Life in Romania for Indian workers is not what most people imagine before they go.
Some workers think Europe will feel like a movie. Perfect roads, perfect weather, a fancy apartment, weekends in Paris. That is not Romania.
Some workers think it will be terrible. Cold, lonely, no Indian food, nobody speaks English, and complete isolation for two years. That is also not Romania.
The truth about life in Romania for Indian workers is somewhere in the middle. And knowing that truth before you go makes everything easier once you get there.
This guide covers what life in Romania for Indian workers is actually like. Food, weather, people, money, homesickness, Indian community, weekends, and all the small things that nobody tells you before you board the flight.
The First Week: What It Actually Feels Like
The first week of life in Romania for Indian workers is almost always the hardest.
You land at the airport. Everything looks different. The signs are in Romanian. The people look different. The air smells different. Your phone plan may not work yet. You do not know where anything is.
This feeling is completely normal. Every single worker who has ever moved to a new country feels this in week one. It does not mean you made a wrong decision. It means you are in a new place and your brain needs time to adjust.
By week two or three, most workers start to feel more comfortable. By month two, most workers have a routine. They know where to buy groceries. They know their workmates. They have a few people they can talk to.
The first week is the hardest part of life in Romania for Indian workers. After that, it gets easier every single week.
Food: The Honest Truth
This is the question most Indian workers ask first. “Will I get Indian food in Romania?”
The honest answer is: it depends on which city you are in and how much effort you want to put in.
In Bucharest, which is the capital and the largest city, there are Indian restaurants. Not dozens, but a few. There are also Asian grocery shops where you can buy rice, lentils, spices, and even some Indian brands. Workers who know how to cook can make basic Indian food in their accommodation if they have a kitchen.
In smaller Romanian cities and towns, Indian food options are almost zero. You will be eating Romanian food most of the time. Romanian food is rice, bread, meat, potatoes, soups, and vegetables. It is not spicy. It is not familiar. But it is filling and it is not bad.
Most workers in factories or construction sites get meals provided as part of their package. These meals are Romanian food. Some workers adjust quickly. Some miss home food badly for the first few months.
The practical advice is this. Bring some basics from home in your suitcase. A small packet of masala, some dal, some ready-to-eat sachets. Not to live on, but to have when the homesickness for food hits hard. After a few months, most workers find they have adjusted much more than they expected.
Weather: Prepare for This
Life in Romania for Indian workers includes weather that most Indian workers have never experienced before.
Romania has four proper seasons. Summer is warm and sometimes very hot, similar to north India in May. Autumn is cool and beautiful. Winter is cold, sometimes very cold, with snow in many parts of Romania. Spring is mild and pleasant.
If you come from a warm part of India like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, or Andhra Pradesh, the Romanian winter will feel extreme. Temperatures in January can drop to minus 10 or minus 15 degrees Celsius in some cities. Even minus 5 feels very cold if you have never experienced it.
Your employer will provide warm work clothes for outdoor roles. But you should also bring or buy warm personal clothes for your time off work. A good winter jacket, warm socks, and thermal underlayers make a huge difference to daily life in Romania in the cold months.
The summer in Romania is genuinely lovely. Long evenings, warm weather, green parks. Most workers who arrive in winter are much more comfortable by summer and start to appreciate Romania much more.
People: Are Romanians Friendly to Indian Workers?
This is an important question and deserves an honest answer.
Most Romanians are neutral toward Indian workers. They are not unfriendly. They are not racist in most cases. They are simply a bit reserved with strangers, which is normal in Eastern European culture. They warm up once they know you.
At the workplace, most Indian workers find their Romanian colleagues to be fair and professional. Problems at work are usually about communication, not discrimination. If you do good work, Romanian employers and colleagues respect that quickly.
In public, most Romanians will not bother you at all. You may get a few stares in smaller towns where Indian workers are newer and less familiar. In Bucharest and larger industrial cities, Indian workers are a common sight and nobody pays special attention.
The language barrier is the real challenge in daily life in Romania for Indian workers, not the people’s attitude. Romanian is not easy to learn quickly. English is spoken reasonably well in cities, especially among younger Romanians. In smaller towns and at older worksites, English may be limited.
Learning ten to twenty basic Romanian words before you go makes a surprising difference. “Buna” means hello. “Multumesc” means thank you. “Cat costa?” means how much does it cost? These small things make Romanians warm up much faster.
Money: How Workers Manage Day to Day
Life in Romania for Indian workers involves managing money in Euros and Romanian Leu (RON). Most salaries are paid in Euros or converted to Leu depending on the employment contract.
Day to day spending in Romania is reasonably affordable compared to Western Europe. A basic grocery run for the week costs around 150 to 250 RON (approximately Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000) for one person. A local bus or tram ticket costs around 3 to 5 RON. A meal at a basic local restaurant costs 30 to 50 RON.
Most workers who have accommodation and meals included spend very little of their salary on daily necessities. The main expenses are personal items, mobile phone top-up, occasional eating out, and sending money home.
Sending money to India from Romania is straightforward. Services like Wise, Western Union, and local money transfer shops in cities all work well. Most workers send money home once or twice a month. The transfer usually takes one to two working days to arrive.
