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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080
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 Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 7:27 pm Post subject: |
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not to change the course of the thread, but being we're talking about long term hope for expats......i would like to pose a question:
Quite simply, what is better in Poland than in the country where you came from?
granted there are only about 10 people that even post on the Polish forum these days, which already paints a bleak picture for "expat hope" in Poland, but I guess I'm looking for real, legitimate reasons for why people might stay here, rather than return to their home country. |
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Richfilth
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 225
Location: Warszawa
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| Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 8:54 pm Post subject: |
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When I moved here, it provided the opportunity for gainful employment after university relevant to my field, plus the ability to buy a home and run a car on those wages as well. Poland 2004-6 compared very favourably to England 2004-6; I was only making 500 quid a month then, but it was more than enough.
Poland 2006-2008 financially are a tougher comparison, but for 2009 I think I'll be a lot more financially secure in Poland than I would be back in Blighty. |
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simon_porter00
Joined: 09 Nov 2005
Posts: 505
Location: Warsaw, Poland
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:36 am Post subject: |
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| granted there are only about 10 people that even post on the Polish forum these days, which already paints a bleak picture for "expat hope" in Poland, but I guess I'm looking for real, legitimate reasons for why people might stay here, rather than return to their home country. |
Using Dave's fine, upstanding and no doubt handsome posters to illustrate a point about ex-pats and hope is a bit off. I can think of at least 20-30 natives who work in Poland, live, have families and who are lifers who don't even know about this site.
Back to the question - I make far more money here then i would hope to do in the UK. In the UK i'd be back at square one without a PGCE nor further qualifications. I could try to swing a management position by hugely inflating what I've achieved here in Poland but i'd really have to pull the wool over their eyes. Either that or join the civil service. |
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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 9:29 am Post subject: |
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| I can think of at least 20-30 natives who work in Poland, live, have families and who are lifers who don't even know about this site. |
are they teachers?
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| I was only making 500 quid a month then, but it was more than enough. |
this is amazing. $750 USD a month. that's pathetic. i had no idea things were that bad in England. no wonder so many Brits come to Poland to teach English. |
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hrvatski
Joined: 16 Nov 2008
Posts: 270
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 9:39 am Post subject: |
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I had to wait 3 months before Dave accepted new accounts on this forum, I wonder how many people just gave up.
Simon, what do you think about bringing up a kid in Poland in terms of his or her prospects for the future as compared to in England? |
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Sgt Bilko
Joined: 28 Jul 2006
Posts: 136
Location: POLAND
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 11:54 am Post subject: |
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| Quite simply, what is better in Poland than in the country where you came from? |
I've got a couple of school age kids (8 and 6) and there are a lot of things I like about their life over here. The schools, whilst old-fashioned compared to British schools, seem well run, free of bullying (I may have to change my opinion when they get to Gimnazium age), the education is quite traditional which appeals to the fuddy-duddy in me.
Outside school, life is more traditional and safer than in England (I think). I like the fact that teenage students can, without embarrassment, say that the highlight of their summer holidays was going to grandma's for a couple of weeks. Things are changing and I'm sure big cities are different but a lot of the old traditions survive - church, family gatherings, looking after the old folk rather than putting them in a home. I don't even go to church but it makes me feel good to see the hoardes coming out on a Sunday morning.
And when they grow older, there is less of the binge drinking, knife crime, random violence than there would be in a city of this size in the UK (150,000).
As for prospects, well, they'll have dual nationality and be members of the EU so prospects should be the same as anyone from the UK. They can get free Scottish University education to boot which someone living in England can't.
Much as we all complain about Poland (and why can't they get the bones out when they fillet fish?), I'd much rather bring up kids here than in the UK. |
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Richfilth
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 225
Location: Warszawa
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 1:12 pm Post subject: |
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| You've misquoted me Dynow - I was making 500 pounds a month in POLAND (3000PLN, back when it was 6zl to the pound.) For someone with my qualifications and lack of experience though, back in 2004 I could have looked for a 1-year internship (so no cash whatsoever) or worked right at the bottom for 1100 pounds a month BEFORE taxes (so 834quid net). Like I said, that was five years ago, when it was $2 to the pound, so more like $1000 a month. |
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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:27 pm Post subject: |
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| You've misquoted me Dynow - I was making 500 pounds a month in POLAND |
sorry bud, guess i read it wrong.
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Outside school, life is more traditional and safer than in England (I think). I like the fact that teenage students can, without embarrassment, say that the highlight of their summer holidays was going to grandma's for a couple of weeks. Things are changing and I'm sure big cities are different but a lot of the old traditions survive - church, family gatherings, looking after the old folk rather than putting them in a home. I don't even go to church but it makes me feel good to see the hoardes coming out on a Sunday morning.
