To many people, Romania would appear to be a tough place to live in. After all, it is a country, which went through a lot of hardship in the recent past, and is now trying hard to catch up with the rest of the developed world. The thing is, it has actually become easier to live in Romania at present.

Life of the average Romanian is intimately involved with work. Romanians are busy people and begin their working day pretty early. They usually start off at seven in the morning and finish off by three in the afternoon.

But family life is of utmost importance to the average Romanian. A traditional Romanian family still sits down together at meal time. This is all more true in case of family businesses.

The Romanian economy is on a steady upswing. It has indeed come a long way from the doldrums of drastic economic reforms of the early nineties. Romanian economy is greatly diversified today. The major industries are textile and footwear, metallurgy, light machinery, machine parts assembly, mining, wood products, construction materials, chemicals, food products, and oil refining. Other emerging sectors in the industrial economy are medicine, heavy machinery, and home appliances. Recently the country has made rapid strides in the automobiles and IT industry as well.

The point of telling you all this is to let you understand that Romania has become an industrialized nation. In fact, agriculture is suffering there, as a large part of the agricultural work force has moved to industry.

However, people here are quite a friendly sort. They like hanging out with their friends over beer, coffee, or wine. They also like chatting with the women.

Romanians are also a people known for their hospitality. They feel that the standard of living has improved dramatically in the last 17 years. As far as their work habits are concerned, they have their own style and pace of doing work. This might appear to be a bit slow, at least to other people like French, say.

What is nice about living in Romania is that Romanians are not workaholics, nor do they always go strictly by the rules. Unlike the Germans, they do not always know what they are going to do next. They are quite ambitious in their outlook, but do not really swear by discipline.

Romanians know how to enjoy their leisure time. During public holidays and on weekends, you will see a lot of people spending their free time with family and friends. However, the hectic schedule of an industrialized society is gradually taking its toll on the easygoing lifestyle of Romania. People tend to get more tired and short of time these days. They also find themselves lonelier with time. Life in the 21st century can be demanding, and the old ways of living are bound to disappear slowly but surely. This unfortunate scenario is not limited to Romania, but is common everywhere else in Europe or the rest of the world.

Nevertheless, Romanians make an effort to strike a balance between their family life and their career. They also try not to be overcome by stress, while at the same time to improve their quality of work. Most Romanians are of the opinion that happiness is not the end but the means; it is a way of life. They feel happy to wake up to a new day, and thank God for the little joys of life. The challenge of living in Romania is a challenge of attitudes, and those, who cannot find fulfillment, seek it elsewhere in the wideworld.