Hi Jake!
Must say you've done well living in Poland, considering it's in a rural area!
I am UK born with some Polish background, married to a Polish Mrs. A few years ago we have decided to move over there and we got our own place. In general life is more sedate, but living there was OK!
My only bad experience was with work and i hated the job. Didn't have a job lined up but found one a few weeks later working in a factory. The job was physically demanding and having to work 3 shifts and sometimes Weekends. Not only that conditions got worse during the course of the time and i was getting more and more tired. I wouldn't say i worked with friendly people. It was a stressful environment and it was cut 'n' thrust all the time. Found people yelling all the time, constant swearing, dishonesty and lack of trust. Found the the job was affecting me during my time off, and didn't do everything that i wanted. Eventually i decided to quit work, and moved back to the UK, but not for good?
That experience has knocked my confidence, but i won't throw in the towel. Like you said it's best to have a job lined up! But finding a good job or any job is difficult and employers demand qualifications! It did not matter if i am British with good English, but my Polish was weaker. Didn't use any English at all at work, considering the firm was an American Corp. I reckon you need some contacts to help you get into a job? Or alternatively start your own business.
Did manage to see some of Poland, but it's so big that there's more places i would like to visit. Found the weather quite extreme, with very warm Summer and bitter cold Winter. I also found it rains more than in London, and one of the best bits while being there was chilling in the garden with a cold beer. Finally to sum it up, it was a mixed time.
What do you make of all this? Have you got any tips and ideas? Cheers!
Danny