-Where were you born?

I was born in 1985 in Aberdeen, Scotland. Also known as the 'Granite City'!

-In which country and city are you living now?

I've been living in Poznan, Poland since August 2008.

-Are you living alone or with your family?

I'm living with my girlfriend.

-How long have you been living in Poland?

See above!

-What is your age?

24, nearly quarter of a century!

-When did you come up with the idea of living in Poland?

I graduated and had little to do, so decided to move abroad. It was a question of boredom with the UK more than anything else - I love travelling and this was a wonderful opportunity.

-Was it hard to get a visa or a work permit?

Many EU citizens in Poland are actually living here illegally - they don't realise that you have to register your address and obtain a permit from the relevant Foreigners office. So yes, it was difficult to legalise my stay here - straight answers are often difficult to obtain and the offices aren't too familiar with EU citizens. This was the motivation behind starting my own business here.

-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?

I was covered under the UK system (again, another mistake that expats make is assuming that the EHIC card is valid, when in fact it becomes invalid after 6 months out of the UK) for the first 6 months, but now, I have insurance through self employment. The process is quite painless - if you know Polish!

-How do you make your living in Poland? Do you have any type of income generated?

I run my own business, Lindenia - which caters for foreigners in Poland. I also work part time at a language school to keep me in contact with people. Again, finding employment is quite easy in Poland; however, finding good employment is more difficult. It's certainly not a good option for the unmotivated!

-Do you speak Polish and do you think it's important to speak the local language?

I understand written Polish ok, but speaking is a whole different issue. However,  it isn't much of a barrier - provided you have someone who understands how things work in Poland. If you don't, I can imagine it being a far more problematic experience.

-Do you miss home and family sometimes?

Not particularly, but I'm Scottish and therefore always a traveller. I miss the range of food available - one notable example is how ethnic cuisine is actually cheaper in Germany than in Poland.

-Do you have other plans for the future?

Right now, I'm concentrating on the business - but at the end of the year, we'll evaluate and see what to do next.

-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?

I'm fortunate enough not to have to pay rent here!

-What is the cost of living in Poland?

Depends. If you live like a local, you can live easily for around 300 dollars a month. But if you live like an expatriate, then you can easily spend 1000 dollars-plus a month without blinking.

-What do you think about the locals?

Locals are by and far positive people - with the most negative experiences coming in privately owned shops, many of which still have the communist "not my problem" mentality. Tesco is particularly bad for this - which is a culture shock to a Brit!

-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Poland?

 The positive aspects are the people, the cost of living and the opportunities.

The negative aspects are the lack of taking responsibility that some private individuals seem to have. 

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Poland?

Don't do it unless you are self motivated.

-Where were you born?

I was born in James Hospital in Dublin 8, Ireland.

-In which country and city are you living now?

I'm living back in Ireland at the moment for financial purposes but do intend to return to Poland shortly.

-Are you living alone or with your family?

I live with my fiancee Anna and my son Grzegorz.

-How long have you been living there?

I rent apartments at the moment so different place every few months usually.

-What is your age? 

I'm at the ripe old age of 2.

-When did you come up with the idea of living in Poland?

I first visited Poland in.... think it was April of 2004 as Aer Lingus had just started flying there and I asked a friend to come with me, no reason to go there other than that I worked with one Polish guy and I was curious to see where he came from.

I returned from the holiday, which was rather eventful, including my friend's bag being stolen, having barney with the police, cancelling excursions due to being hung over, being low on money. However, it was a great time there (Krakow). So I just keep going back over there all the time.

I met my fiancee in 2004 and we went over there, then in 2007 we decided to move there to work... no reason especially. I had great visions of living there for about 2 years but I quit after just 3 months of being there.

-Was it hard to get a visa or a work permit?

No, I just bought a cheap flight and went there.

-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?

I don't even have Medical Insurance in Ireland so no it wasn't hard, I must get some of that crazy stuff.

