Post: #1

As promised, my feedback about Bucharest, Romania. I've been visiting it for around three years now, spending 2-3 months each year there,

General
Apr-June and Sep-Oct are the best months to go, weather-wise. It is too hot in summer, and it is snow during winter. Note that the rain may start quite suddenly, and last for hours. Check the forecast, and have an umbrella.

Use taxis for transportation, they are very cheap. If you stay in downtown area (which I suggest), you'll likely find no use for subway. Buses are modern and have AC, but I never used them. I suggest to avoid trains as they suck, even the best Intercity trains are still not TGV quality, and local Personal trains are awful - people literally ride those trains with their livestock!

The city is cheap by European standards, but not dirty cheap. Hotels are still relatively expensive; expect to pay at least 40 EUR a night for a decent place. There are hostels, but I never stayed in one, so know nothing about them. However if you think about bringing a girl to your place, you need to rent an apartment. Very few girls would follow you to your hotel room - even if they know you for a while - as it carries a "whore" stigma. Some hotels (especially the top ones) may not even allow you to bring guests, or ask them to fill up the form and copy their ID, not very exciting. There are few reputable real estate agencies in Bucharest, the last time I used http://www.rocazare.ro and can recommend them, although I did not have any issues and cannot vouch for their real 24/7 availability.

Rent your place in downtown area, near Piata University or Piara Unirii subway stations. This is where the most of the night life is, and a lot of day life is there too. If you're renting a regular apartment, ask whether the hot water is avaiable. It typically gets shut down during summer, block by block, when the city workers repair and clean the pipes. Most rented apartments have electric water heaters, and all washers in Europe have a water heater inside, but it is worth asking.

Bucharest is very safe city, you should not experience any issues walking back to your place at 4AM. I've never seen a fight in a bar or on streets. Your main problems, besides pickpocketing, may be being hit by a crazy cab driver, getting bitten by a stray dog or being approached (and followed) by an ugly gypsy girl who'd be offering you a BJ for 5EUR untill you tell her to get lost.

Girls
Looks are typical for Eastern Europe, and Romanian girls are indeed good looking, and in great shape. They dress up nicely - definitely "sexy" by American standards, even when they go to the office. They are well-groomed and use makeup (some use a lot of makeup though). Vast majority has dark hair and brown eyes, this is definitely not the place to go for natural blondes. The boobs are on a smaller side, I think B is the average cup size as the girls are slim. Fake boobs are rare to non-existent, and generally frowned upon. Girls have great legs, and they like to show them - you'll see a lot of tight pants, leggings and mini skirts as well as high heels. Pretty faces, although if you don't like big noses you might disagree here.

Attitude-wise they are friendly toward foreigners, and race doesn't really matter. In theory darker Indians or Turks might be confused with gypsies, but this probably would be relevant only on the beach, as a typical gypsy dresses up and behaves very different from tourists. I don't think being of any specific race would give you significant advantage there; while black and Asian dudes are definitely exotic there, girls there generally are not into "notch collection" as they do in West, so this will not be a deciding factor.

Girls there are smart, pretty much as Russians are - both in term of education and life experience. A lot of them have university degrees, and read and traveled a lot. Unless you well-traveled around Europe, she is likely to have visited more countries than you do. Most speak English very well, they understand slang and even use it; this is likely due to the fact that all foreign movies are shown in Romania with original soundtrack, while the translation is provided via subtitles. So far this is the best English-speaking country in EE I've been to. A lot of them speak other language, Italian/French being the most common; I've met a girl who spoke seven languages, including Russian, and she didn't make any big deal of it. However very few of them have been to US (Romanians still need visa to enter the US and it is not easy to get), and they're very interested to hear about it. Latin America and Jamaica is also big hit there, mostly because it is so far away that only the rich people can afford it. So your stories about US have more value to them than stories about France, even if you're from France yourself - as long as you stay away from baseball, which is widely considered a moronic kind of sport outside the USA. They're also relationship quality, and as soon as you built the comfort they'd start taking care of you - if you let them.

