I moved to Poland from the USA after many years of visiting relatives and studying. The Polish people are polite, industrious and always very helpful. I am just sorry I didn't make the move earlier, (I am 69 years old) and have been living here for 10 years. I would never live anywhere else!
G'day from Adelaide Australia. Ive got relatives in the North of Poland, not too far from the Baltic Sea. I've been there about 5 times. I was born in Australia NSW. My mum was Polish & thank goodness she taught me how to speak in Polish as I'm able to communicate well with my relatives. I say, good onya for living in Poland. Hope all goes well. Pozdrowenia z Australii. Życzę wszystkiego dobrego 🎉😅
Great video! Moving to Poland from Australia and living here for 5 years - it means you like it 😀 Speak Polish, do not worry about mistakes. Poles will love you for your afford. You are a very nice person. Take care!
About making friends, don't be discouraged, you'll find them. Once you're in, you're in. My sister's friend from work (coming fromMoldova) easily entered our friend group and during Covid had no chance of going home, so we invited her to stay with our family for Christmas and Easter for a few years, she's almost a part of our family and is known by our grandparents, aunties and uncles.
Many foreigners make the mistake of closing themselves off to their English-speaking circles, which prevents them from getting to know us Poles. And reaching out to people even with poor English is how you pick up the spoken language very quickly. Another thing - Poland is Central Europe, not Eastern Europe - the same, for example, the Czech Republic - everyone considers Austria to be Western Europe, and their capital Vienna is further east than the Czech Prague. Go out to people, go for a good beer in the summer, then it's easier to make contact with people, do some outdoor events, etc.
Hi mate, as a Pole living in the UK, I think when it comes to cons, every immigrant in every country can say something similar to you. But at least Poland is very safe and nice looking country. Here, in the UK these houses, narrow winding streets, not too many trees, garbage everywhere, and many other things make cities look very decadent. For me it is hard to stay in the UK longer than one year in a row, cause this country makes me very depressive. And it was a big bad surprise the first time, when I came here... I expected nice looking country like Germany... but yeah, that was a big disappointment. Enjoy your stay in Poland. I wish you good luck! 🙂
To po co tam mieszkasz? W uk są też piękne przedmieścia tylko ceny nieruchomości zaczynają się od 700k plus. Jak się mieszka w bidadzielnicach to faktycznie. Nie wiem po co mieszkać w uk i klepać bide jak pensje w Polsce są już porównywalne, a można za nie kupić 3 razy więcej.
Regarding taxes: ask your accountant about the posibility to pay lump-sum installements (zaliczki uproszczone) - you would be paying 1/12 of the tax that you paid last year per month without the need to calculate it every month. That option is available for all non start-up businesses.
@@uceee1Poland is practically a little known tax heaven, you can run a company and pay 9 or 12 percent tax on all your income. There is no country in Western Europe offering that ( except from Monaco)
Gosh, I just came back from Perth, WA, and I'm thinking about applying for a visa there. I have not lived in Poland for long, but when I visit my family, I love it. Greetings from the UK.
G'day mate, I'm an Aussie living in Poznan PL and have been for 18 years and would never live back in Oz or anywhere else for that matter. Much of what your saying is quite right although I will say making friends has never been an issue and I've lost count of the hangovers after these wonderful Polish people found out I was Australian matko! :) Enjoy!
The housing market in Australia is so bad right now. Costs an arm and a leg, one full weekly wage and the queues are incredibly long. We have tent cities springing up absolutely everywhere, like in the US because of the housing shortage. And still they allow hundreds of thousands of people migrate here every year. Best to stay where you are.
@@miriam2909 Yes my whole family are in Oz and I talk to them everyday, very sad to see & hear what's happened to a once great country :( Disgusting is not a strong enough word....and I can assure that when looking back in from the outside it's worse then you may think or believe.
I'm delighted to hear this since I'll be visiting my boyfriend in Tychy for a couple of months next year. I'm superb excited and love to visit the stunning mountains in Zakopane!
Jak to jest z Nową Zelandia? Bo slyszalem same skrajne opinie. Jedni mowia ze zamordyzm. Drudzy ze papugi im w ogrodku z rana śpiewają. Mógłbyś napisac cos na ten temat?
@@bolekbolkowski1118 jasne. nie wiem co masz na myśli mówiąc zamordyzm. Papugi czasem mi śpiewają (nie wiem czy to dobre określenie) w ogródku. Ogólnie kraj jak kraj. Ma wady i zalety jak wszędzie. Jak masz jakieś konkretne pytania to pisz. chętnie odpowiem.
@@pinang1 Dzieki😄 Najpierw minusy. 1.Zamordyzm. Jeden przetsiebiorca opisywał ze policja go wziela na celownik i musial uciekać stamtad z całym biznesem. 2. Nuda. Wiocha i zadupie zero zycia nocnego. 3. Zacofanie. Internet tylko w miastach. 4. Moda jsk z lat 90tych. To moze byc dla niektorych zaletą. 5 Kobiety sa brzydkie w dodatku niezadbane. Nie chodza do fryzjera, kosmetyczki itp. Zalety. 1. Przecudna przyroda. 2. Zdrowa nieskazona żywność. 3.Przyjazni ludzie. Jak tam jest z jazda na nartach? Czy ludzie z wyspy polnocnej masowo jeżdżą zimą na poludnie na urlop? Czy narty to sport narodowy. Czy rownie wazny jak rugby? Jak z cenami za wyciagi narciarskie i kwatery w sezonie zimowym? Czy wszystko jest zapchane turystami. Bo jezdza tam druzyny sportowcow z Europy na treningi. Chociaz do Argentyny i Chile jest duzo blizej.
@@bolekbolkowski1118 1. o sprawie nie słyszałem. Ogólnie tu jest raj dla przedsiębiorców małych i duzych. Prowadzenie biznesu jest ułatwione, nie ma różnych zusów i tego typu gówna. Jak masz dobry pomysł, kapitał jakieś umiejętności które są w cenie to założenie tu firmy to strzał w dziesiątkę. Przez niektórych NZ jest uważana nawet za raj podatkowy. 2. ogólnie prawda. zależy gdzie ale w porównaniu z Warszawą wszędzie będzie tu wiocha. 3. zacofanie prawda. internet zależy gdzie. może w niektórych miejscach w mieście nie być też. I jest bardzo drogi. 4. Prawda. Czasem nawet i dawniejsza. Przypominają mi się archiwalne nagrania meczów Polski z lat 70. czasem jak idę ulicą i widzę jak ludzie wyglądają 5. Prawda. Jak przylatuję do Polski to głowa mi się kręci naokoło. Jakbym kobiet nie widział przez rok. 1. Zależy. Jest inna niż w Polsce. Jest tu dużo różnorodności jeśli popatrzymy na cały kraj. Jak dla mnie byłem zachłyśnięty na początku. Obecnie dużo bardziej preferuję przyrodę w Polsce. 2. Nieprawda. Żywność taka ze sklepu smakuje jak plastik. Owoce nie smakują dobrze. Jak wpadamy do Polski to nie możemy się nadziwić dlaczego w NZ nie ma takich smacznych produktów jak w Polsce. 3. Tak. Przyjaźni w sensie tak na ulicy dla nieznajomych. Ale przyjaźnie jako takie znane z Polski prawie nie istnieją tutaj. a propo pomocy miedzyludzkiej wlasnie czytam artykul o Polskiej lekarce mieszkajacej w Stanach i pieknie tam to podsumowala. to sie tyczy tak samo Nowej Zelandii: "Brakuje mi jednak mocniejszych więzi społecznych. Amerykanie są bardzo mili i uprzejmi, ale nie stworzysz z nimi takiej relacji, że w środku nocy zadzwonisz, bo na przykład zepsuło ci się auto, utknąłeś gdzieś w szczerym polu i potrzebujesz pomocy. Tak się nie robi, to nie jest dobrze widziane. Każdy sobie rzepkę skrobie." Na nartach można jeździć. Jest to droga zabawa ale myślę, że pewnie w Polsce tak samo. Jeśli chodzi o urlop zimą to jest tu taki głupi zwyczaj, który wiele firm praktykuje teraz, że wysyła się ludzi na przymusowy urlop 2-3 tygodniowy (w sensie zabiorą Ci z tego przysługującego) na czas Bożego Narodzenia, Nowego Roku i wtedy ludzie masowo podróżują wszędzie. Nie powiedziałbym, że akurat z północnej na południową jest dużo więcej niż na inne kierunki. Często taniej polecieć za granicę. NZ jest nastawiona na bogatych turystów i takie są ceny atrakcji i hoteli tutaj. Narty to na pewno nie sport narodowy. Dużo ludzi lubi ale to tyle. Ciężko mi powiedzieć czy więcej czy mniej w porównaniu do Polski. Jest rugby, potem krykiet. Potem wielka dziura. A potem sporty typu mordobicie, motosport, żeglarstwo, może gdzieś tam netball u kobiet może koszykówka. Narty mi nawet do głowy nie przychodzą jeśli mówimy o popularności. Ja byłem raz na nartach tu. Parę lat temu. I nie orientuję się w cenach za bardzo. Tak, ogólnie obcokrajowcami. czasem ciężko spotkać nowozelandczyka. O drużynach sportowych pierwsze słyszę. Chyba, że chodzi o rugby czy krykiet.
