What's wrong with Romania?

Mr Average · Post by **Mr Average** » February 13th, 2011, 5:28 pm

Hi guys,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

Anyway, I was just wondering what people think of Romania. I very rarely see it mentioned on this site but most of the Romanian women on foreign dating sites are generally the hottest (personal preference of course). I think one of the more experienced guys when it comes to Europe (Ladislav? Jackal?) more or less just said to stay away from there all together. But I'm not sure why. Are there heaps of scammers? Is it dangerous? Do you need a VISA to enter? Are the women there more Westernized or not as interested in foreign guys? I'm heading over to Europe in a couple of months so any advice would be great.

Ash

gsjackson · Post by **gsjackson** » February 13th, 2011, 6:08 pm

Jackal has said a couple of times something along the lines that when he left Hungary to visit Romania he felt like he was leaving civilization and heading into the wild West (U.S.). He felt like everybody was sizing him up as a mark. It was just an impression, presumably based on not too much time spent there. I'm with you in wondering why the country shouldn't be thoroughly investigated. The women are super hot, and the cost of living in Bucharest is pretty low, according to the website that was posted here yesterday. The winters aren't quite as bad as, say, Ukraine or Russia.

FWIW, I read somewhere online a few months back a Romanian woman saying that boldness and flattery are very much appreciated by the women there. Just march right up to them and tell them you think they're beautiful, in the flirtiest, most breezily debonair manner you can muster. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try.

Contrarian Expatriate · February 13th, 2011, 7:14 pm

I've been there twice and did not need a visa. Bucharest developed rather quickly and there are trappings of wealth all over the place. Therefore the women are not easily impressed by Americans and other westerners anymore.

Another problem are the Roma people who try to hustle you all the time. Most Roma leave you alone, but some others ALWAYS want to scam you into one thing or another.

Romania has a high debauchery factor and prostitutes are all over the place. Some might like this, but it takes away from its charm in my opinion.

I say go; there are better and worse places.

djfourmoney · Post by **djfourmoney** » February 13th, 2011, 9:05 pm

I would agree, I've heard several things about Romania.

Its not quite as mature as some other modern Western Cultures, in fact I would say in some cases it downright shocking some of the poverty that still exist in modern Romania and they aren't Roma either.

It is one of the cheaper European capitals to live in however. Prostitution is very present and the seen is active, so getting some is not really an issue if the local girls aren't putting out, yet.

When people say stuff like - "They will not be impressed by your wealth or because your from America anymore" I find troubling. Why? because back in the golden era as some call it just shortly after the fall of the wall, many Western Men flocked to all these countries closest to Britain, so yes I'm talking mostly about Brits here. If they weren't going to these countries to hold stag parties, then they were promising the world to women that didn't know any better, just so they could f**k them. Now on the surface I don't have a problem with that, but then don't complain as some have that the local women no longer trust them. Making it harder to hook up with random women, especially if it appears you won't be in town for very long.

Some people do have an advantage however and I won't go into detail about basically anybody can have success in a particular country but because your not Caucasian you might find yourself popular among the local women because there aren't many of your "kind" in town.

Which is one reason why I don't think Western Europe is a wasteland, yet and while I would like to push East, there less problems with women from EU countries.

Off-hand I think most of the same countries that joined the EU recently are in about the same condition. Once you get out of the major/capital city its like you hit some sort of time warp, but if that doesn't concern you then you will find it okay.

have2fly · Post by **have2fly** » February 14th, 2011, 3:57 pm

Romania may not be as bad as people say. Bucharest is probably as developed as any other East European capital, Romania is quickly growing, thanks to the EU membership and developing economy in general. Of course there is tons of poverty, especially in rural areas. I would not want to live there, but if you pick a capital or any other top 3 large city - you should be fine. Women are ULTRA HOT. Romanian music is VERY popular in Europe nowadays. Check out Inna on youtube.

