Some people on this fair forum want more Pie in the states, or so is my impression, and to be fair, who can blame them. Which got me a-thinkin’ maybe the pendulum swings both ways and some want to move themselves the other way. There may be some glib out there, somewhere, wanting to immigrate to good ol’ Bucharest. And said glib may want to know a thing or two about the cost of living, before jumping in. Well this is the post for that glib, and whomever else may have the curiosity.
So let’s, shall we? To start, in order to buy stuff, you need money, cash, dough. In our particular case we are talking of the mighty Leu (lion to you). Although the Leu often loses its roar in bouts of inflation (one of them legendary in the 90s), it is still our good ol’ currency. Although now we are talking about the new Leu (RON) versus the old Leu (ROL) after 4 zeroes were chopped off.
Back in the day, the day being 1850s, it was based on the Dutch thaler , which had a lion engraved on one side – an animal which was not a heraldic symbol in our country (we were more along the lines of eagles and aurochs), hence the name. The Bulgarian currency lev also means lion. In that particular time, the Romanian leu was 5 grams of 83.5% silver. Now the same silver cost 8.5 RON – after several times when zeros were taken from the end, that is.
I will, in general, try to express prices in dollars, so you understand better. I will enact the labour of currency conversion, if you will. I will not enact the labour of unit conversion so, sorry, you get grams and liters and such.
So we need Lei, yes we do. How much does an honest day’s work pay? Hard to say, Romanians always think in terms of monthly after tax salary. This is due to the fact that all the taxes are payed by the employer, and as such you only get to see your after tax. In general people negotiate their after tax salary on job interviews, called net salary round here. The average take home pay in Bucharest is 3200 RON or 850 of your inferior American dollars. A qualified engineer or programmer usually can get 2000-2500 dollars per month, and more for very good or highly specialized people. I mention this because engineers/programmers are among the best paying jobs in Romania. OK now, how far will all this get you?
Usually salary means you pay for the fabulous government healthcare and government pension, although if you actually get sick you need some money for bribes. But I will not give healthcare costs or pension fund costs. They are not relevant in the context.
As I know Americans to be drivers, I will start with the cost of regular gas, which is around 5.5 dollars per gallon. For non-drivers, a bus ticket is about 30 cents, a 10 trip subway pass about 5 dollars. Uber or taxi is usually 40-50 cents per kilometer.
A three bedroom apartment, 1000 square foot or so, in a good area can cost 800-900 dollars a month, in an average area 400 to 500 and in a bad area 350. These are apartment in those concrete communist era brutalist apartment buildings, in new developments the prices can be 30% to 50% higher. Now that you have your apartment, let’s talk utilities. For gas the price is given, strangely, per kW-hour – not a unit of volume, and it is 30 cents. Electricity is 13 cents per kW hour. Internet for a gigabit connection, standard home connection non-guaranteed, of course, but it is usually very fast, costs 10 dollars per month. A decent cellphone package can go to 12-15 dollars a month – unlimited talk/sms and 3 to 5 GB of data. Netflix costs 15 a month for the top package, but not everything available in the US is available here.
Now a man/woman/otherkin must eat (I would ask the moderators to catbutt any vampire jokes at this point.) For food, I will reference the supermarket chain I do most of my shopping at. It is not the cheapest, but it is not particularly expensive either. I would add that, in a un-libertarian way I assume, I do not eat in the most cost effective fashion. This is because I do not have pantry staples and do not buy in bulk. If I did, I could go to cheaper large stores and save money, but then again I might throw away a lot more and lose some money that way. I usually buy just what I plan to cook/eat in the next day or two, so I go to a supermarket on my way from work home. I also dislike using frozen meat, so I buy all my meat fresh, which is pricier.
