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| Poland is... |
| A great place to live and work |
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50% |
[ 6 ] |
| A good place to live and work |
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25% |
[ 3 ] |
| An OK place to live and work |
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25% |
[ 3 ] |
| A bad place to live and work |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| Don't come here! Noooooooo!!!! |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
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| Total Votes : 12 |
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expatben
Joined: 05 Apr 2005
Posts: 214
Location: UK...soon Canada though
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 Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2005 9:47 am Post subject: Poland is |
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| Just wondering what the general feeling is |
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XXX
Joined: 14 Feb 2003
Posts: 174
Location: Where ever people wish to learn English
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| Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2005 7:39 pm Post subject: |
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| I liked it the first time and I came back for a summer program. I'll be back ( next summer )!!!! |
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expatben
Joined: 05 Apr 2005
Posts: 214
Location: UK...soon Canada though
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| Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 8:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks, you're really making me feel more confident in coming over |
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Tumteetum
Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 144
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| Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2005 4:16 pm Post subject: Re: Poland is |
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The elaborate version.... Out of 10
Living. 7/10. Positive - great people, bars, nice countryside, some nice towns and cities, plenty to visit. Negative - winters and pan faced strangers.
Money. 4/10. Plenty to live on in Poland but youre not going to save here unless you stay home and live on frozen pierogi and tap water for a year.
Women: 9/10. Would have been 10 if it wasnt for chicks with no hips (still better than Thailand's version though!)
(Men: too much testosterone. grade n/a)
Beer: 9/10. Would have been 10 if it wasnt for the head bangingly tempting Warka Strong!
Work. 8/10. As an ESL teacher... students are generally fun and willing to talk. Blokes can be a tad defensive though.
Overall - Im here for the women and beer so Im laughing  |
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gregoryfromcali
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Posts: 1207
Location: People's Republic of Shanghai
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| Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 2:56 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
The elaborate version.... Out of 10
Living. 7/10. Positive - great people, bars, nice countryside, some nice towns and cities, plenty to visit. Negative - winters and pan faced strangers.
Money. 4/10. Plenty to live on in Poland but youre not going to save here unless you stay home and live on frozen pierogi and tap water for a year.
Women: 9/10. Would have been 10 if it wasnt for chicks with no hips (still better than Thailand's version though!)
(Men: too much testosterone. grade n/a)
Beer: 9/10. Would have been 10 if it wasnt for the head bangingly tempting Warka Strong!
Work. 8/10. As an ESL teacher... students are generally fun and willing to talk. Blokes can be a tad defensive though.
Overall - Im here for the women and beer so Im laughing. |
This is a pretty good breakdown of Poland.
I lived there for two years and I had a good time. I recommend it to anyone who wants to experience former communist Eastern Europe.
It does come down to the beer and the women for a lot of guys.
For me it was about the ladies, well one lady, and the traveling you can do from there. I found my finance there.
I was able to explore Ukraine, Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Repulic and of course Poland.
But after two years the Winters, not being able to save much, drinking in pubs being one of the only things that English teachers do and the coldness that Poles can sometimes exhibit eventually got old.
But I wouldn't have done it any differently.
I think it's one of the best places to start as a teacher. Because Poles want it all. They want grammar, conversation and a good time. After a year there you should be able to teach anywhere. |
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XXX
Joined: 14 Feb 2003
Posts: 174
Location: Where ever people wish to learn English
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| Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 3:24 pm Post subject: |
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Coldness? You must have been in Warsaw. I have never been treated with more warmth by any people in my life. No, I wasn't in Warsaw.
And as for the money, Poland is a poor country. Thanks to Hitler and Stalin, it had been looted for more than 50 years. However, my salary was MUCH more than the local standard. I knew better than to go there to "make money". If you want money, go to the middle east or Korea. I'm sure you won't enjoy those places as much as you did Poland. I stand by my vote. |
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Tumteetum
Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 144
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| Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 3:43 pm Post subject: |
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| XXX wrote: |
Coldness? You must have been in Warsaw. I have never been treated with more warmth by any people in my life. No, I wasn't in Warsaw.
And as for the money, Poland is a poor country. Thanks to Hitler and Stalin, it had been looted for more than 50 years. However, my salary was MUCH more than the local standard. I knew better than to go there to "make money". If you want money, go to the middle east or Korea. I'm sure you won't enjoy those places as much as you did Poland. I stand by my vote. |
There is little money to save in Poland - thats a fact, not a complaint or some kind of astonishing exclamation. Plenty to live on comfortably, not enough to save (which is what many ESL teachers are looking to do and so worth a mention I think).