In terms of getting laid the girls are more difficult than American chicks, although still easier than Ukrainian chicks. First, they do not get drunk. Romanians drink comparatively little alcohol, and tend to stop as soon as they feel slightly tipsy. Even party girls in the Club A drink significantly less than American party girls.
Second, there is no "one night stand" culture in Romania. While they indeed happen, people in general go out to party with friends and then get back home, not to hook up with strangers. This means their logistics play a significant factor there, from having to feed up her cat to having to wake up early the next day. This also means you have to approach groups as they're always in groups - and those groups may be from three to thirty people. I also found it significantly harder to isolate the people from the group the first time you met them; the second time it is much easier. However they are reliable and not flakey.
There are also little to no bitch shields, and they're friendly to approaches as long as you don't match a "drunk Brit looking for sex" type. The very best looking respond positively to negs, and may be gamed the same way American chicks are. However do not try it unless the girl is definitely the best looking in the room, as it may be overkill for her and you'll be written off as arrogant jerk. For the rest you need to tone down your game, put more emphasis of being mysterious and having a lot of stories to tell, and tone down using cocky/funny to the minimum. Choose your (dis)qualifiers properly, as if you use the typical American female ones such as cooking, travel, extra weight, taking care of herself, experience with other cultures - it is very likely she'd beat your expectations at all of them. I'd avoid boob size/big nose/teeth/"your breath smell" disqualifiers as well. Smoking is an easyone, and so are "I wish you were blonde" type disqualifiers. Jokes about sex work well, while talking about sex in public is rare between strangers. People also tend to behave themselves in public, and besides kissing it is rare to see heavy makeout outside.

Any drug use is generally looked down in Romania, even by the most party girls. Smoking weed is considered "doing drugs" as well. I'd avoid stories about "smoking weed with guys" and you getting high on something. And if the girl you're talking to is a drug user, that's a major red flag.

If you don't mind all that dating stuff, then do not push for the sex on the first date; get a kiss and some more makeout, and then excuse yourself (it is important that you initiate the leave). It is much easier to get on the second date, the difference is like tenfold; of course there is the risk you won't get the second date, but at the same time you need to build a lot of comfort to get her in your bed right on the first date. Locals can do it, but since you are a foreigner, you are being held to higher scrutiny, and therefore this is harder for you. It is a big deal for them not to think of themselves as whores.

What might help here is the double-dating strategy I used in past. This is when you have a girl you're meeting the first time, and you schedule the date for 8pm. Then you schedule a date with a girl you're meeting the second time, and you schedule it for 10pm. The idea here is to go through the "get-to-know-you" with the first girl, build some attraction and rapport, and then leave. Benefits include protection from flaking (if the first girl flakes, you have your second date soon, and if the second girl sends you a "can't do it tonight" message, you can stay with the first girl), increasing your chance (by displaying higher value and then leaving you put her into position when she analyzes the date - now she worries if you found something wrong with her instead of weighting whether she wants to see you again), and the first date helps to get you into a talkative high-energy state helping your second date to succeed. The main issue with this approach is that it leads to some wasted opportunities, and it requires a lot of control from your side as well as good actor skills so your leave looks surprising and natural and you don't watch the clock every five minutes.

Gaming

If you stay in downtown area, Lipscani district is where most of the nightlife is. It is full of clubs, restaurants, cafes, and there is always a lot of people going somewhere. There is also a small five story mall and a few parks nearby, good for day game.

For going out at night, if you don't have any specific club in mind and just want to walk around, check your attire. Most clubs have the dress code, and they enforce it. Generally you want to wear a shirt (short or long sleeve), long slacks or non-sport pants and good shoes - no sandals, flip-flops or sneakers. Shorts are accepted in most places, but I did get refused entry twice. Sneakers and sleeveless shirts will not be accepted pretty much everywhere.

Most clubs have no cover on weekdays and have cover on weekends. The cover is very low though - typically 10-20 lei (around $3-$7). In most places females do not pay the cover.

I can recommend the following clubs:

Club A (Str. Blanari 14, Lipscani area) is a good place if you're into gaming teenagers. It is the student/high school crowd, with a lot of 17-19yo chicks, and it is dirt cheap. Most people I asked it about said it was dump, but I liked it. They seem to have the age restriction, as our company got refused entry because we had a 40yo dude with us. It is not published anywhere, so I'm not sure about it though. They play a lot of old hits, last year I spent the whole night there listening to Dire Straits and Pink Floyd. It is empty around 10pm, and gets packed

El Comandante, El Grande Comandante, El Dictator (Str. Stavropoleos 8, Str. Viitorului 26, Str. Sf. Dumitru 3, Lipscani area) is where the older crowd gathers. Mostly hipsters and chicks in their 20s though. Prices are cheap to average. It is one of "office drone" clubs - good for getting laid, but I did not like the vibe there so I've only been there once. My friend however got laid like a chump at El Grande, and basically made it his base.

Fratelly club (Str. Glodeni nr. 1-3, near Park Verdi, take a taxi there). An upscale, suit-friendly club. Quite expensive by local standards, and attracts the upscale crowd. There are some gold diggers, but not all of them are; some are just locals who're doing well. 25+ crowd, $10+ drinks. It is frequented by some Romanian celebrities as well.

Hard rock cafe (Herastrau Park, take a taxi) mostly attracts after-hours working crowd and tourists. I've been there for karaoke, and enjoyed some very good singers. There was a bunch of women sitting alone, but they all looked touristy, and none of them was younger than 40. Still talked to some, they said the place is packed on weekends (I was there on Thu), but the crowd is mostly older, 30+.