@@pinang1 Ok. Dzieki. Naszkicowales mi mniej wiecej jak to tam wygląda. Jak sie patrzy na zdjecia z NZ to mozna pomyśleć ze to raj. Ale chyba wiem dlaczego Cie te widoki już nie fascynują. Mieszkalem 20 lat w Norwegii. Tam tez są tzw. instagramowe miejsca do ktorych przylatuja turysci z całego świata. Miedzy innymi Kjerag. Klif z ktorego wynalazca wingsuit testowal jako pierwsze miejsca do basejumpingu. 1000m pionowo w dół. Pamietam jak robilem zdjecia zwyklym ogrodzeniom z kamienia i wszystko co zobaczylem bylo ciekawe. A później mieszkalem niedaleko Preikestolen. Codziennie latem parking byl tam zapchany od turystow. Płatny. Ale jak sie zapytalem sąsiada czy był tam kiedykolwiek? To odpowiedzial ze nie. Wszyscy mieliśmy zapierajacy dech w piersi widok. Ale nikt o tym nie mówił. Raczej każdy wolał ponarzekać na codzienne sprawy, niż sie zachwycać. Pamietam jego minę, jak sie pakowalem z gratami przed wyjazdem. Mowi- to co, jedziesz na urlop do Polski. A ja ze nie. Wyjezdzam na stałe. Wtedy powiedział ze w jego firmie ma kolege z Polski. Mieszkal z rodziną żona i córka. Któregoś lata żona powiedziała że nie wracają z wakacji w Polsce. Niech jedzie sam jak chce. Bo ona zapisała córkę do szkoly w Polsce. Scenariusz był zazwyczaj taki - Facet dostał prace. Powiedzial ile będzie zarabiał. Ale że rozrywki też są tam drogie. Żona zachwycona. Mówi że to kraj dla ciebie, bo nie będziesz pił. Ale później kto pierwszy chce stamtąd uciekać to jest żona. Jak pójdzie do fryzjera czy kosmetyczki to widzi ze ta wyplata tylko z pozoru wydawala się duża. Nuda. Deszcz leje tygodniami. Czesto poziomy, z wiatrem który łeb ukręca. Śnieg leży kilka dni. Potem topnieje. Czasami jak wieje ze złej strony. To dojazd do wyciągów narciarskich jest zasypany. A na stoku śniegu kilka cm i odkryte kamienie. Podsumowując. Rozumiem dlaczego nie zachwycaja Cie już widoki.
Pros: you can sit down on the grass, relax and record your video and nothing will eat alive while you hidding in the grass. Nor underground. Same deal with the sky. in the nutshell: when you go outside, nothing will eat you alive.
Hello Many thanks for presenting my homeland in such a positive way to the world 👌👍 It's heartwarming to listen to an Australian praising the nature of Poland 😊 You're right about the language though: It's one of the most difficult languages to learn. But look there are parts of the UK where an Australian or an American would have hard time understanding the locals as well Best regards Jacek ps. It's hard to make friends nowadays anywhere. If you lived in Warsaw I'd be your friend 👍
Nice and honest video man. I visited Krakow sometimes ago and I really liked it. It is not a country we hear every day and probably not on the top of the list for digital nomads, but it is one of the few success stories in Europe in the last few years and definitely worth mentioning. It is on par of becoming the new locomotive of Europe since Germany and France are struggling so much. What brought you there? do you have any Polish ancestors?
Thank you! Are you a digital nomad? I ended up here by accident really, or maybe it was fate. My girlfriend has Polish ancestry, and I was keen to move to Europe, although not Poland specifically. We were both freelancers, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to move here together. She got the 'Karta Polaka' which allowed her to start a business here and then 'hire' me.
Hi, I am Polish and live in one of the big cities of Poland. Our country has a lot of mountains, not only the Tatra Mountains (Zakopane), but also the Sudetes or the Carpathian Mountains. We have the sea and lakes. We have nice, big cities, castles, attractions for children, Zoo in ŁÓDŹ is probably the most modern in Europe. Foreigners do not yet know our country well. Visit Wroclaw, Krakow, Warsaw, Gdansk, Zakopane, the Baltic Sea, Masuria and lakes, castles. Sample our food! You are welcome. We are open to cultural tourists! Many of us are already well educated and fluent in English.
I left Poland many years ago and moved to other country and I have experienced some of the cons that you have mentioned. Language - it took me some years to being able to understand the locals well. Even though I'm speaking now on the C2 level, sometimes I am still unable to understand people especially when they are using they dialect. Friends! That is complete disaster! After 12 years abroad I still do not have so many friends as I have in Poland. It's pretty difficult. So I guess those issues could be more related to immigration at all, not to the country. But, don't give up! Kraków is really great place 😊
I am Polish living in Germany and I have the same problem. It is difficult to find a German friend even though my level of German is C1 and I have been living here for 16 years.
I've had lived in Malta for 7 years where I went not for economic but lifestyle reasons. I am back in Warsaw and I am amazed how positively my town and country has changed. BTW one of my best friend is a Brit. Thanks to my level of English language he feels comfortable to hang out with me, we understand each other jokes and have fun.
Jako programista możesz przejść na ryczałt 12% płacisz podatek od sprzedaży / wystawionych rachunków, nie możesz odliczać kosztów. Zaliczki na podatek możesz płacić co miesiąc lub co kwartał. Bez problemu do ogarnięcia samemu. Zawsze co miesiąc musisz płacić zus, około 2000zł
That's a very fair assessment. I know what it's like to be an introverted foreigner trying to make new friends. Polish people are much more open to accepting newcomers into their social group than some other nationalities though, so I hope things will improve for you on this front soon. Don't be afraid to suggest a get together with people you already know and enjoy the company of, we are very open to that kind of stuff. Particularly if you suggest a bbq or a hike ☺️ Best wishes!
Even as a native Polish guy in the loud environments or just people who don't pronounce well and there are plenty of them I often can't understand them so don't worry. And what kind of slang some people are using is just beyond me. Everything what you said, the good and bad are totally true - I'm saying as a native guy.
Your comment about not being able to make friends, although not wrong, is something that happens to anyone who decides to move abroad. It's not easy to make friends regardless of where you live if you are a newcomer. Some places are specially difficult. I've lived in Canada for almost 6 years and I honestly made two new connections here. It's in part because of the lifestyle, in part because of personality. As a native Pole I think you have a better chance of making meaningful connections with people in Poland. Taxes: Consider hiring an accountant. For a small monthly fee it will save you headache of doing it yourself. Good accountant will probably help you reduce your taxes as well.
Hey man, I'm from Kraków too, and I work in IT too so this was very interesting to watch from a foreigner perspective. With polish language it would be interesting if you wrote down what you just said in fully correct polish and remade the video. I bet that could help with the language and with the algorithm too. If you want to grab a beer someday you can send me an e-mail :P.
I've stumbled upon this by accident but enjoyed it:) Thanks for an honest video and pronouncing our Krakow correctly (and Zakopane) ;) Regarding friends - as a fellow introvert I also don't have many friends either. And I'm Polish. I think it's hard to make friends as an adult? Also, I knew a foreigner who spoke completely fluent Polish after few years living here. Not all hope is lost for you haha
Thank you! I'm really glad. Yes, it is hard to make friends as an adult but usually it's easier through sports and hobbies. It is much harder in a foreign country. Regarding Polish, people like yourself speak English so comfortably it proves another point I forgot to mention - that even when speaking to Poles, I never get any Polish practice :).
Im really happy that some foreinger found himself in Poland society :) Tbh for self-employed there's alot of different various options, some of my friends are paying 5,5% tax income only + mandatory pension and % to insurence.
Don't worry about the boxing trainer not being understandable, we also don't understand all words other people are saying, the language itself is difficult
It's important to note it's not just Tatry. Sudety and Karpaty can provide fantastic mountain views as well, and they aren't as crowded if you prefer a more isolated experience. Also for fresh air - near Pomorze, like Koszalin, Kołobrzeg, etc. is a low industrial area, so the quality of fresh air here is pretty high.
Haha don't worry, even us Polish sometimes have problems with finding friends. I'm also from Kraków and there are plenty of activities - English speaking ones as well - and maybe try it :)
I'm Polish, I speak English fluently but if I go to the English pub or American countryside I don't understand what they say either. Nobody is using newspaper English. Isnt it the same everywhere?
