Poland rocks! I left when I was ten during communist times, lived in Canada. I haven't been back since, until last year. Things I noticed, compared to Canada.
1) It's the whitest country I ever been to. Warsaw is a little more diverse. But otherwise, its 99.9% white people everywhere. It was a little weird.
But also lots of Ukrainian immigrants.
2) Everyone dresses super nice. When I came back, I was little shocked how sloppy people look here.
3) Polish people walk almost everywhere. Unsurprisingly, almost no fat people. It felt almost like being transported back in time, to one of those pictures of NY I saw from the 1930. Streets filled with tall, slander and upright people, busy walking to places.
4) New roads/highways almost everywhere. Possibly designed by Germans...don't know. But Great.
5) Rail Transportation is awesome. Travelled around the country from city to city by train, and airplane once. Each city has its own distinct architecture and feeling. And only a few hours away.
Closes thing I can compare it to is if Vancouver, Toronto,
Montreal, Halifax, where all two to three hours away from each other. And you can hop on a train that will get you there in an hour. 200km/h trains. Very developed railway network. Probably inherited from Communist past.
6) Consistently, every coffee shop I went to, the coffee was excellent, and the pastries fresh. Puts Starbucks to shame. And Tim Hortons makes me want to cry.
I only had better coffee in Hawaii.
But for whatever reason at home there, people still drink folgers crystals.
7) Lots of students everywhere. I learned since coming back, something like 30% of Polish people have Masters degrees. Highest rate in the world.
8) Much better built and often larger housing. So many 50+ year old small wood shacks still left over here in Canada. You pretty much have to be a multi millionaire here in Canada to build a house in the same way as they build them there.
9) Still very affordable to Travel, and a pretty high standard of hotels/food/ accommodations ... you can get for about half price. If/when Poland switched to Euro, things will probably double or triple.
10) Very active restaurant / social life. Granted I've only been to Large cities.
Speaking of Ukraine, make sure to visit Lwów (Lviv), the city of coffee. I have especially fond memories of an Armenian coffee shop in the old city. They brew coffee using hot sand.
The higher education system is about quantity, not quality. There are no more good craft schools and there's a deficit of craftsmen like builders, electricians, metal workers etc especially since the good ones tend to leave the country. Case in point: you won't find a Polish university in the global top 300.
I'm brown. While Poland is amazing for its food (Pierogi, mwah!) and sights (Zakopane is breathtaking), I was uncomfortable sometimes with the subtle hints of racism and how less diverse it was, compared to the Netherlands or German urban areas where I feel like my own.
I don't know if you've stayed over here in the winter, but, come wintertime, most cities are often drowning in smog. It's not as bad as in India or China, but still a major annoyance.
>5) Rail Transportation is awesome. Travelled around the country from city to city by train, and airplane once. Each city has its own distinct architecture and feeling. And only a few hours away. Closes thing I can compare it to is if Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, where all two to three hours away from each other. And you can hop on a train that will get you there in an hour. 200km/h trains. Very developed railway network. Probably inherited from Communist past.
It had to be severely renovated and upgraded for the 200km/h trains. Sadly most things inherited from communist past(or occupation, because lets face it - it was an occupation) suffer from lack of maintenance.
1) It's the whitest country I ever been to. Warsaw is a little more diverse. But otherwise, its 99.9% white people everywhere. It was a little weird. But also lots of Ukrainian immigrants.
2) Everyone dresses super nice. When I came back, I was little shocked how sloppy people look here.
3) Polish people walk almost everywhere. Unsurprisingly, almost no fat people. It felt almost like being transported back in time, to one of those pictures of NY I saw from the 1930. Streets filled with tall, slander and upright people, busy walking to places.
4) New roads/highways almost everywhere. Possibly designed by Germans...don't know. But Great.
5) Rail Transportation is awesome. Travelled around the country from city to city by train, and airplane once. Each city has its own distinct architecture and feeling. And only a few hours away. Closes thing I can compare it to is if Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, where all two to three hours away from each other. And you can hop on a train that will get you there in an hour. 200km/h trains. Very developed railway network. Probably inherited from Communist past.
6) Consistently, every coffee shop I went to, the coffee was excellent, and the pastries fresh. Puts Starbucks to shame. And Tim Hortons makes me want to cry. I only had better coffee in Hawaii. But for whatever reason at home there, people still drink folgers crystals.
7) Lots of students everywhere. I learned since coming back, something like 30% of Polish people have Masters degrees. Highest rate in the world.
8) Much better built and often larger housing. So many 50+ year old small wood shacks still left over here in Canada. You pretty much have to be a multi millionaire here in Canada to build a house in the same way as they build them there.
9) Still very affordable to Travel, and a pretty high standard of hotels/food/ accommodations ... you can get for about half price. If/when Poland switched to Euro, things will probably double or triple.
10) Very active restaurant / social life. Granted I've only been to Large cities.