Working in Romania
Discussion
Out of the blue call with my boss's boss yesterday, they've offered a 24 month assignment to Romania to help set up a business hub there. I work for one of the largest O&G Service companies so we already have some people there (100 or so), but they want to double the workforce by the end of 2023.
The contract side of things is fine - I've done this before so know what is involved on that front - but Romania is somewhere I've never thought about visiting, let alone working & living. Anyone got experience there? I'd be in Bucharest; only thing I know about is the apparently incredibly low cost of living there but not sure about the standard of living and the day-to-day stuff.
The contract side of things is fine - I've done this before so know what is involved on that front - but Romania is somewhere I've never thought about visiting, let alone working & living. Anyone got experience there? I'd be in Bucharest; only thing I know about is the apparently incredibly low cost of living there but not sure about the standard of living and the day-to-day stuff.
Yeah I'm up for it, but I made the mistake of jumping before thinking when they sent me to East Africa - it went ok but there things about living there that I never even thought about before committing to the role. Want to be a little bit more measured this time so I know what I'm getting myself into.
I've worked with and visited colleagues both in Bucharest and Cluj Napoca over the past 5 years, unfortunately not for the past 2 years for obvious reasons.
From what my Bucharest based colleagues tell me and based on my limited visits there, it's what you'd imagine any european capital city to be like. Busy, congested, bustling and as expensive as you'd like. The younger generation of Romanians are very well educated and well travelled, with well paid jobs in the tech / development sector so the city has grown around their needs of coffee shops, bars, restaurants and leisure activities.
So you can spend a lot of money living or not a lot of money living, much as you would in London or elsewhere.
Everything is fairly well serviced within the city boundaries with ubers etc but things go very rural beyond them so don't rely on trains etc to get you around in a hurry. Driving is a huge advantage if you want to get around, they don't bat an eyelid at stratospheric mileage german or french cars as there's always a backstreet garage somewhere which will fix you quickly and you'll be on your way.
Lots of opportunities to escape to the coast at Constanta in the summer, the mountains near Sinaia for skiing, driving across to Hungary etc or short hop flights to Italy if you want to get away. There can be quite heavy snow for weeks on end in the Winter counterbalanced by scorching hot summers.
Public healthcare is a bit ropey, private medical is a must according to my colleagues.
It's a beautiful country filled with some lovely friendly people with a 'can-do' attitude. Of course, there's always a risk of being mugged or whatever as with any other European capital city, but keep your wits about you as would anywhere else and follow your Romanian colleagues' lead.
Above all, have fun!
From what my Bucharest based colleagues tell me and based on my limited visits there, it's what you'd imagine any european capital city to be like. Busy, congested, bustling and as expensive as you'd like. The younger generation of Romanians are very well educated and well travelled, with well paid jobs in the tech / development sector so the city has grown around their needs of coffee shops, bars, restaurants and leisure activities.
So you can spend a lot of money living or not a lot of money living, much as you would in London or elsewhere.
Everything is fairly well serviced within the city boundaries with ubers etc but things go very rural beyond them so don't rely on trains etc to get you around in a hurry. Driving is a huge advantage if you want to get around, they don't bat an eyelid at stratospheric mileage german or french cars as there's always a backstreet garage somewhere which will fix you quickly and you'll be on your way.
Lots of opportunities to escape to the coast at Constanta in the summer, the mountains near Sinaia for skiing, driving across to Hungary etc or short hop flights to Italy if you want to get away. There can be quite heavy snow for weeks on end in the Winter counterbalanced by scorching hot summers.
Public healthcare is a bit ropey, private medical is a must according to my colleagues.
It's a beautiful country filled with some lovely friendly people with a 'can-do' attitude. Of course, there's always a risk of being mugged or whatever as with any other European capital city, but keep your wits about you as would anywhere else and follow your Romanian colleagues' lead.
Above all, have fun!
parabolica said:
Anyone got experience there? I'd be in Bucharest; only thing I know about is the apparently incredibly low cost of living
Bucharest isn't a very nice city in my opinion. Cluj is lovely. But if you buy local stuff, you can live like a king for peanuts. I went to a nice Romanian restaurant, full of local people, with 2 friends. We were arguing over how many baskets of bread to order with the meal. Would one be enough for all of us, or would we need one each. Until one of us pointed out "look, they're 4p each, lets spend spend spend and get 3." As it turns out, we wasted 8p, one would have been fine. Mr Pointy said:
I've worked in around 33 countries in my time & Romania is the only place I've ever been mugged. Personally, it's not a place I'd go back to.
Like most of the former Eastern Bloc it's got the modern tech husband young educated but still has the 60's Soviet era s
tholes and degenerates that inhabit them.I wonder if they do the old bus stop mugging trick you hear about from people that go to Bulgaria. Basically five people that know each other queue behind and in front at the bus stop. One behind slits your bag trying to get valuables when the bus arrives. Another accomplice notices and alerts you by which time everyone else is on the bus acting daft.
I lived and worked in Georgia for three years just before the pandemic. I visited Romania for a week on holiday during that time.
I couldn't believe how western and European Romania felt. I was expecting something close to Georgia, but I got something closer to France or Germany.
The things I missed a bit (don't laugh), like an ikea, a well stocked supermarket, good driving, we're all present in Romania.
We were in Transylvania though, which is meant to be the nicer part, so maybe not representive. However the village we stayed had a great little bar, the towns nearby were very pleasant, and cluj was very modern. I went to an international food fair and it felt like the uk!
Go for it!
I couldn't believe how western and European Romania felt. I was expecting something close to Georgia, but I got something closer to France or Germany.
The things I missed a bit (don't laugh), like an ikea, a well stocked supermarket, good driving, we're all present in Romania.
We were in Transylvania though, which is meant to be the nicer part, so maybe not representive. However the village we stayed had a great little bar, the towns nearby were very pleasant, and cluj was very modern. I went to an international food fair and it felt like the uk!
Go for it!
My wife is from Romania so I have been there many times since 2000.
Each year it has got better (infrastructure,attitudes)
Bucharest is a bit like any capital city in the things are more expensive,its busier,people are in a hurry etc
Outside of that its lovely.
Brasov ,Sinaia,cluj are lovely.
She comes from Galati which is a bit industrial but close to the Danube delta which is amazing.
Public healthcare a bit hit and miss.
Each year it has got better (infrastructure,attitudes)
Bucharest is a bit like any capital city in the things are more expensive,its busier,people are in a hurry etc
Outside of that its lovely.
Brasov ,Sinaia,cluj are lovely.
She comes from Galati which is a bit industrial but close to the Danube delta which is amazing.
Public healthcare a bit hit and miss.
IMO Bucharest has the most beautiful young women in the world. It's like there is a model convention somewhere all the time.
But there are no good looking older women in Romania. Once they find a husband with their supermodel looks, they immediately change into their mother and completely let themselves go.
But there are no good looking older women in Romania. Once they find a husband with their supermodel looks, they immediately change into their mother and completely let themselves go.
Worked near Timisoara for a while no issues nice town, like anywhere it depends what your interests are, the restaurants were ok but regular food is poor not much choice.
The only real concern I had was the water quality, incredibly metallic where I was, might be something to look into for the area you’re looking at.
Lots of nice friendly young ladies, not as attractive as in some countries tbf, no idea about the older ones.
The only real concern I had was the water quality, incredibly metallic where I was, might be something to look into for the area you’re looking at.
Lots of nice friendly young ladies, not as attractive as in some countries tbf, no idea about the older ones.
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