject: Re: erm |
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| dragonpiwo wrote: |
| Berlin beach is pretty cool. |
As is our own Kontenery.
| Infinite wrote: |
| There's a reason why most of us never come here. This place could be a real well of knowledge and information, but instead, comments from people like Dynow, push the professionals in our field away. |
I think anyone reading this forum for more than a couple of minutes realise exactly what the truth is with Dynow - he failed miserably in Poland and blames Poland for his own inability to market himself.
Of course, he forgets to mention many things, such as
- He had to pay for his girlfriend to fly to the US every summer with him
- He had to pay his and her way in the US for those two months
- Her parents were distinctly working class and already retired on early retirement
etc etc. It's no surprise that Poland was a constant struggle for him if he had to save everything he had rather than actually enjoying life. Like you say, people like him drive people away, because all they hear is moaning and ranting about how terrible Poland is.
| dynow wrote: |
| if you gross under 6K, after ZUS, taxes, your accountant, you're at what....4K? |
Minimising one's tax bill is elementary in Poland, an accountant should cost no more than 123zl and ZUS is about 400zl for him now. Now let's consider that within 2 years, a man of his knowledge should get himself in a better position than that if he wishes - so he is doing just fine.
Must admit, I prefer living in the centre of a European city than living in a sandpit or living 2-3 hours from the centre of an American city. |
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dragonpiwo
Joined: 04 Mar 2013
Posts: 1650
Location: Berlin
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| Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 6:16 am Post subject: ha |
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| Vive la difference! I like living on the Med and spending my regular 3-week breaks at my lovely flat on the Warta. Now I'm by the coast...work's a breeze. Delph-you and I clearly have a different definition of LIVING. I get bored in Poland if I spend too long in Poznan...I like getting out and about and can afford it regularly unlike most I know. The recent Berlin trip...next month a villa near Sopot....Cuba before the end of the year with the Uk thrown in somewhere in all of that. Variety is the spice of life for me. That whole getting up in the dark...freezing.....doing hours here and there and finishing late sometimes and then not really having enough to indulge on life's luxuries is wearing long-term. You'll change your attitude if you find a gal and kids come a long. Teaching 40 hours a week and travelling to and fro...you'll hardly see your nipper and the 2000zl pram and cot and blah blah will really put a dent in that 8k you allegedly earn 12 months of the year. Poland isn't the prob really...TEFL is. |
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Infinite
Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 235
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| Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 7:27 am Post subject: |
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| billbob wrote: |
| This board went off topic on page 2!!! |
It usually does..
P1 - I'd like to know what the...
P2 - you gonna hate Poland after two weeks, you won't be able to sustain any kind of comfortable life, you will be miserable even your mom will disown you.
P3 - thread closed. |
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delphian-domine
Joined: 11 Mar 2011
Posts: 674
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| Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 10:29 am Post subject: Re: ha |
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| dragonpiwo wrote: |
| Vive la difference! I like living on the Med and spending my regular 3-week breaks at my lovely flat on the Warta. Now I'm by the coast...work's a breeze. Delph-you and I clearly have a different definition of LIVING. I get bored in Poland if I spend too long in Poznan...I like getting out and about and can afford it regularly unlike most I know. The recent Berlin trip...next month a villa near Sopot....Cuba before the end of the year with the Uk thrown in somewhere in all of that. Variety is the spice of life for me. That whole getting up in the dark...freezing.....doing hours here and there and finishing late sometimes and then not really having enough to indulge on life's luxuries is wearing long-term. You'll change your attitude if you find a gal and kids come a long. Teaching 40 hours a week and travelling to and fro...you'll hardly see your nipper and the 2000zl pram and cot and blah blah will really put a dent in that 8k you allegedly earn 12 months of the year. Poland isn't the prob really...TEFL is. |
See, what you're completely missing is that despite all this, you have to spend most of your life living in what by all accounts is a pretty dull existence. You can't just go to a nice party like I did last night, you can't just go for a beer with some normal people, you can't just go and see a random concert and you have to abide by certain norms and values that most of us would find quite offputting.
I'm sure Infinite, Master Shake, Scottie, ecocks, Simon and all the others on here will attest to the sheer pleasure of being able to do many different things whenever they choose. Trying to tell us that you're doing all these things means nothing except that you have to live in a dull environment in a part of the world where nothing interesting is happening except threats to peoples lives.
For what it's worth, I don't think I've been at work any later than 7:30 this year, and that was because I wanted to clean everything up after a big meeting so the cleaners didn't have to it in the morning. A normal day, I'm home by 3:15 and I never start earlier than 8. All your comments about "40 hours a week in darkness" are pretty meaningless.
