Expat In Romania

Yesterday I glossed over some of the more mundane facts of life in Romania . I want to follow-up with a deeper analysis this time around, though. When people ask, "what is it like to live in Romania?" I always say the same thing. "It's great!" Okay, let me step back and qualify that a bit. Living in Romania is great for me . Just like living the US, Germany, or China is great for others even though I don't want to live in any of those countries. Your life history, your personality, and your priorities also have a lot to do with it. Who's to say I 'm not going to hate living in Romania ten years from now, and that France or Malta won't start to sound really good at some point? I don't know. (But probably not). Before talking about why I think it's great, I'm also going to talk a bit about why it isn't -or more like, who it isn't -  great for. Romania is not that great for Romanians living in rural areas. Less so fo...

1 . People still live in the infamous commie blocks, though many are cheerfully painted now and the  apartments within are renovated. Houses often stay in the same family for many generations. Cookie cutter subdivisions are not very common, nor popular (for now). 2 . Rural life is still part of the equation. Many Romanians have an ancestral home somewhere in a small town or village. Often grandparents still cultivate vegetable gardens and raise chickens and other farm animals (for food, not as pets). This comes in especially handy at Christmas and Easter. 3 .  British lawns aren't a thing here. Why manicure a lawn when one can plant beautiful flowers, a vegetable garden, or fruit-bearing trees? 4 . Romanians place a lot of emphasis on family and personal relationships. Going home for family dinner is a lot more common than after-work drinks. 5 . Speaking of dinner, Romania is a very meat and potatoes country. As long as you're not a vegetarian, you'll love t...