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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080
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 Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 1:38 pm Post subject: |
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Master Shake wrote:
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| Would you enjoy teaching in your old high school? |
we're changing the subject now but I'll go along with it.
The question you're asking is under the assumption that I enjoy teaching in general or that I would want to teach as a profession full time. To that, I'd have to say that no, I do not want to be a full time teacher so no, I would not enjoy teaching at my old high school because it's the wrong profession for me, at least for now.
I decided to pursue something different, a job more diverse than just "education", something that uses more of my college degree and concentrates more on my personal interests. I was seriously considering becoming a high school teacher before I moved back to the USA but at the end of the day, I had to look at it realistically and came to the conclusion that I simply do not want to open the same damn textbook, year after year, teaching the same high school level science classes to just another group of faces. My brain would simply rot away if that was my entire career and it deterred me from going into public school education. Too repetitive, too many parents to deal with and the job itself simply isn't dynamic enough. But, that's ME. Many people love teaching K-12 and do it for their entire lives.
The point I was making earlier Shake is that american expats may enjoy where they are now, they may prefer the lifestyle they have now, that's totally fine....but their reason for not coming back to the USA is not the job market, it's the fact at the moment, they simply want to live "there", not "here".
When you get older and start thinking about a wife, kids, etc., and living without a car is no longer an option (unless you think you would enjoy walking home from Carrefour in -10 degree weather, infant in one hand, groceries in the other trying to dodge all the dog $hit) you will start singing a different tune and when you do, America starts looking a hell of a lot more attractive, especially when you know you could land a teaching job there without a problem and simply have an easier life.
Places like Poland are great for the young single bachelor but when big boy life comes along, Poland gets to be a very frustrating place to live. |
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scottie1113
Joined: 25 Oct 2004
Posts: 375
Location: Gdansk
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| Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 10:14 pm Post subject: |
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| dynow, you've made some very good points, and i agree with you completely. i know i'm an exception. i've done the big boy thing-more than you'll ever know-but for the rest of the folks reading this, dynow is right. if i were a young buck, i'd enjoy my stay in Poland and then head back to wherever i came from. but that's just me talking. |
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maastricht
Joined: 11 Feb 2011
Posts: 38
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| Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 6:41 am Post subject: Re: Re-Mastershake |
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| sharter wrote: |
Mastershake I'd love to know which Polish language school allows you to live better than you would in the States. Poland is more expensive than the States for clothes, electronic items, petrol, cars, flats (just look how cheap America is right now), booze and running a phone. Fast food prices are about the same.
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If I was going to move to Poland, I would be looking at major cities only at this point, so when comparing expenses I would compare the major cities in Poland to the major US cities that I would be willing to live in: NYC, DC, SF, and possibly LA. Dallas, Houston and Chicago are on my "no way" list.
How much does it cost for a decent 1BR flat in Warsaw in a safe area with access to public transportation? I have been looking at prices in Prague and it seems like you can get something there for under $1,000/month. In Washington DC I would expect to pay $1,500 to $2,000. To have a car if you live in the city you may have to pay separate "rent" for a parking space that could be several hundred dollars. If you drive to work parking per day varies but I've heard $10-15 per day is typical. Clothing prices vary but if you walk into a random clothing store in downtown DC or on the metro line you could easily spend $50-$100 on a pair of jeans. There isn't any Walmart or JC Penney downtown. Mixed drinks are around $10 and beer $5. A piece of fruit is a little over $1. A salad at anywhere but McDonald's will probably run $7-10. This is life in the capital city. But I've heard that life in the financial center (NYC) and some other major cities (SF) is just as expensive.
I'm sure that life in [insert name of random US town that I would never set foot in] is much cheaper, but since I'm primarily interested in major cities in Poland or the US I'm omitting those minor cities/towns from my cost comparison. (I've lived in smaller cities/towns in other countries and had a good experience there, but since I don't speak Polish I would prefer a major city). |
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wojbrian
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Posts: 178
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| Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 8:48 pm Post subject: |
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| How did you ship your stuff back to the US? |
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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080
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| Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 10:38 pm Post subject: |
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| I used a company called Removal Group. After dealing with them for a while now, I can basically say that they suck but I didn't expect much more. You book the job, pay them in full and then chase them around for answers till your stuff comes. The projected delivery time for the east coast was 10 weeks but after blowing me off several times or simply not replying, they finally wrote me back and said due to the holidays, bad weather, etc., it's looking more like 14-16 weeks. So, what was supposed to be arriving this week is going to be no less than 4 weeks from now. Good times. |
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wojbrian
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Posts: 178
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| Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 8:30 am Post subject: |
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I am probably going back myself. It very difficult for an American here. While I love the people and European living it has become a nightmare to do anything officially. I would rather go back to Detroit and half work then always feel like a temp.
I thought about starting my own business and still might but I am not sure that I will earn enough where I am. |
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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080
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| Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 1:31 pm Post subject: |
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Wojbrian wrote:
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| While I love the people and European living it has become a nightmare to do anything officially. |
After about 2 years in Poland, I started thinking about what I could do other than what I was doing. Teaching English sun up to sun down simply wasn't my dream job and I was looking for alternatives. I started coming up with ideas, ideas I was quite sure would work with a little start up capital, but in the end, the paperwork and all around bureaucratic clusterf#ck that is Poland deterred me from even starting it. I simply couldn't see myself dealing with that crap year in, year out, in my second language to boot.
wojbrian wrote:
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| It very difficult for an American here. |
Well sure.
