What can I expect in Poland compared to the United States?

What differences should I expect in Poland compared to living in the United States?

What differences were you thinking about?

Less black people for a start . Lower crime rate , lower wages , better food/beer and of course the language is quite different .

but mcdonalds and malls are just a same

Depends on where in the states you are from.

I live in Northern Michigan. I have an associates degree and I'm able to find Office Management /bookkeeping positions that afford me a three bedroom, one and one half baths 1200 square foot house. Would this be comparable in Poland?

is this the way you measure expectations?...

it depends what you are going to poland for? just because you have that in the USofA doesnt neccessarily mean you will get the same in Poland

you have plumbing, we have plumbing. you have electricity, we have electricity. you have KFC, we have KFC...

Not a chance. Flats(apartments), which is where most of us live, are much smaller. 500 sq ft is considered large. Mine is 2 rooms, a kitchen, and bathroom and is very nice. The additional plus is that's in the city center in Old Town Gdansk so I can walk everywhere. 4 minutes to school and to my favorite pubs (bars).

Public transportation is very good. I can get to anywhere I want to go by bus, tram, or train. For the first time in my life I don't have a car and I don't need one.

About food and beer: I think Polish beer is good, but I miss the microbreweries in the US. Ditto for Mexican food, fresh seafood, lamb, good pizza, and lots of different fresh vegetables. Having said that, some Polish food is great. It just depends what you like.

But I love this place and I'm going to be here for a very long time. I'll get back to you with some more information/opinions.

Your coleslaw is much better though :)

I have a question about the food -- we're moving there within the next month or so. I've been looking at carrefour ads and notice you do not refrigerate your milk? It looks like our apt. has a very small fridge, is this common?

Poles tend to buy fresh and cook, rather than having a freezer full of read-made meals.

There is a thread dedicated to milk that will answer your questions on that.

i refrigerated mine in Poland .... so did my friends flatmates?

and they have a 50/50 fridge freezer so not that small .... standard size in my opinion

So do I. There are several markets and lots of small shops near my flat so I shop almost every day. It helps me meet people and practice my Polish.

My fridge is smaller than the ones I had in the US but it's more than adequate.

Much less crime here. Also lower salaries, but I can live comfortably but not extravagantly on my teacher's salary.

Poland's a white country. I lived in San Diego plus a lot of other places and I'm used to a multicultural environment. You won't find that here.

Ah, the language. I majored in French in college and speak it very well, plus some Italian and Japanese and Polish is by far the most difficult language I've studied. But don't let that discourage you. You'd be surprised how many people in the larger cities speak at least some English, and in my experience Poles appreciate it when I trot out my Polish, many mistakes notwithstanding. You've just got to try a little.

Clothes and electronics are a lot more expensive here. The digital camera I paid $200 for in the US costs twice that here. The last time I bought Levis in the US I paid $25 for them. The same pair here is 300 zl. That's almost $150. I found a pair of almost new jeans in a second hand store for 16 zl. Quite a difference.

One other thing. I live in Gdansk, so my perspective is limited. It's like asking what life is like in the US. Depends on what part you're talking about. New York is very different from California, and the same is true in Poland.

Give me time and I'll think of a whole lot more.

Thank you for a good overview. I appreciate your answer

We refrigerate our milk. When I got here we had a tiny little fridge by the brand name "Silesia", but as it was more of an air conditioner than a fridge we went and got a "regular" size one.

about the milk there is this milk here which doesnt need refrig. its beyond me how it works but i dont touch it but some people seem to like it maybe they dont have a fridge or it lasts a long time but from my understanding there is no bovine growth hormone in the milk like that stuff in the us

its called UHT i think ...

strange stuff that milk

lol.. i still find american milk products strange.


yeah. living in america is easy. (sans the public transit)

depends what you mean by N MI, if it's UP then Poland will be quite a shock but our woods are similar. so are the temps and the weather, in general. Poland is packed full of people in comparison with MI N of Lansing. If you're outdoorsy, you will have plenty of choices but none will be remote or people free. Baltic water is about the same temp as L. MI. The other two GLs are colder. The scenery around the lakes is similar to the Baltic coast too.

the thing that gets me about american food in the supermarket is everything is fat free that is of course except for the people...

lol,, kinda true

You have showers in the kitchen. We dont

Some converted older terraces <in UK> do <well there's just one door separates them......lol.

I have never seen Polish style but makes sense, eat your pierogi oozing with butter and then jump into the shower,,,,,,saves getting the floor and your clothes dirty.

:)

i have never seen a shower in the kitchen in PL...lol

Glad you said that cos I was wondering about it a bit.......maybe it's a new craze to hit Poland .......at least they aren't using tubs on the floor <grin>

Seeing a lot of drunken rowdy brits,contaminating the pristine Polish landscape

Have you ever seen a place in Poland without a bathroom, full stop?

Have you ever been to Poland Franek?

Have you been to Poland Franek, since it joined the EU?

Are you basing your assumptions on personal experience or hearsay?

a bathtub in the kitchen sounds interesting.... having delicious kotlet with mlode ziemniaki and kapusta while bathing...lol


no :)