I think what ecocks said above says it all - the coffees with friends, the breakfast meetings with friends, the general ability to get out there and do interesting things as you wish. I can't imagine being stuck in a sandpit while my friends are enjoying their lives - and what use is the beach and a gym if you don't have anyone to enjoy it with?
I notice one thing more than anything - despite all what you've said, not once have you ever mentioned having friends out there. |
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dragonpiwo
Joined: 04 Mar 2013
Posts: 1650
Location: Berlin
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| Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 10:47 am Post subject: harrumph |
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Of course I've got friends here.....we went for a kebab last night......and we have barbecues....oh and there is grog.......quite a hobby for some. Living on the coast of Libya's fun....it's a beach life. I used to live in the field. Naaa the life here is not the problem.......it's dealing with autocratic management and heinous paperwork.
So you work 8-3.15 and earn the sums you've talked about? I simply don't believe you.
You can have the last word as I don't give a feck.
Unlike you....I know Poland AND Libya. Actually, I've spent much longer living in the former too. And then...I know people who know you.
Harrumph. |
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delphian-domine
Joined: 11 Mar 2011
Posts: 674
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| Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 11:11 am Post subject: Re: harrumph |
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| dragonpiwo wrote: |
| Of course I've got friends here.....we went for a kebab last night......and we have barbecues....oh and there is grog.......quite a hobby for some. Living on the coast of Libya's fun....it's a beach life. I used to live in the field. Naaa the life here is not the problem.......it's dealing with autocratic management and heinous paperwork. |
Fortunately I don't have to deal with either. Most of my paperwork is what I've created myself. I don't think I could stand autocratic management for any amount of money.
| Quote: |
So you work 8-3.15 and earn the sums you've talked about? I simply don't believe you.
You can have the last word as I don't give a feck. |
It's called "real job". And yes, there are days when I've pulled much longer hours through necessity, and I didn't get paid extra - it's called being on a salary.
| Quote: |
| Unlike you....I know Poland AND Libya. Actually, I've spent much longer living in the former too. And then...I know people who know you. |
I know people who know you too, of course. Small city. I just hope you don't go telling them to their faces how little they earn and how poor they are, as they're good lads. |
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ecocks
Joined: 06 Nov 2007
Posts: 899
Location: Gdansk, Poland
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| Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 4:32 pm Post subject: |
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LMAO!
Yeah, I have a buddy who worked Libya. His last story about being interrupted in a class to shut down, be escorted to his apartment and then rushed to the airport for evac to Malta, then having to sit in an un-serviced airplane on the tarmac for five hours while they worked out what to do about not having anywhere to stay and no visas for a couple of the staff members. It was certainly invigorating hearing him describe having to dodge the burning tires in the streets and backing away from crowds and military convoys and checkpoints on the way to the airport with the suitcase, computer and carry-on he was allowed.
Too funny!
Let me see, today I slept late (8:30AM), got up, went and met another English teacher for breakfast (3 eggs, bacon, sausage and toast; he had pancakes) while sitting beside the river admiring the weather, tourists, the gals and enjoying coffee ($6). Then another friend and I took a river cruise tram ($3.33) to the park where WW2 started, strolled along a real beach (complete with bikini-clad gals), watched a half-dozen big ships and a dozen or so sail and powerboats, enjoyed another coffee ($1.65), munched on some fried chicken (store-bought for $4), split a package of Oreos ($1) and then cruised back home. The cruising was a splurge, I could have gone round-trip on the bus for half the $7 I spent taking the river trams.
That's not to say that beats kebab with real friends (or even just batching it and reading a book all day in your apartment) but it has been a great day so far. NO gray skies, no dour looks, no exorbitant fees and some pretty good times. Church bells out my window, children playing basketball out in the courtyard, yeah, Poland is a real hellhole...........
Laughing so hard at my horrible fate, I'm crying! |
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dragonpiwo
Joined: 04 Mar 2013
Posts: 1650
Location: Berlin
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| Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 6:11 pm Post subject: erm |
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However, in December I'll still be on the beach.  |
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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080
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| Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 2:08 pm Post subject: |
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ecocks wrote:
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Let me see, today I slept late (8:30AM), got up, went and met another English teacher for breakfast (3 eggs, bacon, sausage and toast; he had pancakes) while sitting beside the river admiring the weather, tourists, the gals and enjoying coffee ($6). Then another friend and I took a river cruise tram ($3.33) to the park where WW2 started, strolled along a real beach (complete with bikini-clad gals), watched a half-dozen big ships and a dozen or so sail and powerboats, enjoyed another coffee ($1.65), munched on some fried chicken (store-bought for $4), split a package of Oreos ($1) and then cruised back home. The cruising was a splurge, I could have gone round-trip on the bus for half the $7 I spent taking the river trams.
