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Are trains cheap?
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Hod



Joined: 28 Apr 2003
Posts: 1613
Location: Home

PostPosted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 7:17 pm    Post subject: Re: trains Reply with quote

sharter wrote:
You can't buy booze on the trains now.


Even on the Berlin-Warsaw express?

Crying or Very sad
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delphian-domine



Joined: 11 Mar 2011
Posts: 674

PostPosted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 9:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

dynow wrote:
delphiandomine wrote:

Quote:
You can, for instance, get a ticket for 35zl that can cover a whole weekend -


regardless of distance traveled?

wouldn't that essentially mean that all tickets in Poland over the weekend are no more than 35zl? i mean....why else would you pay more than that if you can buy an all weekend ticket for 35zl, no?


Yep, regardless of distance - only on Przewozy Regionalne trains though (well, and a couple of other small local operators), and only on "osobowy"/"Regio" trains. But it's valid through to the first station over the border too - for instance, you can get to Frankfurt (Oder) on the ticket.

It depends on the journeys you make as to whether it's worth it - but for instance, from Wroclaw - you can do Zgorzelec/Gorlitz, Poznan, Katowice, Jelenia Gora and more places as a reasonable trip on those trains - usually, they're never that busy as well.

Even from Koszalin, there's enough places within a reasonable distance of it on those trains to make it worthwhile - it's not a bad deal at all.

(for intercity trains, the same ticket is 129zl for all-weekend travel)
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maniak



Joined: 06 Feb 2008
Posts: 194

PostPosted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 9:42 pm    Post subject: Re: Are trains cheap? Reply with quote

delphian-domine wrote:


Trains are very cheap compared to UK/Ireland prices, don't worry about that.

Ignore the scaremongers on this thread - Poland is as cheap or as expensive as you want it.

Ignore what the doomsayers say - you'll have enough to see Poland.


Delph, I respect who you are and what youve written before in the past, but seriously.

1. Yea trains are "cheap", esp if you travel by yourself and on TLK or Regio or Interregio. He can forget about Intercity trains. However, if hes making 2500zl and its gonna cost him minimum 200zl roundtrip to visit someplace interesting, thats 10% of his monthly salary just for one effing train ride. Your mortgage should be no more than 30% of your net salary. This is just ONE (slow) TRAIN TRIP to Warsaw or something.

2. Sure Poland is cheap, just like NYC is cheap, as long as you live like a bum and live off of others. You cant tell me with a serious face you could live on 2500zl a month. Sure, food is covered, some basic bills, some booze, basic enterntainment etc. How about if the laptop takes a shit and he needs a new one? Thats 2k minimum. How about if he gets a cavity and needs to go to a dentist? 300zl. A visit back home? Maybe buy some clothing? Maybe a dinner out? Cinema? A decent bike? Dates? Girls?(sharter, as bitter as he is, is worth listening to about Polish women). You know, normal things normal people do in everyday life?

Meh, I could go on and on but I think Ill end it here....
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sparks



Joined: 20 Feb 2008
Posts: 632

PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 8:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The caveat should be: You can live on 2500 a month, as long as nothing goes wrong or you need anything but that which is necessary for survival. Like Maniak wrote, you can afford food, bills etc. on this but anything out of the ordinary is out of your financial means. Remember it's not like home where you can call friends and family for help if you get stranded somewhere or something breaks or whatever, it will only be you and your 2500/month to make it right.
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delphian-domine



Joined: 11 Mar 2011
Posts: 674

PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 9:53 am    Post subject: Re: Are trains cheap? Reply with quote

maniak wrote:
delphian-domine wrote:


Trains are very cheap compared to UK/Ireland prices, don't worry about that.

Ignore the scaremongers on this thread - Poland is as cheap or as expensive as you want it.

Ignore what the doomsayers say - you'll have enough to see Poland.


Delph, I respect who you are and what youve written before in the past, but seriously.

1. Yea trains are "cheap", esp if you travel by yourself and on TLK or Regio or Interregio. He can forget about Intercity trains. However, if hes making 2500zl and its gonna cost him minimum 200zl roundtrip to visit someplace interesting, thats 10% of his monthly salary just for one effing train ride. Your mortgage should be no more than 30% of your net salary. This is just ONE (slow) TRAIN TRIP to Warsaw or something.


But - from Koszalin, there's plenty of interesting places that aren't so far away as to cost a 200zl return ticket. For instance - Szczecin/Swinjouscie/Gdansk/Poznan/Kolobrzeg are all pretty close. Sure, it's not Warsaw/Krakow - but most people in Poznan don't visit those cities particularly often anyway. I know from personal experience - I've been to Berlin more often than I've been to Warsaw, and Krakow only once.

I suppose it's more about expectations - but to be fair, how often do people visit London when they live in the North of England?