-How did you make your living in Poland? Did you have any type of income generated?

First day I got there I had like 2-3 interviews lined up. I started my first job within 4 days. Let's be honest, the schools are crying out for native speakers as all the students want to learn from the NS rather than the PL teacher who is speaking incorrect English. Basically we went on the net, saw an advertisement, emailed the school, they called back and we got an interview; actually it wasn't really an interview, more of a 'when can you start' scenario. Bear in mind I had no experience or TEFL whatsover, so that was good.

-Do you speak Polish and do you think it's important to speak the local language?

I know as much Polish as a 3-year-old would know, I've got all these language books which I need to take advantage of still. I hadn't learned before I went and was so lonely there, it was quite a horrible and lonely experience and it played a major factor in my leaving Poland.

-Did you miss home and family sometimes?

I moved back home because I really missed family and shopping and just the simple things you take for granted that you would say in English if you were to go out somewhere.

-Do you have other plans for the future?

I have plans to build our own house in the next year or two providing we get financial support from the banks.

-What about housing, did you buy or rent a home? How much did you pay for it?

We want to build a home there, we got the project plans, just waiting for the government to pull their finger out as planning permission and putting land in someone else's names seemingly takes forever and a day. Actually for us it's been 2 years and still waiting.

-What is the cost of living in Poland?

Depends on what your lifestyle is, I mean we rented in Piaseczno, Warsaw, for 1350zl per month for a good spec studio apartment but I'm sure you can get cheaper of course. Basically in Poland the choice of food is really bland; you won't be buying your usual junk food so that would be considered cheaper. Don't bother buying expensive clothes there because not a lot of people do, at some of the markets you can get nice nicked clothing, lol.

-What did you think about the Polish?

Where I lived I think I was one of only some of the foreigners in the region. I was stared at, when I spoke English people would whisper but whatever, I didn't expect to be welcomed there anyways. I'm not really accepted by my gf's family either, so that's another thing.

-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Poland?

Positives would be the cheaper cost of living. However, then again the salary is much less. However, there is better quality of life, not so fast paced, more time is given to family quality time there, which is what I like. Also there are better places to go visit on the weekends.

Negatives - People (some) do look down on foreigners there but you must try to win them over.They don't offer a lot of benefits for foreigners, such as won't let foreigners drive cars from native country, can't get loans or mortgages and some banks won't let you open an account unless you have a pesel which is a nightmare to get if you're getting paid into the hand like I was.

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Poland?

I'd say take a Polish beginners course at least before coming, it's essential. Some people living there years and still haven't picked up the language, probably due to laziness and that their partner is doing all the talking for them, but the goal to moving abroad and the point of it and so you have a new life, new experience, integrate with the community, new food and new wellbeing and a sense of independence which comes along with living abroad.

It's hard and you will really miss your family, miss your favourite foods and miss going to the local shops and most of all you will miss that conversational aspect of talking to your friends all the time, unless you are blessed enough to have English speaking friends there.

Don't be a wimp and run home like I did, stick at it because Poland's actually not a bad place to live once you have embraced it.

-Where were you born?

Letterkenny, Co Donegal, Ireland

-In which country and city are you living now?

Currently living in Nowa Huta, near Kraków, Poland

-Are you living alone or with your family?

Living with my girlfriend Karolina and our smelly 17 yo dog, Pampers

-How long have you been living in Poland?

Almost 2 years

-What is your age?

32

-When did you come up with the idea of living in Poland?

I briefly visited the country in 2006 and fell in love with it. Poland is becoming increasingly westernised, but to Irish eyes, life is a lot simpler here with an emphasis on the things that are important - Family, Friends, Good Food. It wistfully reminded me of the Ireland of my youth before the celtic cat started roaring. Back when we consumed less and had more of an identity. I had always wanted to try teaching as a way of giving something back to the world that I had used and abused previously.

-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?

