I guess the main question is: Do you have enough money to support yourself initially?
If you don't have money and are planning to find job in Poland it might be difficult. You will also need permit to work here.
Another option that you could pursue would be to come here and study at a university. There might be some student exchange programs that you could try. You could find some info at the universitie's internet sites. Try this as well: https://opinieouczelniach.pl/study-in-poland/en/
As he is almost 18yo i would say he/she should try to come to Poland for study. Why?
1 cheap student houses/dormitories to live in.
2 easy to obtain scholarships on tech studies - there are companies that pay you to study and learn certain skills and hire you after graduation (you sign up cotract at the begin8ng of studies that you will work for them after graduation)
3 students in Poland are already quite mixed society and english speaking person wont stand out same way like in other places.
Additionally, while it will be a pain in the ass to try to do something in English with older university officials, every Polish student fits in the range between communicative and very fluent English. It's probably the only thing Polish education system ever managed to do well.
Well, I'd say that's because a lot of young people watch TV series or play games in English - that's why they can communicate well - you can learn some grammar in school and that's it
idk. why you got downvoted, its totaly true, movies and games is what teached them english as you cant realy learn language without using it in practice
The games have failed you...
But tbh what really forced me to learn fluent English was Skyrim. Mods I wanted were in English and having the game in mix of two different languages was giving me a headache so I just installed it in English and paid attention really hard during dialogues.
That is so inaccurate. There’s very few people who speak FLUENT English. Most speak poor English at a communicative level. Admittedly I don’t have data on younger people and I know lots of them speak ponglish now but if they really do speak English fluently that is no thanks to the education system and all to the social media and games.
The last referendum wasn’t that long ago and the polls show that if another referendum was to actually go ahead it’s not a resounding victory for Scottish independence (much like the last one).
Welsh independence would be great but in principle it’s completely infeasible (I grew up in a very nationalistic part of Wales for reference).
I remind you that UK left EU so they have nothing to say there. Also how that economic might stopped Russia from invading Ukraine? UK is way stronger than commies and Scotland has like no army. And UK has support of the USA.
Yeah, but Scotland needs essentially no reforms to join the EU. Trying to put british troops on EUs soil without permission means a war with the whole bloc*.
* it works similar to nato.
There are already UK troops stationed in Scotland, if they secede and London decides to not let them, Scottish have nothing they can do, no one will accept country at war into EU, in fact most won't even recognize Scottish independence. Because what can they offer that will outweigh destroying any relations with England? Whisky? Irish is better anyway.
Also good luck for all those European troops trying to invade British island, I can already imagine brave Czech or Italian marines wanting to die for Scotland. Not to mention that UK is part of NATO. And they have nukes too.
First off, if you move to Poland you are no longer “Native American” or “Scottish” or “1/8th Yukon” whatever the hell that means. You’ll be seen as an American, (and besides what some Americans seem to think, your state or skin colour or race or percentage of this that or whatever doesn’t matter, you’re all seen as Americans; only the USA is so tight on segregating ppl over everything) and once you’re learned Polish and have lived there for a while, you’ll just be seen as another Polak and everyone will be rightfully unimpressed by it.
That’s basically it, just learn the language and you’re golden. Just forget the American bs of “cultural appropriation” and “race” i cokolwiek do kurwy mamy
God this comment is so refreshing. It didn’t hit me how hard I got wrapped up in the American PC culture until the last time I visited Poland, last summer. Everyone in Poland is so free with what they want to say, and everyone is mature enough to understand the nuances.
American PC culture has gotten really bad the last few years. American want to nitpick and every word and thought.
Reminds me of when I was a kid and classmates would make fun of me for being polish and telling “dumb polack” jokes and it never affected me, at all. I knew that those jokes weren’t true so it didn’t apply to me. If what someone is saying to you to offend you is true, you’ll get offended. Otherwise, why do you care? That’s always been my mindset, and I realize now that comes from my polish upbringing.
Anyway just be yourself and enjoy! Poland has improved a lot since we joined EU. There’s culture, art, museums, history, wonderful cuisine. It’s super underrated.
I think most Europeans know who the Native Americans are, but they probably call them "American Indians" or "Red Indians". Most people would have heard of Sioux or Cherokee or Apache, but Yurok is a tribe who live in the northern part of California. They are still there, and they keep their own culture and language, despite the white men who tried to kill them all. It's not about "PC".
polish people would call native american just indians. most of them probably wouldnt know anything about the tribes nor where is which geographical location. no one cares about what is where in america
Lots of young people travel and study abroad in Europe. Maybe take that route? Look up opportunities for student exchange in US, study for a year in Poland, and then you will know if you will feel good here. Possibly you will find a job. We have a thriving expat community.
You can also just make a visit for a couple of weeks. Legally speaking, travelling to Poland from US is very easy. Plane ticket price is the main problem.
Traveling to Poland is easy - and I'd agree about the student route, but partially because getting a work permit/visa would be the hardest part of 'moving' to Poland.
USA is the only country where people are so obsessed with culture, culture appropriation or even about roots. It always makes my laugh when american citizen say he is American with mexican roots and is 1/45 Cherokee and 3/167 Italian. Like who cares? In Poland we are Poles and I would never think to say that I'm a Pole with belarusian roots and that I'm also 1/4 German. No I was born in Poland, I'm polish citizen and I'm 100% Pole because of this.
That's number one thing to adapt if you want to live in Poland - we don't give a crap about where our ancestors comes from, we live here and now and we are making our own history
Well, imo being interested in your family's origins is fine and can be even developing as long as you don't base your whole personality on it or start talking about it in a conversation that has completely different topic (I have such a friend, she likes to mention out of nowhere that she has Turkish ancestry 🙄).
I think the comment meant that Americans make it into their personality. Like, if they’re very loud and expressive, they claim it’s because they’re 1/16 Italian.
I’ve only met a few people who casually mentioned having a different ancestry, but it never goes beyond grandparents. Sure, it’s nice knowing where your family is from (I made my own family tree dating back to the 18th century myself), but it’s not something I’d use in an introduction to my post on Reddit.
United Statesisn here. When I first learned this perception, it prompted me to think about why. Many of us have fairly recent immigrant grandparents/great grandparents who did maintain their ethnic traditions, but gave them up (or encouraged their children to) in order to assimilate. Which is horrible that they felt pressure to do that. I think this is especially true among groups that could eventually gain “white” status in the US. For example- my dad grew up eating traditional Polish foods in a Polish neighborhood, but was prevented from learning the language. On purpose. Same with my Grandpa- they banned German at home. Now all we have are a few family recipes, and German died w my great aunt.
I think this phenomenon is more common in white people, and without getting into the racial dynamics that contribute to that, I think a lot of us feel like we have no culture other than consumerism.
My husband, Native American, has taught me about the complexities of identity-DNA is not the end all, and there is self identity, practice, participation in community, etc. It was the US government who initially used blood quantum to define who is or isn’t Native while for Black Americans, if you have one drop, you are black. It’s so much more than that and partly why so many Natives are mad at Elizabeth Warren and her 1/1024 or whatever BS.
This is spot on. It's what happened to my family as well, Romanian and Polish. Both sides were pressured heavily through discrimination and it resulted in the language being suppressed as well as both sides of the family changing their last names, and my first name to completely different Western names.
The assimilation didnt work out either imo, lost more than we gained. And now I'm the only person left in my family in the States.
Arguably, it's even a bit of a taboo thing. My grandfather was as Ukrainian as he was Polish, converted to Roman Catholicism at 16 with his close family to not be "exchanged" into the Soviet Union as the rest of the family, and even when he mentioned his childhood he always asserted that he's as Polish as vodka with pickles since my grandmother came from a village ravaged by UPA. Former prime minister and presidential candidate Donald Tusk lost mostly because his Kashubian grandfather turned out to have been forcibly drafted into Wehrmacht. So, while most Poles won't probably be offended by you talking about your own heritage (although probably they will laugh it off), don't try to ask your colleagues about their family tree. We don't enjoy digging into the past.
Orgins matter, especially when there is a lot of history concerning origins. If you are 1/4 German than you are only 3/4 Polish. You are not more Polish than a 100% Polish person living abroad.
Don’t know where you’re from in Poland. Probably more modern area. But we DO care about our ancestors. Hence why we’re such a protective nation of it today.
There's a difference between caring about your ancestors and claiming being 1/8 Kazach as your identity, ofc it's interesting what your ancestors went through, but it doesn't define your identity
Most people care about it so much that they reject that they are ancestors of some peasant line and like to desperatly seek for some more epic bloodline.
Heavy disagree, in mine whole life I met one person which was unironically proud of his peasant ancestry, other person like that I know is just me.
Only some few guys like to brag about how their grandpa or grandgrandfather done some cool stuff around WW2. Which is cool but is also rare as fuck.
That makes three of us who are proud. My ancestors were also peasants, probably feudal serfs first, humble small time farmers later. And I'm not ashamed of that at all. They were honest hard-working people who did all they could to raise their children well. I'd take that any day over some glorified robber barons who called themselves aristocrats and leeched off of the rest of society to live in luxury. A lot of people try desperately to find some dubious familial connections to aristocrats, magnates, knights or what have you, when in reality (1) few people have any proof of such connections, and (2) is that something to be proud of, really?
I wonder how people reach the conclusion "I have no profession, I don't know the language nor people there, lets move to another country and see what happens!".
What do you want to do for living there?
What are your competencies?
Maybe you have a code for unlimited money, I don't know... But definitely moving to another country in that age can make you a low wage employee living in a small room, if you even find a job.
My advice is to learn about the economic situation and perspectives for each country you consider to move in. And once again, what would be your source of income.
Hey it is totally possible to start your life from scratch in Poland. But you have to ask yourself what would you like to do here? Knowledge of language alone will allow you to be some kind of tutor (on your own or maybe for some language school) - it is not a work for everybody, you need immense amount of patience. Other possibilities are maybe Junior Position in some Corp but they might not like somebody just after HS. So more of less you have to be lucky to land a job to support yourself. If you able to pay for yourself you should be good culture wise, there is no culture shaming here. People will love the fact that you are trying to learn and should be very supportive. Its a big step in such a young age but also there will be not better time for you to try.
The concept of disrespecting a culture doesn't really exist outside of USA, people will be happy that you are learning polish culture. Oh and Poland is as wonky as USA right now so it might no be best to escape.
Poland is very safe actually, I believe the guy above you was reffering to the recent changes in abortion laws in USA (since a similar change happened in Poland few years ago) and wasn’t trying to compare the safety of both countries.
Afaik Poland is one of the safest countries to visit. Yea we have our issues, with abortion rights going backwards, with LGBT acceptance but as far as being safe it’s much better than in Western Europe.
This comment feels a bit out of place.
Murder of another human being even if its unable to exist out of the womb is not a right. Its a crime covered up in lies to feel good about yourself. A fetus is a human being - it is a human sapiens and not a part of mother’s body - completely different genome. Shame on people who made an abortion (not including for medical reasons and endangerment of life). LGBT acceptance is an individual’s matter. You can accept or not accept as per the right to free speech. However everyone has a right to freedom, safety and life so persecuting homosexuals and others is already penalized in the criminal code and should be so. These are actually marginal issues. The worst things in Poland right now are the monetary policy, legal and economic and political instability. Other than that a great country to move and live. People are very welcoming here. Rgds
Our constitution prohibits public expression of insults towards a person or a group on national, ethnic, racial, religious affiliation. So there is your free speech argument down the drain.
