Why Did I Choose To Live In Romania
These days I have a lot of time to think and, as I experience more and more emotions with my child, I also find answers to questions that I have not dared to ask myself so far. One of them is why I live here. Why did I choose to live in Romania? Because if I go out with the child and if I am careful, I will not be attacked by anyone. And if I get out of the house at night, I am not afraid of anything and nothing happened to me so far. And if I fell asleep with the door unlocked, no one had entered my house. It’s true that I live on the almost top floor of an old block of flats and thieves are probably not that sporty. And if I came in late at night from a shoot, I go in through the back door without being afraid.
I chose to live in Romania because I saw how crime decreases as we grow as a state and how in other countries the risks are much higher. Of course, there are always the Emirates, which I find to be an ideal place to raise a child: you have no crime, schools are all closed with a sports base and the variety of curriculum is exceptional, where residential complexes have everything you could wish for, you drive anywhere by car and you don’t have people on the street. But, realistically, I want to raise a responsible child in a real world. I don’t know what the world will be like for him as an adult, but I want him to always be able to cope. And if he doesn’t have examples around him, he won’t learn. Romania is still a reality in terms of life lessons. And my son speaks to the homelss guy in front of our block of flats. Of course, the discussion between a 2-year-old child and a 55+-year-old adult, who occasionally walks clean, is not exactly a complex discussion. But the child does not differentiate between a neighbor and the special neighbor on the street. So I feel safe watching them interacting even in these times.
And I will list a few things that made me embrace Romania as a place to raise my child after seeing other places in Europe. Of course, I recognize the problems of a metropolis, the congestion and urban noise, the effects of pollution, but also other capitals suffer from these problems. In addition, in Bucharest you are not exactly as crowded as the big European cities. Yes, in London I appreciated that, whatever level of income you have, you go by foot, by taxi or by public transport. But there you feel small and insignifiant. There are many inhabitants, you don’t know almost anyone even if you have many friends, the maintenance costs are much higher than in Bucharest. Living alone with rent in London is not so easy, the prices being very high. And living on the outskirts means 2 hours lost on the road every day to commute. In Bucharest you can easily find an apartment for sale or to rent at a decent price in the city if you have a job paid above the average salary. In addition, in London I felt extremely small in a big city and I saw people in the same field with me, but who, although were paid better, their purchasing power was much lower. Another country considered wonderful for expats is the Czech Republic, a place where I realized that America and China had taken control and in an obsolete way some apparently nationalists are indulging. In Hungary I saw the luxury and opulence of a fallen empire, with many people on the street and few people with a decent standard of living. In Greece, we have seen that people really invest in what matters: houses and land, and the car has the lowest priority. In France, in some areas, I was frightened by the high density of the Muslim population with their heads covered, with groups of young Arabs standing on the street corner and commenting when a Christian woman passes by. The same happens in Brussels – a city where the European Parliament has decided to have its headquarters. In Italy I can’t say that I like it other than as a tourist. It seems like a place full of history and I would walk all day long to visit it. But how could I live in a museum? In France or Italy people live differently and I am not feeling home in either of them. I could live in the Netherlands, but the weather really makes me reconsider it. Plus the Netherlands and Denmark are two extremely cold countries. Sure, I like their coldness. But that’s because on vacation I prefer to be left alone. But their cold doesn’t sell the culture, so I would probably live in my environment. Austria is another country with a self-isolated world. And if it weren’t for the pandemic, there would still be indifference. Let’s not forget that they had shocking cases of girls abused by their fathers for years and no one saw anything. And psychologically that says a lot. For me who is fed up with what people say, of course it’s good, but in the long run, I wouldn’t want something to happen to my child and not have any allies around. Did I list all the countries? Yes, I did not mention Serbia and Bulgaria. Serbia is an extremely western country despite strong Russian influence. I couldn’t live there for one simple reason: all their food seems unhealthy. I have seen too little of Bulgaria, but I honestly am not too impressed by the statements of their favorable evolution in the fight against corruption. I think this is another criteria by which I would choose the country: the level of corruption. I forgot Germany: the mother of justice. Yes, I could not live there although there are some beautiful areas where I would love to go. It’s too cold and I would always be seen as a foreigner regardless of whether I speak the language or not. Outside of Europe, there is that oasis of sunshine in Dubai, where I saw a perfect land to raise a child safely, but in an extremely septic environment and where I felt like I was in a zoo. I could not walk anywhere, I did not have the freedom to see something beautiful beyond the mall, hotels, residential complexes and new office buildings. And now I’ve listed all the countries I’ve traveled to or where I’ve been and the reasons why I realized I can’t live there. And the main reason for me to stay in Romania is that here with a little effort you have a decent standard of living. In any of the European countries you have to make great efforts to live the same decent life. And here is the impact of the pandemic on Europe, which proves that Romania is a good country to live in.
I really want to find that paradise with a civilized, warm world, where I can feel welcome. Honestly, I don’t think it exists. My family never stopped me from leaving the country. I chose not to do that. I chose to live in Romania. Every day I find the wrong things that I try to correct. Sometimes it’s just my behavior, other times it’s about the community or even family members. And I do this because I know I can change things for the better. And that’s what I’m trying to do for anyone who wants to read. One drop that forms the ocean.
