Moving to Romania In-Depth Review

Eastern Europe is still very much in vogue because of its opportunities. It was not long ago that Romania was still communist - until 1989, to be precise. Ceausescu had exploited the country’s resources, leaving Romania in a state of devastation. An economic recovery was the only possible path forward, and it has continued to this day. This is also reflected in the economy: from 2010-2024 Romania was many times the country in the EU with the highest economic growth and always in the TOP 3. This is just one of the reasons why moving to Romania makes sense.

Romania is conveniently located in southeastern Europe. The mild continental climate brings many hours of sunshine, pleasantly mild and long summer months - as well as snowy winters.

But what does moving to Romania really mean? A large number of Romanians leave the country due to a lack of job prospects. That is true. But the trend is declining! Wages have long since increased and leaving one's homeland almost exclusively affects rural areas.

Here are the 7 advantages of moving to Romania:

1. Lowest taxes in the EU

When it comes to relocating, the first thing you should think about is how comfortable you will feel in your new home. Ultimately, this will be the new focus of your life if you take the step of moving to Romania.
There is nothing wrong with this statement - but it requires a global perspective - as many factors play a part.

One of the most important factors is still: How much money do I have left to live on at the end of the day! Low taxes are therefore very welcome. When it comes to saving taxes, or more precisely: "maximizing your income after taxes", Romania often flies under the radar. That's why some people will be surprised that Romania actually offers the lowest tax for self-employed people, freelancers and entrepreneurs; of all EU countries.

1% corporate tax for micro companies. 10% dividend tax to distribute the company's profits to your private account. In the best case scenario: 11% tax. So if, for example, you have to pay out 50,000 EUR in profit, 11% goes to the Romanian tax office. 44,500 EUR after tax is available for your own use. This also applies if you do not have a residence in Romania, i.e. if you have a Romanian business while being based in another country.

If I am registered in Romania and live there, I only have to pay an additional amount for health insurance. In our example, that would be around 500 for the whole year, as there is an upper limit.

2. Low cost of living

Many post-communist countries have caught up quite well in recent decades when it comes to an increased standard of living. This has of course also been reflected in the inflation rate. Romania is certainly not a third world country, nor is it the poorest country in Europe. In the metropolitan areas there is almost full employment. Nevertheless, life is much cheaper (around 50%) than in Western Europe, with many amenities.

If we compare a Western European capital to Bucharest, various statisticians predicted in 2022 that the cost of living would be over 50% lower on average across all areas. Living, housing and food less than half the price is still a main argument for us.

3. (Small) Business Friendly

Romania is one of the most liberal countries in the EU when it comes to small business status. Up to 300,000 Romanian LEI per year, your company is classified as a small business and you are exempt from sales tax. According to the conversion, this corresponds to around 60,000 EUR/year or 5,000 EUR monthly - which does not incur 19% VAT on sales. In Europe, the average threshold is just 22,000 - 30,000 EUR.

It is also completely legal to set up several small businesses in Romania – these continue to be exempt from VAT – per company (which is not permitted in other European countries).

No sales tax on a substantial turnover—if the turnover exceeds the threshold, it can be distributed across multiple companies—plus a 1% tax on the annual revenue at the end of the year.

This structure has more than convinced us. With this model you can almost keep up with tax havens like the Cayman Islands or the Bahamas.

4. Enchanting nature (mountains, forests, beach and sea)

It is rare to find both together: huge forests, mountains and long stretches of beach directly on the Black Sea. Enjoy pure nature and true freedom outside of the big cities. A large part of Romania is characterized by the Carpathians and other mountains and their large forest areas.

After a 1.5 hour drive from Bucharest to Constanta you are already directly at the seaside.

5. Fast Internet

How can a country that didn't even have a democracy and was communist until the early 1990s regularly kick all other EU countries in the ass when it comes to internet speed? It turns out that a uniquely Romanian phenomenon has enabled the Eastern European nation to get one of the fastest internet networks in the world.

There are a few reasons why Romania's internet speeds rival those of Japan, China and Korea, and make the rest of Europe and North America seem slow by comparison. For one thing, there are far fewer people online in Romania. The constant internet usage rate in Romania is only 50 percent.

But there are other factors in the history of Romanian telecommunications that have led to the impressive internet speeds.

When demand for high-speed Internet began to grow in Romania, Romtelecom (Romania's internet provider) was not yet on the market. To meet the demand, resourceful entrepreneurs began to create neighborhood networks: small, local companies that serve a customer base of just a few blocks.

At first, they were just local networks where neighbors could share their downloaded music or play games together. The operators of the local networks started to make more money the more people joined the network. So they decided to use the LANs as a convenient way to sell low-cost, high-speed Internet to a specific area by installing fiber optic overhead lines.

6. High job opportunities thanks to full employment in the metropolitan areas

The capital Bucharest recorded 13,270 unemployed people (including 6,926 women) at the end of August 2022, bringing the unemployment rate up to 1.08%, data from the Bucharest Employment Agency showed on Tuesday (September 20, 2022).

In the last quarter of 2022, the Romanian economy delivered a positive surprise with a real GDP growth rate of 5.4%.

In the first half of the year, the economy grew by 5.8% compared to the same period last year. This figure is well above the Romanian government's summer forecast of 3.5% for the whole of 2022.

Romania produces coal, natural gas, iron ore and petroleum, but most of the raw materials for the country's large industrial capacity potential are imported. The main industries include chemicals (petrochemicals, paints and varnishes), metal processing, mechanical engineering, industrial and transport equipment, textiles, consumer goods manufacturing, wood and furniture.

39.4% of Romania's territory is arable land, 28% forests, 21% pastures, hayfields and orchards and 2.5% vineyards. Corn, wheat, oilseeds, vegetables, apples and grapes are the main crops, and sheep and pigs are the main livestock. Forestry and fishing are developed through long-term programs. Since 1990, successive governments have focused on transforming Romania into a market economy.

7. High security in Romania

There is no travel warning for Romania. Despite everything that is going on in the world, Romania remains one of the safest countries in Central and Eastern Europe with a crime rate below the European average. According to the Global Peace Index, Romania is a peaceful country with a score of 26/162.

Transportation in Romania is mostly safe. As in any other country, taxi drivers could take advantage of an unprepared tourist and trick them into paying way too much for the ride. Tourists are advised to use Uber to avoid such incidents.

Although pickpocketing and petty theft are among the most common crimes in Romania, they mainly occur in large cities such as Bucharest or other famous tourist destinations in Romania, and even there they are rare compared to other major European capitals.

Although Romania is very safe for female travelers, they should be aware of the dangers of traveling alone in a foreign city. As with most places, they should avoid walking alone through empty or poorly lit streets, passing groups of people who act or look strange, or engaging in conversations with strangers who may seem weirdly friendly.

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