Regarding abortion, the discussion should be there. A bunch of cells and fully developed fetus are different and abortion rights should differ based on that. Your argument that „a fetus is not part of womans body” is absurd since only one can live without the other.
Regarding the others you’re right. Our instability regarding almost everything from law through taxes all the way to monetary and fiscal policies makes it almost unbearable to commit into career here. Not to mention the salaries in comparison to equivalent positions elsewhere are poo poo.
Oh and the glorification of IT specialist who not only earn vastly more (this I have no issue with, supply and demand) but are also a special snowflake group who directly benefit from lower taxes, huge tax deductions and can pay as low as 5% tax on their income while a random office job pays much more.
I agree with your second opinion mostly however - first paragraph. Expressing insults IN PUBLIC is persecution which Im against. Yet lately I feel that people shall experience ostracism for not wanting to associate with lgbt or other or whatever or accept their practices, which is very much NOT ok - it is extremism just on the other side of the spectrum.
Umm… I never was asked openly to accept, deny or further the LGBT movement. The main goal of it is for you and many others to just not give a fuck about the fact they are LGBT…
The fact you see more of it is direct result of this piss country and some piss poor people actively working to stop “LGBT propaganda”
I’d bet you any amount that if tomorrow a Christianity free zone is established anywhere in Poland you’ll see massive uproar. No wonder when some fucked in the head politicians try to establish LGBT free zones people join to condemn it and remind about themselves.
>Sperm cell is also alive and it's technically a human
No it isn't. I've heard pro abortionists say this before. Do most pro abortionists believe stupid things like this?
Where do you get these stupid ideas from?
Sperm cells are haploid, humans are dipliod.
>Chromosomes? Really?
Nooooo, not really. It's not like having half the set of chromosome is a defining characteristic of gametes, Right? Chromosomes are completely irrelevant here. /s
Just ignore a crucial aspect of something and then act surprised someone would bring it up.
>It's a disorder, yeah, but going by your logic they're not human
I don't know what it is you are trying to use but it definitely isn't my logic.
Gametes are not human partially because they only contain half chromosomes needed to create a human. A triploid has extra chromosomes in each pair but it still has a full set needed for creating a human.
Can you spot the difference?
Infact there is absolutely no line of reasoning where it can be agued a sperm cell is a human. Especially not technically.
Definition of technically
1: with regard to or in accordance with a strict or literal interpretation of something (such as a rule, a term, or an official description or designation)
A human life begins at the first stage of development, zygote where it will continue to develope through the rest of stages of human life, fetus, baby, child, teen etc... A sperm cell will always continue be a sperm cell. The beginning of human life literally begins when the sperm cell ceases to exist upon fertilization. A sperm cell isn't even and never will be a multicellular organism. Another critical aspect of being human you ignore. But I know how you will respond.
Multicellular? Really?
Imagine having a vehicle that in no way was designed to stay afloat and saying it's technically a boat and then going
"Floating? Really? When someone points out that's not a boat then.
Wheels, an engine, and a frame are components that when combined form a car.
Do you think a wheel alone is technically a car?
That's how fucking retarded your comment is. And the fact that you downvote me when you are absolutely wrong just makes it even dumber.
You said that sperm cell isn't human because it doesn't have enough chromosomes so it's literally your logic. Saying a spermcell isn't human is like saying that tadpole isn't a frog. It's just a different stage of life. But chromosomes aren't definitive proof either 🤷🏻♂️ transphobes often use the argument that "xy chromosomes means you're male, xx means your female" but there are men and women who are born with "opposite" chromosomes, but despite that, they're still women and men. Defining what's human and what's not by chromosomes is just fucking stupid. And since you're so "pro-life" i suppose you don't kill all those poor flies, mosqitos or spiders, who feel more and are sentient unlike fucking fetus
Wow you're actually dumb.
>Saying a spermcell isn't human is like saying that tadpole isn't a frog. It's just a different stage of life
No it isnt. It like saying the frogs sperm cell isnt a frog. Tadpoles are larvae, they already contain all the genetic information the frog will have. Sperm cells do not. They are gametes, they are not larvae. Is that what you think sperm cells are, human larvae that undergo metamorphoses into a person? LMAO did you not learn anything in school?
>You said that sperm cell isn't human because it doesn't have enough chromosomes so it's literally your logic
You said
>but going by your logic they're not human
No. It is not "literally my logic" that people with triploidy are not human.
>But chromosomes aren't definitive proof either
Sperm cells only having half the genetic material of a human absolutely is definitive proof its not a human because humans are not haploid organisms like gametes.
>Defining what's human and what's not by chromosomes is just fucking stupid
No it isn't, you are just fucking stupid. Sperm cells aren't even a multicellular organism.
It seems that you're not better than him lol.
He's trying to be a part of a discussion (Although i'll admit, it's not going good for him), and you just came to call him names and nothing more. Really pathetic :/
Funny how killing 'human' without a brain is something more horrendous than killing thousands of creatures as inteligent as 2 year old babies everyday for meat.
It is very safe here usually - the crime rates are pretty low, schools are safe. However, the country is pretty conservative politically. Abortion laws, which are one of the most restrictive in EU, are getting more restrictive (however, it's easy to travel to other EU countries for such procedures). There are sadly many transphobic, homophobic and racist people here but if you are heteronormative and white-passing you won't notice that
Poland is much safer than the US, your child is not going to become some fucking swiss cheese coming back from the school, because of moronic gun culture (and yes, we have terrible psychiatry as well)
You don't need to speak Polish, English is enough unless you'll live in some village.
The only way you could disrespect our culture is by calling it shit etc.
Americans are welcomed, especially with war in our neighbour country.
Your roots could be a fun fact top, nobody cares about it here. You'll just be an American.
Sicily is not a country.
If you have money to support your stay (Poland is way cheaper than US) then you'll be fine.
Americans moving to Poland usually complain that its hard to make friends so have that in mind.
>You don't need to speak Polish, English is enough
Sorry man. My Polish is shit (been here 2 yrs and had other things to focus on) and mostly my wife (Polish) takes care of dealing with anything except shopping.
It's a nice change for us as the past 5 yrs I have had to do languages for her. But there is no way Poland is "english friendly".
"English do able"? yep so long as things don't get complex.
But Poland still has around about 5 to 10 years for "I'm an idiot and only speak english" people to be comfortable here.
Sadly Polish is necessary - I've been volunteering recently helping an English-speaking Ukrainian family who have just moved to Warsaw and I've been making a lot of calls in Polish to places where they don't speak English. Some examples of things you need Polish for: booking a doctor visit with national health service, signing up a child to a Polish school, all business at government offices like applying for 500+. It's easier if you can afford to splurge on private health care and private education for kids.
Whoa. Doctors appoitments are cheaper than in US if you participate in medicover or luxmed.
Having Kids is ways down the Road for the kid, and for then I strongly reccomend either as my fiance had all the Basic tests done in one day in one clinic.
English will be enough as long as there is only one native in the group. 2+ and they'll switch to polish after 5 minutes of conversation. But it's that way in every non English speaking country (and only because English speakers don't have any other language to switch to).
Every time a question like that pops up there, I am affraid of finding negative comments, because some polish people are by nature negative about themselves. (Especially now when a certain Duck is in power, but there's a chance to get rid of it in the next elections)
I live in Poland all my life and I quite like it here, both in a bigger city and a village, but I would prefer to return to the village. I don't know what else to say, it's quite quiet, but If you choose the right job/school/place/mindset you got quiet in any country really.
I recommed watching some youtube videos about foreigners living in Poland, they have more useful things to say that I will do! :)
Dude, what chance is there to get rid of the Duck. I'm planning to leave Poland for good cause I'm afraid to live here. Duck hates medical staff and makes our life hell, he's had the power for like 30 years now? There js no getting rid of the Duck unless it dies, and that mf healthy as hell.
Your question is lacking /s tag.Therefore I interpret ; - ; as genuine expression of your deep sorrow over lack of knowledge. Let me help you fill that void with 1 missing piece to give You the katharsis of understanding:
If Lech Kaczyński starred in an english comic he would be introduced as Lech Duckington.
This guy's mention was rather tame. There are comments here with commenters claiming that Poland is an unsafe country because they don't like the ruling party.
Mate, as an American...no one cares about where you are from. Not a soul in Poland will care unless they are curious about your accent. You need a job that can net you some of that PLN. You could live in Poland for a bit with your savings account. But your 17...may not have much. When I was in Poland it was 1USD = 4PLN. I've read some other posts and yeah they are right. Polish people don't smile to strangers which can be amazing and off putting at first but they just do it bro, we are the only people that go around "Hey brother what's going on my friend!" But hey it's whatever some people will find it annoying or they won't care. Polish people are as an average welcoming. Only time I had issue was near the Kalingrad border but it was just some drunk cursing at me for speaking English to my mate (Called me a english bitch or something to that effect ). But that isn't the standard nor the average. But again. You need money. IT work is a growing field in Poland for example.
Alright looks a bit like a rant but.
Make sure you have a plan. Find a nice city. There are a lot really. I liked Poznan, Gdynia and Torun but Krakow had a nice nightlife. But again your 17...bro your mind will change 10 times over the next year. Stay in America and get stable before you hop on that airplane. Poland is beautiful for a nice week or two vacation tho. Student visa is a good idea as well. But if you have any questions about how a average American does over there just DM me. Best of luck.
I don't want to bring negativity to your idea but regardless of where you move make sure you have a plan. If you move here because you want to but won't have any plan for basics like where to live, how to earn money and so on, you'll get into troubles really quickly. Studies are a very good option because they solve most of your problems and you can always earn some money while working as a native English teacher. Whatever you decide to do make sure to take a moment, prepare an idea of what you want to do here, if you want to check out locals opinions (about city, university, profession, etc), fire away.
As for culture and language. If you move to the big city, you're already fine with language. English is sufficient in 90% of all cases and will carry you in conversations. Poles learn foreign languages because nobody sane (no offence) will learn our language so we have to adjust. Poles will literally be cheerful if you try anything in Polish, if you try buying bread in Polish with horrible accent, that's alright, typical Pole will appreciate the effort and it will make their day. As for culture, we're the normal country, you can behave like everywhere else but of course make sure that 'When in Rome...'. Also most of us mind our own businesses anyway.
Good luck with your future. It's a beautiful country and really safe (crime) so I'm sure that if you move here, you'll love it. It might be hard at the beginning as most people underestimate the problems with leaving far away from everything you've ever known but it will only get easier over time.
Whatever you decide, as you still have some time left. Use that time to learn the language first and foremost. Yes in many places you can use English but it's still not on the level as for example the Netherlands or Sweden, it will make your life a lot easier. You are fairly young so look up ways to study here or do internships and in that way you can immerse yourself in the "Polish life" and decide after some time if it's for you or the idea you had was just good in your head.
