About AdiGri

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Romania: Help ! pls:

At 10, the boy should have no problem adapting, though in the end it depends on his personality. We also have a 10 year old and he's doing just fine in a Romanian public school (he only spoke English before). But then, he's quite extrovert and easy going. Our 13-year old (in the same school) is managing but not quite as good. We may move them to a private English school - we'll see how things go. It's a good experience, nevertheless. I don't know what your official status will be in Romania. Are you EU citizens? If yes, you may be able to enroll your child in a public school. Typically, the schools closer to the city center are very good. Our kids have Romanian citizenship so we did not have a problem using the public school system. We live in Bucharest so we cannot give you too much info about Brasov or Sibiu. They are both very nice cities but chances are there are not many private schools (if any). A private primary school is expensive to maintain and these cities might not have the right demographics to sustain them. There are German public school but you need to inquire about the admission process. For sure, for such schools, the admission process is quite competitive as many Romanian parents perceive this type of schools as providing good education. You must contact the school! For example, in Brasov you have Liceul Honterus (http://liceulhonterusbrasov.ro/) while in Sibiu you have Colegiul Brukenthal (http://brukenthal.ro/). Health care also depends on your residency status. Most private clinics prefer to deal with companies (for their employees) but you will probably find some that will accept you as a patient. The prices are decent and the service quite good. Is cheaper than Canada or US, maybe half price (i.e. a regular consultation with a family doctor). A private tutor will cost about $10-$15 per hour - almost any subject.

Romania: meet up:

There is a expat meet up group that gets together on regular basis. Check "ExploringLittleParis" on meetup dot com (this page won't let me post the actual link), I'm sure you can get in touch with one of the organizers.

Romania: is 9000 RON enough for Bucharest:

You can get an idea of costs here: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=Romania&city=Bucharest I wouldn't go as far as "upper-middle class" on 9000 RON, but you'll do ok, enjoying all that Romania has to offer.

Romania: 400€ for food?:

Based on our experience in Bucharest in April, 400 euros should be plenty, especially since you're saying that you're not into buying expensive specialties. Typically, we would go to a small grocery (such as Mega-Image) and buy food (cheeses, salami, hams, vegetables, bread, dairy, etc..) enough to feed 2 adults for 3 days and we would spend 35-40 euros. And this was in the expensive area of Bucharest!

Romania: Moving To Cluj with 3 kids:

We are also moving back, with 2 kids (9 and 12) after 13 years in Canada and 7 in Bahamas. We went to Bucharest in the spring and we specifically inquired about schools. We didn't see anything different from what you would see in a big city in Canada. We don't want the kids to go to an international school - we had that for so many years and it's not worth the money (that could be a long discussion). I believe that all the schools in a central area of a big city are good considering that most of the parents are still interested in the kids performing well. We want the kids to integrate properly, learn Romanian, even if, who knows, we may leave after one year. Kids are highly adaptable, especially at a young age like yours.

Romania: Attaining citizenship help?:

From what I've read, you should be able to apply for citizenship if your grandmother was born in Cernauti (present day Ukraine, but part of Romania back then). If you can produce a legal document indicating that, you should have a solid base to apply for citizenship. In what country are you now? Did you contact the local Romanian embassy?

Romania: retirement:

It just happens that I was born in Braila and I have many fond memories of my childhood on the shores of Danube. There is not much happening in Braila these days but that may be a good thing for those looking for a quiet retirement. Braila has a certain charm that is lacking from many other Romanian cities. The people are nice (and yes, the women are beautiful) and many have a certain sense of humor that I found other cities lack. If you like water, then the Danube will offer you many choices (fishing, sunbathing, swimming and so on). The Danube Delta is not that far away. The weather is milder than other cities but that comes at the cost of having hardly any snow in the winter. I did not like winters there that much, not compared to cities closer to the mountains. But then, I like snow, lots of snow. Otherwise, the food is good, safety is ok (that's true for most of Romania).

Romania: If somebody need advice ...:

Hello, I love Braila, my birthtown, though I live in Toronto right now. You probably know enough about it and you decided on a quiet town, with long summers, Danube and its old buildings (many requiring lots of TLC). Romania and Canada have a double-taxation agreement, that means that you will not be taxed twice on your income, regardless if it is in Canada or Romania, but you will be taxed the difference. For example, if you pay 35% taxes in Canada and the Romanian equivalent for that income is 45%, in theory you only need to pay 10% in Romania. That being said, chances are that nobody will ask you to pay taxes, you can simply declare that you have no income and live off your savings. Or maybe the taxes in Canada are already bigger than in Romania, so again no worries. I don't know what your legal status will be or how you gain residency, Depending on that, you may or may not be covered by the state health care, though that's not something you can count as being enough. It would probably be better to have private health insurance and that can be a bit pricey, depending on the services your require. Dental is another expense but many Romanian-Canadians travel back home just to take advantage of the cheaper Romanian dental services. Braila is not an expensive town, as you probably know. Probably you can get your groceries and daily expenses under 1000 lei per month. Another 500 lei may cover hydro, heating, Internet, phone, etc - it depends on how big or "fancy" your apartment is. A small car would be recommended to minimize the taxes (that skyrocket for bigger engines) and overall gas and maintenance costs. Many Romanians would consider themselves happy to have 3000 lei net income per month. That's about CAN$ 1300.

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3/20/2013

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