AKA: 7 Things I Dislike About Living in Poland
I love big cities like Warsaw! I love the nightlife, the ease of public transportation, the caf� culture, the multitude of parks, the crumbling brick buildings, the creativity of the younger generation seen in the fashion and food scene and here are my other reasons I love living in Warsaw. Life here is easy and much, much less expensive than Istanbul, which we previously called home for three years.
After two years, we�ve settled into a regular routine here in Poland. We know the city fairly well, but are still discovering new restaurants, parks and streets. One of my husband�s Polish colleagues recently told me that I know more about what�s going on in Warsaw than she does. Why thank you!
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| Well, I certainly can't complain about our view of Warsaw. |
But life isn�t perfect no matter where you live. In Nebraska, life was too quiet and boring for me. In NYC, I detested paying nearly 75 percent of my monthly salary for rent. In Washington DC, I disliked the stuffy, political vibe of the city. In Istanbul, I hated the horrendous traffic and planning my daily life around it EVERY day. And in Warsaw, I recently compiled a list of things I dislike about living here.
To my Polish readers, please don�t take my musings personal. No place is perfect!
So what do you dislike about where you live now?
7 Things I Dislike About Living in Poland:
Expat cliques are probably the number one reason why I had a difficult time adjusting to life in Warsaw for nearly the first year. I shed a lot of tears. For a long time, life among the expat circle felt like high school all over again � the popularity pecking order, the petty feuds, the gossip and cliques. Have you ever seen the movie �Mean Girls�? If so, you�ll understand what I mean.
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| Source: Pinterest |
I will say this, the Warsaw expat group is definitely more clique-ish than what I was used to in Turkey. (In Istanbul, I felt like I connected instantly with more like-minded and open-minded people than I have here.) If I only wanted to be friends with Americans, why did I leave the U.S.? At some point, I decided to say f*** it and finally made peace with myself and am happy to have an international circle of friends now.
2. Healthcare in Poland
We have company-provided insurance, but whenever I�ve called to make an appointment, I�m lucky if I get an English-speaking doctor even though I requested one. Google Translate can only help so much when dealing with important health issues! This seems to be a common complaint among the expats I know here.
Last year, I caught bronchitis, so I was off to the doctor and then an internist. I was prescribed antibiotics as well as vitamins. Then, I broke out in horrible, itchy hives all over my face and chest. Then, I was off to the dermatologist because of the allergic reaction from the antibiotics. Sigh! So now, I avoid going to the doctor via our insurance company unless it�s absolutely necessary. However, even going to private clinics doesn�t mean you will get a decent English-speaking doctor either.
3. Language Barrier
For more than a year now, I've taken Polish lessons. I�m trying to learn Polish, but it's such a damned difficult language and the grammar doesn�t make any sense at all! Do you really need 9 different ways to say each noun? And then don't forget to conjugate the adjective so it coordinates with the noun! Learning Turkish was �ok easier! I'm ready to give up!
I make an effort, but sometimes Poles seem not to try at all. For example, for awhile, I tried asking for "kawy z mleko" and nearly every time the barista looked at me like I had two heads. Well, the correct way to order is "kawa z mlekiem" because the milk is WITH the coffee not AND the coffee.
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| Can you pronounce these Polish words? |
Another example, I went to the apteka looking for a men's multivitamin for my husband since we ran out of our American supply. This may sound like an easy request, but not in Poland. First the guy was a bit of a dick and said no English. Fine.
M�wie troche po polsku. (I speak a little Polish.)
OK....vit-ahh-min. Codzienne. M�j maz. (Everyday. My husband.)
Finally, the guy gave me a bottle of Centrum for men. Really? Was it that difficult to comprehend? I miss having a Walgreens or CVS like in America where I can just walk down the aisle and grab what I want!
Thirdly, I had to go to the doctor for some bloodwork. I hate doctors and I hate needles, so I tried saying "Jestem zdenerwowany." (I'm nervous.) But I have a difficult time pronouncing all the z words in Polish, and there�s like 100 of them. I tried again, and the nurse repeated it. Then, the two of us laughed together because she got it.
I'm trying here people; so I�m very grateful to the few Poles that appreciate my attempts at their bardzodifficult language!
4. Construction Everywhere!
This seems to be a constant problem not only in Warsaw, but throughout Poland! Can't the city and even the country planners finish one project before they start another one? It seems like bridges, roads, tram lines and sidewalks are always torn up here. Earlier this month, Warsaw�s second metro line FINALLY opened after more than a two-year delay! The line has been flooded, caught fire, leaking and the home to local pigeons.
This seems to be a constant problem not only in Warsaw, but throughout Poland! Can't the city and even the country planners finish one project before they start another one? It seems like bridges, roads, tram lines and sidewalks are always torn up here. Earlier this month, Warsaw�s second metro line FINALLY opened after more than a two-year delay! The line has been flooded, caught fire, leaking and the home to local pigeons.
Then, if you want to drive to Krakow, you�ll deal with some awful single-lane �highways� for half the time. Your trip may take you four to five hours instead of the 2� hours if you had simply taken the new express train. The normal trains take 3 hours and 20 minutes from Warsaw-Krakow.
Poland seems to slowly be improving its infrastructure, but it still has a looong way to go.
5. Little Old Lady Power
Now, this one doesn't only pertain to Poland. I had this problem in Turkey too, especially from the ruthless old ladies (teyzes). I really have to stand my ground or I will get cut off without a second glance especially when I�m at Hala Mirowska.
There have been numerous times I've been standing in line and I�m the next person in line when another register will opens, but apparently the person (young and old) behind me thinks that's a great opportunity to cut me off and pounce on the new register herself. How rude!
6. Just when you think you have the right change.
I hate, hate with a passion, the large, chain grocery stores here and usually avoid them! For one thing, you have to pay use the grocery carts. If you don�t have the correct change, forget about it! This fall, I went to a Home Depot-like store and tried to get a cart. Well, I only had two 50-cent zloty coins, so I tried to exchange them for a 1 zloty so I could obtain a cart. Neither the checkout girl or the security guy were helpful. Finally, a good Samaritan in line exchanged my coins so I could get the correct coin to use the stupid cart!
Lesson learned: forget about getting ANY kind of customer service in Poland! And when you do, you can bet you�ll be frequenting that place more often because they actually show that they care about you as a customer!
7. Weigh your veggies or else!
This is another reason why I avoid the large grocery stores and prefer to shop at the smaller markets such as Hala Mirowska and the BioBazar in Warsaw. At the local markets, the sales people are fairly friendly, weigh your produce and give you a price. At the grocery stores, you must weigh the produce yourself � EVERY time. If you forget to do so, you can forget about taking that bag of apples home with you! I�ve left onions, pumpkins and tomatoes at the checkout on numerous occasions because I simply forgot to weigh them.
Recently, I forgot to weigh a package of Brussels sprouts, so I tried telling the checkout clerk, nie, nie ma problemu. However, this was the FIRST time when she actually took the time and called up the produce department to get the code and weighed the veggies herself. Shocking! I just wish there were more sales clerks like her!
Life isn�t perfect no matter where you live, but these are a couple of things that drive me crazy about living as an expat in Poland!
