Moving to Romania

With its heart in the middle of mountains, Romania is one of the wildest, yet civilized countries in Europe. Over the last couple of years it actively started developing as a tourist landmark and a gateway to business in Eastern Europe. Natural, authentic and dynamic, Romanian people are some of the most welcoming and most wanting to be part of the global growth.

Situated in the southern part of Eastern Europe, along the north-western shores of the Black Sea, Romania shares borders with the Ukraine and Moldova to the east, Hungary to the north, Serbia to the west, and Bulgaria to the south. It has a fairly diverse geography ranging from pristine beaches along the Black Sea to the picturesque Carpathian Mountains. Rolling hills give way to rustic villages and quaint farmlands, usually presided over by a towering gothic castle.

Bucharest, the country’s capital stands on the banks of the Dambovita River in the south eastern part of the country. It is the largest city in Romania and the most important industrial and commercial centre of the country. With 1.9 million inhabitants in the city and 2.3 million in the urban area, Bucharest is considered the 6th largest city in the European Union. Throughout the city you can observe a mix of architecture depending on the historical periods the country went through:(neo-classical), interbellum (Bauhaus and Art Deco), Communist-era and modern. Because of the city's elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite that developed in the interbelic period, Bucharest has the nickname of "Little Paris".

The pulse of Bucharest

Romania's capital is a rapidly developing city featuring a dynamic, fast-paced lifestyle and loads of places for eating out and entertainment. If you'd like to go for a walk, apart from small local parks, Bucharest has 5 enourmous parks including: Cismigiu, Herestrau, Tineretului, Titan and Carol I. The city center is where you'll find most of city's old architectural buildings and places of historical singificance. One of them is the Palace of Parliament which goes deeper underground than its height, csoted €3 billion to build and is currently the largest building in Europe and second largest in the world, after the Pentagon.

The city center also happens to be the best area for entertainment and dining out, with loads of shops, cafes, restaurants and bars around “Centrul Vechi” and several malls: AFI, Sun Plaza, Plaza, Baneasa Shopping City, Militari. One particularly good thing about Bucharest is that you can find almost anything working 24/7, including cinemas, shops, restaurants, bars, pharmacies etc.

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Jobs market

With a flat tax-rate of 16 percent for both corporate and personal income, Romania saw comprehensive growth in the private sector since early 2000’s. The metropolitan area accounts for 25 percent of Romania’s industrial production and almost 15 percent of the country’s GDP. There are a lot of multinational companies with offices in Romania, such as HP, Oracle, Accenture, JTI, Genpact, IBM and it is relatively easy to find employment without knowing the local language.

Expats would find it easier to find jobs in outsourcing companies, creative industries, education (teachers and trainers) and service-cookers, chefs, etc. To find employment you can either visit job fairs, that are organized at least twice a year or use local job boards online.

Bucharest is home to nearly 200 000 firms and businesses. Most of the expats relocating to Bucharest are working in the engineering, IT, communications and software development fields. Low living costs and low tax rates for technology professionals (sometimes close to 0%) makes Romania and particularly Bucharest one of the most attractive cities in Europe to work in the technology sector. In fact, Romania has the highest ratio in the world of technology workers per capita. In the more recent years it also helped Bucharest establish a reputation as a tech startup hub in Eastern Europe.

The salaries for foreigners start at around 500 Euros, however professionals with a few years experience within the technology sector can get up to 2,000 euros.

Property information

The demand for residential areas in the Bucharest municipality has risen over the years, however is still considerably more affordable than in the west. Divided into 6 major sectors, Romania’s capital offers diverse options for property investment.

Nevetheless, most expats prefer renting. The rental prices for apartments range between 150 and 650 euros, depending on the number of bedrooms and the area. The price for a one-bedroom apartment is from 175 to 300 Euros, two bedrooms - from 200 to 400 and a 3 bedroom flat would cost from 250 to 550 euro.

Neighbourhoods

• Family Friendly: Crangasi, Militari, and Titan
• Hip and Trendy: Universitate, Tineretului, Piata Sudului, and Eroii Revolutiei
• Upmarket: Pipera, Piata Unirii, Piata Victoriei, Aviatiei
• Up and Coming: Drumul Taberei, as in 2015 it is expected to have another magistral for the metro

Moving costs

If you decide to move to Romania you will need to obtain a work permit and in some cases a visa. The process does involve a certain amount of bureaucracy. EU citizens will find it significantly easier to relocate to Romania than those mocing from the other parts of the world.

Based on an average move for a family with a child, moving costs to Bucharest (in GBP) are as follows:

Schools and education

Bucharest is an internationally friendly city, with a range of bilingual and bi-cultural schools in the city, most of them offering International Baccalaureate qualifications.

Among the school using the British Education System you can find the British School of Bucharest, Cambridge School of Bucharest and 3 other school. There is also the American International School, the Mark Twain International School and a few other that use the American teaching system.

In Romania, the foreigners, unlike locals have to pay for higher education. There are a lot of good universities including Alexandru Ioan Cuza University from Iasi, Babes Bolyai University from Cluj, Universitatea de Vest in Timisoara.

In Bucharest there are 6 important Universities inlcuding Academy of Economic Studies(ASE), Unversity of Bucharest(UNIBUC), University Politehnica of Bucharest, the National School of Political Science and Public Administration(SNSPA), the University of Medicine Carol Davila, the University of Architecture Ion Mincu. The tuition fees for foreigners are between 1200 and 2000 euro.