So what does food cost? Depends, I assume, on what you buy. Standard eggs are 4 dollars for 30, while the cage free organic can be 3 dollars for 10. Milk is 1 dollar 30 cents per liter and 200 grams of unsalted 82% butter is two fifty, same price as 350 grams of plain cheese. Romanians eat a lot of cold cuts, which are locally called mezeluri (I assume from the Middle Eastern meze or mezze). These can range from very cheap in a “don’t ask what’s in it” way to quite pricy. Two and a half dollars can buy you 400 grams of cheap salami (42% pork meat according to the label), 4 dollars buys 70% meat salami in the same quantity, and 6 dollars buy you 300 grams of the good stuff. There is also parizer (which is meant as an equivalent to what you may know as mortadella / Bologna), which has the same things in it like the cheapest hot dogs, pink slime like substances I would think, which is a dollar for 500 grams – never touch the stuff myself. Pork hot dogs are a dollar fifty per 300 grams. And cheap yellow mustard can be had for 3 dollar 350 grams. Whole chicken is 4 dollars per kilogram; average cut of pork is the same, not too fancy cut of beef can be 8 to 12 dollars per kilogram. Bread can be between 20 cents and 2 dollars a loaf.
I think this is enough food prices, off course there are many more items, but this is to give a rough idea. Now let’s get boozing. Basic local beer can be had between 50 cents and one dollar per 500 ml can. The craft stuff it 2 to 4 dollars per 500 ml bottle. Wine starts at 2 dollars and can get to 50 and beyond. Smirnoff Red vodka is about 15 per 700 ml, Jack Daniel’s 23 per 700 ml. I don’t touch the stuff, but coca cola and similar sugary crap sodas are generally 2.5-3 dollars per a six-pack of 330 ml cans.
What else? I am beginning to think this is enough for a general idea and the post can get too long. A good meal in a good restaurant, not cheap no too fancy, is between 20 and 30 dollars per person, including wine and service (in Romania tips are 10%), depending on one’s appetite. In a bar a beer will set you 2 to 4 dollars, a cocktail (keep in mind it is very hard to get a decent cocktail in Romania) is 4 to 6 dollars. A movie ticket is 5 to 7 dollars at a good multiplex, where the concession stand costs way too much. I think this about covers it for now and I hope this convinced you to immigrate to Romania, had you any lingering doubts.
Comments
245 responses to “Life of Pie: Cost of living in Bucharest”
First?
well this post posted strangely but yes?
Posted strangely? Looks good to me.
well it did not show on the main page until 19 20 usually posts at 19 00.
That is odd.
I miss the first .gifs
*wistful sigh*
When I post first I never get one.
*sad sigh*
Thank goodness you included prices on booze! That’s the real deciding factor.
Amen.
Hell I stopped going to the sundown saloon when cans of the cheap stuff doubled to $2
yeah bit he left out the Hookers and blow.
How can me make a decision without knowing that?
Yeah, that was going to be my comment as well.
$5.50 a gallon?
At least the rent seems cheap. Although i dont know how you fit 3 beds into a place like that.
Cheap? I’m paying less for the same space, and I own* it.
*standard disclaimer about the lack of proper alloidal title applies.
Second disclaimer – I’m not living in a bad area.
Average price in Burlington VT is over 800 a bedroom. Usually closer to 1000, but for a 3 bedroom place you start seeing 2400 on sone places that should be torn down.
There’s your problem.
Well my town isn’t much better. Small Town VT is maybe 100 less a room. Out there, everything is “quaint”
Sometimes you’ll see something at around 500 a room.
the rent is not particularly cheap relative to incomes. Although I know expats who work over the internet for richer country kind of money who like the cost of living here.
That makes sense.
“So we need Lei, yes we do. How much does an honest day’s work pay? Hard to say, Romanians always think in terms of monthly after tax salary. ”
I find this is pretty common whenever the government decides to take the money right out of the paycheck instead of demanding you send your danegeld to them after you got paid..
That is why I am an advocate for having a year where everyone actually had to write a check to the government for their taxes. I have a feeling that this would quickly start a revolt when people realized how much of their earnings were taken by our political oligarchy.
I just paid my extra federal taxes today, $5200. Grand total, $42000. For that I get pointless wars, a bankrupt social security and Medicare I’ll never use, so a pretty good deal.
What do you do that racks up $42K in taxes alone?
I’m a CRNA DINK.
Ah. Makes sense.
whatever he does it is not his merit but he is doing it because of government and a teacher in the past so he should be grateful he is not paying more.
Wow. I thought mine was insane and I only paid $12k federal
$46000 here. Doesn’t it feel great to be robbed at gunpoint!
But I get so much in return. The NSA makes sure I don’t practice bad think and the ATF keeps me from owning dangerous things. I should pay MORE.
Not to mention subsides through HUD for people who refuse to work due to “disability” (read: I hurt my knee 25 years ago and therefore cannot work anywhere).