I live in a city in Canada; I was born here and was educated here, and I've never fit in. My husband and kids have not had this issue; they make friends easily and have no problem fitting in. Having said that, they're 'left' and I'm 'right', politically and ideologically. I'd probably be happier in a locale where other people are conservatives like me, but in Canada, that's not easy to find. I would find polluted air problematic. That's one thing about western Canada, is that our air is pristine. Our winters last 7 months of the year, but we have 320 days of sunshine, along with the 7 months of winter. (We also have high crime). We have to make do with what we're faced with. I"ve often dreamt of moving to Eastern Europe, but learning a new language is intimidating, and I also prefer sunshine to clouds. I'd love to explore Poland a bit, especially as you mentioned the mountains. I'd imagine it to be a beautiful country. It can't be worse than Canada, and it stands a good possibility of being better. We have Polish immigrants galore in our western city, and they're all workaholics and neat freaks. I can get used to living in a country where everyone works hard and keeps things clean. Oh, and their food is delicious.
Poland and Canada are quite similar as far as climate is concerned, the seasons and so on. Of course Polish climate is more mild.we have actual seasons!
hey as an introvert myself and polish i can tell u it aint easy to find friends :D so i dont know if that will cheer you up but im in a similar position. It just must be an introvert thing. Im will try to go to some groups hobby releated to maybe meet someone but yea, most of the people already have their friends. Keep trying mate, or better just focus on yourself and maybe you'll meet some similr folks who will get along with u .
Pollution is due to home heating (using coal) not due the industries (like no pollution in summer). Its somewhat improving slowly. They are putting gov programs to replace coal heating with something more eco-friendly. Krakow (only city area) since 2019 you can't use coal and wood to heat your house.
Yes, I should have mentioned the home heating. But personally, I don't think it's just homes. As you say the law has been in place since 2019. Summer is actually not so great either like if you look on Airly right now, Poland is still worse than most of Europe - airly.org/map/en/.
@@eduardfastovski Krakow is located in the middle of a valley, and a lot of air pollution accumulates at the bottom of the valley. Unfortunately, government programs cannot change the geography, neighboring counties must be as clean as the center of Krakow, which will happen in the coming years. It's also worth mentioning that Poland probably has the most Airly platforms installed in Europe, so the results are very precise no matter where you are. This helps avoid bad air conditions when you go outside.
I agree with most of your points except your point about the outdoors lifestyle. I’m sure Poland is beautiful but there’s no comparison to Australia when it comes to outdoors lifestyle. e.g you can enjoy outdoors all year round. The beaches. Hiking. Camping. Rainforests. There’s even snow in some places.
True, I didn't mean to say Poland beat Australia in that regard. Just that Polish nature is underrated. But also, I hide indoors all summer in Aus, just as much as in Poland in winter. When it's 35+ it's not enjoyable to be outdoors (for me).
Hello, @will_274. I have to disagree. I have never been to Australia, but have studied its topography and seen plenty of it via internet/tv. It really depends on the person. I, for one, would not want to live in Australia, period. It's just not my kind of place. Poland has the sea in the North, Then moving south, there is a land of a thousand lakes. Then, there are planes. Further on south, there are hills and Finally, Tatry, the mountains. It's small, but it has a varied topography. There are (at least that was the case when I lived there) no earthquakes, no tornadoes, no volcanoes, no hurricanes. There are no extremely dangerous animals (as in Australia. YIKES!) It has 4 seasons, but it's sunny a lot. Temperatures are mild. They do not reach extreme heat (like they do in Australia), nor extreme cold like in some other places. The country is quite sheltered that way. When I lived there 40 years ago, hardly ever was there humidity. So, it really depends on what you like. Personally, I loved Polish climate and Polish topography and I miss my homeland a lot.
I know, Poland is polluted. But look at that map (looks like Airly to me) and see how many sensors are there in Poland and how many are in the rest of the Europe. ;-). Sometimes I think that Kraków alone has them more than eg. the whole Hungary.
hey mate! i am half polish half australian and you are 100% right about almost everything... in my point of view both Warsaw and Melbourne have their cons and pros but somethin about Warsaw man..
I can't say with 100% certainty that it's a thing in Cracow, but in my city of Poznań we had (and I believe still have) language exchange meetings in some pubs. On a particular day and hour people would gather and all mingle and chat in english, both immigrants and locals went to those. I would suggest looking into whether such meetings are a thing in Cracow, and maybe that will help you find some friends. :)
Funfact - our poor air quality is for the most part not due to industrialisation but due to individual housing heating. People still burn wood, coal (trash..) in furnaces. That’s why it’s worst in winter.
Very good video. Ilike the vibe, topics covered as well as the audio quality. Keep at it mate, you dont have a lot of subscribers but you have gotten youself one more :)
Hey, thank you! I'm glad you appreciate the vibe because I was worried it would turn out boring haha. Very interesting channel you have there also... Cheers!
11:40 you can pay taxed every 3 months if you wish, I am not sure if it is also about ZUS (social security), but this is the lowest amount. We also hope they will simplify tax system and law in Poland but it is not happening. 12:20 choose Gdansk, it is much better in terms of air quality
That was a cool video. Pole here. Yeah the taxation system is really frustrating for us too - if that makes you feel any better. About paying taxes quarterly, or for every 6 months - others already explained. About the cities - and this could start a steamed conversation between my fellow Poles, but - I would rank top cities like this: Wrocław, Gdynia, Warszawa, Kraków. Check them out for yourself and let us know what are your thoughts! And finally - welcome to Poland! We welcome all legal immigrants :)
Thank you for this video. I hope you find some friends here. Also learning few basic words could be really helpful in your daily life. Greetings from Wrocław :)
Już znam a few basic words, mam poziom A2 :). Wrocław jest fajny! Byłem tam ale to było w czasie covida... Chyba odwiedzę znowu niedługo. Dzięki za komentarz!
My mother is fluent in Polish, not having spoken English until late childhood. We live in US. When meeting people from Poland, some say she speaks formally. This disturbs her because she says they speak poorly. I thought of this regarding the boxing coach.
You made an excellent point about the language barrier. I lived in 4 countries whose language was not my native language (US, Germany, Belgium (Flanders) and Russia). And each time I was faced with the same problem: my theoretical proficiency was good to very good, especially in writing, but for years, I was incapable of understanding dialogues without a context (e.g. between 2 strangers). This is a major hurdle for developing a social network in a foreign country. My 2 cents: Polish is a very difficult language for a native English speaker to learn (compared to Spanish or French for example). It will take you at least 5 years to feel comfortable with it. Which leads to my second piece of advice: get a Polish girlfriend (if you do not already have one). There is no more efficient way to learn a language. It worked wonders for me with German. And, BTW, there are a lot more very attractive Polish women than in most other European countries. So you have got no excuse.
Understanging polish movies is actually a big achievement because for some reason speech recordings are pretty bad. The other thing is understanding people like you mentioned on the farmer's market. People from the south in general speak less clearly in my opinion. Or maybe a little bit different than those in the west where I come from. Many times I had to ask them to repeat something.
It was interesting listening to your take. I did it the other way around - moved from Poznan to Perth almost 15 years ago. Would I move back? Not sure at this stage, but hey, never say never. Take care!
Poland is not an Eastern Europe. Just like Australia isn't Oceania or Polinasia. Reason why because the it has a negative connotation that has to do with the Soviet mentality and standard mainly. Compare Poland eith Moldavia or Russia and you'll know what I mean. Poland and Poles have more in common with England, Italy or Denmark than it has to do with the Russian sphere. Similarly Australia as a country culturally and in development has more to do with Canada or England than with Fiji or Toga.
Yes, I agree. I even added a note saying *central europe when I accidentally said this 😅. But I think it's often still called eastern europe for two reasons: 1. Historical - It was part of the eastern bloc and it was a communist country, so in a historical discussion it was part of "eastern europe" but modern Poland is definitely not eastern europe. Maybe in the future Australia will be occupied by China, and we will say Australia is part of Asia. 2. Slavic people - I think there is often some crossover when people talk about "eastern europeans" they really mean all slavic people/languages and common cultural elements. Sometimes this includes baltics also (are they eastern or northern?).
@@brys555 Do you mean those times when it was geographically much further east than it is now? Including Lwow, Brest, Wilno...or Poland-Lithuania when it included Kijow and Smolensk? I'm kidding 😄. But seriously, the eastern bloc influence is still very visible now. You can feel it in the bar mleczny, or you can stand on some streets and they look exactly like Ukraine or Belarus. There is no doubt it is a modern but ex-communist country. I know Polish culture is distinct and much more western, trust me I am not grouping you with... others. When I say "eastern europe" I'm mostly referring to infrastructure and architecture.
I think if you will have traditional office job it would be much easier for you to know someone better. Polish people treat word "friend" quite seriously. It takes time to name someone that. This is why we have for most people we know and like word "kolega/koleżanka". Don't worry, you will find one.
