Do Polish people tend to stick together?

yeah.. all the illegal poles and just the ones that seem to have issues assimilating to exactly what you said. i think they are missing out on some great experiences.. oh well.

You're wrong ShelleyS.

I agree, ShelleyS is wrong but you need to supply a reason why. For me, if I live abroad it's because I want to experience something different. If I live among a community of my own countrymen, I won't experience that difference. So I tend to live apart.

pj, exactly but also something along the lines of what matyjasz and seanus said and there aren't all that many poles around my parts.

There is not many Poles in my DFW area... and good... If i would like to live among Polish people, I come back to Poland....

The reason is individual circumstance. Most of the time it has to do with the ability to speak the language. During my first year in the US I met zero Poles, only spoke to my parents on the phone twice a month. They live in Poland.

Later I met some Poles but without a whole lot of socializing. The same in Canada. I met a few Poles here because I shop in Polish food stores. Just like I meet Ukrainians, Pakistanis or Irish. I understand the language so I know they are Polish. They rarely know I am :)

I think I went to a party organized by Poles perhaps 3 times in 15 years. Most participants were local people (non-Polish origin). I am a lone Pole where I work (about 150 emloyees).

Strangely, my daughter who was born in the US knows many more Poles in Canada than I do.

Actually, Russian kids, trying to do the same as the Poles, make some cash! Only difference being that the Russians have slightly worse haircuts and their sweaters attract more static!

I saw those "kids" in Brighton Beach (Brooklyn, NY). Pretty overgrown fellas :)
Oh, and the haircults... those must have been still the latest in Russian jail fashion.

There are a few exceptions to the rule.....I would say in general people like to stick to their own, there is a certain amount of comfort in doing so, your own language is easier to speak and your own people understand your more than your host countrymen, so to say flat out "Shelley you are wrong" is a bit rude.



Its quite possible to do this and still hang with ex pats, I dont know a single person who has lived abroard who hasnt mixed with other English people whilst they have been abroad!

Then it's no a rule, is it?

That's realiy that is rude, not me ;)

There are always rules Mr Z, some follow some chose their own way.

I'm not sure you meant what you wrote.

True but to mix is different than to stick with. Sticking with can prevent you from experiencing anything especially if it's a large group and the others are not interested in finding anything out.

Clusters will exist in most cultures. I do believe, however, that seeing a fellow Pole can often remind u of what u have escaped from. There is an obvious comfort factor when u meet 'like-minded' Poles for a drink, but day-to-day living is a different story. I have noticed many Poles having a tight bond but it just depends. Americans tend to be less group-oriented when they travel. When they do meet, they restore their patriotic vows by talking about the greatness of America, then they go their separate ways. The Poles in the UK have a rep 4 being distant from one another.

On many occassions people around me, upon learning I am Polish, told me they knew a Pole, or two, or that their wive's mom is Polish and so on and so forth. Often they offered to help me get in touch with them "so you can speak in your own language". I thanked politely but inside I thought: if my main worry were to be speaking Polish on a daily basis I would have stayed in Poland.

There is a difference between the more adventurous types who like to go it alone,and those say recent arrivalls in the mass migration bit who are not so much coming to the UK for a different experiance and to genuinly explore another culture but rather just to find work that is unavailable at home.To generalise would just be a disservice to both groups. When I travel i like to imerse myself in the local culture,and have infact kept my gob shut at times when Ive heard an "English" accent,the exeptions being once in Poland and once in Holland when I heard a very local(South Yorkshire) accent being used.

My own experience made me wary of Polish people I meet in Austria. Why?
Oh, well, there are several reasons. At the beginning I missed Polish language and Polish mentality, so whenever I have heared Polish spoken in the shop/on the street I used to greet people and chat a bit. The reactions were very awkward, so I stopped. Then there were Poles, who were introduced to me by Austrians, whoa! This was a bunch. They did seek contact with me because they needed *something* like money, job, help, place to live, etc., etc. Once I lent some money to a guy, who never showed up again, once I paid train ticket to Poland and on several occasions I spent hours till days on interpreting, calling and so on.
Now, when I hear Polish I cross the street and make a big arch. Sorry, I think that I am used up.
Baska

Was this in Vienna? I met quite a few Polish people outside the Sudbahnhof who felt the same way. There were quite a few touts there who just caused problems. There were also many drivers who kept harassing me to accept their ride back to Krakow for cash. Why accept that when I already had a bus ticket back to Katowice? It was their pushiness that put me off

:)

yeah, poles are everywhere. hehe