Warsaw
When working in Warsaw, or any part of Poland, in my opinion, it’s almost impossible not to be touched by history. Poland itself, the culture, mentality, everything has been shaped by historical events such as World War II and communism. This is evident in the statues.Poland is still a fairly conservative country and has very strong roots in Catholicism. It still tends to be mostly a patriarchal type of society in contrast to say Sweden where power is distributed more evenly.
Poles like all people of all nationalities value family and place a very high value on this. They pay attention to traditions and tend to be quieter on the whole than say Brits or Italians. Due to its history Poles celebrate and are very proud of their own famous contributions to world culture from people such as composer Chopin & poet and activist Adam Mickiewicz. Working here you’ll notice though that there is a shift going on.
Poland gets a lot of films and TV shows from the US and the UK like “Who wants to be a millionaire” and is more and more influenced by attitudes and start to adopt attitudes from western Europe.
For example, the current “black lives matter” protest and protests against climate change. Warsaw as you’ll see when you work here is very big and spread out. So you have a feeling of space. If you're into history I would recommend the old town. Almost completely destroyed by the Germans in 1944 after the failed Warsaw Uprising, the Old Town has since undergone painstaking reconstruction, resulting in today's colourful neighbourhood that stands out as the city's top tourist attraction.
There are electric bikes and electric scooters to rent and did I mention, Warsaw is very walkable. The terrain is mostly very flat, and the city's communist influence is clearly seen in its wide, tree-lined streets. Most attractions are within walk distance by foot of 20-30 minutes.
Again, to save money I recommend walking places and buy food from the big chain supermarkets like Biedronka or Carefour. Transport is super cheap and food prices are comparable to or slightly cheaper than in western countries.
Working as a teacher in Warsaw
What’s it like working as an English teacher/nanny in Warsaw?My experience of working as a teacher has been honestly all positive so far. Dare I say it but you are even looked upon with a high social status if you come from a western country and get a lot of respect. Poles are very easy going, friendly and honest, my bosses and clients are the most flexible and pleasant people I have ever met.
The rate of pay too is high for western teachers, also again this reflects upon the perceived status and of course qualifications and experience in teaching English. Like anywhere in the world if people see you try hard, are not afraid to take risks with teaching and you get results with their children they are happy to recommend you and you’ll have a lot of work. Almost too much work!
Again, the families you work for are very friendly, kind and treat you well. It’s like anything in life - if you are strong, take intelligent risks with your teaching to continually grow and get results, the parents will see this and be happy. If you give their children a lot of freedom to choose, respect and listen carefully to them, listen to the parents and what they want and find that balance between what they want and your own pedagogical experience, working in Poland with children will be rewarding both financially and morally speaking and your life here maybe paradoxically become a higher level than you had in your old western country!
Think about it. It’s all about demand and supply. If most people go from East to West to earn money, and the demand for English is high that means you’ll earn a lot and live well. I would absolutely recommend working here.