Tricky - I lived in Warsaw for two years, it wasn't that bad. It's not the best place in the world, however if you are looking for a different vibe in Poland you can easily find it in Warsaw. I guess all this 'little Berlin' comparisons are quite accurate. For instance you could easily spend your time visiting theaters, cinemas and museums - there's plenty of cultural options with variety of good pubs and restaurants. I am from Krakow myself even if I've spent ca 12 years traveling around Europe and Americas (incl. 2 years' break in Warsaw though!) so I'll always prefer Krakow over Warsaw, but it's not that bad!
You are from Wroclaw, wow! Such a beautiful city, I loved it!
PIF - Katowice is developing quickly last couple of years. It has become the very business-centre of Slask (Silesia) area. When I was there a couple of months ago it was shockingly nice! In the last 10 years they changed entire center into some sort of modernized, business-oriented place and I really liked it. It is still very industrial though so if you don't like those climates, you won't like it. I guess the easiest comparison is Manchester in the UK (a city that was the soil of industrial England back in a days and now is revitalized with a great, post-industrial taste) but I am not familiar with some great post-industrial revitalized cities in the US to make it more accurate
I will be in Malta in a couple of weeks for at least a year (I found a new job there) so if you are around just drop me a line

I am sure I could find some spare bedroom and a couple of cold beers. You know, the probability of meeting a Bullets supporter on Malta is like finding a pink elephant in Washington
