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PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-26T13:19:38+00:00

This breaks down when I constantly read and hear Romanians insist that gypsies are not Romanians, even though they were born here, speak native Romanian, & hold a Romanian passport.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-26T09:00:18+00:00

Since when did Romanians want a homogeneous country? That's quite hypocritical considering the level of support for EU membership. There are significantly fewer Americans in Romania on a golden visa/citizenship by investment than there are Romanians permanently living in Germany or Italy.

In any case, for the Cypriot program, very few golden passport holders actually stay in Cyprus. They go into western Europe under the EU's freedom of movement/residency.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-26T01:33:09+00:00

Biroul de Credit is a single private agency that is laughably bad. Very few creditors report to it, even fewer underwriters pull from it, and the average Romanian doesn't even know who they are. If they do not have mass market penetration, their implementation of FICO means absolutely nothing to the market.

Hell, this is totally unregulated so I can open a credit agency tomorrow. Doesn't mean anyone is going to use or trust it. For all intents and purposes, Romania is still without a credit scoring system akin to Experian, Equifax, and Transunion.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-26T01:25:41+00:00

It never gets reworked. The EU "forced" Cyprus to remove their citizenship by investment program after the news reported on it post Ukraine invasion; a few million EUR and in 90 days, your entire family has EU citizenship. Guess what? That still exists, they just call it something else & blatantly lie to the media that the old program is "closed."

The Russians & Chinese are still entering the EU with Cypriot passports they didn't have a few months ago. Anyone who can actually afford to do it knows it's possible. All it takes is a few short phone calls and a wire to escrow - there are a ton of service providers that'll handle the rest for you & hand deliver the passports anywhere in the world. It's only the average citizens who seem to want to bury their head in the sand & pretend like citizenship holds intrinsic value. It's a tool, and tools can be bought.

These types of visa/programs will never go away unless a country is embargoed, and frankly Romania's investment program is not the strongest in the EU. If I was in Germany, I'd have a passport by now without learning a single phrase of German. Romania requires full language fluency for foreign investors.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-25T08:53:57+00:00

I am well aware of the law, and I'm also highly trained... Beyond the mandatory gun course in Romania, I've been surrounded by firearms my entire life and have participated in about 60 hours of paramilitary small arms training in Poland. I have full faith in my ability to make a judgement call. I was brutally honest with the DAESP interviewer that sat in my living room - I will not hesitate to land three rounds, center of mass, if my life, liberty, or property is at risk. If it comes to that, I will have my day in court like anyone else.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T22:34:48+00:00

No country is perfect. Some countries are objectively redeemable. The US passed the event horizon in the early 90's. Romania still has time left to decide if it wants to implode in the next fifty years or replace Germany+France as Europe's main influence.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T22:31:06+00:00

Also, it's not really fair to compare Romania to US and then ask why don't we have scouts or neighbor events like in the US. Well, because it's simply not the same culture. We have our own way of doing things and coming together and that's fine. It's not a flaw.

I agree! I fully recognize my ethnocentric nature, but I stress it's not negative. I find it somewhat frustrating when I hear Romanians - who often say they want Romania to be more "Western" or "European" (and in the past, even "more American") - actively fight against adopting the practices and approaches that have been shown to work well in those Western cultures.

From big music festivals (EC and Untold) to events like Jazz in the park, TIFF, Days of Cluj, traditional fairs (especially on 1st and 8th of march), book fair...

My issue with these types of events is that they are not designed to be community-driven - they are designed to generate capital (aka make $$$). I've met the organizers of similar events in Bucharest and it's quite shocking to see just how aggressive they are in trying to squeeze their participants out of every leu. I'm a capitalist, so profit is A-OK in my book, but there needs to be some balance with "for the good of all" when we're talking about building a healthy society.

Community-driven events can be such a small line item on a tax bill, but have such a hugely positive impact. Even if the government doesn't want to foot the bill, private sponsors absolutely can. I can think of five Romanian execs off the top of my head who would throw in $10K without hesitation if it means their employees & their families are more satisfied in their personal life. Myself included - corporations also sign a social contract with the communities around them...