That's not to say that beats kebab with real friends (or even just batching it and reading a book all day in your apartment) but it has been a great day so far. NO gray skies, no dour looks, no exorbitant fees and some pretty good times. Church bells out my window, children playing basketball out in the courtyard, yeah, Poland is a real hellhole...........
Laughing so hard at my horrible fate, I'm crying! |
boy oh boy.....it makes you wonder why any Poles would leave! I got millions of them here in the states, I'll start asking around and get back to you.
delphian-domine wrote:
| Quote: |
| It's called "real job". |
so for all the rest of the people on this forum that earn far less than 8K.....was it Infinite that nets about 4K.......what kinds of jobs do they have? or 99% of all Poles for that matter.
You're like the Mitt Romney of Dave's. |
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ecocks
Joined: 06 Nov 2007
Posts: 899
Location: Gdansk, Poland
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| Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 3:24 pm Post subject: |
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| dynow wrote: |
ecocks wrote:
| Quote: |
Let me see, today I slept late (8:30AM), got up, went and met another English teacher for breakfast (3 eggs, bacon, sausage and toast; he had pancakes) while sitting beside the river admiring the weather, tourists, the gals and enjoying coffee ($6). Then another friend and I took a river cruise tram ($3.33) to the park where WW2 started, strolled along a real beach (complete with bikini-clad gals), watched a half-dozen big ships and a dozen or so sail and powerboats, enjoyed another coffee ($1.65), munched on some fried chicken (store-bought for $4), split a package of Oreos ($1) and then cruised back home. The cruising was a splurge, I could have gone round-trip on the bus for half the $7 I spent taking the river trams.
That's not to say that beats kebab with real friends (or even just batching it and reading a book all day in your apartment) but it has been a great day so far. NO gray skies, no dour looks, no exorbitant fees and some pretty good times. Church bells out my window, children playing basketball out in the courtyard, yeah, Poland is a real hellhole...........
Laughing so hard at my horrible fate, I'm crying! |
boy oh boy.....it makes you wonder why any Poles would leave! I got millions of them here in the states, I'll start asking around and get back to you.
delphian-domine wrote:
| Quote: |
| It's called "real job". |
so for all the rest of the people on this forum that earn far less than 8K.....was it Infinite that nets about 4K.......what kinds of jobs do they have? or 99% of all Poles for that matter.
You're like the Mitt Romney of Dave's. |
You must be a Democrat, all that deflection about Polish people in the US.
Of course, since you brought it up it is intriguing that according to the US Census the Polish-American population dropped by over 390,000 in the post-perestroika period between 1990 and 2000 when US population was growing steadily. Do you suppose they worked themselves to death or were all killed in random drive-by shootings that were secretly targeting Poles? Hmmmmmmm.......
Certainly a large number of Poles had emigrated to the US in the 1800's and right up to the immediate, Post WW2 period but that, plus natural increase, was the "millions of Poles" in the US. All those folks left to return to Poland and the EU after the dissolution of the USSR and establishment of more representative government, along with a more free market system. Nice try though!
LOL, keep desperately trying to justify something, no matter how absurd your presentation becomes.
For those reading the thread in hopes of realizing what life in Poland can be like, the boat going downriver from the Old Town to the Baltic was packed on Sunday. There were roughly 200 people on the beach, another 500 or so at the two fortress locations and wandering around. Lots of people biking, walking for exercise and looking over the exhibits. The riverside in Old Town was hopping on Saturday night since a cruise ship docked in front of the Hilton.
Guess those cruise ship operators are really stupid bringing passengers to a dump like Poland, huh?
ROFL! |
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dragonpiwo
Joined: 04 Mar 2013
Posts: 1650
Location: Berlin
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| Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 6:12 pm Post subject: erm |
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| A million Poles legged to the UK right off the bat. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 6:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Half the population of Poland seems to be in UK, France and Germany. How come when the populatiuon is moving WEST, these EFLers are moving EAST ? |
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dragonpiwo
Joined: 04 Mar 2013
Posts: 1650
Location: Berlin
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| Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 5:30 am Post subject: erm |
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| The vast majority are looking for/or have found love and 2zl shots in Piwo Pyjalnia.....although they won't admit it ......myself included . |
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