And when they grow older, there is less of the binge drinking, knife crime, random violence than there would be in a city of this size in the UK (150,000). |
great points, Mr. Bilko. We think along similar lines. i too really appreciate the traditions and customs of Poland, most especially the point you made about cool vs. uncool (going to grandma's house). in the states, cool vs. uncool creates an unbearable amount of peer pressure at times, many times stemming from kids having no concept of the value of much of anything. spoon fed, spoiled kids.
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| As for prospects, well, they'll have dual nationality and be members of the EU so prospects should be the same as anyone from the UK. They can get free Scottish University education to boot which someone living in England can't. |
i'm a bit curious about this statement. do you think children being raised in Poland will be at the same level, regarding job prospects, as someone born and raised in the UK? not to mention a native born and raised person in the UK will simply speak better English than your children, not to mention understand the culture better, know the system more thoroughly.......
i'm not saying your children are at some huge disadvantage......just simply asking if you honestly think they will really have the same prospects in the UK or another English speaking country, as someone born and raised in the UK? |
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Sgt Bilko
Joined: 28 Jul 2006
Posts: 136
Location: POLAND
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:51 pm Post subject: |
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| not to mention a native born and raised person in the UK will simply speak better English than your children, not to mention understand the culture better, know the system more thoroughly |
They're pretty much bi-lingual and good at mimicking accents- with input from me and British radio /TV, they're going to be pretty much native speaker like by the time they leave home. Same with the culture - they've got cousins there who keep them up to date with the latest fads and I read to them so there's that input not to mention Dr Who on the internet / TV.
If the Polish community in Britain stays (depends on the continung slump in value of the pound I guess) then they'd have the added benefit of being able to use that source of advice / help as well if there were any problems with the system.
I have no worries at all on that score, plus, they'll start German classes soon and, with two languages already, hopefully that'll be easier for them. That's got to give them an advantage over most British kids. |
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simon_porter00
Joined: 09 Nov 2005
Posts: 505
Location: Warsaw, Poland
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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| dynow wrote: |
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| I can think of at least 20-30 natives who work in Poland, live, have families and who are lifers who don't even know about this site. |
are they teachers?
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Yup, all of them. Most of them are lifers, others here for a year or two before deciding.
| hrvatski wrote: |
Simon, what do you think about bringing up a kid in Poland in terms of his or her prospects for the future as compared to in England?
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Propects for children i would say, are better here with the possible exception of healthcare. Although that last comment is unjustified, simply based on what many seem to believe. In fact there are a few children's hospitals in Warsaw, so maybe that's simply not true.
Better education, better social skills (IMHO), more mature, more 'real-world' then pampered kids from the US and USA. The benefit of having a minimum of two fluent languages with 3 or 4 more likely. I've always said that if you compare an average 18yr old student from Poland with one from England, the 18yr old is streets ahead. By the time they come out of uni, they're not even on the same page. With an average level of English most Poles who have got engeneering, design, etc etc degrees easily find jobs in the UK. In the future this will become easier and easier and it's my honest belief that the UK educational system won't ever catch up. The only draw back i have is that I'll feel somewhat guilty having done no work myself to get through uni, to then send my kids there and watch them work hard. Maybe  . |
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hrvatski
Joined: 16 Nov 2008
Posts: 270
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 3:31 pm Post subject: |
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| If you were to have kids do you think by the time they're 18 a part time job might actually pay a decent wage? I ponder this often but can't decide myself. |
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sharter
Joined: 25 Jun 2008
Posts: 878
Location: All over the place
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| Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 7:27 pm Post subject: erm |
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I'd agree that an upbringing in Poland is likely to be far safer than one in the UK. Polish schools still do sports, the family is central to life and education is valued by the majority. The NHS in the UK is shocking.
The gist of my worries is that Poland is really expensive and that wages don't seem to be keeping up.
If I was still married to a Polish woman, I'd also be worried that the beauty I married would turn into a hag at the age of 50. |
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Brooks
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1369
Location: Sagamihara
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 7:20 am Post subject: |
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50? 40 is more likely.
Polish women generally look nice when they are young, but they age quickly. |
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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 8:59 am Post subject: |
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think about where you're from......how many 50 year old nice looking ladies do you remember seeing?
with that said, even consider the 40 year olds you remember.
this also depends on where in poland you live. if you live in a major city and walk around the malls and see the pampered women with nothing better to do than shop and go to their exercise class every morning, you see some nice tail in their 30's and 40's quite often. |
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Brooks
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1369
Location: Sagamihara
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| Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:22 am Post subject: |
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lucky you.
In Japan, I find that the women tend to age well, and also tend to keep off the weight. I can't say the same for Polish women, in general.
I do think there is something in the water. I think the water in Poland tends to make people look older than they are. |
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