ROMANIA - BUCHAREST

Romania is usually not the first country you would consider moving to for half a year. I never really had a personal connection to the country myself. Not only before my trip to Romania, but also here I was often asked why I chose Romania. I couldn't really answer it myself, whether it was the recommendation of friends, the weather or just curiosity. What I didn't know at the time, however, was how right I was with my decision to move to Bucharest. The general opinion about Eastern Europe is very narrow-minded and unaware. However, Romania is a country with mountains, cities and the access to the Black Sea. Most people here are incredibly friendly and the crime rate is very low, at least if you avoid certain neighborhoods.

Romania is usually not the first country you would consider moving to for half a year. I never really had a personal connection to the country myself. Not only before my trip to Romania, but also here I was often asked why I chose Romania. I couldn't really answer it myself, whether it was the recommendation of friends, the weather or just curiosity. What I didn't know at the time, however, was how right I was with my decision to move to Bucharest. The general opinion about Eastern Europe is very narrow-minded and unaware. However, Romania is a country with mountains, cities and the access to the Black Sea. Most people here are incredibly friendly and the crime rate is very low, at least if you avoid certain neighborhoods.

An issue that I experienced here so far is the impact of the Ukraine-Russia war on the economy and the inflation. Before I came to Romania, I was told how cheap everything would be. After I arrived, however, I was convinced of the opposite. For me, as a girl from Austria, the prices I experience here are basically the same, even though the minimum salary is only about 450€. Every time I talked to my Romanian friends about it, I got the same answer: "People don't live here, they survive”. I was very shocked and surprised at the same time. If you live right in the center of the city like I do, you don't get to see much of the poverty on the streets. You only see extreme, active poverty here in the form of some homeless people sleeping in the corners of buildings and alleys. But that is a common thing for most larger cities, at least as far as I experienced it. What is very present here, however, is the passive poverty that you don't see at first glance. You only notice it when, for example, you go to a colleague's home to work on a study project. On the other hand, there are also a lot of people that show how big the gap between rich and poor is, when they drive up on the boulevard with their expensive cars.

One thing that is not exactly working against it is the Romanian education system. Through conversations with locals, I have found out that it is normal to go to university after graduating from high school. The problem that results from this is the lack of job opportunities. I also learned this from my taxi driver, who had a degree in ecology and environmental protection. Therefore, there is also constant competition at my university, which I attend as an Erasmus student. The University of Architecture and Urban Planning Ion Mincu, or simply Mincu as we call it, is a very respectable university with a high standard of work results. The students put all their free time into our university for two reasons. Firstly, if they fall within the top one-third of students, they do not have to pay for the tuition fee, which otherwise would approximately be about 2.000€ per year. Secondly, they try to escape the eternal cycle by convincing with their performance to have the opportunity to work for successful offices.

Besides all that, Bucharest is a very exciting and thrilling city with an extremely wide range of possibilities. The culture and everyday interactions are very similar to ours. Not only in terms of food you can find similarities, but also in the manner of the locals. However, I must mention how extremely the people differ from each other and what a diversity you find in the different personalities. Basically, I can say that the people are very friendly and outgoing here. You can find a mixture of modern values as well as appreciation of traditions. So, it is not unusual for a woman to be held open the door or to receive flowers.

All in all, I feel very well cared for here and enjoy the time and the new experiences I am making. Even though I have to do a lot for university to keep up, I enjoy the time by taking coffee breaks with friends or going for walks through the city. I am very excited about the next time and look forward to it.