In retrospect, would you move again to Romania?

Hi all,

If you had to look back on your expat experience in Romania, would you heartily say "let's do it again"?

From the preparation stage to your actual everyday life in your new country, what did you enjoy the most?

Would you do certain things differently? Could you tell us why?

How would you describe the benefits of your expatriation in Romania so far?

Thank you in advance for sharing your experience. We look forward to hearing from you!

Christine

I likely would not move again to Romania, especially how it was nearly 10 years ago.  Today, it's much better in the country, but there's still a long way to go to catch up to other modern and developed countries.  It can be terribly frustrating to live here because of the lack of development and bureaucracy in nearly all aspects of life. 

One notable benefit of living here has been being able to save a lot of money from my income and put it away, as the cost of living is quite low.   I've been debt free for quite a long time now, and I like that.  Everything I have, which includes cars, real estate, etc..I can say I own outright.

Romaniac
Expat.com Experts Team

Hi.for me its definitely mixed feelings. I love Brasov, the scenery,the weather even but as a person of colour i got stared at,my daughter who is two,gets her hair touched at random by strangers. I understand that people of colour are the 'needle in the haystack' but theres more polite ways to show your curiousity. That said ive met alot of wonderful people. Ill be leaving in a couple of weeks but it will still be a second home to me as my daughter is romanian. The cost of living is low, and if someone is looking for a great place to raise a family ild recommend Brasov. Otherwise, as a person of colour, Romania would not be my first choice, you will have to stomach alot.

I would certainly move back here. In fact, I wish I'd moved here a few years earlier when real estate was even cheaper, but everything is a good idea with hindsight!

My reasons are mostly the same as stated by Romaniac above - the ability to live debt-free, to own multiple properties outright (something I could never afford to do in the UK without some serious debt), and to do a job I love without having to work too much or too hard but regardless to be able to put away a little cash each month for the future. I enjoy the climate, the countryside, the cuisine, the history, and spending my time between the capital (which is more or less the same as any European capital now, except perhaps with lower crimes rates than western Europe) and the countryside (where I can experience a lot of traditions and customs and travel a little in time) I feel I have an excellent life balance.

In short, I don't regret moving here and there is little I would do differently given the chance (except perhaps to get on the property ladder a year or two earlier).

I would never, and would avoid it like the plague.

Hillarious. You should share why...?

i came back... after a break of a few years.
would never consider it as a permanent long-term location though.
by that i mean in excess of 3/4 years.

claudeyc wrote:

i came back... after a break of a few years.
would never consider it as a permanent long-term location though.
by that i mean in excess of 3/4 years.


Explaining your reasons why might actually be informative to others  :whistle:

Thanks

Romaniac

I came back due to work.

Dear Romaniac,

I appreciate your response about moving back again to Romania.

Being from Maine, USA, I guess I would say I am a "Maine-ac".
However, having a Romanian wife, I'm more desirous to be a
"Romaniac."

Considering Brasov, we both have friends there and would like to
"try" it out for 6 months to a year, before we made a final move.

In light of that, do you have any suggestions? We are trying to figure
out "all the pieces of the puzzle" we need to get together.

Your suggestions are appreciated.

Robert & Aurora

Mixed feelings for me about this. I only moved here because I love my wife, but if our personal circumstances were different then no, I would not have moved here almost 9 years ago. We are far from debt free, and the bureaucracy and low wages here mean it can be very frustrating, not impossible, but really frustrating.

I really like this country in terms of its a very beautiful country, the mountains and Danube areas are awesome, the people tend to be great too, but unless you have a good plan and a well paid job it's not the best place to be.

We need many years to become a "healthy" country. Probably I will be too old to do this, but I am hoping at least my kids to get to know their half country :)
The only good thing is that Romania, as a new market, still offers many opportunities for investment. The properties are still cheap compared with other European countries, I mean where you can find apartments at 700-1000 euro m2: https://korter.ro/plaza-residence-bucuresti so is good to invest now because at some point things will change in better. I am sure, hope dies the last, isn't? :))

I've been going back and forth to Romania for the past ten years and I'm planning to buy a flat in Iasi once I go back this October. considering my income comes from the U.S then life in Romania can be very comfortable but I can see where quality of life would be questionable having a Romanian salary, I love the culture, nature, people etc, my favorite country in Europe and yes, I would move to Romania in heart beat.

Why would you need advice from a guy living in the States since your wife is romanian , just curious ?