Job Discussion Forums

[JPM]

Hey ho.

I got talking to an English, female English-teacher the other day. That in itself is a bit of a rare occurrence here in Krakow. She was about to go back to the UK after a year and a half here. She gave her own reasons.

She also said that she saw very few female expats living in Poland on a medium to long-term basis. Now I'm interested. Is she right? Why do women expats (maybe) come here less and stay here for a shorter time than men? What's the foreign female Polish experience? etc etc

[sharter]

That's a no brainer.

It's like asking why so many female teachers think the Gulf is paradise.

It's simple really. Men stay in Poland because they get with women they couldn't even get near in the 'west'. This is a reflection on the shallowness of 'western' men and Polish women. I'm guilty of the above as much as the next bloke. It says a lot about Polish women too, no matter how much we men try and kid ourselves. Polish women are MOSTLY very predictable....they make them in moulds and forge their minds in very narrow vices.

Western women get to Poland and find the local blokes dull because, by and large, they are. Most of us expat chaps are hooked up with hotties and so love is hard to find. Having no-one to keep you warm in a Polish winter is pretty harsh.

Now that Poland's got expensive and my son can travel to me, I really don't see any reasons for going there anymore. There are more beautiful places, with nicer people, in which it won't cost you the earth to live a pretty uneventful life. Zapiekanka and Gofry aren't gonna take the world by storm any time soon.

[hrvatski]

I get plenty of applications from girls abroad interested in working for Poland. 50/50 with men I guess. Not so many already in Poland though.

[Master Shake]

I worked in Gdansk (north Poland) for a year and a half. I saw 2 or 3 new female teacher stride into the teachers' during my time there, all very eager to experience Poland.

All of them went home after a few months in Gdansk, although one Irish girl continues to come there for holidays.

Sharter's has a point about the potential lack of a lovelife for a woman, although I don't know exactly what 'narrow vices' are used to forge Polish girls' minds - I think it's different with the youger generation.

All the foreign female teachers I know who are still in Poland either come from a country in eastern Europe or Russia, have been in Poland forever and have (or had) a Polish husband, or are from Germany and teach German.

On the other hand, JPM, you said your friend stayed in Poland for a year and a half, so it can't be that bad.

[wildphelps]

The Peace Corps was in Poland from 1991 to 2001. The volunteers were given a three-month crash course in Polish life. During my training, a Polish man gave us a presentation on Polish holidays. When he got to March 8th and explained Women's Day, we all nodded our heads. A heckler in the back of the room asked when it was Men's day. Without missing a beat and with a straight face, the presenter said, "Every other day of the year."

Most of the comments from my female Peace Corps friends seemed to echo what was already stated: the lack of companionship can make Poland a difficult place to be. Couple that with the idea that many here have that an unattached woman past the age of, say, 28-years-old "has been left on the shelf", dealing with Polish chivalry, etc. can be taxing. Most of my friends enjoyed their experiences, but they were all ready to move on after their volunteer service was over. Several of the guys are still here...

[Jack Walker]

It's really simple as was previously mentioned.Loud, nasally American chicks are shunned in Poland.Everytime I see one of them on the street, they are with their loud nasally sisters.Their fat and tattooed British counterparts fare no better.The politically correct , tree hugging,grungy, Canadian chicks are just as bad.

Polish women are very threatening to foreign women.The average Polish "Agnieszka" spends 3-4 hours a day in front of her multiple mirrors, and 95% of her 800zl per month on cosmetics,clothes and hair products.The other 5 percent buys rolls and Jogobella.They all shun food and drink, in order to look good and are therefore pursued by us foreign blokes in droves.

Combined with the fact that the average Polish bloke is about as interesting as watching the grass grow in May,and voila;you have a highly skewed male:female ratio of foreigners in Poland.

[JPM]

I know, I know. I've been here four years myself. I was just wondering if there was anything besides foreign guys with pretty local girls and foreign girls not fancying the (decidedly average) local guys.

Ho hum.

[Mojoski]

All basically true from what I saw. Also, at my school, 2/3 of the students were women, which suggests a lot more women than men speak English. Add to that the fact that the men like to cut their hair all off. I never could understand this. Not only the hooligan types, but university students and professionals. So many guys who would be definitely attractive with a normal head of hair, but for some unfathomable reason feel they need to have a buzz cut. The educated ones are all very erudite and charming...but they also all have Polish wives.

The Polish women are so pretty and friendly, male expats are attracted to this country. A certain percentage of the women will say they don't like Polish men, but more of them will say they adore Polish men. I knew quite a few Polish women there who had expat bfs and ended up marrying Polish men. Actually, I knew just as many that were the opposite. Anyway, I stick by my haircut theory.

[Jack Walker]

"Team Agnieska" is unstoppable!


I remember when I first came to Poland,I met two American chicks in their mid 20s.They thought they were something special simply by gracing the Poles with their "American charm" and "beauty".

Anyway,they weren't getting any attention from the Polish guys or foreigners alike.Who'd chase them with all the Agnieszkas running around?

They were always coming on to guys at the pubs and laying it on thick and heavy. Still being completely ignored.

Anyway,one Polish guy took the bait after several months and tapped one of them.She got pregnant and I have no clue what became of her or her ditsy friend.

[Jack Walker]

[Mojoski]

To each his own, Jack. Heh heh. Yes, actually the Polish women seem to think the buzz cut is fine for the most part, but we were speculating on the perspective of expat women, and it could be different. I can't really say for sure since I'm not a woman or even a gay man, so it's only a theory. For me, I wouldn't be caught dead in public without my hair--especially when so many men my age can't grow hair anymore.

[Jack Walker]

[dynow]

[Glenlivet]

My missus is an English ex-pat, not quite on topic I know as she is here with her husband - me. She doesn't rate the Polish guys, maybe why she's so keen on a move to Italy

[Khrystene]

Well I could give a million answers to this question and the other replies...

The first would be that yes, many many more men come here from English speaking countries to 'teach' English but in fact are coming for the broads. Many of them marry and even have kids, more and more often though, I'm hearing of breakups of these marriages. Many (not all) non-Polish guys find it hard handling Polish women and Polish family life and expectations. They think they're just marrying some hottie they can bonk who will look great hanging off their arm and not ask too many questions... WRONG.

As to Polish men being dull. It's not true. I am a Polish Australian (learnt most of my Polish here in Poland) and I spend most of my life hanging out with Poles. When we're together we speak Polish (mottled with English if I can't find a word) and I have met many many very interesting Polish men. They are very different to non-Polish men. And most of them are more interested in a real relationship or friendship that just a quick shag or a handbag - in my personal experience. (Some still like a handbag and a quickie, but it's not quite the same.) To be honest though, they make an effort and you can certainly have a wonderful conversation on almost any topic with them, as well as a few drinks.

So, overall, I would say that it's not as simple as people think. I feel the language barrier that exists if you hang with expat crowds only is a great problem. If you hang with these groups you only get to meet a very very narrow selection of Polish men (or women). So why limit yourself?! Learn the language, break through the barriers, broaden your horizons. It's actually not THAT hard.

PS: I tried to hang with expats a few times and got really well burnt, so I stopped. I have a smattering of friends who happen to be 'expats' but they're my friends, like anywhere, because I like them. Not because they happen to be from where I was from or speak the language I speak as a mother tongue.

Anyway... rambling over, resume normal programming.