The East meets West city. What remains constant for the expat?

Ahh, Bucharest. What can I say about a city in which I have spent most of the last twelve years of my life? Indeed it is rather daunting to think how much the city (and I for that matter!) have changed in those past dozen years. But when Bill Avery, the publisher of Business Review, asked me to submit my thoughts on the landmark 10 year anniversary of his veritable publication, I felt compelled to respond.

By Bryan W. Jardine

When I first arrived here in August 1996, Bucharest was a far different city than it is now. It lacked many of the normal amenities that newly arriving expats now take for granted. So for those die-hards who have been here as long as I have, perhaps it bears remembering just what did NOT exist in the Bucharest of that time:

1.No shopping malls, hypermarkets or real supermarkets – rather groceries were bought from dingy, darkened shops with little if any selection

2.No modern (i.e. read “with heat, air conditioning or comfortable seating”) movie theatres

3.No health clubs or decent gyms

4.No Coyote Café (I had to throw that one in but in fact there were no decent live rock ‘n’ roll music venues until the Jukebox!)

5.No decent restaurants

6.No brunch (first introduced by Bora and Café Paris)

7.No Harleys or really any motorcycles for that matter

8.No six-lane highway with flyovers to Otopeni airport

9.No Pipera housing complexes

10.No Hilton, Marriott, Novotel, etc. Just the Intercontinental and Sofitel.

11.No NATO, no EU

On the other hand, let’s think of those things we did have and which have passed into the mists of history.

1.Delta House Parties (toga and otherwise)

2.Sydney

3.The Dead Ceausescus (expat rock band for those of you who

arrived after 2002)

4.Karaoke at the Manhattan Club in the Sofitel

5.Connex and Dialog

6.Bancorex

7.The Jukebox

8.Stray Dogs (okay, I know they are still around but nowhere near the number we “enjoyed” in the 90s!)

9.“Personality” expats like Vitold, Ken Steen and Phil Bloom

10.Baneasa Forest (or at least a large portion of it)

11.Driving from one side of Bucharest to the other in 15 minutes

12.Oltcit (pronounced “old shit” and Dacia 1310 (again, I know they are still around but in Bucharest at least they are now the exception rather than the rule)

13.Fifty page menus with actual choice restricted to “chicken or pork”

And what remains constant for us expats? I suppose the energy, the adventure, the fascination with such an “East meets West” culture, the abundant hope and faith in the potential of this country and its people. While I may not still be in Romania a dozen years hence, I am optimistic that this country in 2020 will have made even greater strides and progress than during the remarkable period from 1996-2008.

And finally, I am sure that Bill Avery and Business Review will still be around—a bit older, “fatter” and grayer perhaps (come to think of it, it would be hard for Bill to be any grayer than he is now!) but still keeping us informed with all the business news in English that’s fit to print!

So, hats off and “La Multi Ani”, Business Review!

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