Quote:
2. Sure Poland is cheap, just like NYC is cheap, as long as you live like a bum and live off of others. You cant tell me with a serious face you could live on 2500zl a month. Sure, food is covered, some basic bills, some booze, basic enterntainment etc. How about if the laptop takes a shit and he needs a new one? Thats 2k minimum. How about if he gets a cavity and needs to go to a dentist? 300zl. A visit back home? Maybe buy some clothing? Maybe a dinner out? Cinema? A decent bike? Dates? Girls?(sharter, as bitter as he is, is worth listening to about Polish women). You know, normal things normal people do in everyday life?


That's the thing - it's an entry level job. I don't know about the rest of the world, but at least in Poland, there's not much career progression here - didn't someone say that having the DELTA got them a whole 2zl extra an hour?

(300zl for a dentist? Mine charges 80zl for white fillings with ZUS paid, or 160zl without ZUS - and she speaks English...the old silver fillings = free with ZUS)

In all fairness - it just depends how you expect to live. I think anyone coming here and expecting to live well will get a nasty wake-up call, but if they expect food, beer and rent with a bit of travelling - it's not so bad.

Depends on the person really - you could easily go couchsurfing and save a lot of money that way, though it's not for me. I think - all in all - that salary is fine for a young person who wants adventure, but it's useless if you expect 'more' from life.

The real issue, if you ask me, is the likely lack of health insurance.
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maniak



Joined: 06 Feb 2008
Posts: 194

PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 1:38 pm    Post subject: Re: Are trains cheap? Reply with quote

You're quite right, quite a few interesting cities are quite close by, and hey, you're almost on the seaside.

Of course, this is an 'entry level' job, but... (since Im looking around for a job right now as well) last night I found one (I think in Koszalin) offering 4000pln for fulltime work (25hrs), with accomodation, but right now I cant find the advert. Btw, I wouldnt think of it as 'career progression', and its one of the reasons why I like this job, there is no bullshit career, but I think it has more to do with finding ever better paying jobs with less work, ie, finding a good corporate client.

300zl was how much I paid last time for cleaning and a filling with that UV epoxy stuff, privately of course but an excellent dentist. The fact you found a dentist that works with NFZ is already wow Smile
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delphian-domine



Joined: 11 Mar 2011
Posts: 674

PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 9:30 pm    Post subject: Re: Are trains cheap? Reply with quote

maniak wrote:
You're quite right, quite a few interesting cities are quite close by, and hey, you're almost on the seaside.

Of course, this is an 'entry level' job, but... (since Im looking around for a job right now as well) last night I found one (I think in Koszalin) offering 4000pln for fulltime work (25hrs), with accomodation, but right now I cant find the advert. Btw, I wouldnt think of it as 'career progression', and its one of the reasons why I like this job, there is no bullshit career, but I think it has more to do with finding ever better paying jobs with less work, ie, finding a good corporate client.


Oh yeah, without a doubt - one of the interesting things about it in general is that you can go from earning peanuts to quite a lot of money very, very quickly. I know one girl (Polish) who, after 3 years, is now demanding and getting 50-60zl an hour. She was actually offered an ADOS position, but turned it down as there was less money on offer.

The holy grail though is a well paying corporate client - I know one guy who was actually hired by a medium-sized company to act as their in-house teacher. They were paying just over 4000zl a month (netto) with umowa o prace - not a bad deal at all. But - with the caveat that he had to work very irregular hours within 7-5pm every day.

Quote:
300zl was how much I paid last time for cleaning and a filling with that UV epoxy stuff, privately of course but an excellent dentist. The fact you found a dentist that works with NFZ is already wow Smile


See - I don't get it. My dentist is great, the clinic is modern, she's running under the NFZ and you can get an appointment within a week. But elsewhere in Poland, dentistry seems to be an utter shambles in some places - postcode lottery, anyone?

I think the best answer to the original poster is that 2500zl for your first year here is acceptable, but after that, you should be looking for much more. Certainly, in a place like Koszalin, there's no excuse not to be able to make 1000zl/week.
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sharter



Joined: 25 Jun 2008
Posts: 878
Location: All over the place

PostPosted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 2:39 pm    Post subject: erm Reply with quote

I'm not bitter at all......just cynical. I've spent 16 years in and out of this country and seen the good and the bad. Salaries have not increased in that time. Men stay here because of chicks. Very few women stay here long-term.

Regarding the OP, it's not the trains you want to worry about, it's the hotel prices. In Poznan there are quite a few hostels now ie Hill Hostel, next to Dragon, Kameleon, Very Berry, Frolic Goats and they're quite cheap. A single room will set you back between 80 and 130Zl, but they're very basic.

Once you get a social life, just buying a round of drinks can do real damage. Dating and meals out can cost an arm and a leg, relative to your salary. 2500Zl/month in the EU is a pittance. It's not doom, it's reality.
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scottie1113



Joined: 25 Oct 2004
Posts: 375
Location: Gdansk

PostPosted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 10:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sharter, the profligate spender, has a very valid point. My first year in Poland I made 2400 zl plus some more for Saturday lessons, and I paid 1000 zl for my flat. It wasn't an extravagant year, but it was good.