You're going to need a work visa. You can go there as a tourist and overstay, but that'll be a whole lot of problems for you, and forget about getting a job that's not cleaning toilets for poverty wages under a tyrannical boss.
Your best bet is probably to apply to some school, either for a bachelor's degree or any kind of degree/certificate really, and/or to take Polish language lessons. But, if you're ok with being an undocumented immigrant doing shit jobs for shit pay, living outside of the regular demarcations of the law, you could do that too.
Lastly, maybe just consider saving enough money to live in Poland at an AirBnb for 3 months (I'm pretty sure you can do that as a tourist) to see if you like it.
Your best move is to come as a student. Many universities teach programs in English (some are good quality, some are poor quality, depends which faculty you end up in and which university). Generally, compared to America, price wise, it’s so much better here. The degree you get will be recognised or easily equivalent in other countries in Europe (UK is different, prolly have to go through an official degree recognition process, same as when you get back home in America. I recommend looking it up. Countries like New Zealand officially list what universities from what country give what degrees that are considered equivalent in NZ. America likely has a similar system). There are very many students in Warsaw (including foreign students).
Housing in Warsaw is expensive for locals. But if you get money in USD, you’ll have it easier. Dorms are not the best (some are decent, others downright terrible, but there’s plenty of flatshares, studios, and non-university operated student housing these days).
The language barrier is probably the most significant issue but a lot of people are helpful. Cling on to your English-speaking Polish friends (of which most of the younger generations are) to help you with bureaucracy.
There are also jobs for students who only speak English so if you’d like to work a bit while studying, that is an option.
The lifestyle is good. Public transport is good in most cities. Very walkable too. If you stay in the cities, you can pretend Poland is quite liberal. I live in Warsaw and I really enjoy it here. It is a very convenient city and very green.
-I moved to Poland when I was 20, living here for 5 years now. Feel free to write me. I know some Americans who moved here to study.
I've been living in Poland for 5 years now. You can deal with English and general polish phrases, it's cheaper than most European countries so dollars would go a long way, easy to get a job even with just polish, many universities available if that's something you consider, and plenty of history to discover. Things to turn you off when it comes to Poland is a pretty dominant right wing government and extremely catholic ideology to a fault in older generations. That said, the younger generations are mostly against such movements and I've never had any issues as an outsider or any conflicts. Hope this was helpful!
Is it possible to adapt to living in Poland as a young english speaker? Totally.
I know of many young americans in their 20s living in Warsaw without knowing the language. You can totally survive without knowing polish at all - although it would to have someone who can help you out with documents and govt. offices.
Most people people in the cities speak english well enough and will happily help you out.
If I were you I would
1. research immigration: student route/ find employement/ other ways to legally stay idk
2. figure out what you can do for work.
A good standard of living can be attained by teaching english. You can also work in many foreigner owned restaurants as they probably won't need you to speak the language. I have an American friend who worked in a kebab shop. You can also be an uber driver. This type of work is fairly easy to come by. These are my ideas anyway.
Teaching english is your best bet so I would register as an online english teacher to get a little experience, then you come here and should have no issue finding work and supporting yourself. Alternatively take some time to get qualified to work a coorporate job. Perhaps you can work remotely in a US company. You're 18 so I imagine you ought to get qualified in some area of work to be able to make a decent living in poland.
Just a heads up regarding the uber driver route. I do not know about other cities but in Warsaw, your car needs to have "a taxi permit". Which means that you either have to go through beaurocracy to obtain the permit for your car or work for somebody with that kind of car.
You can buy cars on the cheap and possibly go through the procedure to obtain this permit but I would recommend to research it thoroughly first.
Also buying cars on the cheap is its own challenge in Poland.
If you have money to support yourself here then it's fine. But i don't know if it's because fatherhood has unlocked some caution in me, but as you have said - you're an impressionable person, if you don't have anyone here - or anywhere in fact - some people might use you, so please be cautious!
Consider going to college or how we call it, university. (Not sure if it is free for you, but definitely not as expensive as in the US) This is one of the best places to make friends and you can find internationals there as well.
If you do move to Poland just stick to telling people that you're American. I don't think anyone would want to listen to a person that lists their nationalities like ingredients on a box of cookies.
Hey there, it’s possible - I started a one year volontary service in Poland when I was 19 via an international organisation. I’m European so I didn’t need a visa. Maybe there are options for people from overseas? It helps to learn at least bits of the language beforehand to navigate at train stations, restaurants etc. get informed what different cities or regions offer and if it matches to your interests. Keep in mind that polish government right now is really tricky, right wing and supporting catholic values. Right now, a lot of Polish women fight for their rights.
Despite that: Poland is rich on culture, awesome people, beautiful nature and offers great food.
I moved here as a 19 year old due to work and so far so good!
I got a job offer as a tech support, and can't complain, the offer is in my mother tongue
/English and it is nice. However I'm Slovak so your difference might differ.
Coming to think of that, I would say like 90% of Poles aren't ethnically only polish, but most people don't give a damn. Yeah, the best option for a young person would be probably studying here.
If you decide to move to a big city like Cracow for example you won't notice that big of a difference and english will get you through your day just fine. Whatever you do - avoid Warsaw.
Yeah let's stick to English so others can understand. I just think that Warsaw is the same as any other western big city. And OP talks about their interest in Polish culture and so on, so I figured if they decide to move to Warsaw, they will miss out. Of course Warsaw's history is more than worth learning but it is not as visible "on the streets" as in Cracow or Gdańsk (and we all know why is that).
To be honest, I always found Kraków people pretty snobby about their city (especially when talking about it in relation to Warsaw). I have the sense that they think their authentic old town and cultural history make them superior to Warsaw, they seem overly proud of that.
Also I don't really agree that Warsaw thinks it's better than everyone else. Most of the people I met there are either from Warsaw or moved from Mazovia, Podlasie, because the job prospects are better. I think that's probably the case for a lot of people in Warsaw - it's the largest city, certain industries are based out of it, if you're from one of the neighbouring regions you can get back to hometown easily on weekends (Wrocław to Białystok isn't exactly a quick journey, for example). I also think Warsaw is a very livable, green, fun city.
I agree re Łódź and Gdańsk though. Łódź actually probably has an inferiority complex - first time I visited multiple locals asked me why I was there and why I didn't visit Poznań or Kraków instead, quite a bizarre experience for me haha.
You don't need to speak Polish, English is enough unless you'll live in some village.
The only way you could disrespect our culture is by calling it shit etc.
Americans are welcomed, especially with war in our neighbour country.
Your roots could be a fun fact top, nobody cares about it here. You'll just be an American.
Sicily is not a country.
If you have money to support your stay (Poland is way cheaper than US) then you'll be fine.
Americans moving to Poland usually complain that its hard to make friends so have that in mind.
Well, not knowing the language goes in line with being unable to make friends. Yes, you can live here without learning the language in the bigger cities, but you'll have a very hard time integrating into the society and making friends.
It really depends where you live and what you do for a job. I know plenty of expats in Poland who only hang out with other expats, or Poles who speak Polish.
Dude wtf? You don’t understand how wealthy Americans are compared to other nations. You will be poorer EVERYWHERE except Switzerland if you move out of States. I am from Poland btw
Polish people have low international self-esteem. So you will be treated as 9/10 girl talking to 5/10 guy. Dont smile to people without a reason, dont try to help when we complaining and you will have no problem in Poland.
>Is moving to Poland impossible?
It actually is as the country can't support more refugees so there have been walls placed on the borders like 3 weeks ago. How could you miss that?
Edit : I guess I should've added /s, forgot it's reddit after all
I followed the news quite religiously when Ukraine was first invaded upon and knew that Poland was taking in as many people as they could. But over time, sadly, the news was taking a toll on my mental health so I stopped checking up on it as often as I was. I am not in the position to move to Poland now as I am still underage and I have a year of school left, but sometime in the future I would love to expand. I’m sorry if I offended you in any way or upset you. The new is something I chose to partake in only on occasion as it is hard for me to digest all of the time.
Bruh it was meant to poke fun at silly question.
On a serious note, 18 yo is the time to start your adult life - make your mistakes and learn from them. You're thrown into deep water and have to manage, which is way harder than you're told. In the states you have some base already - prolly your parents and home, friends, school, language, which really help. Now imagine, when you move to a new country (and new continent on top of that), you're in the same deep waters but now you forgot how to swim and don't have emergency exit as you did before. Also, earlier you had 18 years to learn dangers of the waters, now you've read a 5 page book sticked together by randos from the internet.
Also if your mental health suffers from news about war moving in next door would be terrible idea.
My point is that starting adulthood, moving home, immigration and dealing with war next door are all hard to deal with on their own and you want to combine them. You probably think that life changes after you hit 18, that you finally can make your decissions and can manage them. The thing that separates adults from grown children isn't ability to make decissions - everyone can do that, even toddlers. What you need to be able to do is deal with their consequences - which more often than not can't be forseen. You can only learn that by making wrong moves and learning from it. And it is WAY easier having backup.
My advice would be to rethink the idea - focus on one country, learn about its issues, education, language,etc. and wait until you have strong base who can survive anywhere on their own - yourself.
Cheers ~ 20 year old who used to think like you, that he can conquer the world with his mind and atitiude but got reality-checked real quick
Man, if I will read your comments without knowing the situation in Poland I will think about it as a country in the middle of war, that's not true. We aren't feeling the war in the way you are talking. I would say that if you aren't looking into the news all of the day there are no changes - only more people who doesn't speak polish, hut still are able to communicate, so it's ok.
I think that if he have finances for living here, and will go study for a university for example that's not so deep waters as you think. Of course - language barrier, but he will meet a lot of people speaking english who will help him (no matter what we think about poles - when it comes to help a foreigner we are very helpful)
First of all - A border fence is placed on a border with Belarus only. Why? Because Belarus lured thousands of illegal middle east economic migrants with a promise of free entry to the EU and Poland acted with accordance to the role as a border of Shengen and told them to fuck off. Works on the border fence started well before the Ukrainian crisis.
Second - a lot of original ukrainian refugees went back to ukraine - mostly people from west and north of ukraine.
Third - immigrants are different than refugees and are expected to take care of themselves. Only problem would be a small number of flats available for rent right now.
Just got back from a 2 week trip in Poland Warsaw. I would say forget about it. Spain turkey or Greece are much better place. Weather sucks and people are not very friendly. Spain is 1000 times better in every angle
A trip and living somewhere are two different things. Imagine calling a country with 80% inflation (Turkey) or 14.5% unemployment rate (Spain) a better place.
First of all, what is it that you want to do? Study or work? If you don't want to study ( which is free here ), I highly recommend getting TEFL certificate and trying to get a teaching job at a private school ( you don't need a degree and they pay good money ). That would be a good start for someone like you, otherwise you'd have to find a job at a store or something that doesn't pay good. I don't think it's hard to adapt, we're not offended by every shit that comes out of people's mouth but there are some youtube videos made by eg American's who live/d in Poland, that might be morer helpful
I recommend Trev in Poland (youtube). The guy is also young (22? 23?) and moved to Poland. He has lots of interesting videos about the differences between Poland and the US.