I think my English is similar to your Polish. I started Krav Maga classes (UK) and it's also hard for me to understand in loud environment. I just observe and do what the others 😅 Good luck 👍
Hey, I used to live in Poland for 2 years and half. Polish people are very hard to get. Impossible to make friends. I think weather and history does not help. There are for sure far better countries to make friends. I personally found easier to befriend expats. I felt expats were way more relaxed, less complicated, spontaneous and easy to get along. I felt sometimes poles needed alcohol even for basic friendship which is not what Im looking for. Its tough, for sure!
You are young and you like public transport. When you grow up and start a family, start working somewhere outside the city, you will understand that a car is necessary for life.
I am Polish in UK and have exactly the same issues with fitting to society. All the time I feel like iam gonna die here and nobody will be carry my coffin 😅
It is the same in Serbia, even Serbia is a little cheaper than Poland. greetings from an Irish American in Serbia. I have everything here I havein the States, but cheaper. + Cities are cleaner.
Hey Eduard! I'm Polish myself, but I speak English proficiently. Come back to Warsaw, I'd love to meet you. I used to be a web developer myself. Nowadays I work as a Project Manager in IT and I'm also self-employed. I do also look for new chaps to hang out with. Our tax system might be complicated, but frankly speaking I from my POV I consider it as one of the biggest assets due to taxation rates if you do it wisely. For instance my income tax is only 8.5% and in your case it would be 12%. Probably only Romania and Bulgaria can compete when it comes to tax rates in IT. Btw. interestingly when I was younger, I dreamed about moving to Australia, but sadly after observing how the country has changed over the last decade (real estate prices, covid freedom limitations etc.), this is no longer my wish.
Polska is the best. For good boxing classes check out IRS Kraków (and no they won't bust you for not doing your taxes xd). Very friendly and couminicative
i used to live in Sydney for almost 1 year, it was super hard to get a job there w/o any experience. Vans shoes at that time (2018) cost me 100$ which i worked for about 4-5h. In Poland it was almost 400zł which was about solid 16h 2 day job. (construction site). Same goes about phones and many many more. However rent was kind of high at 200$ per week for 1 bed though.
As a business owner myself, I'll give you a friendly advice: fire your accountant! A good sepcialist should know how to calculate your monthly tax rate. I can't comprehend how you put up with this hustle on a monthly basis. You've got to be far more patient man than I am😊 As for the air quality: Kraków is well known for its smog, along Silesia (Katowice, Zabrze, Sosnowiec etc.) If this bothers you, move up north - Gdańsk or somewhere in that area. Baltic sea releases large quantities of iodium, and air in there is absolutely wonderfull. Good luck bro👍
Hello Eduard, thank you for this video. I am Polish, but have lived most of my life in the USA. Still I miss my homeland and am thinking of moving back. I found your video quite helpful. You said that you can't understand some Polish people. I was wondering, with all of the technology that we have now, isn't there a program that would instantly translate Polish speech into English? As for having friends, I think that you need to do what you would do in any new place: go to church, take a class of sorts, join a club, or play sports in a group. You have to go out there. It takes time anywhere, even if you speak the same language. Be optimistic and patient and you will make friends.
FYI. In US depending on your gross income, you may have to deposit tax semi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually. I had to deposit tax in US semi-weekly for a couple years!!!!
I'm planning to do complete opposite 😄 I'll be moving to Melbourne in 2 years. You should mention that Poland is not only cheap but earnings are even smaller. You're barely able to afford single room apartment in Cracow with a "normal" job. That's why Poles are going to Germany or Sweeden to work for 5-10 years. Just so they can afford car, house and their kids.
You can be from a richer country and it's the same - can barely afford a single room apartment rent in Sydney with a normal job. So if you work remotely you go to Thailand or Bali, or in my case Poland, to save up some money. Good luck with your move to Melbourne! It's not as expensive as Sydney, and hopefully in 2 years this current housing crisis won't be as bad.
Polish is pretty difficult even for Polish people. The grammar rules are extremely complex and the sounds are really hard to reproduce for a native English speaker. When it comes to making friends, working at home doesn't help at all. I lived overseas for almost 30 years and all the friends I had were the people I used to work with. Pollution is a serious problem in Poland. There are however certain regions where the quality of air is very good. My favourite is Pomorze, with Gdynia and Gdansk. Winter in Poland is pretty miserable to the degree that it makes me depressed. When I was a child the winter looked totally different. There was heaps of snow everywhere, from early December to late March, it was frosty but bright with some sunshine occasionally. Nowadays the weather in winter is pretty gloomy, wet and smoggy.
Możemy się ugadac w Krakowie na piwo? Moim marzeniem jest zobaczenie Twojego Kraju więc wymienili byśmy wiele wspólnych uwag na temat życia w naszych krajach :) Przy okazji mówię po Angielsku dość dobrze więc mógłbym pomoc Ci złapać kilka słów po polsku :) Wydaje mi się że jesteś w Parku Lotników obok Tauron Arena niedaleko wychowywałem się później gdy poszedłem na studia zmieniłem lokalizację :)
Yes. I agree with the invasion of privacy here. And the Collecting of Private Business. I was renting my place and I did better than using them. I even got better tenants. They are hopeless, unless you get a good one. Glad you happy there. Things are competitive here now.
When it comes to air quality, it is really bad in Krakow in winter. However, comparison with other regions is fiction. Simply put, Airly is a Polish product and we have the most of these stations. Other countries just don't measure it this way. It's also easy to cheat the results. Poles simply don't know how to play politics ;) And the environment is now one of the main points of politics and pressure.
Hello Eduard, I have read through many of the comments here and, you have a whole bunch of possible friends just from posting this video who are living in Poland right now. Some are Poles. A few are from Australia, like yourself. Some are English. Answer them, get on the train and meet up with them... and make friends. Poland is not that big, so you can be on the other side of the country in 4-5 hours. Good luck.
I love United States of America. Since i left Poland in 1981, i never look back.i wish all of you the Best, but they will come and you will be swimming back to Australia.
There are no real cities in Australia , but they are conglomerations of suburbs and these ¨cities¨ don't have a centre, but a CBD instead. Melbourne was the second largest city of the British Empire at a certain time in the 19th century, but not much of that old city has been preserved.
I moved to Poland from the USA after many years of visiting relatives and studying. The Polish people are polite, industrious and always very helpful. I am just sorry I didn't make the move earlier, (I am 69 years old) and have been living here for 10 years. I would never live anywhere else!
Just remember that Poles especially like Americans. And there is a lot of reasons for that 🙂
That's pretty flattering, kind sir😊
Polis people think they are polite, but on the other hand they like to live from the money other countries have to spend für them
You are from DDR, so I assume that you live from money of your western cousins.🤣
@@fridolinoberboersch9425 Germans have no right to complain in this topic and you know why.
Pros- No more huntsman spiders.
Fr
G'day from Adelaide Australia. Ive got relatives in the North of Poland, not too far from the Baltic Sea. I've been there about 5 times. I was born in Australia NSW. My mum was Polish & thank goodness she taught me how to speak in Polish as I'm able to communicate well with my relatives. I say, good onya for living in Poland. Hope all goes well. Pozdrowenia z Australii. Życzę wszystkiego dobrego 🎉😅
Great video! Moving to Poland from Australia and living here for 5 years - it means you like it 😀 Speak Polish, do not worry about mistakes. Poles will love you for your afford. You are a very nice person. Take care!
Simple, honest and true. Good luck living in my motherland.
About making friends, don't be discouraged, you'll find them. Once you're in, you're in. My sister's friend from work (coming fromMoldova) easily entered our friend group and during Covid had no chance of going home, so we invited her to stay with our family for Christmas and Easter for a few years, she's almost a part of our family and is known by our grandparents, aunties and uncles.
Many foreigners make the mistake of closing themselves off to their English-speaking circles, which prevents them from getting to know us Poles. And reaching out to people even with poor English is how you pick up the spoken language very quickly.
Another thing - Poland is Central Europe, not Eastern Europe - the same, for example, the Czech Republic - everyone considers Austria to be Western Europe, and their capital Vienna is further east than the Czech Prague. Go out to people, go for a good beer in the summer, then it's easier to make contact with people, do some outdoor events, etc.
Hi mate, as a Pole living in the UK, I think when it comes to cons, every immigrant in every country can say something similar to you.
But at least Poland is very safe and nice looking country. Here, in the UK these houses, narrow winding streets, not too many trees, garbage everywhere, and many other things make cities look very decadent. For me it is hard to stay in the UK longer than one year in a row, cause this country makes me very depressive. And it was a big bad surprise the first time, when I came here... I expected nice looking country like Germany... but yeah, that was a big disappointment. Enjoy your stay in Poland. I wish you good luck! 🙂
Gdzie mieszkasz w Uk? Brzmi jak Bradford (ja tylko na street view zwiedzam aktualnie).
