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Life in Romania - Telegraph Mentor

Debbie Stowe says Bucharest is a dynamic and exciting city, and many expats initial short-termtenures turn into years.Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 28/11/2007

Introduction to BucharestGetting aroundExpat accommodationClimatePersonal safetyBureaucracyEducationHealthEntertainment

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Like many other expats in Bucharest, my initial one-year tenure here seems to have become indefinite, and I amnow in my third year.

The influx of western businesses into Romania has put a high premium on native English speakers, and acombination of teaching, journalism and copy-editing gives me the freedom to work on that book that we allbelieve is in us but lack the time to actually write.

This year I intend to take an MA at the University of Bucharest and involve myself in some local charities. I am alstenuously considering a foray into the Romanian property market.

Introduction to Bucharest: Given that most expats preconceptions of Bucharest will be largely negative straydogs, gypsies, corrupt officials and the like settling in can be reasonably pain free if a few rules are borne inmind.

The first is to forget all notions that you have of customer service. Otherwise, after 90 per cent of your dealingswith waiters, shopkeepers and members of the public you will be left wondering what you had done to offend theperson to make them so curt and rude to you.

Of course you have done nothing wrong: the ostensible hostile way Romanians behave with each other and most foreigners is just normal conduct in this country.

Despite their initial demeanour, local people go out of their way to welcome and assist foreigners, anxious to leaveyou with a good impression and counter some of the pejorative outside perceptions of which they are acutelyaware.

Secondly, you must get used to a new traffic system. Drivers have assumed right of way on both road andpavement and routinely park right across the latter, forcing pedestrians into the street where they will then behooted at by passing cars.
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All surfaces have bumps and potholes, an ad hoc style also evident in the town planning, where bland communistblocks have been thrown up next to pretty inter-war villas. Some areas did escape the communist bulldozers, andthere are charming pockets to be discovered.

The expat can also escape the general greyness in the citys clubs and many excellent restaurants, a bargain forany western budget.

The interim seasons are more pleasant than in Britain, warmer and with fewer rainy days. Most locals agree thatspring and autumn are shortening, and the switch from bitter cold to summer heat can come particularly suddenlyWhen bad weather does come, it comes with a vengeance storms flood the streets and tear down anything from

adverts and market stalls to huge trees.

Getting around: Bucharest suffers from a surfeit of cars in a city designed for few. Parking is practically non-existent and drivers stop almost anywhere they spot a space, regardless of pedestrian access.

Driving is characterised by relentless hooting, aggression, gesticulating and hazardous moves. Some junctions arecomplete chaos. Accidents are frequent.

To drive in Bucharest, the expat must be brave. City police are poorly paid and corrupt and constantly stopmotorists for so-called preventative checks, during which they will happen upon a minor infringement and threatethe driver with an extortionate fine in an attempt to elicit a bribe. There is no way to avoid this, so the best ideis to try and bear it with good nature.

The law permits a driver only one alcoholic drink, but neither the police nor the breathalyser can be relied upon, sits safer to abstain altogether. For driving between cities, motorists have developed a system of flashing theirlights at each other to warn oncoming drivers of police with speed radars parked by the road.

The result is that for much of the way cars bomb along at around 120km/h, before dropping to a surreally slow

50km/h at urban spots where the police are waiting.

Only two highways currently have a central reservation the number is set to increase and driving a few metreaway from onrushing lorries can be nerve-wracking.

Cheap and usually easy to find, taxis can be booked by phone or hailed in the street, but there are some sharks othere ready to charge a hapless foreigner as much as ten times the real fare, so if picking a car up use only onewith a name you know and insist the driver use the metre; most will automatically.

Even drivers from reputable companies may take you the scenic route, so its useful to know a smattering ofRomanian and show no sign of British hesitancy.

Public transport is extremely cheap. The subway system is fairly civilised but slow and not comprehensive. Busesand trams are more frequent and serve most areas, but in peak hours can become so full they resemble a cattletruck, or, worse, the central line at 7pm.

Public transport in the city is extremely cheap


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Pickpocketing is rife, and you are advised to vigilantly guard any bags and pockets. Its worth taking publictransport a few times, if only to remind yourself how lucky you are to be able to afford a car or taxi. The systemruns from around 5am to 11.30pm.

Expat accommodation: Thanks to Ceausescus town-planning ideas, the majority of Bucharest residents, rich anpoor, live in apartment blocks. Most expats head for the upmarket north of the city, where many of theambassadorial residences are situated.

A replica of the Arc de Triomphe, wide boulevards and pleasant green spaces make the area feel more like WesterEurope, as does the glut of cafes and restaurants. Those wanting to engage more in the local life particularly

young, single foreigners often choose to live in more central areas.

Taxis are cheap and plentiful, and the city relatively small, so your location shouldnt matter too much. However,there are no suburbs in the sense of quieter, greener neighbourhoods on the edge of town the outer areas arepoor and drab so it makes sense not to venture too far away from the central axis of squares.

Though rising quickly, property prices are still low by our standards, and some long-term expats choose to bravethe bureaucracy and buy a place as an investment. The law still currently prevents foreigners from owning land,but there are ways around this. Most people rent at first, although it is advisable to get a local friend to help you.Once the landlord realises a foreigner is involved, the sums involved suddenly leap upwards.

The majority of Bucharest residents live in apartment blocks

Climate: Like many things in Romania, the temperature is unpredictable: April, for example, could see snow orfeel almost tropical. Winter and summer are often extreme. From December to February, lows of 20C and sever

snow are possible, even in the capital.

Summers, which can start in May or June and continue to September, often see 40C and melting pavements although this is partly due to the poor quality of the tarmac.

Personal safety: Obvious foreigners are in some danger of being the target of a low-level crime pickpocketingor a scam by which a fake policeman tries to extract a fine. Most would-be criminals are pretty hapless, and cangenerally be thwarted with vigilance, scepticism and common sense.

Bucharest doesnt have Britains binge drinking culture, and it is rare to see drunken yobs on the streets. There arglue sniffers, but they are unlikely to harass strangers. Some beggars can be insistent, but they too are usuallyharmless.

Possibly the greatest hazard, aside from cars, is the stray dogs which the citys mayor wanted to cull until BrigitteBardot stepped in. Their aggression is usually limited to barking, but some do bite.

Women, especially young ones, will be the subject of staring and comments. On the whole, though, the city feelsmuch safer and less violent than London, and the expat will rarely feel threatened, even at night.

Bureaucracy: When the country experienced a 6.0 Richter scale earthquake in November, one radio commentatoremarked that at least something in Romania was moving.

Bureaucracy can be a huge headache throughout the country, which is still trying to emerge from the communistmentality. Simple, everyday tasks that would not take more than five minutes in Britain, such as getting a receiptor a guarantee for an appliance, require reams of forms and queuing.


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