Since then, I'm making a little more money. My salary has gone up a little, and I augment that with private lessons, but that takes time to build up. You probably won't do it here in your first year.

I didn't come to Poland for the women. I came for the experience of living here. After four years, I'm happy with my decision, but I'm much older than the rest of you, so maybe that makes a difference.

I made a lot more money in the US, but teaching English in Poland is the most satisfying job I've ever had.

I'm just saying...
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dynow



Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080

PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 12:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

scottie1113 wrote:

Quote:
I made a lot more money in the US, but teaching English in Poland is the most satisfying job I've ever had.


scottie1113 was a contract killer in California.

btw, aren't we about due for blasphemer to come on here and start stomping his feet? Cool

The traveling thing is what tore up my bank account when I was there because I went home for a couple weeks each year. I did very little shopping in Poland and always saved up money and waited to get back to the states to do it (prices along with availability of things)....I also had a wedding mixed in there i had to come back for, 1 christmas with the whole fam damily so that they could all meet my future wife.......and those return trips tear you up when you're making shite zloty currency. 1 round trip ticket to the US is anywhere between $800-$1200 depending on the month, so a $1000 ticket set me back 3000zl which is, for a newbie, an entire month's pay, maybe more. Let us not forget that most of us are not getting paid when we're on vacation so in reality, a 2 week vacation to the USA cost me 6 week's pay. For those of you from the UK, you got it made with flying home. For the Aussies, I'm preaching to the choir.

For those of you looking to stay in Poland for say 2 years, the best way to do it is to save up as much money as you can before you make the move so that your lifestyle and time spent in Poland isn't affected by your finances. You want to enjoy yourself out there while you're there, not count groszy so for a guy planning to do a 2 year stint in Poland, I'd plan on saving at least $3000 for travel. That way, you've got enough for 2 trips home and another $1000 for plane tickets to fly around europe. The discount airlines available there can get you around on the cheap if you keep an eye on the rates each week.

Aside from maybe bread, i found literally nothing in poland to be "cheap" so better to have the luxury of spending your salary on essentials rather than trying to stash away some money every month to afford traveling and living off soup packets and bread and butter.
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Jack Walker



Joined: 23 Oct 2008
Posts: 412

PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 3:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

During my first year in Poland in 2003, I was earning approximately 5,000 zl netto per month and paying 700zl monthly for a nice,renovated, one bedroom flat.

During my last year in Poland in 2010,I was earning approximately 3,000zl per month,working more and very irregular hours and paying 1,100zl per month for a ghetto, 1 bedroom flat.

Enough said!
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lundjstuart



Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 211
Location: Warsaw, Poland

PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 4:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jack Walker wrote:
During my first year in Poland in 2003, I was earning approximately 5,000 zl netto per month and paying 700zl monthly for a nice,renovated, one bedroom flat.

During my last year in Poland in 2010,I was earning approximately 3,000zl per month,working more and very irregular hours and paying 1,100zl per month for a ghetto, 1 bedroom flat.

Enough said!


Yeah, earn more and have a nicer apartment Razz
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scottie1113



Joined: 25 Oct 2004
Posts: 375
Location: Gdansk

PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 10:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

polskibus.pl is a new company in Poland. i don't know exactly where they go, but a friend of mine went from Gdansk to Warsaw yesterday in two hours less than it would have have taken on PKP. It cost 10zl, and she has made the same trip for 1 zl.

Almost unbelievable but true.
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dynow



Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080

PostPosted: Tue Sep 06, 2011 9:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
It cost 10zl, and she has made the same trip for 1 zl.


considering those prices per head wouldn't even cover the cost of gas, yeah, that seems pretty unbelievable.
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Jack Walker



Joined: 23 Oct 2008
Posts: 412

PostPosted: Tue Sep 06, 2011 5:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

dynow wrote:
Quote:
It cost 10zl, and she has made the same trip for 1 zl.


considering those prices per head wouldn't even cover the cost of gas, yeah, that seems pretty unbelievable.




Yeah,I'm calling bollocks on that.I just checked the polskibus website and the price from Gdansk to Warsaw is 78zl return. The trip takes about 6.5 hours one way.

That's a far cry from the 10zl or 1 zl claim.

That said,their main page does say that they offer fares for as low as 1zl on all of their routes, but that is just hot air from the company.There might be a 1zl fare offered for every few thousand tickets bought or some other Polish promotion thing but good luck trying to get that!



Our Fares

PolskiBus.com has no set fare table and we only offer tickets for sale via our website. Our pricing is demand led, meaning we offer fares from as little as 1zl (plus a 1zl booking fee) across all of our routes. Despite our low fares,great value and flexible pricing. we still offer a high quality, reliable service with modern, well equipped, fuel efficient buses.

Book online early to secure the lowest price and special fares, and watch out for Ziggi�s special events and offers to grab great deals.

Want to Know More?

Find out how far 1zl (plus a 1zl booking fee) can take you by making a booking or by viewing our routes and destinations now.


The 1zl fare is "demand led" and will probably get you dumped off on some farm just outside the city with the chickens. Smile
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