Being an EU national means you can work here legally. A lot of schools will give you a contract of employment if you nag them enough. Some will even employ you off the books and you don’t pay tax. But I of course don’t engage in such illicit activities.

-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?

Yes, nigh on impossible. Contracts with employers in the teaching game will rarely include free health insurance. I have my European health insurance card and just hope for the best that nothing serious happens. You can pay for ZEUS here if you set up your own business, but it is expensive at 300 zyl a month. Some employers will pay a percentage of this for you too. It entitles you to free GP visits and heavily reduced prescription costs but the standard of public doctors varies wildly in my opinion and many folk take out private health insurance in addition to the public.

-How do you make your living in Poland? Do you have any type of income generated?

I earn money teaching. Whilst not one of the better paying professions here, you can certainly get by comfortably enough. I knew I would teach, so I did my qualification in a private school in Kraków. They luckily offered me work after I completed it. There is a plethora of native speakers wanting to teach in Kraków particularly. Stray 30 km down the road and they are starved for English-speaking teachers. Still, with that said, if you have a proper qualification you will have little problems picking up more work than you can handle, including private lessons.

-Do you speak Polish and do you think it's important to speak the local language?

It’s part and parcel of living in a foreign country that you try to integrate. Part of that process is learning to speak the language, no matter how ridiculously difficult it is. I should be a lot more advanced in my Polish than I am, but I can get by and am learning more all the time. Polish people really appreciate a foreigner speaking their language which they are immensely proud of. You will get plenty of practice with the over 30's age bracket (who were mainly forced to study Russian in school). They rarely have any English and even though they will laugh at you sometimes (it’s still a novelty in some parts of Poland to hear a foreignor speaking Polish) it's all in the name of cross-cultural enlightenment.

People who live and work here certainly respect traditions, etc. The fleeting weekend crowds can have a different idea of respect though...as any walk on the Rynek on a Saturday night will tell you.

-Do you miss home and family sometimes?

Yes, I miss family and friends of course. When you go home though, it's always reassuring to see that few things ever change and people are still doing the same things they always did. Luckily, my girlfriend’s family are very supportive and friendly. They speak no English, so it's an extra incentive to get better at the langauge.

In the warmer months I really enjoy walking and cycling around Krakow and playing a little football.

Also living on the continent is quite liberating. For someone who spent the majority of their adult life on an Island, it’s exhilarating to jump in the car and just drive to Slovakia or Italy, the possibilities seem endless and you can do a lot of dreaming.

-Do you have other plans for the future?

Yes, we intend to travel around Europe a lot more in the coming years. We have been to Ukraine twice already, which is stunning. I’d like to convert an old camper van and be complete wandering hobos for a few months. Italy, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria are all on the list.

It’s a good time to start a business in Poland. Yes, we have some ideas but I am not telling you what they are.

-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?

We haven’t bought an apartment due to a shortage of money but rent from a friend of mine who bought. This time last year you could still pick up a 2-room apartment in some areas of the town for under 300k zly. That is no longer the case and prices are spiralling with foreign investors pushing prices up even higher. For most Krakowians, buying/renting in central Kraków is simply not an option anymore and they are being pushed further out into the suburbs - to where we are living!

-What is the cost of living in Poland?

You earn at least a third less what you would in Ireland yet things are roughly 3 times cheaper - except for some imported stuff, and clothes are incredibly expensive. It’s relative. In a bizarre twist - Irish alcohol like Baileys and Jameson are cheaper here. It gives me an excuse, I suppose...

-What do you think about the Poles?

My main gripe with living here is I haven’t met and socialised with as many Poles as I would like. More Polish friends to practice my Polish on for sure would be nice. Yes, I have some folk from my classes that I occasionally socialise with but being a teacher, in a small town you tend to see the same folk, in the same places and they all speak English and teach. The locals are generally friendly and Poland is not that ethnically diverse yet, so you get some odd looks at times, but it would be the same anywhere. The Poles are strange fish, at first they may seem a bit standoffish, but once they get to know you they are very welcoming.

