Job Discussion Forums

[stephabee]

Hello! I leave for Europe (from Canada) in just over a week. I'll be working in Krakow for about a month and then in August I'm heading for Prague to get my TESOL certificate. My goal is to find work in Poland come fall.

I'd love some advice on what city to find work in. I'm not too picky about where I go within Poland. I'd like to be in a medium to large city with a relatively young population (I'm 24). I'd really like to work on my Polish while there so preferrably a place without too many English speakers.

I'm not a big drinker so having a tonne of pubs isn't really necessary. I'd rather live in a place with a lot of art/music/theatre and also opportunity for various sports (water sports, snowboarding, etc).

If anyone can suggest a place that might work with what I'm looking for, that would be great! I've been thinking Wroclaw or Gdansk but would love other opinions - I'm sure there are places I'm not thinking of.

Also, should I just pick a city and show up to apply for jobs, or is it okay to apply online from Prague? Since I haven't seen all the cities I'm looking into in person, it's pretty much just a guessing game for me right now.

One more question - I have a college degree as opposed to a university degree. Will this make any difference when applying to schools?

Thanks for any advice! Much appreciated.

[gregoryfromcali]

Hello again Stephanie,

Is there a reason you're not considering staying in Cracow?

It is the most beautiful city in Poland and it offers everything you mentioned.

On top of that the whole thing about going where there aren't a lot of expats is a double edged sword.

When I first came to Cracow over two years ago it was rare to meet expats. Well maybe not rare but when you met one you would normally talk to them for awhile.

But now it is fairly common and as a result it's not usually such a big deal therefore expats usually don't seek out each other anymore.

In another words you may find that in a city with few expats that the expats and your fellow teachers will seek you out and if you don't spend time with them you may be seen as a snob.

Where as in Cracow it's not big deal because it is easy to make friends here and therefore you don't have to spend time with expats you don't like or any at all it that's your choice.

I also came to Poland thinking I would have lots of Polish friends. But this hasn't been the case with of course the exception of my girlfriend.

On the other hand I have a lot of British friends now.

I think most Poles assume we want to spend time with other foreigners just as they often spend there time with other Poles when they're abroad.

But more than that I think it is difficult for them to relate to us in some ways because we're paid so much. Most of my students rarely if ever eat out or ever think of going to Prague for a few days because it is expensive. So our lifestyles are very different.

Just my 2 cents.

But saying that eventually most people do miss expats believe it or not. As we're all expats whether we like it or not.

[Alex Shulgin]

[Michael Gaylord]

Stephabee,

I've been in Poland for a year: have seen Gdansk, Kalisz, Poznan, Łodz, Wrocław, the southwestern Karkonoze mountains (basically the western half of the country). If you want access to skiing/ snowboarding directly, you may want to consider Jelenia Gora. It is a small city (about 90,000 pop. I think), but is RIGHT IN the mountains, has a number of language schools, and is really cheap to live in. Karpacz (small city nearby) is about 20min away, and it is a major ski/snowboard centre for that part of Poland; it's also right on the Czech border). Everyone talks about Zakopanie, when it comes to mountain places in Poland, but I think Karpacz/ Jelenia Gora has a lot to offer too. (and it's not crowded at all)
Wroćław is the nearest big city, and it's also a gem: culture, beautiful architecture, nice river valley, etc.--but, even though it's only about 100 km from the mountains, it can take half of the day to get there by public transit. I thought that being close to Wrocław, myself, I would be able to go skiing frequently, but only went twice this winter.
Poznan is, surprisingly, a good place for sports too. It has a big lake right in the middle of the city with a good rollerblading path, a (small)ski hill, and bike paths and nice parks. And, if it's important to you, it seems to have a more "health-minded attitude" than other parts of Poland (in my opinion)-- perhaps because it's the most western-oriented of Polish cities. People don't do a double take at you when you go jogging / rollerblading, etc.
Somethings to consider, at least...
Good luck!
Mike