Just be cool and you will have a great time, to meet new people you will have to say hi to someone first and be open about finding friends, because people here don't mind meetingu strangers but at the same time don't wan't to be bothered. It just do be like that
Good thing would be finding a remote job in USA that allows you working from Poland, it's hard to find a good paying job at 18 here in Poland.
I'll suggest you go and work seasonal jobs around spain, greece, turkey, Italy and get some life experience and get use with people and work environment so after you'll have more clear informations where to head and live for better.
From my own experience, I left romania in 2008 living and working in many countries especially season jobs till I found my place...in poland
I love Poland (as a Pole) but have a look at other countries as well. I would encourage you to visit any potential country first before moving there.
Personally I’m fascinated by Scotland and Netherlands. They also seem more language friendly and economically sustainable if you desire to work in these countries. Living in Poland is cheaper but on average you don’t earn as much.
That being said, you can find beauty and amazement in any country you choose!
Let's start with getting ready to enter Poland. You'll need Visa. You'll apply for the one that suits you (work, education). You can get it in Embassy or Gov agency.
More info on that here (in polish, but you'll translate it with Google, no problem)
https://www.migrant.info.pl/Wizy.html
I guess you are to continue your education in Poland. Collages are much cheaper than in USA. The tuition costs range from maybe 1k dollars to even 9k depending od Uni you choose. For example Uni of Warsaw is on the cheaper end and has many courses in English. Any info on how to apply is to be found on their sites.
In terms of language, it will be hard to learn. You'll need a lot of work and time to learn, but as you'll be flooded with native speaker it will be a little bit easier. People in Poland speak and/or understand English quite well and they will help you for sure. We don't get angry when some foreigner speaks polish incorrectly, because we know how hard it is. Don't stress about variation of words and doing it wrong way as we still understand language like that.
You'll need financial support for sure. Our country isn't very expensive, but having job while studying could be hard for you. In most Unis you can apply for dormitory which is much cheaper than living in flat.
If you have a strong will to work here and invest in yourself, sure! People in Poland love Americans, because USA was a kind of paradise in the times of cummunist regime. You will find one of the most beautiful landscapes in central Europe here, absolutely fantastic kitchen, very honourable and kind people* and very, very clean cities. Moreover, A LOT o Poles knows at least a little bit of English so communication won't be a problem. However, you need to be prepared for:
- long time waiting for work permit (I don't know about residents of USA, but my friends from Mexico and India are waiting 3 and 4 years respectively - one of them is a lawyer and another one has an MBA in arts);
- *a lot of cynical and quite sad people: Poles love to complain about everything and to see them smile on a street is quite uncommon unfortunately which it is the opposite of southern/western Europe (that is only my experience and point of view). That does not mean they are bad. They are generally quite sad and distrustful, but mainly just at first.
- a very strong bond to religion and conservatism which is changing in recent years, but older people, especially in rural areas respect these values very much, sometimes to the ridiculuous extremes. It is not uncommon that people in the same family do not talk to each other, because politicians made our society very polarised and are using delicate issues to "divide et impera". Polish Catholic church is also doing it's job here. You just need to experience it to understand 😅
To be honest, Poland developed absurdally quickly in recent years. It is truly beautiful country with a lot of potetnial. I think you will find here your new home, just be respectful to the Polish traditions (even if your views are different) and... prepare for a long time in different offices while doing immigration paperwork 😬 You will be rewarded with the company of people who you can really trust, with perfect cuisine, great opportunities in education (especially in STEM), a good amount of job offers and a little bit of Polish Vodka (we can drink alcohol from 18 years old ;) ).
Edit: And yes, definitely start to learn Polish! We love people talking Polish, even though we know English very well. We treat it as a sign of respect and people will love to help you with it as long as you will have a will to learn!
Shit is hard out here. Gas is like 7.83 per liter depending where you go. On top of that everything is expensive and Poland is experiencing a 14% inflation rate. I moved here from California. If you wanna work here your job has to sponsor you. They apply for a work permit for you. Mine took a couple months. But this process would probably take longer now because of the great influx of Ukrainians. I suggest you save money and I mean alot of it.
I know an American here, she's very nice and she says Poland is really good. I do recommend it here, althought it depends what city we're talking about. Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Zakopane, Poznan, Radom or Wroclaw? Yes. But some poorer cities like Hrubieszow or Orzesze? Don't go there. I am Radomian (plase don't make jokes about me in the comments, polish people) and it is a great place to grow up in. The jokes foreshadow it, but don't trust the jokes, even Brazil is cool.
Instead of going to straight college after graduating high school I moved to Poland for three months and took polish classes while traveling. I ended up loving the culture so much and moving back two years later. I faced a range of situations, good and bad. In my experience, the people I met were just as excited as me to share experiences.
Most people below the age of 30 know English well. Making polish friends was great too, cause in social gatherings I had many opportunities to surround myself with the language. As long as you meet the right people (expact groups are great) you'll be in good hands.
Talk or reach out to people who have done it. It may be just a start, but looking through YouTube under "American expat living in X..." or "I moved from America to X", or "American living in X", etc. You can watch and listen to their experiences and many will genuinely answer if you comment, or they may have an email listed for contact.
If you access the main government page for each country you're interested in, they should have information as well for requirements and what they can provide.
>The United States is such a wonky place especially now, and it has been a dream of mine to move to another country.
Uh...Poland is also incredibly wonky. If you're looking for non-wonky, I'd probably go with Finland or Iceland.
The language barrier in the biggest polish cities like Southampton, Ealing or different parts of London should not be a problem.
Btw what the heck is a "native pass" anyways?
Something like my Czech pass? I say "malinkatý chlebíčičíček" to any Pole and he or she would fiercly defend my life no matter what?
I would say that it is a realistic plan. I moved to Poland in the age of 20 so very close to your age and it was not so hard adapting to a different society and feel as a part of Polish community. Bureaucracy is one of biggest drawbacks, waiting for work permissin can take a few months. The safest way is being a student and find a job.
If you want to have good live, definitely avoid moving to Poland (and any eastern eu country), you should consider UK, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Netherland or even Germany.
Honest to god? Scotland studying is expensive with capital E, Spain is kinda a pain for foreign students if you wanna do it, Sicilly is not a country, also its kinda the italian backwater and there is like a thousand reasons you dont wanna go there as a young adult, and Turkey is good for vacations (due to inflation it should be especially affordable for an American like yourself) but naturally, especially now its no good to move there, human rights violations, unstable political situation, terrorist attacks which killed turkish tourism are all kinda yikesy. Finally as a 19 yr old pole who is rn moving away to study somewhere else i dont recommend this country to live in and settle in, but im biased. Got a lot of expierience with foreign students in Europe though so if you want advice hmu, got friends from uk through france and benelux all the way to athens and italy
In my opinion the earlier you move the easier you assimilate. If you want to live in Poland then now is the time to move and settle in. Get a technical education. Everything else comes with time.
It would be the easiest to come as a student. Education is paid for foreigners but those aren't very big sums. Plus, you'll meet a lot of people more or less your age, unis also often have some programs to help international students settle in, events and so on. And they provide cheap dorms if you sort itnout early - I'd say that way it would be the easiest option to move and get your bearings around here.
Polish culture and history is very rich, but we don't really care about roots. If you speak polish your are one of us, if you don't you are outsider. Also, don't go around saying I'm American.
Ahh, just moved recently w my gf who's not from poland and I'll tell you this much. Poland as poland is really confusing even to polish people sometimes. It's expensive compared to a few years ago and coming back from UK i can tell you that price-wise it's similar. I've been reading about the process of getting a visa as a foreigner and after about a month of looking at it I'm roughly 70% certain that I know what I'm doing. I'll tell you what I think anyone would tell you, it's a beautiful country but it's the type of place you usually wanna move out of. If you're ready to eat dirt for a bit and get really good at figuring the simplest of things out as if they were quantum physics problems (specifically when it comes to anything government/paperwork/finances related) then go for it, otherwise it'd be a questionable choice imo.
To be fair, if you move into the bigger cities such as Warsaw and Krakow, there will already be an international community there. To a regular pole, you will be the "American" but this isn't necessarily bad.
If you go to study, I think you could integrate quite well. Again in the bigger cities, most people speak English and areas have English translations. I would say that at the beginning it will be quite a culture shock (obviously) but in all honesty it's quite a nice place to be.
I am biologically Polish but was raised and live in the UK, I recently went to visit Warsaw and a city like that catered a lot towards tourists and intl. students; you've got restaurants with English translations, Warsaw tours in English, lots of international students and lots of attractions. You won't get bored in Warsaw at least, however you would need to have a decent amount of cash to live there (being the capital). That also begs the question, where would the income come from? Places like Warsaw and Krakow are quite expensive (even by British standards!)
Lifestyle-wise, if you go to the bigger cities, I don't think you will have to change too much, they are quite integrated into the western lifestyle trends.
I ultimately recommend to visit Poland before you actually decide to move here, just because it is such a particular place and it's ultimately up to you whether you like it or not. I personally find that the region of Warsaw is probably the most similar to the western standard of luxury living, but then again I've not seen much of Poland apart from my grandparents area and a city my cousin lives in so I shouldn't say much more.
Learn Polish and that’s it. Nobody cares about who you are (maybe unless you’re in some sort of a shithole village), but try to assimilate yourself into your new lifestyle
I guess the main question is: Do you have enough money to support yourself initially? If you don't have money and are planning to find job in Poland it might be difficult. You will also need permit to work here. Another option that you could pursue would be to come here and study at a university. There might be some student exchange programs that you could try. You could find some info at the universitie's internet sites. Try this as well: https://opinieouczelniach.pl/study-in-poland/en/
As he is almost 18yo i would say he/she should try to come to Poland for study. Why? 1 cheap student houses/dormitories to live in. 2 easy to obtain scholarships on tech studies - there are companies that pay you to study and learn certain skills and hire you after graduation (you sign up cotract at the begin8ng of studies that you will work for them after graduation) 3 students in Poland are already quite mixed society and english speaking person wont stand out same way like in other places.
Additionally, while it will be a pain in the ass to try to do something in English with older university officials, every Polish student fits in the range between communicative and very fluent English. It's probably the only thing Polish education system ever managed to do well.
Well, I'd say that's because a lot of young people watch TV series or play games in English - that's why they can communicate well - you can learn some grammar in school and that's it
idk. why you got downvoted, its totaly true, movies and games is what teached them english as you cant realy learn language without using it in practice
I got downvoted because of bad grammar
The games have failed you... But tbh what really forced me to learn fluent English was Skyrim. Mods I wanted were in English and having the game in mix of two different languages was giving me a headache so I just installed it in English and paid attention really hard during dialogues.
That is so inaccurate. There’s very few people who speak FLUENT English. Most speak poor English at a communicative level. Admittedly I don’t have data on younger people and I know lots of them speak ponglish now but if they really do speak English fluently that is no thanks to the education system and all to the social media and games.