@@Ula-Kaja mieszkałem w Liverpoolu i na ulicy było dużo śmieci i sporo crack heads(narkomanów). Zależy od okolicy ale na ogół czasem strach wyjść
Nice looking Like Germany? Well It depends where you live in Germany....
That is what immigrants did to the country. All of them.
To po co tam mieszkasz? W uk są też piękne przedmieścia tylko ceny nieruchomości zaczynają się od 700k plus. Jak się mieszka w bidadzielnicach to faktycznie. Nie wiem po co mieszkać w uk i klepać bide jak pensje w Polsce są już porównywalne, a można za nie kupić 3 razy więcej.
Regarding taxes: ask your accountant about the posibility to pay lump-sum installements (zaliczki uproszczone) - you would be paying 1/12 of the tax that you paid last year per month without the need to calculate it every month. That option is available for all non start-up businesses.
I didnt know that
@@uceee1Poland is practically a little known tax heaven, you can run a company and pay 9 or 12 percent tax on all your income. There is no country in Western Europe offering that ( except from Monaco)
G'day mate... just watched your video & quite agree with all you say. Cheers from another Aussie living in Warsaw, Poland (24 years here now). ✌️👍
Don't you worry about sometimes not understanding what people are saying. I'm polish and I sometimes can't understand them either ;D
Gosh, I just came back from Perth, WA, and I'm thinking about applying for a visa there. I have not lived in Poland for long, but when I visit my family, I love it. Greetings from the UK.
G'day mate, I'm an Aussie living in Poznan PL and have been for 18 years and would never live back in Oz or anywhere else for that matter. Much of what your saying is quite right although I will say making friends has never been an issue and I've lost count of the hangovers after these wonderful Polish people found out I was Australian matko! :) Enjoy!
The housing market in Australia is so bad right now. Costs an arm and a leg, one full weekly wage and the queues are incredibly long. We have tent cities springing up absolutely everywhere, like in the US because of the housing shortage. And still they allow hundreds of thousands of people migrate here every year. Best to stay where you are.
@@miriam2909 Yes my whole family are in Oz and I talk to them everyday, very sad to see & hear what's happened to a once great country :( Disgusting is not a strong enough word....and I can assure that when looking back in from the outside it's worse then you may think or believe.
@@miriam2909 could've been worse. ask nz
I'm delighted to hear this since I'll be visiting my boyfriend in Tychy for a couple of months next year. I'm superb excited and love to visit the stunning mountains in Zakopane!
very good points about Poland, I'm Polish living in NZ and this year we are considering either Australia or Poland with my wife
Jak to jest z Nową Zelandia?
Bo slyszalem same skrajne opinie.
Jedni mowia ze zamordyzm. Drudzy ze papugi im w ogrodku z rana śpiewają.
Mógłbyś napisac cos na ten temat?
@@bolekbolkowski1118 jasne. nie wiem co masz na myśli mówiąc zamordyzm. Papugi czasem mi śpiewają (nie wiem czy to dobre określenie) w ogródku. Ogólnie kraj jak kraj. Ma wady i zalety jak wszędzie. Jak masz jakieś konkretne pytania to pisz. chętnie odpowiem.
@@pinang1 Dzieki😄
Najpierw minusy.
1.Zamordyzm.
Jeden przetsiebiorca opisywał ze policja go wziela na celownik i musial uciekać stamtad z całym biznesem.
2. Nuda. Wiocha i zadupie zero zycia nocnego.
3. Zacofanie. Internet tylko w miastach.
4. Moda jsk z lat 90tych. To moze byc dla niektorych zaletą.
5 Kobiety sa brzydkie w dodatku niezadbane. Nie chodza do fryzjera, kosmetyczki itp.
Zalety.
1. Przecudna przyroda.
2. Zdrowa nieskazona żywność.
3.Przyjazni ludzie.
Jak tam jest z jazda na nartach?
Czy ludzie z wyspy polnocnej masowo jeżdżą zimą na poludnie na urlop?
Czy narty to sport narodowy. Czy rownie wazny jak rugby?
Jak z cenami za wyciagi narciarskie i kwatery w sezonie zimowym?
Czy wszystko jest zapchane turystami.
Bo jezdza tam druzyny sportowcow z Europy na treningi.
Chociaz do Argentyny i Chile jest duzo blizej.
@@bolekbolkowski1118 1. o sprawie nie słyszałem. Ogólnie tu jest raj dla przedsiębiorców małych i duzych. Prowadzenie biznesu jest ułatwione, nie ma różnych zusów i tego typu gówna. Jak masz dobry pomysł, kapitał jakieś umiejętności które są w cenie to założenie tu firmy to strzał w dziesiątkę. Przez niektórych NZ jest uważana nawet za raj podatkowy. 2. ogólnie prawda. zależy gdzie ale w porównaniu z Warszawą wszędzie będzie tu wiocha. 3. zacofanie prawda. internet zależy gdzie. może w niektórych miejscach w mieście nie być też. I jest bardzo drogi. 4. Prawda. Czasem nawet i dawniejsza. Przypominają mi się archiwalne nagrania meczów Polski z lat 70. czasem jak idę ulicą i widzę jak ludzie wyglądają 5. Prawda. Jak przylatuję do Polski to głowa mi się kręci naokoło. Jakbym kobiet nie widział przez rok. 1. Zależy. Jest inna niż w Polsce. Jest tu dużo różnorodności jeśli popatrzymy na cały kraj. Jak dla mnie byłem zachłyśnięty na początku. Obecnie dużo bardziej preferuję przyrodę w Polsce. 2. Nieprawda. Żywność taka ze sklepu smakuje jak plastik. Owoce nie smakują dobrze. Jak wpadamy do Polski to nie możemy się nadziwić dlaczego w NZ nie ma takich smacznych produktów jak w Polsce. 3. Tak. Przyjaźni w sensie tak na ulicy dla nieznajomych. Ale przyjaźnie jako takie znane z Polski prawie nie istnieją tutaj. a propo pomocy miedzyludzkiej wlasnie czytam artykul o Polskiej lekarce mieszkajacej w Stanach i pieknie tam to podsumowala. to sie tyczy tak samo Nowej Zelandii: "Brakuje mi jednak mocniejszych więzi społecznych. Amerykanie są bardzo mili i uprzejmi, ale nie stworzysz z nimi takiej relacji, że w środku nocy zadzwonisz, bo na przykład zepsuło ci się auto, utknąłeś gdzieś w szczerym polu i potrzebujesz pomocy. Tak się nie robi, to nie jest dobrze widziane. Każdy sobie rzepkę skrobie."
Na nartach można jeździć. Jest to droga zabawa ale myślę, że pewnie w Polsce tak samo.
Jeśli chodzi o urlop zimą to jest tu taki głupi zwyczaj, który wiele firm praktykuje teraz, że wysyła się ludzi na przymusowy urlop 2-3 tygodniowy (w sensie zabiorą Ci z tego przysługującego) na czas Bożego Narodzenia, Nowego Roku i wtedy ludzie masowo podróżują wszędzie. Nie powiedziałbym, że akurat z północnej na południową jest dużo więcej niż na inne kierunki. Często taniej polecieć za granicę. NZ jest nastawiona na bogatych turystów i takie są ceny atrakcji i hoteli tutaj.
Narty to na pewno nie sport narodowy. Dużo ludzi lubi ale to tyle. Ciężko mi powiedzieć czy więcej czy mniej w porównaniu do Polski. Jest rugby, potem krykiet. Potem wielka dziura. A potem sporty typu mordobicie, motosport, żeglarstwo, może gdzieś tam netball u kobiet może koszykówka. Narty mi nawet do głowy nie przychodzą jeśli mówimy o popularności.
Ja byłem raz na nartach tu. Parę lat temu. I nie orientuję się w cenach za bardzo.
Tak, ogólnie obcokrajowcami. czasem ciężko spotkać nowozelandczyka. O drużynach sportowych pierwsze słyszę. Chyba, że chodzi o rugby czy krykiet.
@@pinang1
Ok. Dzieki. Naszkicowales mi mniej wiecej jak to tam wygląda.
Jak sie patrzy na zdjecia z NZ to mozna pomyśleć ze to raj.
Ale chyba wiem dlaczego Cie te widoki już nie fascynują.
Mieszkalem 20 lat w Norwegii. Tam tez są tzw. instagramowe miejsca do ktorych przylatuja turysci z całego świata. Miedzy innymi Kjerag. Klif z ktorego wynalazca wingsuit testowal jako pierwsze miejsca do basejumpingu. 1000m pionowo w dół.
Pamietam jak robilem zdjecia zwyklym ogrodzeniom z kamienia i wszystko co zobaczylem bylo ciekawe. A później mieszkalem niedaleko Preikestolen. Codziennie latem parking byl tam zapchany od turystow. Płatny.