-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Poland?

Positive:

• Frequent, reliable and cheap transport infrastructure (trains, trams, buses)

• Cheap and delicious locally grown seasonal produce

• Proper seasons

• Opportunity to travel around Europe without restrictions from a strategic base

• Skiing

Negative:

• Mind numbing public service bureaucracy

• Unreliable postal system including stuff going missing occasionally

• Tricky language with many different cases/sounds and inflections

• Driving/cycling on the grid locked poor roads with poorer drivers

• Queues and queuing and old people who don’t want to

• Price of imported foods

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Poland?

Yes. If I was to move here again and know what I know now, I would have learned some Polish before arriving. Never underestimate how lonely and isolated you feel when you understand nothing of what people around you are saying.

Don’t bring your Irish/English right hand drive car over here. You will not be able to register/insure it (why - I have no idea) and will have to drive it the whole 1800km home and sell it to some Lithuanian folk.

-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about Poland?

www.konina.blogspot.com. Adventures in the land of mushrooms
Musings/rantings on life in Poland and other completely useless and unrelated stuff.

www.pinolona.blogspot.com. Travels without my spaniel
Humorous blog about one girl's mishaps and adventures of life lived in Kraków.

www.british-in-poland.blogspot.com. British in Poland
Really informative and advice packed blog on how to do some of the more difficult bureaucratic stuff in Poland.

www.polandian.wordpress.com. Polandian
Collaborative blog written by expats living in Poland to offer advice and debunk some common Polish myths.

-Where were you born?
London, England

-In which country and city are you living now?
Szklarska Poreba, Poland

-Are you living alone or with your family?
I live with my girlfriend and her family.

-How long have you been living in Poland?
I first arrived here ten months ago but I was living in a different part of Poland (Zielona Gora) for 7 months.

-What is your age?
25

-When did you come up with the idea of living in Poland?
I was planning to travel and/or work somewhere in Europe for a while, just waiting for the right moment. Then I got involved with a girl from Poland and it all fell into place that I would spend a year at least in Poland.

-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?
There was no need for anything like that. I just had to register with the residence I was staying at when I entered the country and this lasts for 3 months. After three months you can register again or register to another residence if you move. Signing a contract for work removes the requirement to register.

-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?
For medical insurance you can acquire an EU card from the NHS before you go but I don’t know how difficult it is as I did not get one. Also when you sign a contract for a job, you will be provided with medical insurance. Many native speakers I met over here did not have insurance at all as contracts are avoided to reduce tax payments by the employer and employee. If you need medical attention you will have to pay without insurance but it is much cheaper here for medical care anyway so many take a chance that they will not get ill or be involved in an accident. With hindsight, though, I would get a med. insurance card from England to avoid any problems here.

-How do you make your living in Poland? Do you have any type of income generated?
Although Poland has one of the highest, if not the highest, unemployment rates in Europe finding work here if you are a native speaker of English could not be easier since many people want to learn English, especially since joining the EU. A teaching job is virtually guaranteed in a private school even if you have no teaching experience or qualifications (this might not be true in e.g. Warsaw or Wroclaw – the bigger cities). There is a method of teaching called the Callan method, which is perfect for native speakers because it is designed to get learners used to hearing and understanding English at a fast pace. Callan method is therefore suited to native speakers who just read questions quickly to a class and elicit answers. Alternatively there is traditional method teaching (like you had at school when learning e.g. French) which you can get training for.