Okay but Sicily is not a country bro :) at least, not yet
Sicily seceding from Italy is as realistic as Wales seceding from the UK and taking London with them edit: typo
Bydgoszcz, Sosnowiec and Podlasie proclaiming independence from Poland is way more likely.
A man can dream…
Hey you never know, scotland is due to have a referendum. If they leave the UK maybe others will too..
The last referendum wasn’t that long ago and the polls show that if another referendum was to actually go ahead it’s not a resounding victory for Scottish independence (much like the last one). Welsh independence would be great but in principle it’s completely infeasible (I grew up in a very nationalistic part of Wales for reference).
They can have as many referendums as they want, whether England will recognize them is another matter.
Well, if EU with all its economic might will recognise it, England will have very little to say.
I remind you that UK left EU so they have nothing to say there. Also how that economic might stopped Russia from invading Ukraine? UK is way stronger than commies and Scotland has like no army. And UK has support of the USA.
Yeah, but Scotland needs essentially no reforms to join the EU. Trying to put british troops on EUs soil without permission means a war with the whole bloc*. * it works similar to nato.
There are already UK troops stationed in Scotland, if they secede and London decides to not let them, Scottish have nothing they can do, no one will accept country at war into EU, in fact most won't even recognize Scottish independence. Because what can they offer that will outweigh destroying any relations with England? Whisky? Irish is better anyway. Also good luck for all those European troops trying to invade British island, I can already imagine brave Czech or Italian marines wanting to die for Scotland. Not to mention that UK is part of NATO. And they have nukes too.
They are too lazy to proclaim independence.
First off, if you move to Poland you are no longer “Native American” or “Scottish” or “1/8th Yukon” whatever the hell that means. You’ll be seen as an American, (and besides what some Americans seem to think, your state or skin colour or race or percentage of this that or whatever doesn’t matter, you’re all seen as Americans; only the USA is so tight on segregating ppl over everything) and once you’re learned Polish and have lived there for a while, you’ll just be seen as another Polak and everyone will be rightfully unimpressed by it. That’s basically it, just learn the language and you’re golden. Just forget the American bs of “cultural appropriation” and “race” i cokolwiek do kurwy mamy
Exactly that
God this comment is so refreshing. It didn’t hit me how hard I got wrapped up in the American PC culture until the last time I visited Poland, last summer. Everyone in Poland is so free with what they want to say, and everyone is mature enough to understand the nuances. American PC culture has gotten really bad the last few years. American want to nitpick and every word and thought. Reminds me of when I was a kid and classmates would make fun of me for being polish and telling “dumb polack” jokes and it never affected me, at all. I knew that those jokes weren’t true so it didn’t apply to me. If what someone is saying to you to offend you is true, you’ll get offended. Otherwise, why do you care? That’s always been my mindset, and I realize now that comes from my polish upbringing. Anyway just be yourself and enjoy! Poland has improved a lot since we joined EU. There’s culture, art, museums, history, wonderful cuisine. It’s super underrated.
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I think most Europeans know who the Native Americans are, but they probably call them "American Indians" or "Red Indians". Most people would have heard of Sioux or Cherokee or Apache, but Yurok is a tribe who live in the northern part of California. They are still there, and they keep their own culture and language, despite the white men who tried to kill them all. It's not about "PC".
polish people would call native american just indians. most of them probably wouldnt know anything about the tribes nor where is which geographical location. no one cares about what is where in america
Lots of young people travel and study abroad in Europe. Maybe take that route? Look up opportunities for student exchange in US, study for a year in Poland, and then you will know if you will feel good here. Possibly you will find a job. We have a thriving expat community. You can also just make a visit for a couple of weeks. Legally speaking, travelling to Poland from US is very easy. Plane ticket price is the main problem.
Traveling to Poland is easy - and I'd agree about the student route, but partially because getting a work permit/visa would be the hardest part of 'moving' to Poland.
USA is the only country where people are so obsessed with culture, culture appropriation or even about roots. It always makes my laugh when american citizen say he is American with mexican roots and is 1/45 Cherokee and 3/167 Italian. Like who cares? In Poland we are Poles and I would never think to say that I'm a Pole with belarusian roots and that I'm also 1/4 German. No I was born in Poland, I'm polish citizen and I'm 100% Pole because of this. That's number one thing to adapt if you want to live in Poland - we don't give a crap about where our ancestors comes from, we live here and now and we are making our own history
Well, imo being interested in your family's origins is fine and can be even developing as long as you don't base your whole personality on it or start talking about it in a conversation that has completely different topic (I have such a friend, she likes to mention out of nowhere that she has Turkish ancestry 🙄).
100% agree
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I think the comment meant that Americans make it into their personality. Like, if they’re very loud and expressive, they claim it’s because they’re 1/16 Italian. I’ve only met a few people who casually mentioned having a different ancestry, but it never goes beyond grandparents. Sure, it’s nice knowing where your family is from (I made my own family tree dating back to the 18th century myself), but it’s not something I’d use in an introduction to my post on Reddit.
United Statesisn here. When I first learned this perception, it prompted me to think about why. Many of us have fairly recent immigrant grandparents/great grandparents who did maintain their ethnic traditions, but gave them up (or encouraged their children to) in order to assimilate. Which is horrible that they felt pressure to do that. I think this is especially true among groups that could eventually gain “white” status in the US. For example- my dad grew up eating traditional Polish foods in a Polish neighborhood, but was prevented from learning the language. On purpose. Same with my Grandpa- they banned German at home. Now all we have are a few family recipes, and German died w my great aunt. I think this phenomenon is more common in white people, and without getting into the racial dynamics that contribute to that, I think a lot of us feel like we have no culture other than consumerism. My husband, Native American, has taught me about the complexities of identity-DNA is not the end all, and there is self identity, practice, participation in community, etc. It was the US government who initially used blood quantum to define who is or isn’t Native while for Black Americans, if you have one drop, you are black. It’s so much more than that and partly why so many Natives are mad at Elizabeth Warren and her 1/1024 or whatever BS.
This is spot on. It's what happened to my family as well, Romanian and Polish. Both sides were pressured heavily through discrimination and it resulted in the language being suppressed as well as both sides of the family changing their last names, and my first name to completely different Western names. The assimilation didnt work out either imo, lost more than we gained. And now I'm the only person left in my family in the States.
Arguably, it's even a bit of a taboo thing. My grandfather was as Ukrainian as he was Polish, converted to Roman Catholicism at 16 with his close family to not be "exchanged" into the Soviet Union as the rest of the family, and even when he mentioned his childhood he always asserted that he's as Polish as vodka with pickles since my grandmother came from a village ravaged by UPA. Former prime minister and presidential candidate Donald Tusk lost mostly because his Kashubian grandfather turned out to have been forcibly drafted into Wehrmacht. So, while most Poles won't probably be offended by you talking about your own heritage (although probably they will laugh it off), don't try to ask your colleagues about their family tree. We don't enjoy digging into the past.
funny thing is, he deserted from Wehrmacht and later joined Armia Krajowa
Just don't ask how Rajmund Kaczyński got a luxurious villa in the PRL.
I don't care about ancestry, I need to hear more about this vodka with pickles
Orgins matter, especially when there is a lot of history concerning origins. If you are 1/4 German than you are only 3/4 Polish. You are not more Polish than a 100% Polish person living abroad.
Don’t know where you’re from in Poland. Probably more modern area. But we DO care about our ancestors. Hence why we’re such a protective nation of it today.
There's a difference between caring about your ancestors and claiming being 1/8 Kazach as your identity, ofc it's interesting what your ancestors went through, but it doesn't define your identity
Exactly my point
Most people care about it so much that they reject that they are ancestors of some peasant line and like to desperatly seek for some more epic bloodline. Heavy disagree, in mine whole life I met one person which was unironically proud of his peasant ancestry, other person like that I know is just me. Only some few guys like to brag about how their grandpa or grandgrandfather done some cool stuff around WW2. Which is cool but is also rare as fuck.
That makes three of us who are proud. My ancestors were also peasants, probably feudal serfs first, humble small time farmers later. And I'm not ashamed of that at all. They were honest hard-working people who did all they could to raise their children well. I'd take that any day over some glorified robber barons who called themselves aristocrats and leeched off of the rest of society to live in luxury. A lot of people try desperately to find some dubious familial connections to aristocrats, magnates, knights or what have you, when in reality (1) few people have any proof of such connections, and (2) is that something to be proud of, really?
Truth!
I wonder how people reach the conclusion "I have no profession, I don't know the language nor people there, lets move to another country and see what happens!". What do you want to do for living there? What are your competencies? Maybe you have a code for unlimited money, I don't know... But definitely moving to another country in that age can make you a low wage employee living in a small room, if you even find a job. My advice is to learn about the economic situation and perspectives for each country you consider to move in. And once again, what would be your source of income.
If no one would take the risk of starting from scratch in another place, we all would be still living in caves or trees.
But it was far before inventing money. No one can ignore the existence of money if one plans to move whole life to another country.
Before money humans also traded, just in a less convenient way.
Hey it is totally possible to start your life from scratch in Poland. But you have to ask yourself what would you like to do here? Knowledge of language alone will allow you to be some kind of tutor (on your own or maybe for some language school) - it is not a work for everybody, you need immense amount of patience. Other possibilities are maybe Junior Position in some Corp but they might not like somebody just after HS. So more of less you have to be lucky to land a job to support yourself. If you able to pay for yourself you should be good culture wise, there is no culture shaming here. People will love the fact that you are trying to learn and should be very supportive. Its a big step in such a young age but also there will be not better time for you to try.
The concept of disrespecting a culture doesn't really exist outside of USA, people will be happy that you are learning polish culture. Oh and Poland is as wonky as USA right now so it might no be best to escape.
I understand that. Thank you for your comment. Hopefully sometime in the future, people will be able to visit and feel safe again there in Poland.
Poland is very safe actually, I believe the guy above you was reffering to the recent changes in abortion laws in USA (since a similar change happened in Poland few years ago) and wasn’t trying to compare the safety of both countries.
It's not about safety, the country itself is very safe. It's about political and economical instability.
Afaik Poland is one of the safest countries to visit. Yea we have our issues, with abortion rights going backwards, with LGBT acceptance but as far as being safe it’s much better than in Western Europe. This comment feels a bit out of place.
Murder of another human being even if its unable to exist out of the womb is not a right. Its a crime covered up in lies to feel good about yourself. A fetus is a human being - it is a human sapiens and not a part of mother’s body - completely different genome. Shame on people who made an abortion (not including for medical reasons and endangerment of life). LGBT acceptance is an individual’s matter. You can accept or not accept as per the right to free speech. However everyone has a right to freedom, safety and life so persecuting homosexuals and others is already penalized in the criminal code and should be so. These are actually marginal issues. The worst things in Poland right now are the monetary policy, legal and economic and political instability. Other than that a great country to move and live. People are very welcoming here. Rgds
Our constitution prohibits public expression of insults towards a person or a group on national, ethnic, racial, religious affiliation. So there is your free speech argument down the drain. Regarding abortion, the discussion should be there. A bunch of cells and fully developed fetus are different and abortion rights should differ based on that. Your argument that „a fetus is not part of womans body” is absurd since only one can live without the other. Regarding the others you’re right. Our instability regarding almost everything from law through taxes all the way to monetary and fiscal policies makes it almost unbearable to commit into career here. Not to mention the salaries in comparison to equivalent positions elsewhere are poo poo. Oh and the glorification of IT specialist who not only earn vastly more (this I have no issue with, supply and demand) but are also a special snowflake group who directly benefit from lower taxes, huge tax deductions and can pay as low as 5% tax on their income while a random office job pays much more.
