Expat In Romania

Let's say you've been working all day, ever since your cozo/milk/coffee and cigarette breakfast (the real breakfast of champions). You've been sitting at home in meetings, coding, clicking around, being somewhat productive (let's not get too carried away) and before you know it, a thought starts to poke its way in, interrupting your fourth coffee break of the day. Admittedly this is now a major issue all over the world, but I'm going to write about it because it's important to point out that Romania is not immune to the, what are we having for lunch  dilemma.  In some cases, it's an actual question; money's tight and maybe you had to decide between paying the heating and electricity or buying groceries. Research shows that about 50% of Romanians were unable to pay at least part of their monthly bills in 2020. Meanwhile, eighty million Europeans live below the poverty line. Times are dire. But still, for those of us in the Big Tech bubble, the lawyers, th...

In Romania, nobody is immune from life's minor inconveniences, and your day could even start with one. Say you get up and you're looking forward to a glass of cold milk with last night's fresh baked cozonac , but you're all out of milk. That is   inconvenient, but what is convenient is that little ABC in your neighbourhood .   This Romanian miracle of ultra-convenience is no more than a five minute walk from just about anywhere.  If you're a fat North American like me you might choose to drive, it's like 30 seconds away and you won't find parking anywhere except on a sidewalk, if you're lucky. This parking spot hunt would be your day's second inconvenience, but probably the fourth or fifth for the hapless mom who comes across your car while taking the baby for a stroll. No, the scribbled phone number on your dash won't make it any more convenient for her when she needs to get the stroller out on the road to get around, but what do you care, you c...