As an American, there are many things you will have to accept. For one, people prejudge you immediately because you're "from there". I used to routinely get asked questions like, "why are you not fat?" or "did you vote for Bush?" or "what is better in America than in Poland?" meaning it was either offensive or simply impossible to answer. Imagine the reactions you would get from people if, when they ask you what is better "there" than "here", you answer with, "I don't even know where to start." I enjoyed living in a country where I wasn't like the rest but eventually as an American, you can't help but think back to what you had, what you didn't have to deal with and the infinite number of conveniences and overall easier life you had back in the USA. At some point, you start saying to yourself, "why do this to myself or to my kids when I/we can simply have it far better on the other side of the pond."
The key though Wojbrian if you decide to come back is CHANGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT. Don't go back to doing the same crap you were doing when you left. Look for work in a different state/different city, possibly a career change. It's good for the brain. |
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Jack Walker
Joined: 23 Oct 2008
Posts: 412
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| Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 12:09 am Post subject: |
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| Ahhhhhhh the Poles....God love em'.Good people, but also some of the most tactless souls I've ever met.They'll ask you anything at anytime without thinking ahead. Tact is not an integral part of Slavic culture. |
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wojbrian
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Posts: 178
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| Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 8:54 am Post subject: |
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It wasn't the tact that annoyed me.
One of my big peeves is the inability for businesses to say no. In the US if you tell someone no it doesn't mean you will never do business again, just not at this time. For some reason in Poland they think if you tell someone no that you will never do business again. There were times I though I had something set up only to realize that they just can't say no. |
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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080
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| Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 5:23 pm Post subject: |
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| so when's the departure date Wojbrian? |
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wojbrian
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Posts: 178
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| Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 6:07 pm Post subject: |
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I have another 43 days or so left on the visitor part of my visa. However, I will probably leave in 2-3 weeks. I'm in Zielona Gora and might visit some friends in Poznan for a few days and fly from there.
The other option is to fly from Berlin and hang out there for a few days.
I don't see my self coming back for a while so I might as well get some sight seeing in. |
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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 2:04 am Post subject: |
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| what are you going to do back home? |
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Master Shake
Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 1202
Location: Colorado, USA
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| Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 8:17 am Post subject: |
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| wojbrian wrote: |
I am probably going back myself. It very difficult for an American here. While I love the people and European living it has become a nightmare to do anything officially. I would rather go back to Detroit and half work then always feel like a temp.
I thought about starting my own business and still might but I am not sure that I will earn enough where I am. |
If you want to find work and stay in Poland, you might try Warsaw. There are more language schools here than you can shake a stick at - some of them are hiring.
I also get requests for private lessons at least once a week. There's no shortage of work in that arena either.
Dynow, as for living a 'big-boy life' not being do-able in Poland, perhaps it isn't practical on a language school salary.
However, I know several expat teachers who have settled here to raise families with Polish wives. They have cars, big apartments in the subs, big-screen flat-screen TV's, and send their children to private schools.
They have full-time contracts with the British Council, including health insurance, pensions etc.
Working for a K-12 international school here in Poland would earn you even more money, plus good benefits.
Could you earn more working for a similar institution in the US? Sure. But I'd argue the quality of life here in PL is better than in many US cities - less crime, pollution, more green space, etc.
The bottom line is that you can provide a comfortable life for a family teaching in Poland. You simply have to find a better job. |
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wojbrian
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Posts: 178
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| Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 8:55 am Post subject: |
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I would probably go back to Detroit and regroup. It will probably take a bit to find any good work. In the past have done sales and customer service. I was thinking about getting my mechanic certifications and specialize in the new alternative power vehicles that are coming out.
Right now I am paying the price of not expanding my skills when I was younger.
I am not setup to go to Warsaw. If I end up starting my own business it is an option. The only problem now is my work papers are for a school in Zielona Gora.
I have a few friends in Warsaw and they are doing very very well. |
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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080
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| Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 5:07 pm Post subject: |
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MasterShake wrote:
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| They have full-time contracts with the British Council, including health insurance, pensions etc. |
and there's something worth mentioning with that statement. Can any of those guys tell you that they're going to still enjoy what they're doing in 10 years? 20 years? They are all going to work at language schools as long as they live in poland. for some, that's enough. for me, I wouldn't want to go through life knowing I only have one option in the "rynek". if, for any chance they get sick of doing what they're doing, where will they go? what line of work in Poland will they turn to? I simply couldn't live like that, especially with a wife and kids. you gotta reeeeally like ESL to confidently make the decision they made.
mastershake wrote:
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| But I'd argue the quality of life here in PL is better than in many US cities |
America's a huge country with armpit towns/cities like anywhere else but to say "many"......well, you're pushin' it there. How many "cities" in Poland would you be willing to live in? Sure, you're in Warsaw now, the capital city of Poland, the most westernized, has an international airport, the largest concentration of english speakers, center for many events/concerts, etc., but if we dropped you in saaaayyy......Hajnowka, you'd be singin' a different tune about your quality of life. Generally speaking, quality of life in Poland isn't even in the same galaxy as the United States. Hence, the immigration statistics of the two countries.
shake wrote:
air quality in Katowice is without a doubt on par with the most smog filled city in the USA. every country has their armpits.
shake wrote:
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| The bottom line is that you can provide a comfortable life for a family teaching in Poland. You simply have to find a better job. |
well ain't that the truth. if you want to have a better life in Poland, MAKE MORE MONEY. amen to that, brother. |
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