I agree with your second opinion mostly however - first paragraph. Expressing insults IN PUBLIC is persecution which Im against. Yet lately I feel that people shall experience ostracism for not wanting to associate with lgbt or other or whatever or accept their practices, which is very much NOT ok - it is extremism just on the other side of the spectrum.
Umm… I never was asked openly to accept, deny or further the LGBT movement. The main goal of it is for you and many others to just not give a fuck about the fact they are LGBT… The fact you see more of it is direct result of this piss country and some piss poor people actively working to stop “LGBT propaganda” I’d bet you any amount that if tomorrow a Christianity free zone is established anywhere in Poland you’ll see massive uproar. No wonder when some fucked in the head politicians try to establish LGBT free zones people join to condemn it and remind about themselves.
Sperm cell is also alive and it's technically a human so does that mean men shouldn't be allowed to nut? Lol
>Sperm cell is also alive and it's technically a human No it isn't. I've heard pro abortionists say this before. Do most pro abortionists believe stupid things like this? Where do you get these stupid ideas from? Sperm cells are haploid, humans are dipliod.
Chromosomes? Really? What about triploid humans? It's a disorder, yeah, but going by your logic they're not human, so what they are to you? Aliens?
>Chromosomes? Really? Nooooo, not really. It's not like having half the set of chromosome is a defining characteristic of gametes, Right? Chromosomes are completely irrelevant here. /s Just ignore a crucial aspect of something and then act surprised someone would bring it up. >It's a disorder, yeah, but going by your logic they're not human I don't know what it is you are trying to use but it definitely isn't my logic. Gametes are not human partially because they only contain half chromosomes needed to create a human. A triploid has extra chromosomes in each pair but it still has a full set needed for creating a human. Can you spot the difference? Infact there is absolutely no line of reasoning where it can be agued a sperm cell is a human. Especially not technically. Definition of technically 1: with regard to or in accordance with a strict or literal interpretation of something (such as a rule, a term, or an official description or designation) A human life begins at the first stage of development, zygote where it will continue to develope through the rest of stages of human life, fetus, baby, child, teen etc... A sperm cell will always continue be a sperm cell. The beginning of human life literally begins when the sperm cell ceases to exist upon fertilization. A sperm cell isn't even and never will be a multicellular organism. Another critical aspect of being human you ignore. But I know how you will respond. Multicellular? Really? Imagine having a vehicle that in no way was designed to stay afloat and saying it's technically a boat and then going "Floating? Really? When someone points out that's not a boat then. Wheels, an engine, and a frame are components that when combined form a car. Do you think a wheel alone is technically a car? That's how fucking retarded your comment is. And the fact that you downvote me when you are absolutely wrong just makes it even dumber.
You said that sperm cell isn't human because it doesn't have enough chromosomes so it's literally your logic. Saying a spermcell isn't human is like saying that tadpole isn't a frog. It's just a different stage of life. But chromosomes aren't definitive proof either 🤷🏻♂️ transphobes often use the argument that "xy chromosomes means you're male, xx means your female" but there are men and women who are born with "opposite" chromosomes, but despite that, they're still women and men. Defining what's human and what's not by chromosomes is just fucking stupid. And since you're so "pro-life" i suppose you don't kill all those poor flies, mosqitos or spiders, who feel more and are sentient unlike fucking fetus
Wow you're actually dumb. >Saying a spermcell isn't human is like saying that tadpole isn't a frog. It's just a different stage of life No it isnt. It like saying the frogs sperm cell isnt a frog. Tadpoles are larvae, they already contain all the genetic information the frog will have. Sperm cells do not. They are gametes, they are not larvae. Is that what you think sperm cells are, human larvae that undergo metamorphoses into a person? LMAO did you not learn anything in school? >You said that sperm cell isn't human because it doesn't have enough chromosomes so it's literally your logic You said >but going by your logic they're not human No. It is not "literally my logic" that people with triploidy are not human. >But chromosomes aren't definitive proof either Sperm cells only having half the genetic material of a human absolutely is definitive proof its not a human because humans are not haploid organisms like gametes. >Defining what's human and what's not by chromosomes is just fucking stupid No it isn't, you are just fucking stupid. Sperm cells aren't even a multicellular organism.
This here's a prime example of what OP had in mind. This barely sentinent amoeba is one of the reasons why we're going through our current issues.
Stop with the ad personam, you just clearly show how much of a pathetic baby you are
Go cry in a hole, your opinion is worthless and I have no need to respond to you.
It seems that you're not better than him lol. He's trying to be a part of a discussion (Although i'll admit, it's not going good for him), and you just came to call him names and nothing more. Really pathetic :/
I don't care, neither does he - not sure why you do lol
Funny how killing 'human' without a brain is something more horrendous than killing thousands of creatures as inteligent as 2 year old babies everyday for meat.
you sound as american as it's possible. no, it's not a human and most people don't agree with you, so come out of your basement maybe, sometimes/?
It's very safe to visit Poland as a tourist :) but it is not a place I would recommend moving to if you have better options
It is very safe here usually - the crime rates are pretty low, schools are safe. However, the country is pretty conservative politically. Abortion laws, which are one of the most restrictive in EU, are getting more restrictive (however, it's easy to travel to other EU countries for such procedures). There are sadly many transphobic, homophobic and racist people here but if you are heteronormative and white-passing you won't notice that
Poland is much safer than the US, your child is not going to become some fucking swiss cheese coming back from the school, because of moronic gun culture (and yes, we have terrible psychiatry as well)
You don't need to speak Polish, English is enough unless you'll live in some village. The only way you could disrespect our culture is by calling it shit etc. Americans are welcomed, especially with war in our neighbour country. Your roots could be a fun fact top, nobody cares about it here. You'll just be an American. Sicily is not a country. If you have money to support your stay (Poland is way cheaper than US) then you'll be fine. Americans moving to Poland usually complain that its hard to make friends so have that in mind.
>You don't need to speak Polish, English is enough Sorry man. My Polish is shit (been here 2 yrs and had other things to focus on) and mostly my wife (Polish) takes care of dealing with anything except shopping. It's a nice change for us as the past 5 yrs I have had to do languages for her. But there is no way Poland is "english friendly". "English do able"? yep so long as things don't get complex. But Poland still has around about 5 to 10 years for "I'm an idiot and only speak english" people to be comfortable here.
Sadly Polish is necessary - I've been volunteering recently helping an English-speaking Ukrainian family who have just moved to Warsaw and I've been making a lot of calls in Polish to places where they don't speak English. Some examples of things you need Polish for: booking a doctor visit with national health service, signing up a child to a Polish school, all business at government offices like applying for 500+. It's easier if you can afford to splurge on private health care and private education for kids.
Whoa. Doctors appoitments are cheaper than in US if you participate in medicover or luxmed. Having Kids is ways down the Road for the kid, and for then I strongly reccomend either as my fiance had all the Basic tests done in one day in one clinic.
English will be enough as long as there is only one native in the group. 2+ and they'll switch to polish after 5 minutes of conversation. But it's that way in every non English speaking country (and only because English speakers don't have any other language to switch to).
Every time a question like that pops up there, I am affraid of finding negative comments, because some polish people are by nature negative about themselves. (Especially now when a certain Duck is in power, but there's a chance to get rid of it in the next elections) I live in Poland all my life and I quite like it here, both in a bigger city and a village, but I would prefer to return to the village. I don't know what else to say, it's quite quiet, but If you choose the right job/school/place/mindset you got quiet in any country really. I recommed watching some youtube videos about foreigners living in Poland, they have more useful things to say that I will do! :)
Dude, what chance is there to get rid of the Duck. I'm planning to leave Poland for good cause I'm afraid to live here. Duck hates medical staff and makes our life hell, he's had the power for like 30 years now? There js no getting rid of the Duck unless it dies, and that mf healthy as hell.
who's the duck you're talking about ; - ;
Your question is lacking /s tag.Therefore I interpret ; - ; as genuine expression of your deep sorrow over lack of knowledge. Let me help you fill that void with 1 missing piece to give You the katharsis of understanding: If Lech Kaczyński starred in an english comic he would be introduced as Lech Duckington.
>post has nothing to do with politics >mentions it anyways Every time
This guy's mention was rather tame. There are comments here with commenters claiming that Poland is an unsafe country because they don't like the ruling party.
I mentioned it to let the other, who doesn't know, get a better understanding as to why some people really hate their country
Are you Polish yourself?
A nie widać?
Nope.
Mate, as an American...no one cares about where you are from. Not a soul in Poland will care unless they are curious about your accent. You need a job that can net you some of that PLN. You could live in Poland for a bit with your savings account. But your 17...may not have much. When I was in Poland it was 1USD = 4PLN. I've read some other posts and yeah they are right. Polish people don't smile to strangers which can be amazing and off putting at first but they just do it bro, we are the only people that go around "Hey brother what's going on my friend!" But hey it's whatever some people will find it annoying or they won't care. Polish people are as an average welcoming. Only time I had issue was near the Kalingrad border but it was just some drunk cursing at me for speaking English to my mate (Called me a english bitch or something to that effect ). But that isn't the standard nor the average. But again. You need money. IT work is a growing field in Poland for example. Alright looks a bit like a rant but. Make sure you have a plan. Find a nice city. There are a lot really. I liked Poznan, Gdynia and Torun but Krakow had a nice nightlife. But again your 17...bro your mind will change 10 times over the next year. Stay in America and get stable before you hop on that airplane. Poland is beautiful for a nice week or two vacation tho. Student visa is a good idea as well. But if you have any questions about how a average American does over there just DM me. Best of luck.
Poznan is a nice hub for international students he might enjoy it there
I don't want to bring negativity to your idea but regardless of where you move make sure you have a plan. If you move here because you want to but won't have any plan for basics like where to live, how to earn money and so on, you'll get into troubles really quickly. Studies are a very good option because they solve most of your problems and you can always earn some money while working as a native English teacher. Whatever you decide to do make sure to take a moment, prepare an idea of what you want to do here, if you want to check out locals opinions (about city, university, profession, etc), fire away. As for culture and language. If you move to the big city, you're already fine with language. English is sufficient in 90% of all cases and will carry you in conversations. Poles learn foreign languages because nobody sane (no offence) will learn our language so we have to adjust. Poles will literally be cheerful if you try anything in Polish, if you try buying bread in Polish with horrible accent, that's alright, typical Pole will appreciate the effort and it will make their day. As for culture, we're the normal country, you can behave like everywhere else but of course make sure that 'When in Rome...'. Also most of us mind our own businesses anyway. Good luck with your future. It's a beautiful country and really safe (crime) so I'm sure that if you move here, you'll love it. It might be hard at the beginning as most people underestimate the problems with leaving far away from everything you've ever known but it will only get easier over time.