Are you guys itemizing? I guess my massive student loan interest and mortgage interest deductions are substantially reducing my tax liability.
No student loans and mortgage interest deduction is factored in.
I own everything. Never finished school, paid as I went and got burned out.
I paid off my student loans, and I got a cheap house on a fixed 3.5% mortgage that I’m paying at above required rate for.
Maybe I’d feel richer if I used that additional $610/mo for consumer goods instead of reducing future outlays.
Maybe, maybe not, but you’ll probably will if the markets take another 2008-like dump.
I paid off my student loans early because I was not allowed to deduct them. I was also stupid and got a 15 yr mortgage with a low interest rate, so that’s why I owe every year even though claim 0 on my wife/my W-4. Moral of the story; hard working frugal people get it in the shorts by the feds.
Mortgage interest deduction if dumb. You’re much better off not paying on the House than taking a slight deduction
I know, it’s tongue in cheek way of saying you’re punished for making sound financial decisions.
Always. We also get to pay for those who make bad ones.
That’s probably the single most depressing thing I’ve read in a while. You do all the right things and still get shafted. My family is on the fast track to paying everything off, but I don’t look forward to trading off the interest for additional tax burden.
“You do all the right things and still get shafted”
How did you know the new slogan for the DNC?
I thought their new slogan was “REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE SHIT LORD MURDERER BIGOT REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HITLER REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE CHICKS WITH DICKS REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE”
My mistake.
“That’s probably the single most depressing thing I’ve read in a while. You do all the right things and still get shafted. ”
I have heard many people point out that doing the right think is for idiots considering you get punished for it while those that do the wrong things get rewarded.
Also just paid, also $42k. Joy.
As my brother puts it: rich guy problems (I don’t feel rich).
This.
Coming up with $30k and quarterlies next week. Love supporting all those federal employees and those on the dole.
My wife is from Europe and has tried to convince me that she didn’t pay taxes. I tell her, no, you pay, but it’s taken directly from your paycheck and you don’t have to do a yearly reckoning like we do. It’s just not as visible to you, which is how the government likes it. Her: That’s right, we don’t pay taxes. It’s just taken from our paycheck. Me: Sigh, you’re not thinking very well.
It’s the same debate with health insurance and sales tax/VAT.
How long before they change the law to completely hide how much the wage-slaves are paying in taxes here?
I’ll assume a trade will get me something in the middle of that income?
depends on the trade and how willing you are to work under the table. plumbers and electrician don’t exactly give invoices for their work.
A vampire, a ghost, and a werewolf walk into a bar.As always Pie, interesting stuff.
What, no pricing report for cocaine and hookers? Did you forget where you posted this?
it is hard to get good cocaine here. I prefer the term escorts and the price for something quite decent is 60 US per hour
It’s hard to get good cocaine anywhere, really. Motherfuckers are basically watering it down at source.
$60/hr ….. cheaper than being married, eh?
There are price controls in Europe to make sure those ladies don’t abuse their clients and over charge…
“something quite decent is 60 US per hour”
Now you have my attention. I may have to make a trip.
I take it you know the locations of the best bordellos?
not many good bordellos. There are quite decent erotic massage parlors if they is your thing or independent escorts.
Legit question; is prostitution legal there?
no
But getting a rub and a tug is..
Q, you can start your research here if Pie doesn’t have your itinerary planned yet: http://www.wikisexguide.com/wiki/Bucharest
With more whore houses, erotic massage parlors and adult shops per square inch than most places in Eastern Europe, you could be forgiven for thinking Bucharest was the sex capital of the continent. – this is not that true. most brothels that exist are seedy and with a good change of trafficked girls, so should be avoided. Quality brothels are rare
avoid talking tо strangers іn thаt particular area, especially Roma-Gypsies..
Be extremely wary of escort ads in Bucharest. The photos are very seldom of the real escort, who is typically far less attractive – very true
strip clubs are outrageously expensive, you pay 50 dollars or more for a 10 minute lap dance. Most places that cater to foreigners are tourist traps expensive with bad service.
Avoid the old town, expensive with bad service.
This is why you need a local.
I do know a nice massage parlor, no sex just erotic palsy, with a nice masseuse with rather large natural and not at the very least saggy breasts you would enjoy. 45 $ an hour
SOLD
That is why it’s helpful to know a trustworthy local.
