Judetul Bihor Travel Forum

I'm planning on spending 3 months in Oradea this summer and am wondering if anyone could help me out with how much money I should plan on having available.

How much is it to rent a one bedroom or studio apartment?
How much could I expect to spend on groceries?
How hard is it to go about getting an apartment for only 3 months?

Any help would be great...thanks!
Katie

Katie,

Follow the link http://www.ici.ro/romania/en/geografie/jbihor.html and make your own research on travel attractions.

Then find hostels at http://www.pa.ro, browse English, fill in directory "Bihor", city "Oradea", then click Domains by "H"

I rented an appartment for 3 months last winter in Oradea. I did it on very short notice so i spend 100 euro for a completely furnished place. A bit more then was necessary maybe it it was a nice place and i didn't really have the time to do a lot of searching. On top of that are of course costs of water, electricity and that depends on the season. Most blocks are heated centrally so it is a more or less fixed monthly price. I think (but it is a rough recollection) that i paid something between 20-40 euro on that. Food is fairly cheap. Especially if you cook your self and get everythign at the market (which will limit you roptions a bit in winter but it is still ok). Eating out will set you back around 3 euro for dinner (one course).

The best way for gettign an appartment is asking a romanian to help you along. Most appartments are rented out via agencies and if they hear that your a foreigner, you pay more.

If you are renting an apartment by the month, prices start at 100 Euro. (And the landlord does not want to be paid in Romanian Lei, either.)Unless it is something truly extraordinary, I would not pay more than 150 Euro. Groceries really depend on your eating and drinking habits. Generally, they are much less than in the US. Overall, you could be spending anywhere from 10 to 20 Euros per day. This includes food, apartment and transportation. If you take the bus, you save a lot of money. Then again, a taxi ride could just be one or two Euros.

As far as finding an apartment, I am assuming you already know someone in Romania if you are going to spend three months there. Have them ask around, as word of mouth is the best way to find a place. If you go through an agency, you pay a commission. If you do know anyone, there might be a Maria waiting for you at the train station offering apartments for 10 Euro per day. I call this person Maria because that is the name of the woman who greets tourists at the train station in Brasov. They usually exist in most popular cities in Eastern Europe. Anyway, if you have no prior arrangements I would rent an apartment on a daily basis for a couple of days until you find something better. It is definitely true that you will be charged the "American rate" if you try to rent an apartment without help from a local. Don't be discouraged, however.

In Oradea you'll not find a 'maria'. It is fairly untouristy. Most appartments you'll find using an agency in Oradea. It was the only way that i found mine and yes you do pay a slight commission. My landlord got paid in euro's that's true. Which meant i had to exchange money every month since there are no ATM's that give out money in euro's. Then again, all my romanian friends had to change money too so it was no different for me then for them.

hi katie, this is a student from india and am doing my postgraduate specialisation in the university of oradea, i am here from quite a few time , well as i think u can get an apartment as ur liking 1-2 bedrooms for 100 to 130 euros permonth but it would be advisable to inform somebody here at oradea prior to ur visit so that he or she can arrange for the place at least one week in advance {do not involve the property dealers}, this does not include electricity and water bill , but it comes around 50 euros per month in winter and around 20 euros in summer as the cost of heater is deducted, the cost of living depends on each individual habits , but there are really cheap food items available at piatsa market at various places in oradea, the groceries and food items per month will be around 40 to 50 euros, and there is very good transportation communication within oradea,,