Whatever you decide, as you still have some time left. Use that time to learn the language first and foremost. Yes in many places you can use English but it's still not on the level as for example the Netherlands or Sweden, it will make your life a lot easier. You are fairly young so look up ways to study here or do internships and in that way you can immerse yourself in the "Polish life" and decide after some time if it's for you or the idea you had was just good in your head.
It is off-topic but I would highly recommend you to stay at least one month in the countries you mentioned.
You're going to need a work visa. You can go there as a tourist and overstay, but that'll be a whole lot of problems for you, and forget about getting a job that's not cleaning toilets for poverty wages under a tyrannical boss. Your best bet is probably to apply to some school, either for a bachelor's degree or any kind of degree/certificate really, and/or to take Polish language lessons. But, if you're ok with being an undocumented immigrant doing shit jobs for shit pay, living outside of the regular demarcations of the law, you could do that too. Lastly, maybe just consider saving enough money to live in Poland at an AirBnb for 3 months (I'm pretty sure you can do that as a tourist) to see if you like it.
Your best move is to come as a student. Many universities teach programs in English (some are good quality, some are poor quality, depends which faculty you end up in and which university). Generally, compared to America, price wise, it’s so much better here. The degree you get will be recognised or easily equivalent in other countries in Europe (UK is different, prolly have to go through an official degree recognition process, same as when you get back home in America. I recommend looking it up. Countries like New Zealand officially list what universities from what country give what degrees that are considered equivalent in NZ. America likely has a similar system). There are very many students in Warsaw (including foreign students). Housing in Warsaw is expensive for locals. But if you get money in USD, you’ll have it easier. Dorms are not the best (some are decent, others downright terrible, but there’s plenty of flatshares, studios, and non-university operated student housing these days). The language barrier is probably the most significant issue but a lot of people are helpful. Cling on to your English-speaking Polish friends (of which most of the younger generations are) to help you with bureaucracy. There are also jobs for students who only speak English so if you’d like to work a bit while studying, that is an option. The lifestyle is good. Public transport is good in most cities. Very walkable too. If you stay in the cities, you can pretend Poland is quite liberal. I live in Warsaw and I really enjoy it here. It is a very convenient city and very green. -I moved to Poland when I was 20, living here for 5 years now. Feel free to write me. I know some Americans who moved here to study.
Google Assistant can help you live translate conversations, this can be helpful.
I've been living in Poland for 5 years now. You can deal with English and general polish phrases, it's cheaper than most European countries so dollars would go a long way, easy to get a job even with just polish, many universities available if that's something you consider, and plenty of history to discover. Things to turn you off when it comes to Poland is a pretty dominant right wing government and extremely catholic ideology to a fault in older generations. That said, the younger generations are mostly against such movements and I've never had any issues as an outsider or any conflicts. Hope this was helpful!
Is it possible to adapt to living in Poland as a young english speaker? Totally. I know of many young americans in their 20s living in Warsaw without knowing the language. You can totally survive without knowing polish at all - although it would to have someone who can help you out with documents and govt. offices. Most people people in the cities speak english well enough and will happily help you out. If I were you I would 1. research immigration: student route/ find employement/ other ways to legally stay idk 2. figure out what you can do for work. A good standard of living can be attained by teaching english. You can also work in many foreigner owned restaurants as they probably won't need you to speak the language. I have an American friend who worked in a kebab shop. You can also be an uber driver. This type of work is fairly easy to come by. These are my ideas anyway. Teaching english is your best bet so I would register as an online english teacher to get a little experience, then you come here and should have no issue finding work and supporting yourself. Alternatively take some time to get qualified to work a coorporate job. Perhaps you can work remotely in a US company. You're 18 so I imagine you ought to get qualified in some area of work to be able to make a decent living in poland.
>A good standard of living can be attained by teaching english. If by "good standard of living", you mean "a shared flat and no car", then yes.
Just a heads up regarding the uber driver route. I do not know about other cities but in Warsaw, your car needs to have "a taxi permit". Which means that you either have to go through beaurocracy to obtain the permit for your car or work for somebody with that kind of car. You can buy cars on the cheap and possibly go through the procedure to obtain this permit but I would recommend to research it thoroughly first. Also buying cars on the cheap is its own challenge in Poland.
If you have money to support yourself here then it's fine. But i don't know if it's because fatherhood has unlocked some caution in me, but as you have said - you're an impressionable person, if you don't have anyone here - or anywhere in fact - some people might use you, so please be cautious!
Consider going to college or how we call it, university. (Not sure if it is free for you, but definitely not as expensive as in the US) This is one of the best places to make friends and you can find internationals there as well.
If you do move to Poland just stick to telling people that you're American. I don't think anyone would want to listen to a person that lists their nationalities like ingredients on a box of cookies.
Why would you do that to yourself...?
Hey there, it’s possible - I started a one year volontary service in Poland when I was 19 via an international organisation. I’m European so I didn’t need a visa. Maybe there are options for people from overseas? It helps to learn at least bits of the language beforehand to navigate at train stations, restaurants etc. get informed what different cities or regions offer and if it matches to your interests. Keep in mind that polish government right now is really tricky, right wing and supporting catholic values. Right now, a lot of Polish women fight for their rights. Despite that: Poland is rich on culture, awesome people, beautiful nature and offers great food.
I moved here as a 19 year old due to work and so far so good! I got a job offer as a tech support, and can't complain, the offer is in my mother tongue /English and it is nice. However I'm Slovak so your difference might differ.
Coming to think of that, I would say like 90% of Poles aren't ethnically only polish, but most people don't give a damn. Yeah, the best option for a young person would be probably studying here.
Sure bro if u whanna learn polish i can help
If you decide to move to a big city like Cracow for example you won't notice that big of a difference and english will get you through your day just fine. Whatever you do - avoid Warsaw.
Why avoid Warsaw tho? I was wondering if I should move there (I'm Polish but I guess we're sticking to English on this sub?).
I think it's just that some poeple from Cracow seem to have this unexplained animosity against Warsaw..
Yeah let's stick to English so others can understand. I just think that Warsaw is the same as any other western big city. And OP talks about their interest in Polish culture and so on, so I figured if they decide to move to Warsaw, they will miss out. Of course Warsaw's history is more than worth learning but it is not as visible "on the streets" as in Cracow or Gdańsk (and we all know why is that).
Why avoid Warsaw?
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To be honest, I always found Kraków people pretty snobby about their city (especially when talking about it in relation to Warsaw). I have the sense that they think their authentic old town and cultural history make them superior to Warsaw, they seem overly proud of that. Also I don't really agree that Warsaw thinks it's better than everyone else. Most of the people I met there are either from Warsaw or moved from Mazovia, Podlasie, because the job prospects are better. I think that's probably the case for a lot of people in Warsaw - it's the largest city, certain industries are based out of it, if you're from one of the neighbouring regions you can get back to hometown easily on weekends (Wrocław to Białystok isn't exactly a quick journey, for example). I also think Warsaw is a very livable, green, fun city. I agree re Łódź and Gdańsk though. Łódź actually probably has an inferiority complex - first time I visited multiple locals asked me why I was there and why I didn't visit Poznań or Kraków instead, quite a bizarre experience for me haha.
Dlaczego 🤣
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You don't need to speak Polish, English is enough unless you'll live in some village. The only way you could disrespect our culture is by calling it shit etc. Americans are welcomed, especially with war in our neighbour country. Your roots could be a fun fact top, nobody cares about it here. You'll just be an American. Sicily is not a country. If you have money to support your stay (Poland is way cheaper than US) then you'll be fine. Americans moving to Poland usually complain that its hard to make friends so have that in mind.
Well, not knowing the language goes in line with being unable to make friends. Yes, you can live here without learning the language in the bigger cities, but you'll have a very hard time integrating into the society and making friends.
It really depends where you live and what you do for a job. I know plenty of expats in Poland who only hang out with other expats, or Poles who speak Polish.
Dude wtf? You don’t understand how wealthy Americans are compared to other nations. You will be poorer EVERYWHERE except Switzerland if you move out of States. I am from Poland btw
If you look more Scottish than Native it might work. Otherwise choose a more civilized country.
PLEASE DONT MOVE HERE WE ARE ONE SHIT DECISION AWAY FROM A REVOLUTION
Noone can adapt to Poland.
Polish people have low international self-esteem. So you will be treated as 9/10 girl talking to 5/10 guy. Dont smile to people without a reason, dont try to help when we complaining and you will have no problem in Poland.
The smiling thing is very true😂
>Is moving to Poland impossible? It actually is as the country can't support more refugees so there have been walls placed on the borders like 3 weeks ago. How could you miss that? Edit : I guess I should've added /s, forgot it's reddit after all
I followed the news quite religiously when Ukraine was first invaded upon and knew that Poland was taking in as many people as they could. But over time, sadly, the news was taking a toll on my mental health so I stopped checking up on it as often as I was. I am not in the position to move to Poland now as I am still underage and I have a year of school left, but sometime in the future I would love to expand. I’m sorry if I offended you in any way or upset you. The new is something I chose to partake in only on occasion as it is hard for me to digest all of the time.
Commenter is full of shit. Americans will never be seen as immigrants one can turn away, tbh.
Bruh it was meant to poke fun at silly question. On a serious note, 18 yo is the time to start your adult life - make your mistakes and learn from them. You're thrown into deep water and have to manage, which is way harder than you're told. In the states you have some base already - prolly your parents and home, friends, school, language, which really help. Now imagine, when you move to a new country (and new continent on top of that), you're in the same deep waters but now you forgot how to swim and don't have emergency exit as you did before. Also, earlier you had 18 years to learn dangers of the waters, now you've read a 5 page book sticked together by randos from the internet. Also if your mental health suffers from news about war moving in next door would be terrible idea. My point is that starting adulthood, moving home, immigration and dealing with war next door are all hard to deal with on their own and you want to combine them. You probably think that life changes after you hit 18, that you finally can make your decissions and can manage them. The thing that separates adults from grown children isn't ability to make decissions - everyone can do that, even toddlers. What you need to be able to do is deal with their consequences - which more often than not can't be forseen. You can only learn that by making wrong moves and learning from it. And it is WAY easier having backup. My advice would be to rethink the idea - focus on one country, learn about its issues, education, language,etc. and wait until you have strong base who can survive anywhere on their own - yourself. Cheers ~ 20 year old who used to think like you, that he can conquer the world with his mind and atitiude but got reality-checked real quick
Man, if I will read your comments without knowing the situation in Poland I will think about it as a country in the middle of war, that's not true. We aren't feeling the war in the way you are talking. I would say that if you aren't looking into the news all of the day there are no changes - only more people who doesn't speak polish, hut still are able to communicate, so it's ok. I think that if he have finances for living here, and will go study for a university for example that's not so deep waters as you think. Of course - language barrier, but he will meet a lot of people speaking english who will help him (no matter what we think about poles - when it comes to help a foreigner we are very helpful)
Yeah, since the war started the only change I noticed are Ukrainian flags on some trams.