How much for 3 minutes?
3 minutes for the sex, 57 for her to hold my head in her lap while I uncontrollably weep about the pathetic circumstances of my life.
many escorts do half price for half hour.
They make money on volume?
With or without the superbug?
Depends. If you want anal sex with no condom you can find it. Funny is there are some girls who won’t do oral with no condom but do anal with no condom thinking it is less risk of disease
You seem to know an awful lot about these prostitutes Pie…
Good for you!
I don’t know that many I just like reading escort forums. Anyway I would avoid an escort who does unprotected stuff like well the plague
The things we learn around here, eh guys?
Pie you should definately move over here. I’m in a high tax/high COL state and I’m making more take-home and paying less than those rates.
not that easy dude
All kidding aside, if you’re serious about trying to move to the US, you should sign up for the Green Card Lottery.
What have you got to lose?
Yep, Romania’s prices are no incentive to immigrate there from middle America. How are the beaches?
small and crowded and none to pretty, whits lots of cheap cold beer and topless pretty young women
sadly you will see topless ugly old women as well
*cancels trip to Romania*
$10/month for a gigabit internet connection?!
Is this subsidized?
Nope. Cutthroat competition
So it sounds like there’s no local monopolies imposed.
I’m envious.
I might write a post on this. The history is interesting.
PLEASE DO SO.
Local monopolies on telecom services haven’t been government-enforced since 1996. If you only have one provider, its because other providers have determined that the overbuild isn’t worth the investment.
*In the U.S.
Federally, sure, but there are plenty of state and municipal laws that restrict broadband providers.
Just like the federal law requiring certificates of need for new hospitals and other health care operations was repealed, but plenty of states still have their own versions on your books, as Swissy can attest too with his excellent articles fighting against them.
You have a point, I know of at least 5 states that require certificates of public need before allowing the building of additional infrastructure. Interestingly, Rand Paul’s state of Kentucky is one of them.
Most states don’t though.
Isn’t the determination of who can build in right of way determined by an individual city or county? I don’t see how a blanket statement like that could work.
There’s no high speed internet three houses down from me because that starts a different county which not allowed any high speed internet companies to distribute there. At least, that was the case 4 years ago when I was looking at houses. If they can ban all companies, they could just as easily allow a monopoly for one.
Yes, your local areas could be real assholes about rights-of-way to effectively enforce a monopoly on internet service in your area, so I see your point. This is fairly rare in my experience though (financing competitive and incumbent fiber internet is literally what I do every day) – most cities and towns welcome additional infrastructure, particularly if its fiber wire. Overbuilding fiber wire doesn’t make economic sense unless its a very dense area, simply because its cost-prohibitive and the more a place is overbuilt, the less likely anyone including the incumbent will be able to maintain their infrastructure. In less dense areas that have an incumbent fiber-to-the-home provider, your best bet is to hope a transport company has already built a ring that you can lease dark fiber from.
I thought you were referencing the explicit nation-wide enforcement of monopolies by the FCC, which was ended with the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
This is fairly rare in my experience though (financing competitive and incumbent fiber internet is literally what I do every day) – most cities and towns welcome additional infrastructure, particularly if its fiber wire.
That’s a fair point. You haven’t observed any companies requiring that a city/county to grant them a monopoly as a condition of laying out the expenditure for new service infrastructure? I was under the impression this wasn’t uncommon, but freely admit to an ignorance of the topic.
I’ve never seen any of my clients make a demand like that, no. But I don’t work with the big guys like Verizon and Comcast – so maybe they pull that kind of crap in the big cities. I should probably point out that all of my customers are serving areas with populations of 1 million or less
I’ve never had a client tell me they couldn’t build into a competitors area because of a government monopoly either – even when they’re competing against big guys like mediacom or centurylink.
This is all anecdotal though.
I may have to rethink my position, though I still say Comcast is evil incarnate. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I have Comcast where I live (Verizon is also deployed here, but all they have is copper wire, not fiber) and I completely agree with you, Comcast is simply the worst.
Its can’t just be cutthroat competition – its probably also impacted by population density, public policy regarding deployment in rural areas (emphasis or lack thereof) and, from what I’ve read, the Romanian people setting up their own internet networks before Romtelecom became a thing – which helped ease the cost of deployment.