Mr Average · Post by **Mr Average** » February 14th, 2011, 7:44 pm

Thanks for the opinions guys. Not sure if I'd be able to boldly go up to a girl off the street and say she is beautiful though. Remember I'm coming from Australia where if you try something like that you'd at best cop capsicum spray to the face, at worst end up in jail. Would take me a while living abroad to get over the Western "guilty until proven innocent" mentality towards males.

It just seems like Romania might be one of those places that hasnt really been inflitrated to any great degree by Western males looking for a partner/wife. Generally when someone thinks of such places they think of Russia or the Ukraine. Consequently I'd reckon most of the scammers and gold-digging females flock there as theres a much larger pool of foreigners to be scammed. But of course, I may be way off base.

I recall an episode of Jersey Shore where there was this absolutely stunning European girl all the guys on the show were competing for. Sure enough she was from Romania. They thought she was a goddess, of course in her home country she'd probably be considered average. The funny part was she was actually loyal to the guy she first met (Vinny) when the Situation attempted to charm her. If that was an American girl she wouldve slutted it up with any guy who came her way, boyfriend or not. Guess she still had some good qualities left in her despite living in the US.

gsjackson · Post by **gsjackson** » February 14th, 2011, 8:15 pm

Mr Average wrote:Thanks for the opinions guys. Not sure if I'd be able to boldly go up to a girl off the street and say she is beautiful though. Remember I'm coming from Australia where if you try something like that you'd at best cop capsicum spray to the face, at worst end up in jail. Would take me a while living abroad to get over the Western "guilty until proven innocent" mentality towards males.

Just to show how much this kind of thing is culture-driven -- thirty years ago I used to try this regularly in the U.S. with a very high rate of success. Went with an aw-shucks, I'm bashful approach, along these lines: "I want to apologize for being as forward as I'm about to be, but I just have to tell you I think you're really just stunningly attractive." Introduce myself, ask her out. Last time I tried it was in the mid-90s, on a woman who actually wasn't attractive but had an enormous rack. She looked as if she was searching for the nearest constable and trying to remember where she'd put her mace, and I immediately bailed, with tail between legs. So I'm gun-shy now and wouldn't think of trying anything like this in the U.S., even though I like to think I'm hanging on to the looks women used to like. Thirty years ago it was natural. In the right cultural environment -- which eastern Europe sounds like -- it would probably become easy and natural real fast.

And thanks for the warning about Aussie chicks. Popular lore hereabouts from years ago has them as hail, hearty, and friendly. Guess feminism has completed its dirty work over there too.

Mr Average · Post by **Mr Average** » February 14th, 2011, 8:50 pm

Well I think you would have much greater chance of success with Aussie girls than I would, just by being American. Bonus points if you are black. Why? Because Australian's have been brought up on US TV and movies. They hear a guy with an American accent and they would probably think you are a movie star. Unfortunately though, if you are a white American, unless you get a chance to speak they will just assume you are Aussie. Black US guys, on the other hand, have the visual aspect going for them.

But yeah, I loved Australia back in the 80s & early 90s. Such a relaxed, carefree place to be. Now we are a full on Nanny State. Speed humps on every residential street, laws for everything and fines for rediculously minor offences. If you are a male and talk or make eye contact with a kid in the park you are automatically a pedophile. People no longer talk to their neighbours and just like Winston observed in the US, people have their cliques and if you arent part of that, well good luck even being acknowledged by them. I'd imagine it's a similar case with other Western countries.

Fenix · Post by **Fenix** » February 14th, 2011, 10:41 pm

Men here need to research places like Romania and stop going to the same 3 countries all of the time. I wanted to go to the Philippines too, but 15 other countries interest me now since I studied all of them thoroughly. Philippines is not even a country on my list anymore. The Filipina I met on MySpace back in 2008 is still one of my best friends, but she moved to Australia and she is not moving back to her home country. That's one of the reasons why I don't want to go there, but there are other reasons too.

It's more than just the women sometimes and you have to look at everything. Romania was always a place I was fascinated in when I was a kid. I love the original story of Dracula/Vlad the Impaler. I have talked to a few Romanian women are they are sweethearts to me.