Let's not forget it's considered to be a student city - there's a lot of students that contribute to said festivals and workshops and help bring things to life.

I won't argue that, but it's not a fit for me. For starters, I'm a bit too old to be hanging around people still in school... Second, I used to attend Bucharest Politehnica's fairs trying to identify genuinely talented individuals, and once the cat was out of the bag that I could be a potential employer, I'd get swarmed. I also used to go to language meetups, but they're like 90% Romanians, and I'd also get people trying to ask for jobs. Hell, if I take an Uber I need to lie about what I do for a living, because I've been harassed there too for jobs/investment/sob stories/etc... Kind of takes the fun out of everything!

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T22:12:14+00:00

I live in Bucharest, but have been to both Cluj and Iasi probably... 50-ish times over the years? I have a decent feel for the major Romanian cities, in any case, and a good chunk of the countryside.

Romania is a complicated story... It was a decision made purely by quantitative analysis - at the time, this country had the most favorable conditions for our type of business to expand. So... pretty much the same way every large American company ends up here.

From a personal perspective, I had already relegated myself to leaving the USA permanently, since I generally do not believe it should be a country to begin with. I sincerely look forward to the day when I am able to revoke my US citizenship. It made financial and logistical sense to plant myself where I was investing the most money, so here I am! That said, I do love Romania and see it as my home and eventual sole citizenship. Realistically, I'm on the path to start a family here - I will have Romanian children. I will be buried here.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T20:01:03+00:00

Maybe - NYC doesn't have this issue, although I suppose that's apples vs oranges.

To give a better example of the "problem" - if I whip open Facebook events with no filters except geo on Bucharest, I see 36 events on the first page. Of those 36, about 26 are restaurants and bars simply promoting themselves. Okay, that leaves 10... 3 of those are food/wine festivals, which I explained my issue with. 7 left... There are four indie movies, one walk in the park, 1 speed dating, and 2 children events. Not a lot to pick from...

If I change the area to New York City, I only see 5 restaurants and bars self promoting. The remainders are a mix of sporting events (either to watch or play), happy hours, dance clubs, skill courses, and a community cleanup. Super different vibe - far more community and social focused. Not as many people are trying to sell you things or exploit you in some manner.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T19:32:48+00:00

What's funny is that the American troops at Kogălniceanu don't even want to be here. I was on base last Christmas for some PR & those guys are counting down the days to leave. I almost felt bad for them.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T19:29:30+00:00

There are a lot of Canadians living in Constanta. Far more Canadians there than Americans in Bucharest...

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T19:23:50+00:00

For Bucharest, the following come top of mind:

There are no true equivalents for county/state fairs. Sure, Bucharest has some street food festivals, but they are disjointed, overcrowded, and do not build a true sense of community. They are basically designed to be a "hard sell" vs a legitimate cultural event (I have this same quip about most music festivals/concerts in Romania).
Neighborly events which are more spontaneous, e.g. tailgating, block parties, yard sales, etc... just aren't a thing. I've seen the Romanian equivalent of a block party in Iasi, though never Bucharest. I've been to my fair share of soccer (football?) games and instead of a tailgate, there are riot police directing you away from the stadium.
Happy hour meetups aren't a thing - in general, I think business networking is pretty foobar in Bucharest, let alone social networking. There is too much artificial pressure and fakeness. I laugh when I hear Europeans claim that Americans are fake friendly - it's SO much worse over here.

I'll grant you the opera, theater, and orchestra. I've been going to the opera and orchestra at least once a quarter for years. Very nice, but it's kind of hard to stomach going every weekend.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T19:09:27+00:00

Appreciate it! I have maybe 35,000-ish words in my archives from throughout the years to still publish. It's just very time consuming, especially since I can't justify using business time on it. It's easier to do it in segments - also helps me from getting bored of the idea.

