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Timisoara is great city. Clean, full of history, lots of parks and flowers, crossed by the river Bega. People in there are hospitable, and they take very much pride in their city and their region. They call themselves "Banateni" before calling themselves Romanians. The anti-communist Revolution started in Timisoara, and the city is a symbol of democracy in this country.

Ovidiu, thank u very much for your reply

May be you can tell me more? what is the cost of living? How much is to rent a flat?

Are there niceplaces to go. socialize?

Would appreciate any information

Although I live in Bucharest, I've spent a lot of time working in that region in another Banatean town.

A two-room apartment (that's one-bedroomed) should cost you about 250 Euro per month, assuming it's in good condition and well located.

On top of that you'll have to pay the 'intretinere' (communal block bills). You can figure about 100 RON (25 Euro) per month in the summer up to about 200 RON in the winter (when the heating is on). Sometimes the heating, gas and water are metered seperately, sometimes divided up per person throughout the whole block.

On top of that you could have cable TV, internet, land line, electricity, all of which come in at about 10-20 Euro each per month, depending on the service provider and the package you have. 100 Euro per month should easily cover all your bills (food excluded).

Food in the shops and markets costs about the same as the rest of Europe, as do basic domestic supplies. Transport is reasonably cheap (although you won't need to use it much in a town the size of Timisoara). Evening entertainment is pretty cheap (drinks, meals, concert/cinema tickets, etc) and so bars and restaurants a quite busy and lively, especially in the summer.

The old town of Timisoara is very pleasant and the river runs around it. There are some 'beergarden' type bars set up in the main Piata (Unirii) throughout the summer. Most of the locals socialise by going to beer gardens with friends, visiting family, or driving out of town for a barbeque. There are some beautiful places in that area (and the neighbouring counties; Hunedoara I think is especially nice) so you might consider getting a car if you're staying for the long term or even renting one out for a weekend from time to time.

The people in that region are noticeably more friendly than in Bucharest (although that isn't saying too much as you'll know if you've even spent any length of time in the capital!). You get more polite service in shops and restuarants and people are generally more hospitable, as Ovidiu mentions.

I hope that'll give you some food for thought - hopefully someone from the area will pop up soon and fill you in with more uptodate details.

All the best

Maykal, thanks a lot