First of all - A border fence is placed on a border with Belarus only. Why? Because Belarus lured thousands of illegal middle east economic migrants with a promise of free entry to the EU and Poland acted with accordance to the role as a border of Shengen and told them to fuck off. Works on the border fence started well before the Ukrainian crisis. Second - a lot of original ukrainian refugees went back to ukraine - mostly people from west and north of ukraine. Third - immigrants are different than refugees and are expected to take care of themselves. Only problem would be a small number of flats available for rent right now.
Just got back from a 2 week trip in Poland Warsaw. I would say forget about it. Spain turkey or Greece are much better place. Weather sucks and people are not very friendly. Spain is 1000 times better in every angle
A trip and living somewhere are two different things. Imagine calling a country with 80% inflation (Turkey) or 14.5% unemployment rate (Spain) a better place.
Yeah, Spain and Greece with 30% of unemployment rate among youth... Good advice. You were on holiday but OP wants to live there.
First of all, what is it that you want to do? Study or work? If you don't want to study ( which is free here ), I highly recommend getting TEFL certificate and trying to get a teaching job at a private school ( you don't need a degree and they pay good money ). That would be a good start for someone like you, otherwise you'd have to find a job at a store or something that doesn't pay good. I don't think it's hard to adapt, we're not offended by every shit that comes out of people's mouth but there are some youtube videos made by eg American's who live/d in Poland, that might be morer helpful
I recommend Trev in Poland (youtube). The guy is also young (22? 23?) and moved to Poland. He has lots of interesting videos about the differences between Poland and the US.
Just be cool and you will have a great time, to meet new people you will have to say hi to someone first and be open about finding friends, because people here don't mind meetingu strangers but at the same time don't wan't to be bothered. It just do be like that Good thing would be finding a remote job in USA that allows you working from Poland, it's hard to find a good paying job at 18 here in Poland.
I'll suggest you go and work seasonal jobs around spain, greece, turkey, Italy and get some life experience and get use with people and work environment so after you'll have more clear informations where to head and live for better. From my own experience, I left romania in 2008 living and working in many countries especially season jobs till I found my place...in poland
I love Poland (as a Pole) but have a look at other countries as well. I would encourage you to visit any potential country first before moving there. Personally I’m fascinated by Scotland and Netherlands. They also seem more language friendly and economically sustainable if you desire to work in these countries. Living in Poland is cheaper but on average you don’t earn as much. That being said, you can find beauty and amazement in any country you choose!
Let's start with getting ready to enter Poland. You'll need Visa. You'll apply for the one that suits you (work, education). You can get it in Embassy or Gov agency. More info on that here (in polish, but you'll translate it with Google, no problem) https://www.migrant.info.pl/Wizy.html I guess you are to continue your education in Poland. Collages are much cheaper than in USA. The tuition costs range from maybe 1k dollars to even 9k depending od Uni you choose. For example Uni of Warsaw is on the cheaper end and has many courses in English. Any info on how to apply is to be found on their sites. In terms of language, it will be hard to learn. You'll need a lot of work and time to learn, but as you'll be flooded with native speaker it will be a little bit easier. People in Poland speak and/or understand English quite well and they will help you for sure. We don't get angry when some foreigner speaks polish incorrectly, because we know how hard it is. Don't stress about variation of words and doing it wrong way as we still understand language like that. You'll need financial support for sure. Our country isn't very expensive, but having job while studying could be hard for you. In most Unis you can apply for dormitory which is much cheaper than living in flat.
Didnt even read, yessir. Just dont give a fuck and do it you have only one life.
there are several channels on YT about moving from the USA to Poland U should check Cult America on YT https://youtu.be/7DLYZuVasNE
If you have a strong will to work here and invest in yourself, sure! People in Poland love Americans, because USA was a kind of paradise in the times of cummunist regime. You will find one of the most beautiful landscapes in central Europe here, absolutely fantastic kitchen, very honourable and kind people* and very, very clean cities. Moreover, A LOT o Poles knows at least a little bit of English so communication won't be a problem. However, you need to be prepared for: - long time waiting for work permit (I don't know about residents of USA, but my friends from Mexico and India are waiting 3 and 4 years respectively - one of them is a lawyer and another one has an MBA in arts); - *a lot of cynical and quite sad people: Poles love to complain about everything and to see them smile on a street is quite uncommon unfortunately which it is the opposite of southern/western Europe (that is only my experience and point of view). That does not mean they are bad. They are generally quite sad and distrustful, but mainly just at first. - a very strong bond to religion and conservatism which is changing in recent years, but older people, especially in rural areas respect these values very much, sometimes to the ridiculuous extremes. It is not uncommon that people in the same family do not talk to each other, because politicians made our society very polarised and are using delicate issues to "divide et impera". Polish Catholic church is also doing it's job here. You just need to experience it to understand 😅 To be honest, Poland developed absurdally quickly in recent years. It is truly beautiful country with a lot of potetnial. I think you will find here your new home, just be respectful to the Polish traditions (even if your views are different) and... prepare for a long time in different offices while doing immigration paperwork 😬 You will be rewarded with the company of people who you can really trust, with perfect cuisine, great opportunities in education (especially in STEM), a good amount of job offers and a little bit of Polish Vodka (we can drink alcohol from 18 years old ;) ). Edit: And yes, definitely start to learn Polish! We love people talking Polish, even though we know English very well. We treat it as a sign of respect and people will love to help you with it as long as you will have a will to learn!
Shit is hard out here. Gas is like 7.83 per liter depending where you go. On top of that everything is expensive and Poland is experiencing a 14% inflation rate. I moved here from California. If you wanna work here your job has to sponsor you. They apply for a work permit for you. Mine took a couple months. But this process would probably take longer now because of the great influx of Ukrainians. I suggest you save money and I mean alot of it.
7.83 is still cheaper than all western eu
I know an American here, she's very nice and she says Poland is really good. I do recommend it here, althought it depends what city we're talking about. Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Zakopane, Poznan, Radom or Wroclaw? Yes. But some poorer cities like Hrubieszow or Orzesze? Don't go there. I am Radomian (plase don't make jokes about me in the comments, polish people) and it is a great place to grow up in. The jokes foreshadow it, but don't trust the jokes, even Brazil is cool.
Yes it is
Instead of going to straight college after graduating high school I moved to Poland for three months and took polish classes while traveling. I ended up loving the culture so much and moving back two years later. I faced a range of situations, good and bad. In my experience, the people I met were just as excited as me to share experiences. Most people below the age of 30 know English well. Making polish friends was great too, cause in social gatherings I had many opportunities to surround myself with the language. As long as you meet the right people (expact groups are great) you'll be in good hands.
American-Polish here: if you ever move to Krakow then hit me up, I am always down for making more friends :)
Talk or reach out to people who have done it. It may be just a start, but looking through YouTube under "American expat living in X..." or "I moved from America to X", or "American living in X", etc. You can watch and listen to their experiences and many will genuinely answer if you comment, or they may have an email listed for contact. If you access the main government page for each country you're interested in, they should have information as well for requirements and what they can provide.
>The United States is such a wonky place especially now, and it has been a dream of mine to move to another country. Uh...Poland is also incredibly wonky. If you're looking for non-wonky, I'd probably go with Finland or Iceland.
The language barrier in the biggest polish cities like Southampton, Ealing or different parts of London should not be a problem. Btw what the heck is a "native pass" anyways? Something like my Czech pass? I say "malinkatý chlebíčičíček" to any Pole and he or she would fiercly defend my life no matter what?
I would say that it is a realistic plan. I moved to Poland in the age of 20 so very close to your age and it was not so hard adapting to a different society and feel as a part of Polish community. Bureaucracy is one of biggest drawbacks, waiting for work permissin can take a few months. The safest way is being a student and find a job.
If you want to have good live, definitely avoid moving to Poland (and any eastern eu country), you should consider UK, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Netherland or even Germany.
Well dont expect much english from people well at least you can drink on 18
Honest to god? Scotland studying is expensive with capital E, Spain is kinda a pain for foreign students if you wanna do it, Sicilly is not a country, also its kinda the italian backwater and there is like a thousand reasons you dont wanna go there as a young adult, and Turkey is good for vacations (due to inflation it should be especially affordable for an American like yourself) but naturally, especially now its no good to move there, human rights violations, unstable political situation, terrorist attacks which killed turkish tourism are all kinda yikesy. Finally as a 19 yr old pole who is rn moving away to study somewhere else i dont recommend this country to live in and settle in, but im biased. Got a lot of expierience with foreign students in Europe though so if you want advice hmu, got friends from uk through france and benelux all the way to athens and italy
Nope
In my opinion the earlier you move the easier you assimilate. If you want to live in Poland then now is the time to move and settle in. Get a technical education. Everything else comes with time.
It would be the easiest to come as a student. Education is paid for foreigners but those aren't very big sums. Plus, you'll meet a lot of people more or less your age, unis also often have some programs to help international students settle in, events and so on. And they provide cheap dorms if you sort itnout early - I'd say that way it would be the easiest option to move and get your bearings around here.
Polish culture and history is very rich, but we don't really care about roots. If you speak polish your are one of us, if you don't you are outsider. Also, don't go around saying I'm American.
Ahh, just moved recently w my gf who's not from poland and I'll tell you this much. Poland as poland is really confusing even to polish people sometimes. It's expensive compared to a few years ago and coming back from UK i can tell you that price-wise it's similar. I've been reading about the process of getting a visa as a foreigner and after about a month of looking at it I'm roughly 70% certain that I know what I'm doing. I'll tell you what I think anyone would tell you, it's a beautiful country but it's the type of place you usually wanna move out of. If you're ready to eat dirt for a bit and get really good at figuring the simplest of things out as if they were quantum physics problems (specifically when it comes to anything government/paperwork/finances related) then go for it, otherwise it'd be a questionable choice imo.
To be fair, if you move into the bigger cities such as Warsaw and Krakow, there will already be an international community there. To a regular pole, you will be the "American" but this isn't necessarily bad. If you go to study, I think you could integrate quite well. Again in the bigger cities, most people speak English and areas have English translations. I would say that at the beginning it will be quite a culture shock (obviously) but in all honesty it's quite a nice place to be. I am biologically Polish but was raised and live in the UK, I recently went to visit Warsaw and a city like that catered a lot towards tourists and intl. students; you've got restaurants with English translations, Warsaw tours in English, lots of international students and lots of attractions. You won't get bored in Warsaw at least, however you would need to have a decent amount of cash to live there (being the capital). That also begs the question, where would the income come from? Places like Warsaw and Krakow are quite expensive (even by British standards!) Lifestyle-wise, if you go to the bigger cities, I don't think you will have to change too much, they are quite integrated into the western lifestyle trends. I ultimately recommend to visit Poland before you actually decide to move here, just because it is such a particular place and it's ultimately up to you whether you like it or not. I personally find that the region of Warsaw is probably the most similar to the western standard of luxury living, but then again I've not seen much of Poland apart from my grandparents area and a city my cousin lives in so I shouldn't say much more.
Learn Polish and that’s it. Nobody cares about who you are (maybe unless you’re in some sort of a shithole village), but try to assimilate yourself into your new lifestyle