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When Americans think about places to retire, few would consider Krakow, Poland. They might visit there for historic reasons, but not as a place to live full-time. Grace Nagiecka and Greg Spring would beg to differ! They fell in love with the place and moved to Krakow to retire. What is not to love about Krakow? It is a big, fun and cheerful city with a small city vibe, contains history around every corner, is full of greenery with great places to walk, an easy place to make friends, somewhere you will become cultured without knowing it, and if you get tired of the city - mountains are nearby. Find out what drew Grace and Greg to Krakow on Episode 71 of Retire There with Gil & Gene.
Grace Nagiecka writes a blog called Why Poland?
Grace also has a blog about wanderlusting dreams, being a bohemian at 65 and planning for the expat life.
Greg Spring’s photography may be viewed here.
Grace Nagiecka was born in Horsham, England in 1948 to Polish parents, shortly after the end of WWII. In those days, home in England for refugees was a displaced persons camp. In her first four years of life, her family lived in a Quonset hut with dirt floor and no running water. Incidentally a quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel with a semi cylindrical cross-section.
Her father, who was in the Polish army, had been imprisoned in a Soviet Union prisoner of war camp in Siberia. Grace’s mom was taken prisoner by the Soviets when they were clearing the Polish territories they had invaded in 1939. Her mother spent a year in a work camp in Siberia before starting a long arduous journey, through several countries that finally landed her in England where she met her husband. They immigrated to the US by ship in 1952 through Ellis Island and settled in New Jersey where Grace attended elementary school in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and high school in Lodi, New Jersey. She subsequently attended college in New York City.
Grace was a flight attendant for a charter airline called 'Transamerica'. She explains this was the start of her vagabond life as she traipsed all over the world. She’s been to various African countries, Saudi Arabia as well as Kuala Lumpur, Guam, Yokohoma, Japan, Manila, Philippines, Rio de Janeiro, and all the usual hot travel spots, including Paris, London, Edinburgh, Limerick, Amsterdam, Madrid, Honolulu, Brussels, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Zurich, and Rome.
She then left the airlines to comple…
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Photographer
Greg Spring was born in New York City. After completing school, he worked at CBS-TV as an usher in the broadcast studios, seating audiences for taping and live shows such as Ed Sullivan, Gary Moore, To Tell the Truth and Password.
He then became a Production Assistant and worked several years on the Captain Kangaroo Show. After that he moved on to become an Associate Director/Stage Manager, working for CBS, ABC and WNET.
He was then hired by Madison Square Garden Network as a Producer/ Director, mostly doing creative for entertainment at both the Garden and Radio City Music Hall. After 22 years at MSG he retired as Vice President in charge of arena entertainment, where his crew created the fan experience. He left the business with a ton of memories, a local EMMY nomination for an entertainment magazine show and a network Team EMMY for the 2004 Olympics in Athens Greece.
Greg’s primary interest has always been photography and he turned that hobby into a business and has exhibited at art festivals and galleries. He now manages his photography website and contributes to Grace's blog.
The couple meets with an expat group in Krakow regularly. They say the group is mixed with expats and Poles and the diversity is really fun and exciting. Greg and Grace take trips through Poland and the EU frequently by train and plane. They love trains and plan to organize more exciting train journeys when they return to Europe in 2022.