Ale jak sie zapytalem sąsiada czy był tam kiedykolwiek? To odpowiedzial ze nie.
Wszyscy mieliśmy zapierajacy dech w piersi widok. Ale nikt o tym nie mówił. Raczej każdy wolał ponarzekać na codzienne sprawy, niż sie zachwycać.
Pamietam jego minę, jak sie pakowalem z gratami przed wyjazdem.
Mowi- to co, jedziesz na urlop do Polski. A ja ze nie. Wyjezdzam na stałe.
Wtedy powiedział ze w jego firmie ma kolege z Polski. Mieszkal z rodziną żona i córka. Któregoś lata żona powiedziała że nie wracają z wakacji w Polsce. Niech jedzie sam jak chce. Bo ona zapisała córkę do szkoly w Polsce.
Scenariusz był zazwyczaj taki -
Facet dostał prace. Powiedzial ile będzie zarabiał. Ale że rozrywki też są tam drogie.
Żona zachwycona. Mówi że to kraj dla ciebie, bo nie będziesz pił.
Ale później kto pierwszy chce stamtąd uciekać to jest żona.
Jak pójdzie do fryzjera czy kosmetyczki to widzi ze ta wyplata tylko z pozoru wydawala się duża.
Nuda. Deszcz leje tygodniami. Czesto poziomy, z wiatrem który łeb ukręca. Śnieg leży kilka dni. Potem topnieje. Czasami jak wieje ze złej strony. To dojazd do wyciągów narciarskich jest zasypany. A na stoku śniegu kilka cm i odkryte kamienie.
Podsumowując. Rozumiem dlaczego nie zachwycaja Cie już widoki.
Pros: you can sit down on the grass, relax and record your video and nothing will eat alive while you hidding in the grass. Nor underground. Same deal with the sky. in the nutshell: when you go outside, nothing will eat you alive.
i am polish and i love living here
Hear! Hear!
Hello Many thanks for presenting my homeland in such a positive way to the world 👌👍 It's heartwarming to listen to an Australian praising the nature of Poland 😊 You're right about the language though: It's one of the most difficult languages to learn. But look there are parts of the UK where an Australian or an American would have hard time understanding the locals as well Best regards Jacek ps. It's hard to make friends nowadays anywhere. If you lived in Warsaw I'd be your friend 👍
Nice and honest video man. I visited Krakow sometimes ago and I really liked it. It is not a country we hear every day and probably not on the top of the list for digital nomads, but it is one of the few success stories in Europe in the last few years and definitely worth mentioning. It is on par of becoming the new locomotive of Europe since Germany and France are struggling so much. What brought you there? do you have any Polish ancestors?
Thank you! Are you a digital nomad? I ended up here by accident really, or maybe it was fate. My girlfriend has Polish ancestry, and I was keen to move to Europe, although not Poland specifically. We were both freelancers, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to move here together. She got the 'Karta Polaka' which allowed her to start a business here and then 'hire' me.
@@eduardfastovski You have lat name that sounds Polish
Hi,
I am Polish and live in one of the big cities of Poland.
Our country has a lot of mountains, not only the Tatra Mountains (Zakopane), but also the Sudetes or the Carpathian Mountains. We have the sea and lakes. We have nice, big cities, castles, attractions for children, Zoo in ŁÓDŹ is probably the most modern in Europe. Foreigners do not yet know our country well. Visit Wroclaw, Krakow, Warsaw, Gdansk, Zakopane, the Baltic Sea, Masuria and lakes, castles. Sample our food! You are welcome. We are open to cultural tourists! Many of us are already well educated and fluent in English.
I left Poland many years ago and moved to other country and I have experienced some of the cons that you have mentioned.
Language - it took me some years to being able to understand the locals well. Even though I'm speaking now on the C2 level, sometimes I am still unable to understand people especially when they are using they dialect.
Friends! That is complete disaster! After 12 years abroad I still do not have so many friends as I have in Poland. It's pretty difficult.
So I guess those issues could be more related to immigration at all, not to the country.
But, don't give up! Kraków is really great place 😊
hey, where did you move? sounds more like Germany not an English speaking countries, I think anglosphere would be easy to adapt linguistically
@@mateuszmazurek7991 you guessed right! I'm in Germany, in the southern west part of it :)
@@angelkanafriends are overrated! Especially German ones! 😂
No widzisz a ja mieszkałem 13 lat w UK i miałem dużo znajomych. Wróciłem do Polski 5 lat temu i nie mam żadnych znajomych 😂😂😂😂
I am Polish living in Germany and I have the same problem. It is difficult to find a German friend even though my level of German is C1 and I have been living here for 16 years.
I've had lived in Malta for 7 years where I went not for economic but lifestyle reasons. I am back in Warsaw and I am amazed how positively my town and country has changed. BTW one of my best friend is a Brit. Thanks to my level of English language he feels comfortable to hang out with me, we understand each other jokes and have fun.
Super :) great that you moved to Poland . Welcome :) Hope it will be fine for you and I wish you good stay! . Greetings from Silesia !! :)
Jako programista możesz przejść na ryczałt 12% płacisz podatek od sprzedaży / wystawionych rachunków, nie możesz odliczać kosztów. Zaliczki na podatek możesz płacić co miesiąc lub co kwartał. Bez problemu do ogarnięcia samemu. Zawsze co miesiąc musisz płacić zus, około 2000zł
That's a very fair assessment. I know what it's like to be an introverted foreigner trying to make new friends. Polish people are much more open to accepting newcomers into their social group than some other nationalities though, so I hope things will improve for you on this front soon. Don't be afraid to suggest a get together with people you already know and enjoy the company of, we are very open to that kind of stuff. Particularly if you suggest a bbq or a hike ☺️ Best wishes!
As a Pole, I can relate to most of the points you've mentioned. Bad air quality during winter, difficult tax system.
Even as a native Polish guy in the loud environments or just people who don't pronounce well and there are plenty of them I often can't understand them so don't worry. And what kind of slang some people are using is just beyond me.
Everything what you said, the good and bad are totally true - I'm saying as a native guy.
Your comment about not being able to make friends, although not wrong, is something that happens to anyone who decides to move abroad. It's not easy to make friends regardless of where you live if you are a newcomer. Some places are specially difficult. I've lived in Canada for almost 6 years and I honestly made two new connections here. It's in part because of the lifestyle, in part because of personality. As a native Pole I think you have a better chance of making meaningful connections with people in Poland.
Taxes: Consider hiring an accountant. For a small monthly fee it will save you headache of doing it yourself. Good accountant will probably help you reduce your taxes as well.
Hey man,
I'm from Kraków too, and I work in IT too so this was very interesting to watch from a foreigner perspective. With polish language it would be interesting if you wrote down what you just said in fully correct polish and remade the video. I bet that could help with the language and with the algorithm too. If you want to grab a beer someday you can send me an e-mail :P.
cool will be watching from aus as child of polish parents
Good job, bro. Great vibe. Nice to see you. 😊You are very welcome.
Thanks for the video, I liked it and I agree with everything you said.
All your cons apply to me as a Polish person living in Australia.
If you stay in the country long term your comprehension of the language will definitively and significantly improve. So, don’t give up hope!
I've stumbled upon this by accident but enjoyed it:)
Thanks for an honest video and pronouncing our Krakow correctly (and Zakopane) ;)
Regarding friends - as a fellow introvert I also don't have many friends either. And I'm Polish. I think it's hard to make friends as an adult?
Also, I knew a foreigner who spoke completely fluent Polish after few years living here. Not all hope is lost for you haha
Thank you! I'm really glad. Yes, it is hard to make friends as an adult but usually it's easier through sports and hobbies. It is much harder in a foreign country. Regarding Polish, people like yourself speak English so comfortably it proves another point I forgot to mention - that even when speaking to Poles, I never get any Polish practice :).
@@eduardfastovski have you tried pretending you don't speak English? They will be forced to continue 😜
Im really happy that some foreinger found himself in Poland society :)
Tbh for self-employed there's alot of different various options, some of my friends are paying 5,5% tax income only + mandatory pension and % to insurence.
Don't worry about the boxing trainer not being understandable, we also don't understand all words other people are saying, the language itself is difficult
It's important to note it's not just Tatry. Sudety and Karpaty can provide fantastic mountain views as well, and they aren't as crowded if you prefer a more isolated experience.
Also for fresh air - near Pomorze, like Koszalin, Kołobrzeg, etc. is a low industrial area, so the quality of fresh air here is pretty high.
Haha don't worry, even us Polish sometimes have problems with finding friends. I'm also from Kraków and there are plenty of activities - English speaking ones as well - and maybe try it :)
dobrze się Ciebie słucha, z roku na rok twój polski będzie lepszy musisz duzo rozmawiac i słuchac audiobooków po polsku, pozdro.