Romanian people setting up their own internet networks – that is under competition. I also said bellow it is more than just competition
Haha I suppose it does Pie. I was thinking more within the context of competing companies but you make a good point.
Good question. That is the one area where it’s cheaper over there – I can’t even get gigabit to my door.
Aso ROmaia startede late and did not have legacy infrastructure so in many areas went directly to latest fiber optics.
This is a big part of it when you are comparing countries for internet: installing infrastructure is expensive, so one would expect that various localities will leapfrog one another in quality as the upgrade cycles roll around – installing the latest when an install takes place, but waiting a while between installs due to cost.
It sounds like the cost of living is roughly equal to flyover country in the US. The gas is more expensive there and the rent is a bit cheaper.
The average income there is roughly equal to minimum wage in the US. On average, a household in flyover US is making $3000 net/month
Stop making my $86k/yr feel like a lot.
$86K/yr puts you in the second to highest income quintile in the US. It also is well above the threshold for top 10% globally. It’s a lot.
But, but, FREE HELTHCAYR!
My finger got infected last week and isn’t getting better. I went to an online doctor this morning. Submitted my complaint and a photograph of my finger. Received a phone call from the doctor less than a minute from submitting. The doc called in an antibiotics prescription to a local pharmacy.
Total time to see the doctor from initiating the visit to hanging up the phone… 10 minutes.
Total cost for the “visit”… 10 dollars.
Fuck free healthcare. Being able to pay 10 bucks for nearly instant medical service while sitting around at home is the height of healthcare evolution.
where did you find this e-Doc?
Both my current job’s health care and my previous job’s health care covered remote doctors with no out of pocket expense. One of the programs was called Doctors on Demand.
It’s called MDLive. The pricing varies depending on your insurance.
It’s been great. They’ll call in prescriptions for pretty much anything but pain killers.
Need moar benzos.
The must have named it after one of the local casinos here (MD Live Casino).
UnitedHealth has moved that direction too. Telemedicine is great.
Thats awesome.
Can we avoid using the pejorative “flyover”? Bleh.
It’s one of those things that has morphed into a term of pride.
/guy who grew up in Indiana and Ohio, and who lived in Texas until recently
Ok ok.
Whenever someone says that, I think of the fact that I live at 7500 feet and the coasts are drinking my piss.
Colorado?
Yar.
The Mississibi river would send your Piss Suthen’s way rather than mine.
Google Says:
Historical Nominal Median Household Income for Iowa
Date US Iowa
2016 $57,617 $56,247
2015 $55,775 $54,736
2014 $53,657 $53,712
2013 $52,250 $52,229
I did $50k minus 25% for taxes then divided by 12 for monthly.
I was thinking the same thing, except the rent is right about what you would expect in suburban Cleveland (depending on area). That gas is a huge increase, but appears to be offset by lower utility costs. I’d also be interested to know what locally produced liquor runs, I can’t imagine that importing Jack is that cost effective (remembers a 70 Euro bottle of Bulleit).
Do you drive or take public transit to work?
public transport. The traffic is murder in Bucharest and I as an angry driver. I don’t mind my commute. The subway can be very crowded but I am not in it long. Only 5 minutes. And it is not most crowded when I take it cause I am a morning person and am usually in the subway by 7 30. From my home to the subway stop I walk about 1.5 miles, 22 23 minutes, Subway wait plus travel is like 7 and 4-5 minutes walk to my office. So my commute is 35 minutes out of which 28 is walking. I count the 3.5 miles I walk a day towards my exercise and I find it relaxing. Also no traffic and no gas costs.
Wow, rent is cheap in Pieland. How much do evil bankers make in Romania? It is my chosen profession, after all…
Depends… how willing are you to Soros it up?
depends. I assume you are not talking teller but someone skilled in a higher place, 2 to 4 k USD a month after tax
High end only makes as much take-home as I do? that is sad.
Yeah, I’m essentially a loan officer – no one that high up, but I’ve climbed the ladder a few rungs so far. 4k would be a little more than 1/2 my current net take home here in the states. I’m still underpaid, however, compared to the median salary in the U.S. for this job.
Btw, great article, as always Pie.
How much to rent Dracula’s house?
*braces for cat Butt*
It wasn’t a food joke…but it was close enough.
