I’ve been going back and forth to Poland for some time, mostly towards the north west region (shipyards in Gdynia and Gdansk) haven’t been there though for the past two odd years… One thing that really surprised me in a positive manner was the “new” build E40 that runs down south via Wroclaw towards Katowice and further towards the Ukrainian border, it’s even better then the M1… And the services are just spot on! Clean and tidy and the food wasn’t that bad either… and with the prices they charge you, one might call that a bargain…
Another good thing is that you don’t have to queue up at the borders any more, never was my favourite thing, queueing for 20+ odd hours with no facilities…
Apart from the few motorways they’ve got nowadays, most of the traffic has to drive on the old national roads, with some sort of half lane on the right side to give faster traffic a chance to overtake, there are a lot of “routiers” where you can park for the night under surveillance.
Haven’t got a clue about wages and stuff, but I don’t reckon it’s what you’re used to now. On the other hand, life is on the cheap side, you don’t have to be a millionar to lead a comfortable excistence…
I must admit though that I wasn’t keen on Poland either, they always seem to be a bit grumpy at first (not the ladies though ), but every time I went up there was a positive surprise in the way I was treated and they always helped with loading or unloading. Communication was a bit difficult though, they don’t speak English or german and I wasn’t too brilliant in speaking polish apart from some words…
That is all really interesting stuff - thanks! It’s the sort of insight you can only get from someone who has experienced it on the ground. Things really do sound like they are moving ahead there.
A factor I didn’t mention is my girlfriend currently lives in the Netherlands and has done for over 15 years - has a good job there and is completely fluent in Dutch. Initially I favoured Poland as a place to live but now I’m opening my mind to the Netherlands. I hate the language and the population density and bunched up housing isn’t ideally what I’m looking for. But they understand me in shops there better than they do here as they speak far better English than our immigrants generally do, and the place is clean and incredibly well equipped.
That is all really interesting stuff - thanks! It’s the sort of insight you can only get from someone who has experienced it on the ground. Things really do sound like they are moving ahead there.
A factor I didn’t mention is my girlfriend currently lives in the Netherlands and has done for over 15 years - has a good job there and is completely fluent in Dutch. Initially I favoured Poland as a place to live but now I’m opening my mind to the Netherlands. I hate the language and the population density and bunched up housing isn’t ideally what I’m looking for. But they understand me in shops there better than they do here as they speak far better English than our immigrants generally do, and the place is clean and incredibly well equipped.
Cheers
Matthew
Hiya,
Well, if you need some sort of advice about the “cloggies”, feel free to ask, I’ve been living amongst them for quite some time now…
But seriously though, you might be better of living over here then in Poland, better NHS (does cost a serious amount of money though,own contribution that is), better wages…
Don’t know where your “missus” lives, but it can be a bit “crowded” like in the bigger villages, on the country side it’s basically the same as in the UK.
Language…shouldn’t be that difficult though, especially if you’re a Scouser, lot of words contain the sch form, or words with a “hard” g in it
And most people do speak English, although it’s more a yank version of it I reckon, they don’t seem to know the meaning of certain English words, although they do seem to know the yank version of that same word… odd indeed…
Majority of the people are nice, and willing to help, but they might be taking the ■■■■ if they find out you’re a foreigner
Thanks Patrick, I may well PM you then with any questions - cheers! I just came back from six days in Bergen op Zoom. I went to Amsterdam and also to Breda where my gf has a good job. I’ve been realising how massive Rotterdam port is and how many oil refineries are there. Living somewhere between Breda and Rotterdam could make sense. The more I’m looking into it, the more I’m starting to see the sense in what you’re saying - it could indeed be a better place to be based. It is certainly more densely populated in the towns and as I am sensitive to neighbour noise, this isn’t ideal. Detached houses in the countryside seem pretty expensive tho. I also find the language incredibly ugly - but I guess you can’t have everything!
Oh I also noticed how prevalent an American accent is there - I think it’s from the films and TV they consume.
My gf did also make the point that the health service in PL is substandard and you just have to eat well, keep fit, and keep your fingers crossed! I think she likes the idea of a decade in PL (we are in our 40s), make some more money, then retire to PL. Could be a good combo!
Don’t forget to plan for the future in relationship to eventual old age.Remember throughout Europé you will have to organise getting your pension paid to you in whichever country you choose to live,[i know i forgot all about that sort of thing,not thinking i would ever get old].This can vary greatly depending upon where you live and the sort of reciprocal agreements the countries have with each other.
I have just got all my pensions sorted out.I have been lucky due to living in economically good countries who have good bureaucratic systems which work together.I get a pension from the UK,until the age of 27,so thats only 11 years.I get a pension from Holland for 30 years i lived there and i get 7 years from Sweden so i’m pleasantly surprised.As i said i lived in economically '‘organised’'countries so do your homework as it varies a lot thoughout EU.
Hutpik - that is a very good point - thank you for mentioning that! Another thing I’ve been thinking about is healthcare. Of the three countries it seems NL is best, UK in the middle, and PL at the bottom…
I personally didn’t find Dutch so difficult.Much depends on the reasons why you are in the country and your feelings toward the country.I was treated fairly well so it made the integration process smoother,and feeling comfortable makes Learning easier.
Living now in the far North of Swedish Lappland i find it even easier due to the relaxed and welcoming nature of the people here,who seem amazed that anyone would even want to come here,what with the isolation and the long,harsh Winters.When they find out that you came ‘voluntarily’ up here because you fell in love with the Place they really put themselves out to make you feel at home.
On a personal note i find Finnish much more difficult than Dutch.Swedish i have become quite good with but Finnish seems to elude me totally which is a bit of a shame as it’s the second language up here.
wanderingstar:
Hutpik - that is a very good point - thank you for mentioning that! Another thing I’ve been thinking about is healthcare. Of the three countries it seems NL is best, UK in the middle, and PL at the bottom…
Healthcare is still good, but bit of an issue these days, own contribution is now a staggering 350 Euro’s…mind you, per month that is… and the boffers aren’t still done messin’ about with that…
Apart from that, I wouldn’t trade it with the Polish NHS, if there is any…
And the services are just spot on! Clean and tidy and the food wasn’t that bad either… and with the prices they charge you, one might call that a bargain…
), but every time I went up there was a positive surprise in the way I was treated and they always helped with loading or unloading. Communication was a bit difficult though, they don’t speak English or german and I wasn’t too brilliant in speaking polish apart from some words…