You are right!
Thanks for this informative video, Please make vlogs for real Poland locations. Villages, town, schools... more travel and food little bit. :)
I'm Polish, I speak English fluently but if I go to the English pub or American countryside I don't understand what they say either. Nobody is using newspaper English. Isnt it the same everywhere?
That means your English is not as good as you think…
I live in a city in Canada; I was born here and was educated here, and I've never fit in. My husband and kids have not had this issue; they make friends easily and have no problem fitting in. Having said that, they're 'left' and I'm 'right', politically and ideologically. I'd probably be happier in a locale where other people are conservatives like me, but in Canada, that's not easy to find. I would find polluted air problematic. That's one thing about western Canada, is that our air is pristine. Our winters last 7 months of the year, but we have 320 days of sunshine, along with the 7 months of winter. (We also have high crime). We have to make do with what we're faced with. I"ve often dreamt of moving to Eastern Europe, but learning a new language is intimidating, and I also prefer sunshine to clouds. I'd love to explore Poland a bit, especially as you mentioned the mountains. I'd imagine it to be a beautiful country. It can't be worse than Canada, and it stands a good possibility of being better. We have Polish immigrants galore in our western city, and they're all workaholics and neat freaks. I can get used to living in a country where everyone works hard and keeps things clean. Oh, and their food is delicious.
Poland and Canada are quite similar as far as climate is concerned, the seasons and so on. Of course Polish climate is more mild.we have actual seasons!
I am about to move from Brazil to Australia or Poland. Good to watch your video and have some ideas.
hey man what did you decide? I'm also moving either Australia or Poland this year. Not from Brazil though
Cool, just don't bring traditional South American street crime rates with you. Thank you.
hey as an introvert myself and polish i can tell u it aint easy to find friends :D so i dont know if that will cheer you up but im in a similar position. It just must be an introvert thing. Im will try to go to some groups hobby releated to maybe meet someone but yea, most of the people already have their friends. Keep trying mate, or better just focus on yourself and maybe you'll meet some similr folks who will get along with u .
I'm looking to visit Poland ( warsaw and Krakow). Wud be really grt to connect with kind Poles and I'm trying to learn some basic Polish.
Go to Wrocław and Gdańk
Go to Poland
Thanks for the information, enjoyed the vid!
Pollution is due to home heating (using coal) not due the industries (like no pollution in summer). Its somewhat improving slowly. They are putting gov programs to replace coal heating with something more eco-friendly. Krakow (only city area) since 2019 you can't use coal and wood to heat your house.
Yes, I should have mentioned the home heating. But personally, I don't think it's just homes. As you say the law has been in place since 2019. Summer is actually not so great either like if you look on Airly right now, Poland is still worse than most of Europe - airly.org/map/en/.
@@eduardfastovski yes because winter is back? Have you been outside? It's freezing
@@eduardfastovski Krakow is located in the middle of a valley, and a lot of air pollution accumulates at the bottom of the valley. Unfortunately, government programs cannot change the geography, neighboring counties must be as clean as the center of Krakow, which will happen in the coming years. It's also worth mentioning that Poland probably has the most Airly platforms installed in Europe, so the results are very precise no matter where you are. This helps avoid bad air conditions when you go outside.
I agree with most of your points except your point about the outdoors lifestyle. I’m sure Poland is beautiful but there’s no comparison to Australia when it comes to outdoors lifestyle. e.g you can enjoy outdoors all year round. The beaches. Hiking. Camping. Rainforests. There’s even snow in some places.
True, I didn't mean to say Poland beat Australia in that regard. Just that Polish nature is underrated.
But also, I hide indoors all summer in Aus, just as much as in Poland in winter. When it's 35+ it's not enjoyable to be outdoors (for me).
Hello, @will_274.
I have to disagree. I have never been to Australia, but have studied its topography and seen plenty of it via internet/tv.
It really depends on the person. I, for one, would not want to live in Australia, period. It's just not my kind of place.
Poland has the sea in the North,
Then moving south, there is a land of a thousand lakes.
Then, there are planes.
Further on south, there are hills
and Finally, Tatry, the mountains.
It's small, but it has a varied topography.
There are (at least that was the case when I lived there) no earthquakes, no tornadoes, no volcanoes, no hurricanes.
There are no extremely dangerous animals (as in Australia. YIKES!)
It has 4 seasons, but it's sunny a lot.
Temperatures are mild. They do not reach extreme heat (like they do in Australia), nor extreme cold like in some other places. The country is quite sheltered that way.
When I lived there 40 years ago, hardly ever was there humidity.
So, it really depends on what you like.
Personally, I loved Polish climate and Polish topography and I miss my homeland a lot.
I know, Poland is polluted. But look at that map (looks like Airly to me) and see how many sensors are there in Poland and how many are in the rest of the Europe. ;-). Sometimes I think that Kraków alone has them more than eg. the whole Hungary.
hey mate!
i am half polish half australian and you are 100% right about almost everything...
in my point of view both Warsaw and Melbourne have their cons and pros but somethin about Warsaw man..
I'm half Polish half English. My heart longs to go to Warsaw, one day I'll get there.
I can't say with 100% certainty that it's a thing in Cracow, but in my city of Poznań we had (and I believe still have) language exchange meetings in some pubs. On a particular day and hour people would gather and all mingle and chat in english, both immigrants and locals went to those. I would suggest looking into whether such meetings are a thing in Cracow, and maybe that will help you find some friends. :)
Funfact - our poor air quality is for the most part not due to industrialisation but due to individual housing heating. People still burn wood, coal (trash..) in furnaces. That’s why it’s worst in winter.
Your are great.... Don't worry... This country is the best in the world..... Good luck my friend....... 😎
Very good video. Ilike the vibe, topics covered as well as the audio quality. Keep at it mate, you dont have a lot of subscribers but you have gotten youself one more :)
Hey, thank you! I'm glad you appreciate the vibe because I was worried it would turn out boring haha. Very interesting channel you have there also... Cheers!
@@eduardfastovski I wouldnt worry too much about boring, the problem you might face is being constrained to a small niche. Also, thanks :)
11:40 you can pay taxed every 3 months if you wish, I am not sure if it is also about ZUS (social security), but this is the lowest amount. We also hope they will simplify tax system and law in Poland but it is not happening.
12:20 choose Gdansk, it is much better in terms of air quality
That was a cool video. Pole here. Yeah the taxation system is really frustrating for us too - if that makes you feel any better. About paying taxes quarterly, or for every 6 months - others already explained. About the cities - and this could start a steamed conversation between my fellow Poles, but - I would rank top cities like this: Wrocław, Gdynia, Warszawa, Kraków. Check them out for yourself and let us know what are your thoughts!
And finally - welcome to Poland! We welcome all legal immigrants :)
Thank you for this video. I hope you find some friends here. Also learning few basic words could be really helpful in your daily life. Greetings from Wrocław :)
Już znam a few basic words, mam poziom A2 :). Wrocław jest fajny! Byłem tam ale to było w czasie covida... Chyba odwiedzę znowu niedługo. Dzięki za komentarz!
My mother is fluent in Polish, not having spoken English until late childhood. We live in US. When meeting people from Poland, some say she speaks formally. This disturbs her because she says they speak poorly. I thought of this regarding the boxing coach.
You made an excellent point about the language barrier. I lived in 4 countries whose language was not my native language (US, Germany, Belgium (Flanders) and Russia). And each time I was faced with the same problem: my theoretical proficiency was good to very good, especially in writing, but for years, I was incapable of understanding dialogues without a context (e.g. between 2 strangers). This is a major hurdle for developing a social network in a foreign country. My 2 cents: Polish is a very difficult language for a native English speaker to learn (compared to Spanish or French for example). It will take you at least 5 years to feel comfortable with it. Which leads to my second piece of advice: get a Polish girlfriend (if you do not already have one). There is no more efficient way to learn a language. It worked wonders for me with German. And, BTW, there are a lot more very attractive Polish women than in most other European countries. So you have got no excuse.
Amen ! Good observation!
As an American, the fact that you use a realtor for rentals in Australia is CRAZY to me
Currently we have SPRING ;-) in Poland not a Summer. Yesterday in Krakow was +7 C 44F
Excellent video....good luck....
There will come a moment you realize you understand everything :)
Understanging polish movies is actually a big achievement because for some reason speech recordings are pretty bad. The other thing is understanding people like you mentioned on the farmer's market. People from the south in general speak less clearly in my opinion. Or maybe a little bit different than those in the west where I come from. Many times I had to ask them to repeat something.
It was interesting listening to your take. I did it the other way around - moved from Poznan to Perth almost 15 years ago. Would I move back? Not sure at this stage, but hey, never say never. Take care!