*clutches laser wound*
Damn. Damn. Damn. Two weeks until retirement.
Are you getting too old for this shit?
Sounds like Uber/taxis in Romania are cheaper than the US.
http://www.fox5ny.com/news/taxi-drivers-unfair-competition
Good thing these guys aren’t in Bucharest.
i don’t know how much they are in the US
*blinks*
12 oz. = 355 mL… you mean everyone hasn’t memorized that off of their beer cans/bottles yet?
I know my bread recipe takes a whole bottle.
I know my cup does not.
FAKE UNITS
Says the most prolific purveyor of fake units 😉
Hiyoooo!!!
It’s not the Catbutt I’m worried about here. It’s being impaled.
In all seriousness, COL there doesn’t sound too bad. A friend of mine stationed in Europe visited a couple years back, perhaps one of these days I’ll follow suit.
OT: Ohio Woman studies the ways of OMWC
https://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/Teacher-student-baby-sex-Ohio-guilty-12790692.php
That is just wrong.
WOULDN’T
That is why she had to adopt the student to force em to bang her…
OT: I feel like Suthen could have written this.
https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2018/03/29/every-word-liberals-say-about-guns-is-a-lie-n2465529
Suthen and that author are absolutely right. I’m not interested in a dialogue or national conversation. Sorry grabbers, you can’t have my guns, full stop. No amount of legislating or even a repeal of the 2nd Amendment will change that. The BoR was an attempt to define my natural rights; it doesn’t grant them. Those rights don’t stop existing even if your wild repeal fever-dreams come to fruition. Fuck the gun grabbing lobby intent on disarming me. Fuck the victim-marionettes they are parading around. Fuck the DNC who would love to see me defenseless. Fuck the capitulating Republicans who will inevitably sell me out in a generous and one-sided display of bipartisanship. Fuck the public education system that teaches our kids that our rights are granted to us by the government. Fuck the navel-gazing American public whom has become too weak, complacent, and cowed to understand why we need the 2A to begin with.
/deep exhale…..I feel slightly better now
Any serious attempt at repealing the 2nd amendment is akin to a declaration of war. Any of this dream wanking about repealing the 2nd is akin to Saber rattling.
Amen.
“Suthen and that author are absolutely right. I’m not interested in a dialogue or national conversation. ”
I used to want to do this until I realized that the only one arguing in good faith was me and the left just lied through their ass with full intention of eventually getting the ability to confiscate firearms from law abiding citizens.
Kurt Schlichter is hardcore. I really liked his People’s Republic book. Unfortunately it looks like he and Matthew Bracken are probably right in their dire predictions.
“Justice McCryptkeeper”
Heh.
Another excellent article. At the rate Pie is going, soon I’m going to know more about Romania than America!
I was wondering about this. Last time I went car shopping I learned Volvos have a system to stop for pedestrians.
So it sounds like Uber might have disabled Volvo’s system. Good job guys.
Damn, y’all have some colorful currency.
https://www.google.com/search?q=romanian+currency&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjnycfEipLaAhWHq1kKHTOABygQ_AUICigB&biw=1600&bih=763
and it is plastic which makes it quite durable as opposed to paper. Especially if you forget it in a pocket in the washing machine
So how much Romanian money is floating around in that Texas-sized trash vortex in the Pacific?
US paper money is actually linen, so no washing machine issues.
Cotton, not linen.
hey look, Teddy Roosevelt was their president, too.
that is an oooold version. the 1000000 is now 100
What happens to that old currency? Is it just commonly known that it is worth 100 now?
yes. dropped 4 zeroes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_hundred_lei#/media/File:100_lei._Romania,_2005_a.jpg
Ah, so it’s the same bill, just updated. It would be interesting how they would do that in the US. There are 3 or 4 styles of bill in circulation for each denomination, and more for each type of coin. It would be difficult to determine whether a particular bill was from the old regime or the new one short of looking at issue dates.
It’s simple – the new ones are all shades of red with M. Bison’s face on them.
https://filestore.community.support.microsoft.com/api/images/c1e74b3f-5cc6-4685-ba0d-4647350749ee
Did someone say plastic currency?
Also Australia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_dollar#Polymer_series
Yep, Canucks studied the Aussie currency (in particular) before moving to polymer notes ourselves.