And in my experience Poles are great once you get to know them, but can generally be quite cold and (seemingly) unfriendly otherwise. Most if not all other westerners I met felt similarly.
And Korea is great with its silly excitedness and liveliness, its brilliant food, near 24 hour living, locals who like to drink, neon etc etc - totally different to Poland but also a great place and culture to experience. I dont know how you can be sure anyone wouldnt enjoy it. |
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Alex Shulgin
Joined: 20 Jul 2003
Posts: 553
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| Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 7:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Tumteetum wrote: |
| There is little money to save in Poland - thats a fact, not a complaint or some kind of astonishing exclamation. Plenty to live on comfortably, not enough to save (which is what many ESL teachers are looking to do and so worth a mention I think). |
There is plenty of money to be made in Poland. I'm currently looking at apartments to buy in the US$250,000 range. The one I bought seven years ago with 100% credit is now completely paid for. I don't stay in much but I'm not out drinking every night (as a lot of teachers are). The trick is to just work for the people who pay the best and to be hard-nosed when talking money to prospective bosses. And to teach 30 classes a week. |
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XXX
Joined: 14 Feb 2003
Posts: 174
Location: Where ever people wish to learn English
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| Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 9:01 pm Post subject: |
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| I did not say that Korea is not a fun place to teach in. What I did say that Poland is, in my experience, a much more pleasant place to teach in. I did a year in Korea. I had a good time and put away a good bit of coin, but I had a much better time in Poland. This is why I came back and will be coming back to teach summer camps there. Would I do this in Korea? Not a chance. |
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Tumteetum
Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 144
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| Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 9:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Alex Shulgin wrote: |
| Tumteetum wrote: |
| There is little money to save in Poland - thats a fact, not a complaint or some kind of astonishing exclamation. Plenty to live on comfortably, not enough to save (which is what many ESL teachers are looking to do and so worth a mention I think). |
There is plenty of money to be made in Poland. I'm currently looking at apartments to buy in the US$250,000 range. The one I bought seven years ago with 100% credit is now completely paid for. I don't stay in much but I'm not out drinking every night (as a lot of teachers are). The trick is to just work for the people who pay the best and to be hard-nosed when talking money to prospective bosses. And to teach 30 classes a week. |
Ive travelled and lived in a few countries (teaching and otherwise) - in Europe, Asia and South America - I'd say Poland was way down on the list of countries for saving money. Its possible to make and save money anywhere to be fair - you did in Poland and good on you. |
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gregoryfromcali
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Posts: 1207
Location: People's Republic of Shanghai
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| Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 10:54 am Post subject: |
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Coldness? You must have been in Warsaw. I have never been treated with more warmth by any people in my life. No, I wasn't in Warsaw.
And as for the money, Poland is a poor country. Thanks to Hitler and Stalin, it had been looted for more than 50 years. However, my salary was MUCH more than the local standard. I knew better than to go there to "make money". If you want money, go to the middle east or Korea. I'm sure you won't enjoy those places as much as you did Poland. I stand by my vote. |
XXX, I was in Cracow at one of the top schools there. Again I lived in Poland for over two years. I was a history major and I returned to Poland because of its fascinating history.
So I'm fully aware of the realities there. I'm not criticizing Poland. In fact the country has filled me with over two years of happy memories.
I should also add that Cracow is my favorite city in Europe.
But I do think there is something to some Poles complaing a lot, just ask your students. Of course every culture has it's highs and lows. Just as you pointed out that Korea is not perfect neither is any place else in the world. I just pointed out the lows for me.
As I said on the other hand I met my finance there and to me she's the warmest person in the world.
Teachers do have a good lifestyle there. But after every school year I usually only had a few hundred dollars left and which is fun for a while but where does that leave a teacher in the long run?
Speaking of Asia. I've taught in China before and I've returned to teach for a year. I've got a good job teaching in Shanghai and I can save twice as much because the school pays my rent.
What can I say? I love it here.
But obviously for different reasons. I like it because it is so different from the West.
To me Poland is the West and I wanted to experience something else.
Poland is great. I would recommend for my best friend to live there. But for me it was time to move on. Then again if it wasn't for the long winters perhaps I would still be there.
