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Whining is fun, for both the whiner and the … whinee? Don’t we all like to complain, or hear about other people’s misery. Human nature, I guess. That’s why scandal sells. I also suspect misery in general is more creative. How many happy rock stars have you heard about recently? Our blog is mostly complaints, as you can see if you browse all the articles. I want to break this habit and write a happy, and hopefully not to boring, post. About how much I like my new city: Brasov.

My husband and I moved to Brasov in January 2008, one month before our daughter, Alex, was born. She was the main reason for our move. Both of us had lived in Bucharest for many years and we were sick of our nation’s capital. We decided that it was not a place to raise a young family and keep one’s sanity, while on a medium sized budget. So we packed up, bought a house (sold out to the banks), and moved to Brasov.

Brasov is very green and it has a beautifully preserved medieval center. We can walk to most places and can forsake the car. Yey!!! Life is slow paced, people aren’t rushing by in madness and they smile at you on the street (they have a reason to, our daughter is cute as a button). It’s cleaner then Bucharest, though there still exists room for improvement. The architecture is much more unitary and you don’t see that many grotesque buildings. The huge communist blocks are banished to the periphery, and there are several neighborhoods of old houses (from the fifties and the sixties), which are very pretty.

The other big advantage is how close to nature you are. From the city you can hike up to a 1,800 meter peak. There are various bike tracks and the ski resort is only half an hour drive away. The medieval heritage is also important, not only in the city of Brasov, but also in the entire county, where there are several citadels and fortified churches, all worth a visit. You can see why this is the tourist and sports center of Romania. People are open, fit and eager to help.

I believe that we made the right decision in moving, even though our business is still based in Bucharest. It was worth the effort.