At least we didn’t make each note a different form factor — my recent trip to Mexico kinda weirded me out when every note was a different size (like Euros).
OT: Larry King is an idiot
http://freebeacon.com/issues/larry-king-second-amendment-created-ward-off-slave-uprisings/
In other news, Larry King is still alive?
The 2nd amendment was written by men that lead a rebellion against their lawful government.
Yeh, I don’t understand how people miss that point. Or that the rebellion started with an attempted weapons confiscation.
Fucking Redcoats think they can take away my 6-pounder cannon? Cold, dead hands, bitches!”
Two of them. The one in Mass, obviously. But the gunpowder incident in VA too.
Ugh.
I have heard that one tossed around before. Everything they say is a lie. The authors spelled out very plainly why they wrote the second and what it meant.
You mean people people opining on their pet causes haven’t read the federalist papers, the antifederalist papers and the various private correspondances of the framers?
Oh, wait, neither have I. Maybe I should.
As Mark Levin once said, start with the antifederalist papers. You’ll find something quite familiar about them. The federalists were the statists of the day.
currency-conversions …
(shudders in pain)
if there is a kryptonite in my world, it is when some country decides “hey, lets just change what our money is worth”, and every single other economic metric suddenly requires translation from old-to-new versions. Which is generally the job handed to me. because god wants to punish me.
funny enough 10 years later people still occasionally say oils values one million instead of one hundred.
+1 trillion dollar coin
So…every single country, every single day?
not really what i mean
exchange rates are easy. you simply translate and the translation itself is chartable year to year.
currency-flips, when prior paper is effectively written off as worthless, and a country completely changes its base denominations (typically by slashing zeros)… are less-easy, particularly when what you’re doing is economic modeling/analysis. the numbers simply aren’t comparable anymore.
its like changing the definition of a statistic midway through a series. you have to try and backward-translate what the historical data means in new terms. everything gets fucked up.
Inflation! At least you’re not Venezuela
How much for a 3 or 4 bedroom house? Many of us libertarian-Americans don’t get along well with others in tight spaces.
buy or rent? city or suburbs?
Buy. Suburbs not too far out of town.
something nice 150-250 thousand dollars
https://www.imobiliare.ro/vanzare-case-vile/bucuresti-ilfov/mogosoaia/casa-de-vanzare-4-camere-X6Q1010HU?lista=5472895
1800 square feet on half an acre. 150k
Holy shit the inside of that house is like a disco-dancing / coke-fueled orgy fantasy retreat
also: the plot of land is the perfect site for your lawn-bowling/shooting range needs
Spaghetti farm.
well if I picked a standard one where’s the fun?
anyway plots of land are weird in general in Romania due to the old habit of splitting the land among all children rather than giving it to the eldest. It is very fragmented.
Obviously the former home of Romania’s equivalent of Hugh Hefner.
That guy really liked his spacious shower facilities, IYKWIMAITTYD.
or if you have 700k to spend …
https://www.imobiliare.ro/vanzare-case-vile/bucuresti-ilfov/mogosoaia/casa-de-vanzare-sau-de-inchiriat-6-camere-X80P1100P?lista=5472895
I appreciate the stairway décor of paintings of naked women.
Okay – that’s comparable to lower cost areas of the U.S. A lot less than coastal areas like New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California.
in the suburb where my mom lives which is quite close to the city you can have this
https://www.imobiliare.ro/vanzare-case-vile/bucuresti-ilfov/mogosoaia/casa-de-vanzare-sau-de-inchiriat-5-camere-X3AJ110AS?lista=5482672
2300 square feet 4 bedrooms 7000 square foot yard for 1000 euros so 1250 dollars
my mom has a hose by the lake in the suburb and that is prime real estate because you have one side with guaranteed no neighbors
https://www.olx.ro/oferta/teren-mogosoaia-martha-bibescu-1000mp-ID8hF29.html#1be7d3c3a4
Land there is round 90 euros per square miter so you could get half an acre for 225k USD. You could build for an extra 400 dollars for square meter so a 2000 square feet house build just like you want on half an acre would be like 300k USD
Do they allow immigration from American Jews with no ancestral connection and not a ton of money?
I have no idea but I suppose so … But this is I assume a theoretical question as there are no Jews without a ton of money
Meet me. California managed to extract the bulk of my wealth.
is that counting your jew gold?