Mojo (Str. Gabroveni 14, Lipscani area) an interesting club which main value for me is a non-smoking bar. It is countered by the fact that the most action - and live band - is at the basement floor, which - you guess - is smoking. They also have karaoke and live music, and there is a lot of action on weekends.

Have fun!

Post: #2

Fantastic report, ON. Very, very insightful and thorough. The bit on hot water is good to know. You covered a lot of ground.

I'll be sure to use your gaming strategies. Don't worry...I won't mention curling.

Post: #3

Since I'm moving to Bucharest permanently in late August, I couldn't have asked for a better data sheet. Big +1 from me!

Post: #4

Yes, Fratelli's is a nice higher end club. Most people are there in groups. I went with a small group and ended up hooking up with a nice green eyed brunette via the introductions.

Post: #5

(07-10-2011 01:32 PM)alb3 Wrote:  Yes, Fratelli's is a nice higher end club. Most people are there in groups.

Same everywhere. In over three years visiting Bucharest I have yet to see a single local girl alone in a bar or in a club unless it is obvious she's waiting for someone who is coming, or went to restroom.

(07-08-2011 12:22 AM)alchemist Wrote:  Since I'm moving to Bucharest permanently in late August, I couldn't have asked for a better data sheet. Big +1 from me!

Start learning Romanian, you WILL need it if you settle there. You'd have to deal a lot with government workers, and they're mostly older and speak little English. Also speaking Romanian on a decent level will make you "local", making the SNL much easier for you. And, of course, living in a country and not learning the language is disrespect.

Late Aug still may be very hot, I'd move it to mid-Sep as it is better weather-wise.

Post: #6

One more thing I forgot to mention - Internet speeds are blasting there. Download speeds such as 5 megabytes per second are common, and do not surprise anyone. U.S. is indeed a third world country on that matter.

Post: #7

Great datasheet.

I met this romanian woman last year who was 40 something, she was sexyyyyyy..had a body like a black woman, spoke several languages and just a great person to talk to. My homie messed up things, we were trying to fuck her 1 hour after knowing her but he was pushing it to hard even before she arrived at our place and then she just decided to leave..i was mad as hell that day.

Is it common to see women in romania with bodies like black girls? Think sandra romain for you to have an idea of what im talking about.

Post: #8

(07-14-2011 06:33 AM)pitt Wrote:  Great datasheet.

I met this romanian woman last year who was 40 something, she was sexyyyyyy..had a body like a black woman, spoke several languages and just a great person to talk to. My homie messed up things, we were trying to fuck her 1 hour after knowing her but he was pushing it to hard even before she arrived at our place and then she just decided to leave..i was mad as hell that day.

Is it common to see women in romania with bodies like black girls? Think sandra romain for you to have an idea of what im talking about.

You can find Romanian women with this look. Black hair with green, blue, or hazel eyes with a nice body. Romanians are a nice mix. Of course there are the white Romanians but there are many Romanians who are a mix of white, Turkish, and Gyspy. Like OldNemesis stated earlier, don't expect quick hits here. It can happen but not likely. I'm in Bucharest now and am enjoying the warm weather and the sights.

Post: #9

Is it an attractive city? Do you find yourself being frequently impressed by its architecture, parks, plazas, cleanliness, etc. (like many cities in Western Europe)? Or is it kind of industrial and/or dumpy?

Post: #10

(07-14-2011 09:16 PM)lilseezie Wrote:  Is it an attractive city? Do you find yourself being frequently impressed by its architecture, parks, plazas, cleanliness, etc. (like many cities in Western Europe)? Or is it kind of industrial and/or dumpy?

It was once known as the Paris of Eastern Europe. Many nice areas and buildings were bulldozed during communism. Some of the surviving buildings and nice areas are being renovated/restored while others as so dilapidated that they are simply being taken down.

The government here is very corrupt but they are doing a few things to better the city. I've noticed significant improvement since my first trip here about 5 years ago.

It's a nice city to walk. You kind of have to find your own way, go down a back or side street and see what you find.

Almost everyone speaks English and if you talk to them they are more than helpful.

Romania as a country has many beautiful places and more and more tourists are starting to come here. As they improve their infrastructure I am sure more will discover Romania.

Post: #11

(07-14-2011 09:16 PM)lilseezie Wrote:  Is it an attractive city? Do you find yourself being frequently impressed by its architecture, parks, plazas, cleanliness, etc. (like many cities in Western Europe)? Or is it kind of industrial and/or dumpy?

Well, it is not Rome, but there are indeed some things to see. The parks are particularly great.

Post: #12

Not sure which Bucharest data sheet to reignite but I guess this is as good as any since it details a few specific night spots. I have wondered around the old town in the day and there looks like a ton of options. Do we have any solid spots that guys most preferred?
I have been tipped on 2 Russian clubs that I might check out this weekend.