Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cities largely safe and locals more interested in getting to know you than filching your
wallet.
The doors that EU membership opened have
arguably made the lure of jobs abroad even
more powerful, exacerbating the country's
'brain drain'. Romanians working in construc-
tion or the service industry in Greece, Spain or
Italy stand to make far more money than uni-
versity professors or engineers at home.
Since the country's 2007 EU ascension, leaps forward have included strong gains by
the lei against the euro and a dizzying real-estate boom that attracted investors from
around the world. In 2006 the Romanian Statistics Office reported a GDP growth of 7.7%,
one of the highest rates in Europe. After an eye-widening GDP growth of 8.9% in the first
nine months of 2008, Romania joined the rest of the globe under the dark cloud of the fin-
ancial crisis. But at a time when other EU countries' GDP was sliding backwards, in 2011
and 2012 Romania's was on the rise. Slowly and surely this most complex of countries is
making a comeback.
Rapes are still difficult to convict in Romania be-
cause a witness and medical certificate are required,
and most women are too scared to report the crime
to police.