You might be thinking of leprechauns – they’re Irish.
Jew Gold:
southpark.cc.com/clips/155015
He spent it all buying candy for orphans
It cost him a 100 Grand.
And the Swissy took the rest?
Why I never!
I have Romanian ancestry. Only 3 generations back. Should I start packing?
And thank you for another great article, Pie. I love your dispatches from The Old Country.
Sure. If the border guards ask anything say you are a friend of Pie.
Armaments?
huh?
I’m assuming that there are black market AKs and Grenades everywhere.
not really. you can get guns if you really try but not quite that easy.
Well I’m out then. Guess I’ll have to try someplace else.
Speaking of prices Easter sale prices for whiskey in Romania
https://www.finestore.ro/easter-sale
All the women look like this, right?
That’s a lota WOULD right there.
After enough booze.
Thanks for correcting my stereotypical view: https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=%2f%2bIHozEK&id=FF7187B64B757950AFC5CB847BDE74BCCCDC14DD&thid=OIP._-IHozEK9vOo6_nTjuSb2wHaKf&q=Romanian+Gypsy+Woman&simid=608024069742461620&selectedIndex=0
My computer kept crashing on me. The only things I had changed were plugging in a new mic and unplugging a case fan. So I unplugged the mic and plugged the case fan back in. It’s been stable for over an hour. Not sure which caused the issue.
Overheating due to lowered ventillation?
The case was left slightly open while the fan was unplugged, but could be my processor is a heat maker.
Get a temp monitor. I use Core Temp 1.11, and like it.
How old is it? Sometimes just picking up some fresh thermal grease, cleaning off the old gunk, and applying a fresh layer helps.
Strangely, some of this sounds more expensive than Budapest, where we took our February holiday. The three of us would have great meals in fine restaurants, I don’t think it ever ran over $50. On the other end, a Döner on the corner will set you back $1.75. The best seats at the Liszt Academy were in the $30-40 range. Maybe I was just calculating the exchange rate wrong.
Here in Berlin a quite decent hooker is also $60 before any extras, but this is of course because it is all legal, which increases supply just a tad.
50$ for 3 in a fine restaurant seems a bit cheap to me for Budapest.
Berlin must have cheap hookers compared to rest of eastern Europe. Depending what you mean by extras
Given that it’s Germany, I assume large quantities of shit.
My standards for fine meals, as well as hookers, are probably low. And I may have been thinking in EUR.
(imagines complexity of Porsche-options-configurator)
“Oh, you want a GIRL? (punches calculator) and you insist on she being how old? (calculates some more) hmmmm now, did you plan to specify number of limbs? well….”
“The Mississibi river would send your Piss Suthen’s way rather than mine.”
It’s common for civic sewers to be overwhelmed by stormwater and then to simply discharge untreated material. I live in the Mississippi on a sand bar; the river has fallen a foot a day for a couple of weeks and left our happy park and trails slimed over with more than the usual sediment this winter.
With “something” more than the usual
Thanks Pie. Your posts and the comments they provoke always make fun afternoon reading.
This is my new favorite fact. I can’t wait to drop it into a conversation.
Nice article Pie.
Drunk woman arrested after fondling the Easter Bunny, Ohio police say.
I was in Bucharest about ten years back. I was driving a British drive Skoda back from Istanbul to Amsterdam with a couple friends. Early in the morning I went out to try and change a couple hundred Euro into Lei. There was an exchange in this sort of closet and the rates looked good enough. I gave the woman behind the bulletproof glass my euro and she gave me back what I counted as about 20 euro short in Lei. I pointed to the sign with the rates. She pointed to a smaller sign below it written in Romanian that the rate above was only for travelers cheques and not cash. It was an obvious scam designed to rob tourists. I demanded it back and she refused.
I was so pissed and hadn’t even had a coffee that morning that I took a pen I had I’m my pocket and changed a sign they had just inside (with the same fake rates) to what the rate actually was. As I was doing so a guy pushed me from behind and tried to lock me in the little closet. I pushed him back and we squared off to fight. He ended up cursing me in Romanian and ran off to get the guys who would have beaten me senseless had he managed to lock me in there. I took off back to the hotel before they could return, ticked off but glad I could still walk.
I’d be interested in Timisoara. The wife has some family originally from there.
Moreover, what is the cost of machinery from Moldova?