I had already done a 20-hour TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course in England (it cost 200 pounds) and it was definitely a plus to have this. There are many types of teaching qualifications you can get but the most widely known and respected (in Eastern Europe at least) is TEFL. However, as I said earlier the main qualification employers here want is that you are a native speaker of English because there are not a lot of them here. I preferred private tuition in which I put an advert out in the local paper saying that I was available to teach English and I got a lot of work from only this. I could charge anything I wanted and still got work. It paid well per hour but for a week it would be less than a private school because you only gave 1 or 2 hour lessons and then had to travel to another lesson, perhaps across a town or city, whereas in a private school all the lessons are in the same place.

Private tuition can pay around 50zl an hour (10 pounds) and in a private school roughly 3000-4000zl a month (500 pounds). Although this might not seem like a lot, it is a very good salary here and you can live very comfortably on that.

Obtaining work came mainly from adverts in the papers where private schools and people wishing to be taught one-on-one could phone to arrange teaching but it also came through walking into private schools directly or through word of mouth and it is easy to get work this way. As soon as you want to work, you can.

Unfortunately if you do not like teaching you are stuck for work unless you know Polish. I was not keen on teaching constantly as it can be quite time-consuming especially if you concentrate on private tuition (1 on 1) as you have to prepare lessons and materials and I wanted to experience as much of the Polish culture as possible. And because most things are far cheaper, I was not pressured to work full time (3 hours teaching a week covered the rent of my house!).

Conversation lessons are an alternative and are not really teaching. You just have to talk about a topic with the student to give them practice in real, natural conversation. Being paid to chat sounds great but it can be tiring and very hard work depending on the student. One-sided conversations in which the other participant can’t or refuses to talk can really sap your will to live. Also you need to be chatty by nature and feel like talking all week round, otherwise awkward silences increase in both length and intensity.

Another less likely option is to work for a multinational company, e.g. McDonalds, Tesco or Coca-Cola as some type of international representative in the company. But I think this is difficult from within Poland as they are more likely to hire native speakers from e.g. England and bring them to Poland rather than hire a native speaker looking for work directly from Poland.

-Do you speak Polish and do you think it's important to speak the local language?
I have tried to learn Polish as quickly as possible while being here including the use of Polish course books. After one year I am not as fluent as I had hoped because I have not been forced to use the language a great deal and can get by with using basic Polish and English. I think it is extremely important to try and integrate into the society you find yourself living in and a major part of that integration is acquiring the language. After being here only a couple of months I could speak an incredibly larger amount of Polish than another American native speaker which I met who had been here several years! He had to ask Poles to order a taxi for him. I think you have to actively prevent yourself from picking up the language after that amount of time and it can be confused with arrogance and a need to only know English and nothing else. I think English speakers are guilty of expecting everyone else in the world to learn English so they do not have to learn anything. Although English is close to an international language I don’t like native English speakers (and any native speaker from any country) who refuse to integrate even a little with the culture that surrounds them.

On the other hand I think it is important for expats not lose a sense of themselves when integrating. I have integrated to a large extent with Polish culture but I have not lost my roots. I still see myself as second generation Irish (my parents are Irish) and English (I was born and brought up in London). Even if I never saw England or Ireland again and never met another person from there I would still have the same sense of who I am and where I am from. When I was younger I was always confused why my parents referred to Ireland as ‘Home’ since by this stage they had lived much longer in London than they had in Ireland. However, now I realize why because I do the same now and would in 80 years' time even if I never returned ‘home’.

-Do you miss home and family sometimes?
I think friends and family are the only thing that I truly miss about London but I get excited about sharing all the things I’m experiencing with them when I do see them and I try to visit as often as possible. Differences in culture breed sayings like ‘Oh, in London you can do this’ or ‘Why can’t I do/get that here, In London you can...’ etc., but this is what I like about being absorbed, to a certain extent, in other cultures.

Since English is not the first language here I can feel isolated in that I can not communicate as fully as I can at home. At first it felt like being a child again because I was dependent on my girlfriend if I needed to find some information or even go to the shop to get something that I would have to ask for. There were times in these early days I yearned for home and to not be dependant on others. Of course this improved as my Polish did and my confidence to use the language and I feel a sense of achievement now that I am independent and can confidently navigate around any situation I find myself in (although still relying on a heavy use of hand gestures and hand motions to get across what I am saying more fully).