Last edited by gregoryfromcali on Thu Aug 18, 2005 11:00 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Kymro
Joined: 19 Oct 2003
Posts: 244
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| Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 10:59 am Post subject: |
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| Tumteetum wrote: |
| Alex Shulgin wrote: |
| Tumteetum wrote: |
| There is little money to save in Poland - thats a fact, not a complaint or some kind of astonishing exclamation. Plenty to live on comfortably, not enough to save (which is what many ESL teachers are looking to do and so worth a mention I think). |
There is plenty of money to be made in Poland. I'm currently looking at apartments to buy in the US$250,000 range. The one I bought seven years ago with 100% credit is now completely paid for. I don't stay in much but I'm not out drinking every night (as a lot of teachers are). The trick is to just work for the people who pay the best and to be hard-nosed when talking money to prospective bosses. And to teach 30 classes a week. |
Ive travelled and lived in a few countries (teaching and otherwise) - in Europe, Asia and South America - I'd say Poland was way down on the list of countries for saving money. Its possible to make and save money anywhere to be fair - you did in Poland and good on you. |
Don't believe this guy.
I'd put the man's 'success' down to being the idiot offspring of rich indulgent parents.
And having an over-active imagination as well as a big mouth.
I'd be interested to know how Alex/Harry/Christian's salary compares to that of his English public school peer group.
Btw I had decided I wouldn't comment on Alex's posts, but I just happened to find this last one so vomit inducing ................... |
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Alex Shulgin
Joined: 20 Jul 2003
Posts: 553
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| Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Kymro wrote: |
Don't believe this guy.
I'd put the man's 'success' down to being the idiot offspring of rich indulgent parents.
And having an over-active imagination as well as a big mouth.
I'd be interested to know how Alex/Harry/Christian's salary compares to that of his English public school peer group.
Btw I had decided I wouldn't comment on Alex's posts, but I just happened to find this last one so vomit inducing ................... |
And of course Kymro is utterly truthful. He makes his living from exploiting teachers who don't know how much they can ask to be paid. So we can really trust him to tell the truth about how much teachers can earn.
Don't take my word on being able to pay off a mortgage here. Ask a bank. They will tell you that if you borrow 400,000PLN and pay it back over 20 years, you will pay 2,350PLN per month. That kind of capital will get you a 70 square metre flat which has been completely renovated and is in a good location in Warsaw. You'll pay more than 2,350PLN per month to rent that kind of place. Split the place between two people and you're paying about 20% to 25% of your net income on accommodation. And yes you can borrow 100% of the capital you need.
Thanks for your kind words about my parents Warren. No doubt Harry will also thank you when I tell him about your latest vodka fuelled ranting. Sadly for you we're not the same person. Harry did indeed get his parents to countersign his UK loan to buy his apartment. He says he paid it all back but I can't say if that is true. Personally I got a 100% loan for 180,000PLN and paid it back in seven years at 2400PLN per month. Do the math. Check how much you will pay back in 7 years at 2400 per month.
Can somebody afford to pay 2400PLN per month by themself? Yes. Work for the good schools in Warsaw, teach 90 minutes every morning plus 180 every afternoon and you'll earn 5,500PLN per months after tax. Leaves you with 3,000PLN per month to live on. Not huge but certainly enough. Don't believe me on these figures. Contact schools and tell them you want to earn 45PLN per 45 minutes. They'll tell you that is within their pay range.
Look forward to hearing how these figures are just a figment of my over-active imagination. Please post more claims about how teachers in Poland earn nothing. How will you be able to keep earning huge amounts per lesson that teachers teach for you if the teachers know how much they can earn if they work for somebody who doesn't constantly think how to rip off the teachers?!! |
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XXX
Joined: 14 Feb 2003
Posts: 174
Location: Where ever people wish to learn English
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| Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 3:36 pm Post subject: |
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I also find that Krakow is my favorite European city. I had the opportunity to teach at a summer camp in Piekary this summer.
As for money, I guess that since I was living in Poland "B", I had the opportunity to save more money. Actually, I came out ahead from what I started with.
And the winters aren't any worse than what I have to deal with here in PA. |
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Kymro
Joined: 19 Oct 2003
Posts: 244
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| Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 7:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Alex Shulgin wrote: |
No doubt Harry will also thank you when I tell him about your latest vodka fuelled ranting. Sadly for you we're not the same person.
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http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?p=36512#35512
Personally I strongly suspect you of being the Viz cartoon character Aldridge Prior, Hopeless Liar. |
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