Think about it in reverse. Maybe Romania is a hidden gem and not scam haven.

jamesbond · Post by **jamesbond** » February 15th, 2011, 2:54 am

Phoenix Sosa wrote: It's more than just the women sometimes and you have to look at everything. Romania was always a place I was fascinated in when I was a kid. I love the original story of Dracula/Vlad the Impaler. I have talked to a few Romanian women are they are sweethearts to me.

Think about it in reverse. Maybe Romania is a hidden gem and not scam haven.

Romania is one country in eastern Europe I REALLY want to visit someday (along with Ukraine). I absolutely want to visit Vlad the Impalers castle in Transylvania (they have tours). Check out this episode of "Scariest places on earth" where a family stayed overnight at the castle and had some hair raising experiences!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH9JBPxJ ... re=related[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kD1cUOPT ... re=related[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYkEgHKH ... re=related[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYkEgHKH ... re=related[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roOsdn7G ... re=related[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPT7kgTL ... re=related[/youtube]

Jackal · Post by **Jackal** » February 15th, 2011, 6:33 am

gsjackson wrote:Jackal has said a couple of times something along the lines that when he left Hungary to visit Romania he felt like he was leaving civilization and heading into the wild West (U.S.). He felt like everybody was sizing him up as a mark. It was just an impression, presumably based on not too much time spent there.

Yeah, that's basically how I felt in the Romanian-speaking parts of Romania. However, I enjoyed the Hungarian-speaking cities, which basically felt like Hungary to me. Most of these are in Transylvania. I've never been to Bucharest.

gsjackson wrote: I'm with you in wondering why the country shouldn't be thoroughly investigated.

There's no reason why you shouldn't investigate Romania if it interests you. However, it has become quite clear to me that the Romanian parts of Romania are the wrong place for me. Other places you might want to intvestigate are Moldova, the former Yugoslavian countries, Bulgaria, Georgia, etc.

The fact is that you can't ever be completely sure about which country you want to live in before you go there (although you might be able to rule out some). After a year of reading books and things on the internet, I was convinced that the Czech Republic would be a great place for me, but it only took me one month there to decide that I hated it there.

So just because I dislike Romania, it doesn't mean that you won't like it. And just because I like Hungary, it doesn't mean that you will necessarily like it.

Nothing can replace personal experience.

gsjackson wrote: The women are super hot, and the cost of living in Bucharest is pretty low, according to the website that was posted here yesterday.

Those two things are certainly true and the cost of living will of course be even lower outside the capital. However, a low cost of living also implies that salaries are very low there as well, if you plan to work there. Another bonus is that knowing a Romance language like Spanish or French will help you communicate with Romanians because Romanian is a Romance language. I would also add that there is a lot of beautiful nature in Romania if you like mountains, hills, forests, etc.

Actually, I heard about one English teacher's wife who was literally eaten by a bear in Romania.

The real question is whether you will like the people there and whether it will bother you live to in towns where most things are run-down, dirty, and fairly primitive.

Also, most Romanians have dark hair, so it's not the place to go if you prefer blondes.

Mr Average · Post by **Mr Average** » February 15th, 2011, 2:51 pm

Yep, theres no substitute for personally experiencing the country for yourself. And yes, I've always been interested in seeing Transylvania, Vlad the Impaler's castle, Carpathian mountains & forests, etc. Conjures up many gothic images for me. Must've been all the gothic/black metal I listened to in my youth! Yep, I'm sold on giving the place a visit now. Thanks everyone.

Jackal · Post by **Jackal** » February 15th, 2011, 9:51 pm

Some parts of Transylvania live up to the dark stereotype (especially during the fall and when it's foggy), but much of it is just made up of medium-sized hills which are covered with brown grass and ugly trees with the occasional farm house here and there. Much of the landscape I found to be just plain boring and ugly. But Transylvania is a very big place and I only saw parts of it. Maybe I'll post some of my pictures later.

