Time has certainly passed since I first arrived in Bucharest in August 1996 to serve as a legal advisor on a one-year contract with the American Bar Association’s Central and East European Legal initiative.
Little could I have imagined at that time that I would still be here in 2009, as the managing partner of the Bucharest office of the Austrian-based law firm Wolf Theiss.
Initially, I perceived Bucharest as an exciting city of strange and exotic sights and sounds – the image of gypsy carts and brand new Mercedes automobiles commingling in the busy traffic against a backdrop of the Casa Poporului.
It has remained the same fascinating place, although the city has witnessed tremendous changes, primarily due to its rapid development and economic growth, particularly following Romania’s admission to NATO in 2004 and the European Union in 2007.
In the meantime, investors have also discovered Romania. Many of the leading multinational companies now have a presence here and I am no longer one of a handful of ex pats living in the so-called Paris of the East.
Clearly the city has benefited from significant development with new office and residential buildings and shopping malls to rival those in the West. Many of the beautiful old villas have been refurbished, giving back to Bucharest a part of its lost charm.
Back in 1998, with rents for class A office space (to the extent it existed) greatly exceeding those being asked in Beverly Hills, one was forced to settle for something less salubrious, although an average elevator ride in Beverly Hills didn’t include being stuffed cheek to jowl against another person and three stray dogs. Our office space today is located in the heart of Bucharest and our elevators have no stray dogs (thankfully nowadays more a rarity than the rule).
In the past the number of restaurants serving even passable food could be counted on one hand. Today, so many new good restaurants are opening up that I doubt I will have the time to sample the food at even half of them.
As to other diversions? Back in the 1990s the best exercise seemed to be eluding stray dogs while leaping potholes. Now, I can enjoy the benefits of the World Class Downtown gym, which rivals or even surpasses similar facilities in the US or Western Europe.
But what really struck me when I first arrived in Bucharest was the night life. This has not changed, not even after 12 years. It still has the same allure – virtually any night of the week there is a party, a business mixer, a drink before home, a charity event, or just simply a crowd at the bar. For an emerging economy there seem to be a lot of Romanians emerging from pricey clubs at 6am on a Saturday to roar off in their new Mercedes, BMWs or Porsches.
One place very close to my heart is Coyote Café, where every now and then I am able to belt out a few tunes, enjoy a beer with friends and commiserate about our experiences past and present in Bucharest.
The feeling of adventure, of living on the edge, so present in my first years here, has now somehow been lost, replaced by a more “civilized” life, with less bureaucracy and more integration into greater Europe. Many things still have to change before Bucharest will really become a gleaming metropolis, but the city is on the right track.
I like to imagine that years from now Bucharest will develop into a flourishing cosmopolitan centre: I will stroll the well-manicured banks of the mighty Dambovita river, heading for dinner at the newest five-star restaurant featuring trendy Romanian cuisine, and find myself actually missing the chaos of the stray dogs, horse carts, Dacia cars and ill-mannered cab drivers. Will this image become a reality? Not likely, but who knows?
Bryan Jardine is managing partner of Wolf Theiss’s Bucharest office.
Bryan, do the vampires from Vlad’s castle enjoy the nightlife as much as the expats?
Pam Goldberg!… that’s a stupid comment you made. I see that you have no knowledge about Romania at all. Better leave the comments to others who know more and are willing to do more research before opening their mouth. Such comments are degrading to you as apparently you can not read the article properly to see how Romania developed. You rely on a legend that is just that- a legend and not even true if you know the history of Romania. I hope you are not an investor in Romania because it would be a shame for Romania to have you there. Better find other things to do and learn more before showing your stupidity on this website. This is an example of how stupid and uneducated outsiders are of Romania. People like you bring shame to Romania. Shame on you Pam Goldberg for making such comment.
Pam’s comment was a joke nothing to get offended by.
There is a difference between making a joke and discriminating against a group of people (either direct or indirect). No one likes to be discriminated against by people like Pam. We live in a global economy with global citizens, therefore one needs to pay attention to such discriminatory comments. It would help if people like Pam Goldberg take a few minutes and read more about Romania. Romania is not only a country where investors go to impress with their different skills, but rather it is a country that contributed a lot to the development of the Western Countries. It is time for the west to show some respect and look at how Romania progressed over the years. It is not easy for Romanians to transition from communism to an immediate democracy. Besides, democracy does not even work in the Western countries. This is another topic, anyway. So, the point is: one needs to be careful and read the article carefully. The article was not written as a joke, therefore Pam, hopefully this can give you an opportunity to learn more about Romania.
I would have excepted a higher level of the conversation on this website. I must admit I am truly disappointed both by Pam’s and her detractor comments.
Perhaps Pam’s detractor ought to pass on this information to the great number of hawkers outside most tourist sights in and around Brasov, Sigishoara, Sibiu, Bran etc who sell the most tacky objects imaginable emblazoned with Dracula’s image.
If the Romanian people are prepared to take liberties with a great hero of their’s (Vlad Tepes), they cannot complain when others make harmless jokes along the same vein.
If the foreigners are willing to buy such objects, why not have Romanians sell what others buy. Usually is the uninformed foreigner who goes for such objects that promote the legend. I have visited Romania but never bought a Dracula object. Legends always exaggerate the truth to create a mystery and promote business. Every country has in one form or another a so called “great hero” considered by some, to name a few: Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein etc. They were all modern versions of Vlad Tepes who one day they will become a legend themselves. Would anyone buy their figurines if they existed? Business is always business. It all depends what one wants to believe in and how informed one is about a subject. Joke or no joke, I don’t think Pam’s comment was appropriate as it clearly shows an uninformed mind about Romania steering discriminatory comments highly inappropriately for the global economy we live and work in.
I went to the Coyote Cafe on a business trip last year and heard the legendary “singing lawyer” wow the crowd of investment bankers, technocrats and masseuses. It represents the best of the new Romania.
It’s really amusing how the discussion went straight to the “Land of Dracula” brand. I also live in Bucharest since 1996 and I think the article is a common sense picture about Bucharest lifestyle, not more. As for Pam, she is a living proof that the target audience of The Lawyer is not necessarily the most educated.
Why do I have the feeling that this story is a bit cliche? I would have expected a bit more insight from someone that has been living in Bucharest for more than 10 years. But then again, expats live in a world of their own.
OK all you lawyers, before my intelligence gets maligned any further, I must apologize profusely for my surprisingly controversial and apparently moronic posting. Bryan is actually my little brother. Seriously, you can analyze our DNA. Clearly I should have sent my snarky comment to his private email address and not posted on this blog where it could unleash such vitriol. While this has all been extremely entertaining, I apologize for my lapse in internet posting judgment. I promise it won’t happen again — at least not on any attorney blog!
Attention:
Pam Goldberg is Bryan Jardine’s sister. They are playing with us.
Vlad the Impaler certainly existed. He may still exist – within a cave in the Carpathian Mountains – waiting to reappear when Romania needs him.
Bucharest is going nowhere… dirty and suffocating. Will become sooner or later a black hole. Check other cities like Brasov where the new city mayor really cares for the city.
http://www.expatromania.ro