To move back to Poland from the USA or not to move back....that is the question

Hi everyone, I've been reading various posts on the forum for months, it's nice to see such a useful resource online. I'm sure there are tons of similar posts so I'll add another.

I moved to the US with my parents when I was less than a year old in the 80s. As a child I would visit Poland during the summers. I came to visit Poland several years ago and met my current wife there - we are both now US citizens. Although I thought of moving back, it was really just daydreaming. Anyways I'm almost finished with my juris doctor (law school) and the prospects of a job in the US are decent considering I have a great resume and a business background in MIS. However, the thought of living the "American-dream" for the next 50 years is horrendous to say the least.

On the contrary, I would love to live in Poland, my wife owns a gorgeous flat right in Warsaw, I am lucky enough to speak Polish pretty well, and we are both young. The thing that scares me the most is the idea of tossing my entire educational and professional background out the window to work at a McDonalds or a Supermarket (hopefully kidding). Obviously I realize the European legal system is totally different and wouldn't mind switching fields, however would want at least a decent job where I could be happy to go to work. Of course I realize the cost of living and average income are much lower but you can't put a price on happiness as you can all imagine.

Ideas?

do an extensive research of what your options are in Poland first.

That's a normal thought almost everybody has shortly before entering the rat race. If I were you I would take a year off and travel around the world. Enjoy life to the fullest and then come back. On the long run work sucks anyway - no matter where you live.

Why don't you contact some of the big international legal firms in Warsaw to see if they're hiring? They all have offices there... You might find the salaries aren't as bad as you assume. If your Polish is any good then a legal conversion course could also be a possibility.

I can honestly say that nothing on Gods Earth would make me chose Poland to live in. I think that it is a dreadful place. Everybody is very poor and life expectancy is short. I know as I have visited grave yards in Poland and they are overfilling with dead young people. I would personally not have anything to do with Russia, The Ukraine or Poland. The Czech Republic, Slovakia or even Hungary is quite a different thing all together. I think that polish nastiness is genetic-a strange mixture of German blood and Ukrainian spite! I think that in the case of races such as that of the Czechs-their souls can be saved, it is more environmental. In the case of the poor nasty Poles, I think it is in their blood and that there is no real long term cure.

what are you talking about???? This is not the kind of advice he's asking for...

Michal is playing the same old record that he's always been playing.

Just go to Poland for the winter and see how you like it.
Poland might be poor but what can you expect from a country that lost WWII
then was robed by Russia for decades, it will get better.

You surpassed yourself...Does your wife know your feelings towards Poles?

Michal is playing the same old record that he's always been playing.

oh he is?...I don't know much about the members of the forum yet but what he sounds scarry!

Maybe some big company i Wawa needs an american laywer.

Why are you so unhappy in America? Would you be happier in Poland? If you have lived in America all your life and are educated there, would Poland be a positive step to make? Most education in America is private and has to be paid for so I assume that your family in America has been quite successful financially. I have studied the Poles in depth as I have just come back from Spain and have seen how they behave both in the swimming pool as well as in the food hall of my hotel! Forget it. Another pipe dream to escape the boredom of success. Many Americans seem to fed up with their lives, I suppose it is the fault of the American merrytocracy. What about Canada?

I tried my hardest not to laugh, but at the suggestion of Canada, I burst out laughing...oh god..

???

Germany lost WWII, if my memory serves correct, and they have done very well for themselves thank you very much. In fact it would be hard pushed to make much of a comparison between the two countries.

Canada is near and I would certainly chose Toronto over a horrible concrete city like Warsaw any day of the week. It always seems to me that Americans have a problem being who they are. I remember being in Poland in Kraków one summer and I met a lot of Americans and they were always very quick to identify themselves with their past and with other countries with which they had absolutely no contact. 'Yes, I am an American, but I am a quarter Irish', for instance. If this person is living in America and wants to 'return' to Poland he may have to complete his national service should he hold a Polish passport. There are a lot of things to consider here. I have come to the conclusion that people are strange the whole World over be it America or Poland.

do some research into realities of living in PL. go visit again.. this shouldn't be that hard of a decision when you look into things a bit.


why? it's a great country.. lots and lots of jobs.. sure it's a bit chilly but they do play hockey. :D


back years ago... how many times do people have to tell you that your opinions are quite out of date?