Give it a time and you wil be on level that you can speak with anyone :)
Poland is not an Eastern Europe. Just like Australia isn't Oceania or Polinasia. Reason why because the it has a negative connotation that has to do with the Soviet mentality and standard mainly. Compare Poland eith Moldavia or Russia and you'll know what I mean. Poland and Poles have more in common with England, Italy or Denmark than it has to do with the Russian sphere. Similarly Australia as a country culturally and in development has more to do with Canada or England than with Fiji or Toga.
Yes, I agree. I even added a note saying *central europe when I accidentally said this 😅. But I think it's often still called eastern europe for two reasons:
1. Historical - It was part of the eastern bloc and it was a communist country, so in a historical discussion it was part of "eastern europe" but modern Poland is definitely not eastern europe. Maybe in the future Australia will be occupied by China, and we will say Australia is part of Asia.
2. Slavic people - I think there is often some crossover when people talk about "eastern europeans" they really mean all slavic people/languages and common cultural elements. Sometimes this includes baltics also (are they eastern or northern?).
@@eduardfastovski Little reminder that Poland was part of eastern bloc for only 45 years out of over 1000 of it's history.
@@eduardfastovskislavic race??
English race French race Spanish race and i think you need to go back home with your anglo saxon race
@@brys555 Do you mean those times when it was geographically much further east than it is now? Including Lwow, Brest, Wilno...or Poland-Lithuania when it included Kijow and Smolensk? I'm kidding 😄. But seriously, the eastern bloc influence is still very visible now. You can feel it in the bar mleczny, or you can stand on some streets and they look exactly like Ukraine or Belarus. There is no doubt it is a modern but ex-communist country. I know Polish culture is distinct and much more western, trust me I am not grouping you with... others. When I say "eastern europe" I'm mostly referring to infrastructure and architecture.
I think if you will have traditional office job it would be much easier for you to know someone better. Polish people treat word "friend" quite seriously. It takes time to name someone that. This is why we have for most people we know and like word "kolega/koleżanka". Don't worry, you will find one.
Have you considered recording your videos in Polish? Try it, see how it turns out. Take care ;)
I think my English is similar to your Polish. I started Krav Maga classes (UK) and it's also hard for me to understand in loud environment. I just observe and do what the others 😅
Good luck 👍
Hey, I used to live in Poland for 2 years and half. Polish people are very hard to get. Impossible to make friends. I think weather and history does not help. There are for sure far better countries to make friends. I personally found easier to befriend expats. I felt expats were way more relaxed, less complicated, spontaneous and easy to get along. I felt sometimes poles needed alcohol even for basic friendship which is not what Im looking for. Its tough, for sure!
You are young and you like public transport.
When you grow up and start a family, start working somewhere outside the city, you will understand that a car is necessary for life.
Hi! If you ever wanted to visit Katowice, I could give you a tour!
I am Polish in UK and have exactly the same issues with fitting to society. All the time I feel like iam gonna die here and nobody will be carry my coffin 😅
Heh I rented one of the house you showed on this video from Zakopane. What a great place.
It is the same in Serbia, even Serbia is a little cheaper than Poland. greetings from an Irish American in Serbia. I have everything here I havein the States, but cheaper. + Cities are cleaner.
Hey Eduard! I'm Polish myself, but I speak English proficiently. Come back to Warsaw, I'd love to meet you. I used to be a web developer myself. Nowadays I work as a Project Manager in IT and I'm also self-employed. I do also look for new chaps to hang out with. Our tax system might be complicated, but frankly speaking I from my POV I consider it as one of the biggest assets due to taxation rates if you do it wisely. For instance my income tax is only 8.5% and in your case it would be 12%. Probably only Romania and Bulgaria can compete when it comes to tax rates in IT.
Btw. interestingly when I was younger, I dreamed about moving to Australia, but sadly after observing how the country has changed over the last decade (real estate prices, covid freedom limitations etc.), this is no longer my wish.
Mine is also 12% but the ZUS payment is a fixed 2800zl per month! Making my tax more like 25% all together.
I've always dreamt of living in Australia and having this surfer livestyle 😁 but never happened
Polska is the best. For good boxing classes check out IRS Kraków (and no they won't bust you for not doing your taxes xd). Very friendly and couminicative
i used to live in Sydney for almost 1 year, it was super hard to get a job there w/o any experience. Vans shoes at that time (2018) cost me 100$ which i worked for about 4-5h. In Poland it was almost 400zł which was about solid 16h 2 day job. (construction site). Same goes about phones and many many more. However rent was kind of high at 200$ per week for 1 bed though.
As a business owner myself, I'll give you a friendly advice: fire your accountant! A good sepcialist should know how to calculate your monthly tax rate. I can't comprehend how you put up with this hustle on a monthly basis. You've got to be far more patient man than I am😊
As for the air quality: Kraków is well known for its smog, along Silesia (Katowice, Zabrze, Sosnowiec etc.) If this bothers you, move up north - Gdańsk or somewhere in that area. Baltic sea releases large quantities of iodium, and air in there is absolutely wonderfull.
Good luck bro👍
Hello Eduard, thank you for this video. I am Polish, but have lived most of my life in the USA. Still I miss my homeland and am thinking of moving back. I found your video quite helpful.
You said that you can't understand some Polish people. I was wondering, with all of the technology that we have now, isn't there a program that would instantly translate Polish speech into English?
As for having friends, I think that you need to do what you would do in any new place: go to church, take a class of sorts, join a club, or play sports in a group. You have to go out there. It takes time anywhere, even if you speak the same language.
Be optimistic and patient and you will make friends.
FYI. In US depending on your gross income, you may have to deposit tax semi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually. I had to deposit tax in US semi-weekly for a couple years!!!!
Good video :)
I'm planning to do complete opposite 😄 I'll be moving to Melbourne in 2 years. You should mention that Poland is not only cheap but earnings are even smaller. You're barely able to afford single room apartment in Cracow with a "normal" job. That's why Poles are going to Germany or Sweeden to work for 5-10 years. Just so they can afford car, house and their kids.
You can be from a richer country and it's the same - can barely afford a single room apartment rent in Sydney with a normal job. So if you work remotely you go to Thailand or Bali, or in my case Poland, to save up some money. Good luck with your move to Melbourne! It's not as expensive as Sydney, and hopefully in 2 years this current housing crisis won't be as bad.
Polish is pretty difficult even for Polish people. The grammar rules are extremely complex and the sounds are really hard to reproduce for a native English speaker. When it comes to making friends, working at home doesn't help at all. I lived overseas for almost 30 years and all the friends I had were the people I used to work with. Pollution is a serious problem in Poland. There are however certain regions where the quality of air is very good. My favourite is Pomorze, with Gdynia and Gdansk. Winter in Poland is pretty miserable to the degree that it makes me depressed. When I was a child the winter looked totally different. There was heaps of snow everywhere, from early December to late March, it was frosty but bright with some sunshine occasionally. Nowadays the weather in winter is pretty gloomy, wet and smoggy.
Możemy się ugadac w Krakowie na piwo? Moim marzeniem jest zobaczenie Twojego Kraju więc wymienili byśmy wiele wspólnych uwag na temat życia w naszych krajach :) Przy okazji mówię po Angielsku dość dobrze więc mógłbym pomoc Ci złapać kilka słów po polsku :) Wydaje mi się że jesteś w Parku Lotników obok Tauron Arena niedaleko wychowywałem się później gdy poszedłem na studia zmieniłem lokalizację :)
Yes. I agree with the invasion of privacy here. And the Collecting of Private Business. I was renting my place and I did better than using them. I even got better tenants. They are hopeless, unless you get a good one. Glad you happy there. Things are competitive here now.
Just meet last sunday Australian moveing Poland 🎉😅
I am Polish and I sometimes don't understand what they are saying in the farmer's market.
When it comes to air quality, it is really bad in Krakow in winter.
However, comparison with other regions is fiction. Simply put, Airly is a Polish product and we have the most of these stations. Other countries just don't measure it this way.
It's also easy to cheat the results. Poles simply don't know how to play politics ;) And the environment is now one of the main points of politics and pressure.
Smok = Smog Wawelski.
Ever thought of that?
id say people in cities are cold compared to those living in the countryside
Hello Eduard, I have read through many of the comments here and, you have a whole bunch of possible friends just from posting this video who are living in Poland right now. Some are Poles. A few are from Australia, like yourself. Some are English. Answer them, get on the train and meet up with them... and make friends. Poland is not that big, so you can be on the other side of the country in 4-5 hours. Good luck.
I love United States of America. Since i left Poland in 1981, i never look back.i wish all of you the Best, but they will come and you will be swimming back to Australia.
For hiking Bieszczady or Sudety are better.
There are no real cities in Australia , but they are conglomerations of suburbs and these ¨cities¨ don't have a centre, but a CBD instead. Melbourne was the second largest city of the British Empire at a certain time in the 19th century, but not much of that old city has been preserved.