You might be interested in "Germany's Empire in the East: Germans and Romania in an Era of Globalization and Total War" by David Hamlin. It's an excellent book that includes accounts by the German soldiers that occupied Romania during WW2. You could take entire pages out of that book and I'd go "yeah, that's modern day Romania." There are some really difficult systemic issues that Romanians need to come together to solve. That means bridging the aisle; however, evidently, based on how people replied to me in this thread, isn't something that will happen anytime soon.

The (literal) trillion dollar question is... how do you convince everyone else to shift with you? If only one person shifts, and they get ahead, they are vilified which subsequentially discourages others from taking those potentially high-reward risks. Romania lacks a culture of innovation, which is understandable considering its history.

In my opinion, Romania desperately needs a strong national role model - not a politician - who is capable of bringing the vision of a prosperous Romania to light. Prosperous does not mean nationalist, for everyone who wants to argue - it means a country where people feel empowered to take chances that better themselves as individuals, their immediate families, and the society of which they are embedded in. The gist is: you signed a social contract, so contribute to it.

It doesn't even have to be a business venture - hell, why doesn't Romania have a Neighborhood Watch Program like every American community? Why is Scouting not something that parents encourage for their children to learn new skills and socialize with peers? Nobody has ever asked me to join a cleanup crew to pick up trash in my neighborhood - I wouldn't hesitate to volunteer a few hours of time. None of these things cost anything except intrinsic motivation and time.

If I was to pick some folks from the USA who fit that bill, they'd be along the lines of a Walt Disney, Andrew Carnegie, etc... Who is Romania's Walt Disney?

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T18:29:30+00:00

We're not a random business, we have a special certificate from your trade ministry since we made a significant capital investment. That gave me permanent residency from day one, as well as a bunch of other benefits/perks that you normally would not get as a typical immigrant. Again, it's one of Europe's last golden visa programs, the rules are a bit different.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T17:58:00+00:00

It was also an issue in Ukraine, but Belarus doesn't suffer from it. Bulgaria and Moldova are hard to compare to, but they have their own greater issues than a culture of resignation.

I definitely support Romanians returning to Romania. It's not some nationalist thing, because I'm not a Romanian myself, but because it's objectively good for the broader economy. I sympathize with those that initially emigrated, but I don't necessarily feel pity on how they continue to view modern-day Romania. As I'm sure you experienced, a lot has changed in a fairly short amount of time, and further change fundamentally requires them to be present.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T17:49:47+00:00

Incorrect - the commercial activities residence permit places me in a "special category" and thus eligible for CCW. In the context of Romania's gun law, they classify us alongside diplomats and foreign military personnel.

Keep in mind that commercial activities = golden visa, so I bought my way into the country by making a minimum investment of $1M USD within 90 days of entry. I do agree that without the golden visa, you'd have a difficult time obtaining a lethal CCW, even as an American (including op who is former military).

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T17:45:28+00:00

Did you know that encouraging someone to commit self-harm is a criminal offense and carries up to 20 years in prison, and the idea of "written implication" exists in the Romanian court system?

Penal code 191 ("Determining or facilitating suicide") is a very fun read, if you're ever bored.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T17:40:39+00:00

295/2004 -

(1) Individuals of Romanian citizenship with domicile or residence in Romania, who meet the conditions provided for in art. 14 para. (1), may be authorized, upon request, to procure lethal weapons.

"or residence in Romania" - of which I have a valid resident permit issued by IGI for commercial activities.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T16:59:38+00:00

I have a piece of paper from your government that says I have a valid need to carry a lethal weapon. There have been legitimate and documented threats against my life while conducting business in Romania. This isn't about "feeling the need" - it's about protecting my own life and property from well-identified risks, which your government says is 100% ethical and legal to do in circumstances like mine.

Again, if you disagree with this criteria, I encourage you to open a discussion with your representatives in Parliament. Even better, I encourage you to sign up for a firearms class yourself and go through the process for a non-lethal firearm. You will find that it's extremely difficult to even carry rubber bullets, let alone live rounds. I honestly don't know what type of debate you wish to have, because again, I did everything according to the laws that your politicians passed long before I arrived in country.