Just go for it. Give it a try, you can always go back and pick up where you left off hey.

From personal experience happiness is hard to find here, the day to day life here drags me down big time. Its been 3 and a half years and im a British national. I cant wait to leave Poland and start living like a normal human being again.

Michal

Wow this guy is weird haha

can you delve a bit more into that? thnx

Presumably you are a Brit living in Poland. Yes, your opinions about Poland and the life there would be interesting. In the Summer time it can be nice from a 'visit' point of view but I know that the mentality is very strange there. People seem to think that I am weird on this forum for not wanting to live in Poland but why are the streets of every British town and city overcrowded with Poles if Poland is so wonderful? Why do ex Polish builders prefer to work as hospital cleaners in England if life is so wonderful and perfect over there? There are also so many Poles who support Poland and the culture of Poland yet they are living in Australia, America or Canada. Why? When there was Communism in Poland everything was England's fault and the fault of Churchill. 'Churchill sold Poland to Stalin' was the only slogan I ever heard from the Poles then but free council houses in Epping is the call of the day now!! A lot of hippocrits through and though if you ask me. After all, take both Hitler and Stalin. Both men, both European, both political leaders and both hated the Poles at the same time in history even though they both stood at opposite ends of the political spectrum. Come on now, two political geniuses living at the same time can not both be wrong!

A statement true to the Russian doctrine worthy of a former Octoberist, I'll bet you still have your Pin Badge.

dude.. they wanted POLISH land.. that is all.

If you are thinking about starting a law firm in Poland, it just occurred to me that maybe we could create some kind of partnership or company. I am a Polish lawyer and I have been thinking about starting a new business. There are some big business opportunities here. Email:

Whatever makes you happy, but you won't last there long once you start working with the Polish people and see how dishonest they are and how good they are at bribing. Buy a car in Poland. You'd be lucky if you make it home in one piece, and don't forget to set the alarm at night and put a club on the steering wheel . Appreciate what you have. Grass is always greener on the other side but I recommend you go there for that once in a lifetime experience, but don't burn any bridges behind you.

And don't attack Michal about his opinions. Everyone sees Poland in their own way and how they experienced it, but some are afraid to apeak their mind.

Yes, but have you ever thought of sticking with law in Poland? There are travelers who get caught up in illegal crimes abroad and need explanation. Though... you would proballyhave to go back to school to learn the Polish way of jurisdiction, your American law studies could be of good use there! I personally would love to live abroad.

All I have to say is that yes, the idea is scary... but happiness is worth it. You have plenty of years to go back and kindle something you had. Would you rather live your life asking yourself what would have happened? Or live your life knowing you could be happy & or have given it a shot at the least.

Michal,

You seem to be so missinformed. Your knowledge of Life in Poland is as close to zero as zero is.........before you speak get educated.

If you're Jewish, just take your opportunity to move to Israel before both Poland and the USA go in the tank. If I had connections in Israel, and weren't disabled (I have cerebral palsy) or unable to drive, or chicken-s__t scared to leave the USA and regret leaving later, I'd move to Israel.

Sometimes I wonder, who are all this people posting on PF... I have to tell you that this HUGE amount of whining, grumbling and complaing confirms myself in the conviction that most of you have polish origin :-) Or is it just the weather? :-)


The most important are people not place. Give it a try, if you'll find friends in Poland you will stay if not you will move on. You can always come back. But try to avoid whiners, they can spoil your life..

Which means you will have to put up with the "Polish dream" in its Warsaw incarnation, which is probably where you will end up as a lawyer from the US.

Rude people, dog-eat-dog mentality, ugly architecture (ameliorated by summer foliage, but just a bit), cranky people, no place to park your car (though hopefully you will be earning the big bucks and may have your own private spot at home), depressing weather (Poland is prone to low pressure systems which produce cloudy drizzly weather), lame health care, the list goes on.

Granted, there are things to like here to, but all is not rosy and I assure you visiting "the homeland" every summer and living here are two different sports.

really did Poland had democratic election like West Germany had, did Poland had help from marshal plan or just got robbed by Germans then Russians, so short to say Polish occupation ended in 1989 not in 1945