My main recreational activity has become finding out as much as I can about the culture and writing about it in my blog. I get to combine this with photography and photo manipulation, which I also enjoy.

-Do you have other plans for the future?
I have many plans and ideas for the future but which ones materialize is uncertain and depends largely on circumstance. One is to get my masters degree here in Poland. I am feeling the urge to study again after a long break and studying abroad was always a desire I had and it is extremely expensive in London. I believe I can study here for a fraction of the price, or even free, but it would depend largely on which subjects are on offer in English. I also think it is a good time to invest or start up businesses here especially since Euro 2012 is being jointly held in Poland. What businesses? I’m not entirely sure yet but we will see.

-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?
Housing costs are extremely cheap compared with London, both renting and buying. We rented a new ground floor flat in Zielona Gora with its own kitchen and toilet, internet and bills inclusive for 650zl pcm (110 pounds), 25 pounds a week. And this was on the more expensive side.
Concerning buying or renting in other areas and cities, I don’t know.

-What is the cost of living in Poland?
Answered above

-What do you think about the Polish people?
I love integrating with the locals and here in Poland they are extremely friendly. I think it is a more polite society but a society not afraid of telling you their mind in a direct way. English people agree all the time to avoid offending people which makes life more difficult in the long run. I remember teaching a teenage girl about how to debate and give her point of view in English and after I said you should use these half and half, so-so agreeing instead of outright disagreeing to avoid offending people in England, she just said to me why is it more polite to lie, to which I could not answer.

I find it quite strange when I talk with an English accent in English and children stare at me like I have two heads. In fact adults do this just as much but I like it because I feel famous. Furthermore when I speak Polish in shops, the people really appreciate the fact I do this probably because they are expecting me to stick to using English and it is a very nice surprise that I am attempting to use Polish. There have been many situations where I talk in Polish and the shop or bar worker speaks in English as we both are trying to practice on each other. It must be quite strange for an outsider to witness this dialogue.

Generally locals are extremely happy for me to be here especially when I speak Polish (also surprised since there is an exodus of people out of Poland). Of course I have had people who resent the fact I am here; perhaps because they had a bad experience in England, but they are isolated cases. Actually I am accepted more by strangers as an Irishman or even as Scottish more readily than an Englishman but not to any degree that is insulting.

-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Poland?

Positives

Beautiful Polish girls everywhere you look
Cheap cigs and alcohol
Strong sense of tradition evident in the culture
Rich and varied cuisine (which is very cheap also)
Very friendly and hospitable people
Proper winter with lots of snow and skiing
Poles like to and know how to have a party

Negatives (Many negatives are those that apply to where I live but will not apply in big cities)

Paying extremely high prices for imported goods (e.g. clothes, trainers, electrical goods)
No draught Guinness
Chinese/Indian restaurants being rare and not good quality
Old people being rude because they have a superiority complex and acting like children.

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Poland?
Try to learn even just basic Polish – the locals will make you feel wonderful for it.

Be open-minded and do not cling on to any stereotypes you might have had about the culture or people.

When you hand over money to pay for a round in a pub, do not say thank you too quickly as this is a sign to keep the change. Wait until you receive the change to say anything.

Be prepared for a dodgy stomach for a few weeks when you first start eating the bread (it has a different type of rye that takes some getting used to).

-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about Poland?
I have a blog about my time in Poland in which I comment on every aspect of my stay in Poland including places I have been and my thoughts about all things Polish as well as an array of pretty and colourful pictures:
An Englishman in Poland www.talesofenglishman.blogspot.com

Another blog is devoted to information and recipes I have picked up from my adopted babcja (grandmother) Ania concerning Polish food:
Polish food and recipes www.polishfoodrecipes.blogspot.com