The paradox of small towns in Romania: frozen in time, suffocated by traffic and with ever-increasing prices

Many Romanians remain amazed by the transformations that small towns in Romania have gone through in recent years. They tout the ever-increasing prices, suffocating traffic, and at the same time anchoring many of them in the past.

Congested traffic in the center of Sebeș, one of the cities “suffocated” by cars. Photo: Daniel Guță

Romania has over 300 cities with less than 100,000 inhabitants, and most of them have less than 30,000 people.

Romania, studded with small towns

Many of the small cities face demographic decline and aging populations, have poor infrastructure or are located far from communication highways, which has made them less attractive for major investments.

For decades in a row, in the second half of the 20th century, many small urban centers based their economy almost exclusively on the old factories and factories, expanded during the communist period, but remained uncompetitive with the liberalization of the market.

Even though some of these businesses continued production, the economy no longer needed the goods they were making. The decline of the former local “engines” was steep after 1990, and in most cases privatizations, restructurings and layoffs in the post-communist era could not save them from decommissioning, even if they extended their existence by a few years.

During this time, many Romanians left the cities where they lived and worked, looking for jobs in urban centers in Romania that continued to develop or in the West. After years spent away from their birthplaces or their families, some of the Romanians decided to return to the small towns and were shocked by the contrasts they observed.

Crowded streets and exorbitant prices

Many of the small towns, say the Romanians back home, seem frozen in time, their view being dominated by neighborhoods with old buildings, with a gray appearance, or by even older centers, outlined by historical buildings degraded by the passage of time.

The main streets are, instead, “flooded” at peak hours by the large number of cars passing through them, and housing rents and the prices of land and old apartments have brought the local real estate market to the brink of gridlock, some Romanians complain.

“I came back for a few days to a small town in Oltenia, after many years spent outside, and I honestly got stuck. I have the impression that many things have remained exactly as they were 10 years ago. What I can't understand at all is the traffic. Where does everyone drive in a small town? It's full at all hours: everyone is in a hurry, crazy overtaking, speed everywhere.” said a Romanian returned to the country, on the Reddit platform.

He was amazed by the prices of vegetables and fruit, but also of cold meats and dairy products in the shops, which he claims are much higher than in the UK.

“The reality hit me again with the rents: 400-500 euros for a two-room apartment in a new building. Who pays this? Is it much better than I think or is it normal to pay a lot of money just for rent?”, he asks.

Other Romanians have explanations for the congestion in some cities. I say that it has become fashionable for local people to go shopping by car, even when the nearest supermarket is 500 meters from their homes. In addition, many families have two cars each, and parking lots and streets were not planned in the past for heavy traffic and the current needs of local residents.

Regarding rents, many Romanians notice that, in cities such as Brașov, Pitesti, Oradea, Sibiu, Craiova and even Slatina, which were more accessible in the past years, the monthly cost of rents in new apartments is oriented around 400-500 euros, approaching those in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iași, Timișoara and Constanța. In smaller cities, the offer of monthly rents for apartments and studios is estimated at 200 – 300 euros, depending on the area and the quality of the housing.

Some Romanians see the changes for the better

Food and service prices are also similar between large and small cities, although incomes are ultimately lower and the job market here is less competitive. Those who imagined that coming to a smaller city would find the cost of living lower may be disappointed, another notes.

“I had the opportunity to visit many cities in Romania: Arad, Deva, Lugoj, Sibiu, Pitesti, Alba Iulia, Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Orșova, Caransebeș, etc. Being from Timișoara, I expected to find lower prices in these localities. I was really happy to think that, finally, I can eat a meal at an old price. In fact, the exact opposite happened: everywhere I found the same high prices”. add this one.

Another Romanian observes that the differences between Romania and Western Europe have decreased a lot in recent years. Rents and housing prices have increased, but, at the same time, Romanians' incomes are higher.

“The days when you worked as a salaryman in Spain and made your home in Romania are long gone. Salaries have tripled in the last 10 years”he says.

Some Romanians argue that, despite the shortcomings of many of Romania's small towns, their situation has improved in recent years.

“I left Austria 10 years ago, returning to a small town in Transylvania. In the past, every time I went to Austria, I had the feeling that I was arriving on another planet. Recently I went again and it didn't seem like that anymore. I think the difference between Romania and Austria has decreased quite a bit. For those who want to see how an area has changed, I recommend going to Google Street View and comparing”. states one of them.