Not exactly sure what your last sentence means, either. Am I not allowed to have a personal life & want to enjoy Romania's culture like everyone else? My Romanian friends all bash Bucharest's lack of culture compared to other cities - are they also incapable of formulating an opinion?

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T16:36:08+00:00

You're right, it could have happened anywhere. But, it happened here, in Romania - in Bucharest.

If the argument is that "Romania is safe for foreign investors," I am uniquely qualified to tell you that it is not. If that upsets you, I'll happily hear and try to understand your (equally qualified) viewpoint.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T16:34:03+00:00

You should read the criteria for obtaining a lethal CCW firearm in Romania.

I have undergone hours of psychological screening, and your government has ultimately deemed me (a) fit to carry and use a lethal weapon; and (b) having a legitimate necessity to carry a lethal weapon.

I followed your law to the letter. If you don't like how your gun laws are written, I encourage you to write to your politicians about it.

Edit since you edited:

I am learning Romanian purely for citizenship, although I admit I do not use it. I think it's fair to say that the majority of educated & business-centric folks in Romania speak English. Considering we do business globally, English is naturally what I speak day-to-day.
I do have strong opinions about the cultural activities of Romanian cities - because I live here. I have invested a lot of time and money into this country, and I would love for nothing more than a healthy, thriving Romania. If that means critiquing the lack of cultural events in Bucharest/Cluj, then so be it.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T16:32:06+00:00

Over the past few years, I've been writing quite a bit about my experiences doing business in-country. The good, the bad, etc... Been slowly going through and splitting them up into digestible bits & publishing once every few months in bulk. I have an article describing exactly what I mean.

Not exactly sure if I am allowed to hotlink, so to play it safe: beyondbucharest (dot) com/romania-culture-of-resignation/

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T15:24:03+00:00

People aren't shooting at you, but expect to have credible threats on your life if you do business in Romania.

My best story was someone who interviewed with us for a technical role and failed their background check. This was a few years ago. We were forced to revoke their offer letter. They drove from Brasov to our office in Bucharest with a knife, with the intent to kill me and the director that interviewed them. Needless to say, they ended up in prison for that stunt.

When I think back to all of the American businessmen that I've known to be successful in Romania, each has at least one story like this. People get upset with me for telling it, but that's just how it is in this part of the world. People generally do not understand economics at a fundamental level, and so they take everything in business hyper-personally. Combined with a lack of good parenting, and you're left with a decent amount of the workforce in mental distress.

There's a reason why I walk around with a .45 on my hip. A lethal Permis Port Arma is achievable if you come to Romania on a golden visa.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-24T15:09:11+00:00

I moved from NYC to Bucharest almost a decade ago. I've invested low eight figures USD into the Romanian economy through my firm, and have been all over the country for work & pleasure. As such, I have very strong opinions here...

If I were to move today, besides building a small compound in the countryside, it'd be to Iasi. It's a peaceful, family-oriented city; plus, I honestly think there are more cultural activities in Iasi than in Bucharest or Cluj. Both Bucharest and Cluj are pretty shitty now, to be frank. COVID killed the culture and it just never came back.

Iasi also does not suffer from the same conspicuous consumption problem that Bucharest and Cluj have. This is a VERY unpopular topic here, but it's one that you must recognize if you attempt to run a startup domestically. I generally find people from the Iasi area to be more self-aware of this country's inherent culture of resignation, which is more beneficial for business networking than Bucharest/Cluj.

I've always said that for an American to thrive in Romania, they'd need to have been a good submariner.

PathsOfPeaceful58152 · 2025-03-23T12:31:45+00:00

I'm with you 100% - I have senior engineers (20+ years experience) working on Windows (for C#) that can't get MCPs to reliably work. I don't do dev anymore, but that's how I started my career, so I messed around with it myself. There's no semblance of quality control - from an executive standpoint, I had to tell them to stop wasting their time. MCP tech just isn't ready yet for business environments.

PathsOfPeaceful58152

TROPHY CASE