Romania is not the best place for digital nomads . Many prefer to relax in Thailand or Costa Rica for a couple of months while running their business online from a laptop. Romania’s low cost of living and unbelievably quick internet are perfect for digital nomads. After spending a few weeks there, I can highly recommend it. This article explains five reasons why Romania makes a great place for digital nomads.
Wi-Fi super-fast:
You may not believe it, but Romania is home to some of the fastest Internet connection speeds on the planet. This quality is better than you would expect and even matches that of Japan and South Korea. Wi-Fi is available in many places, from bars and cafes to shopping malls. Digital nomads know how important it is to have a stable and reliable connection in order to meet deadlines.
Romania has the ability to provide this service consistently.
Orange SIM Card offers a generous and cheap Internet package. You can access a powerful connection anywhere and at any time.
2# You get more value for your money:
As of August 2017, $1 USD was just below 4 Romanian Lei. I usually paid 4 Romanian Lei for a beer or strong coffee, whereas 20 Lei would often pay for a meal.
Romania is a great country.
Your dollars will last longer because the cost of living in Romania is low. You can live quite comfortably in Romania with less than $50 per person, per day. This can be even lower if you find the right accommodation. We spent an average of $15 to $25 per day for daily expenses, including eating out. The price of our Airbnb is around $25 per night .
Imagine how much money you could save if your monthly income was $2000 USD ?
It’s easy to make friends:
Meeting and interacting with locals is one of the most enjoyable parts of visiting a foreign country or city. Many young people speak English fluently. In some cities like Iasi (pronounced Yash), the locals are happy to speak to you in English.
Our Airbnb host was a good friend who provided us with traditional Romanian food and wine. We even became friends with a BlaBlaCar passenger who we ended up hanging with.
Digital nomads can be lonely at times. In Romania, however, you are never far away from making new friends.
The average person can stay 90 days in Romania.
Romania doesn’t belong to Schengen as of 2017. Most people are allowed to stay 90 days in 180 with an arrival visa. This includes Americans, Australians, and Canadians. As part of their freedom of movement, other Europeans who are members of the EU can stay in Romania for as long as they like.
Anyone who is a digital nomad and lives in Europe knows the difficulties of traveling on a Schengen Visa. You have 90 days out of 180.
The Romanian visa also allows you to stay in Schengen for 90-days and then leave the country for 90-days in each 180-day period.
Why not spend 90-days in Romania, then return to a Schengen Country for another 90-days and repeat?
There are many places to visit in Romania:
The diversity of Romanian cities and towns is one of the most attractive aspects.
Transylvania is the main area where you will find a variety of medieval towns, castles and fortified church scattered around the landscape. Sibiu and Brasov are our favorite destinations, but you can also visit Cluj-Napoca and Turda.
These destinations all have a medieval center and an old town as beautiful as any in Western Europe. Old merchant houses line the cobblestone streets, along with historical monuments and churches. As a digital nomad you can move from town to town. Each medieval town was visited for a few weeks before we moved on to the next.
Moldavia, in the north-east of Romania, is a beautiful part of the nation. Iasi, pronounced Yash is Romania’s major university center and a great place to experience international culture. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly, and almost everyone speaks English. It’s easy to meet people in Iasi. You can visit Romania’s most famous attractions, the Painted Monasteries.
There’s more!
Digital nomads may visit the Black Sea coast and spend some time at the beach or in Bucharest.
You can choose to visit up to 30 awesome places throughout Romania. You’re not restricted to one location and can travel from place to place for a few weeks like we did.
The Bottom Line
Romania has many reasons to be an ideal place for digital nomads. For me, the best thing about Romania is its diversity and travel opportunities combined with its super-fast internet speed and low cost of living. Anyone who spends a long time in Romania is likely to make many friends and have a positive experience. Why not give it a try and find out for yourself how great Romania is?