About LizaM

Status:

Expatriate  

Gender:

Female

Currently Lives:

Bucuresti, Romania

Citizen Of:

United Kingdom

HR/Relo
Professional:

Provider of Expat-Related Services & Products

Some Forum Posts:

United Arab Emirates: ADEC:

I was offered a job by ADEC a year ago (August 2011). By February 2012 I still had not started then was informed that there was no job after all.

United Arab Emirates: Electrical Appliances:

What kind of plugs are there in UAE? I have appliances with European plugs and some with English plugs. Will I need an adapter and if so what kind?

Romania: Owning a car in Romania:

Driving in Bucharest is very scary - the rule is: there are no rules. That aside there is very little car crime (really very little crime as a whole). There is a strange anomoly where second hand cars are very expensive so it makes sense to buy a new one. You could buy a dacia and blend in with the crowd. I don;t think new car prices are much different to elswhere. Here the car is insured not the driver but I don't know about costs.

Romania: Relocating to Romania:

the postal service here (bucharest) is VERY unreliable. It may be different in the country where I assume you will be going. I tell people never to send me anything and I never post anything as whatever I post never gets there! If you get a registered letter or parcel you have to go to a post office specified on the scrap of paper that you receive. You have to take your passport and, before it was EU, they opened it in front of you and looked inside. I would advise you not to bring things such as TVs as they may not work here and you can buy new relatively cheaply now. Good Luck!

Romania: Is Romania fairly easy to live & work in for a foreigner?:

On the positive side - yes I have found it fairly easy to live here. Before Romania became part of the EU it was much much harder to do the legal stuff. So if you have an EU passport it should be as simple as going to the "Alien office" and registering your presence. However, our expats have always gone with work permits i.e. a reason to be here. The 90 day thing is debatable. It is actually 90 days in one year. Yes people do the crossing the border thing ( little drive to Bulgaria) but if someone decided to look closely you could be in trouble. Rental costs have dropped dramatically but are still expensive compared to other cities (I am talking about Bucharest). From a family point of view it is safe and crime is usually localised (feuding country families). The Romanians love children and indulge them - expect children in restaurants late at night. Living costs are a little cheaper - although the local response to the recession is to put prices UP! If you are looking for a wife there are lots of beautiful women who believe all foreigners have pots of money and having children is not only expected but often demanded by the matriarchs . On the negative side - DOGS. Thousands of them, everywhere, barking all night and leaving deposits. Cultural differences are marked, this is a country still crawling from its communist past. Interesting though. Happy to embelish or answer any specifics.

Romania: 10 Tips for Living in Romania:

Don't come with high blood pressure and grow a thick skin! Living in Romania can be very frustrating and annoying. Be prepared to listen to the THOUSANDS of dogs barking, yapping and howling all night. Accept any medical advice with a pinch of salt. If you learn Romanian you must pronounce it exactly otherwise a) you will not be understood b) you will be corrected Bring warm clothes for winter (minus 17 average) and cool clothes for summer (can get up to 40 degrees). Warm weather from April to October usually.

Date Joined:

2/2/2010

Total Posts:

7

Posts/Day:

0.00