Quote: (06-13-2011 10:24 AM)Lumiere Wrote:
Rodney, where did you find your apt and what rental were you paying?
I am working my way around the whole of e.europe right now (just arrived in Albania) visiting every country that I have never been to before so Romania was already on my list. Looking forward to it.
What are the local costs like? Food / beers / taxi ?
I am looking for a place I can maybe rent an apt for an extended stay and work on my book.
A place that's well priced, has good nightlife and hot women. Bucharest fit the bill ?
I actually found my apartment on Expedia. The place is called the Prince Residence and it is located near the Lipscani Old City Center area. I only stayed for 6 night - and the rate was $67/night - which was totally worth it considering I had an entire apartment to myself. If you are staying much longer, I would recommend you rent an apartment by the month. You can actually rent the apartments at the Prince Residence by the month. Just beware, at night the 'Secret Garden' bar at the Prince turns into a brothel. Fortunately I had no need or desire for P4P, but it is a little strange to walk thru the bar on the way to your room and see several hookers checking you out.
Anyways, Bucharest isn't a really cheap place, but it's not expensive either. For the locals the place is very expensive, but here is a sampling of some of the prices:
beers $2.50 - $4
pizza $6-9
kebaps: $5-8
Metro: $.75 will get you almost anywhere in the city
While you're there, definitely take the tour of the amazing Palace - which is the second largest building in the world behind the Pentagon and was, surprisingly, built in the 1980s - you would have thought it was built in the 17th Century.
By contrast, Bulgaria is ridiculously cheap. Despite the close proximity to Romania, the economy in Bulgaria is still in shambles, so you can eat a huge meal for $3-4 at a nice restaurant. It's not quite as inexpensive as Cambodia or Thailand, but it is certainly Eastern Europe's most economical place - at least of the countries I visited, which was most of them.