Although you expect to find vampires there, what you will encounter instead is many Hungarian Catholics along with Roma (Gypsies) and some Romanians and many churches.

Some of the castles are in good condition and are worth seeing. Others are in terrible condition and are just disappointments.

I've also heard that the trains are very unpredictable in Romania. I guess it's like South America where things generally don't run on time. I travelled there by car and by bus so I avoided these problems.

Think Different · February 16th, 2011, 11:05 am

Jackal wrote:Some parts of Transylvania live up to the dark stereotype (especially during the fall and when it's foggy), but much of it is just made up of medium-sized hills which are covered with brown grass and ugly trees with the occasional farm house here and there. Much of the landscape I found to be just plain boring and ugly. But Transylvania is a very big place and I only saw parts of it. Maybe I'll post some of my pictures later.

Although you expect to find vampires there, what you will encounter instead is many Hungarian Catholics along with Roma (Gypsies) and some Romanians and many churches.

Some of the castles are in good condition and are worth seeing. Others are in terrible condition and are just disappointments.

I've also heard that the trains are very unpredictable in Romania. I guess it's like South America where things generally don't run on time. I travelled there by car and by bus so I avoided these problems.

The majority of Romanians are Orthodox Christian (like the Russians, Greeks, etc.). (Full disclosure: I'm Orthodox, and know Orthodox Romanians in my church). I've not been to Romania, but have family and friends who have been, and they were really impressed by the Orthodox Churches and monasteries. I believe some of them are on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Romania is definitely on my "must-see" list. As for the castles, one of the things I always enjoyed in Eastern Europe was exploring the castle ruins and climbing around on them. For me, it's almost more fun "finding" them in the forests and going exploring (plus, no entrance fee). Many of the renovated castles in Europe are just too touristy for me.

Jackal · Post by **Jackal** » February 16th, 2011, 1:48 pm

RedDog wrote: The majority of Romanians are Orthodox Christian (like the Russians, Greeks, etc.). (Full disclosure: I'm Orthodox, and know Orthodox Romanians in my church).

Yes, Romanians are Orthodox Christians, but you're mistake is assuming that all the people who are presently living in Romania are ethnic Romanians. Hungary used to control about half of the territory of present-day Romania. Hungary lost 72% of its territory because of the Treaty of Trianon after WWI.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Trianon

Here's a map which gives you a sense of how much land Hungary lost:

And here's the present-day result of where there are concentrations of ethnic Hungarians:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... europe.svg

The point is that many ethnic Hungarians still live in Romania. These people speak Hungarian as their primary language and they are Roman Catholic like other Hungarians. The Hungarians who live in Transylvania ("ErdÃ©ly" in Hungarian) are called the SzÃ©kely people. The Hungarians who live in the Romanian province of Moldavia (not to be confused with Moldova, although half of Moldavia is now part of Moldova) are called the CsÃ¡ngÃ³ people. Some of the SzÃ©kelys are Calvinist and some are Unitarians, however.

There are many tensions between the Hungarians and the Romanians in Transylvania. The Hungarians there are struggling to keep their rights and their culture. In many villages where mostly Hungarians live, the Romanian government has built Orthodox churches as a symbol of Romanian control (even if only a handful of Romanians live in those villages). Feelings run very high about these things. These are topics of conversation are things which are best to avoid when you're in Transylvania. It's unlikely that Hungary and Romania will fight a war over their problems in Transylvania, but it's not impossible either. Hungary also has serious problems with Slovakia for similar reasons. Although the Hungarian-Slovak situation may be even more volatile.

RedDog wrote: As for the castles, one of the things I always enjoyed in Eastern Europe was exploring the castle ruins and climbing around on them. For me, it's almost more fun "finding" them in the forests and going exploring (plus, no entrance fee). Many of the renovated castles in Europe are just too touristy for me.

Well, cool ruins are one thing, but some of the old castles and fortresses in Romania just look like crap. I saw two such places in which horrible modern sculptures were on display in the courtyard in some desperate attempt to make them tourist attractions without renovating them. But Romania has some very nice castles as well.