You can check the cost of living in Romania in more detail if you want to plan your monthly budget before you go.
The Indian Community in Romania
Life in Romania for Indian workers has become easier in recent years because the Indian community there has grown significantly.
In Bucharest, there are WhatsApp groups for Indian workers in Romania. There are Facebook communities where workers share advice, warn about problems, celebrate festivals together, and help newcomers find their feet. There are workers from Gujarat, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Nepal, and Tamil Nadu all living and working in Romania.
If you land in Bucharest, you will not be the first Indian worker there. There will be someone who has been there longer who can tell you where to buy the best vegetables, which money transfer service is fastest, and which area of the city has the most Indians.
In smaller factory towns, the Indian community may be just your own group of workers. In that case, your WhatsApp connection with workers in Bucharest and other cities becomes your community.
Diwali, Holi, and other festivals are celebrated informally among the Indian worker community in Romania. Not with the scale of celebrations back home, but enough to feel connected.
Homesickness: It Is Real and It Is Normal
Let us talk about this honestly because it is part of life in Romania for Indian workers that nobody prepares you for properly.
You will miss home. This is certain.
You will miss your family. You will miss your mother’s cooking. You will miss your friends. You will miss the festivals at home. You will miss being able to walk outside and hear your own language.
This feeling does not mean you made a mistake. It means you love your family and your home. That is a good thing.
What helps most workers through this is routine and communication. Set a fixed time every day to call home. Video calls make a huge difference. Seeing your family’s faces, even on a small phone screen, keeps the connection real.
Also set small goals for yourself. “By month three I will have saved this much. By month six I will send this much home.” Having a clear purpose for being there makes the hard days easier to get through.
Most workers who have completed their contracts say the same thing. The first three months are hard. Months four to six start to feel normal. By month seven or eight, most workers have settled into life in Romania and feel genuinely comfortable. The hardest part is at the beginning.
Weekends: What Workers Actually Do
Life in Romania for Indian workers is not just work. Weekends matter too.
Most construction and factory contracts are five days a week, Monday to Friday or Monday to Saturday depending on the employer. This gives workers at least one full day off each week.
In Bucharest, weekends can be spent in parks, at Indian restaurants with friends, at shopping malls, or exploring the city. Bucharest has a large city park called Herastrau which is beautiful in summer. The old town area has cafes and restaurants.
In smaller cities and towns, weekends are quieter. Workers tend to spend time in their accommodation, call home, watch movies or cricket on their phones, cook together if they have kitchen access, and rest.
Some workers use long weekends to take short trips within Romania. The country has mountains, a beautiful coast on the Black Sea, and medieval castles. Bran Castle, which is said to be the inspiration for Dracula’s castle, is only two hours from Bucharest and costs very little to visit.
Practical Tips Before You Go
Once you land, you will also need to apply for your TRC Romania card within 90 days. This is your official residence permit and it is very important.
Bring a power bank. Romanian work sites sometimes have limited charging access during work hours.
Download offline maps of the city you are going to before you land. Google Maps works offline once downloaded and is useful before you get a local SIM.
Get a Romanian SIM card in your first week. It is cheap and gives you data for maps, calls, and sending money.
Learn basic Romanian numbers. Knowing how to understand prices and bus numbers makes life much easier in the first month.
Keep photocopies of all your documents in a separate bag from your originals. If your bag is lost or stolen, having copies makes replacement much faster.
Join the Indian workers in Romania Facebook group or WhatsApp community before you even land. Introductions made before arrival make the first week much less lonely.
Is Life in Romania Worth It?
We are Romania Manpower. MEA licensed for over 11 years. Before you trust any agency with your documents, verify on eMigrate that their license is real. It takes five minutes and could save you everything.
Most workers who complete a legal contract in Romania answer this question the same way.
Yes. It was hard at the start. The first few months were lonely. The food took getting used to. The winter was colder than anything they had experienced. But the savings they sent home changed their family’s situation. And by the end of the contract, Romania did not feel foreign anymore. It felt like a place they had lived and worked and managed, which is something they are proud of.
Life in Romania for Indian workers is not easy. But it is manageable. And the financial change it makes for a family back in India is real and lasting.
If you are ready to go through the Romania work permit process and want to apply for free, our team speaks your language and will walk you through every step before you land.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is life in Romania good for Indian workers?
Life in Romania for Indian workers is manageable and rewarding financially, though the first few months are an adjustment. Food, weather, and language are the main challenges. The Indian community in Romania has grown significantly, which makes settling in easier than it was a few years ago.
Do Indian workers get Indian food in Romania?
In Bucharest there are Indian restaurants and Asian grocery stores. In smaller cities, Indian food options are limited. Workers who can cook can prepare basic Indian meals if they have kitchen access. Most workers adjust to Romanian food over time.
How cold does it get in Romania in winter?
Romanian winters can reach minus 10 to minus 15 degrees Celsius in some cities. Workers from warm parts of India need to prepare with proper winter clothing. Employers provide work clothes for outdoor roles. Personal warm clothing for time off is important.
Is it safe for Indian workers in Romania?
Romania is generally safe for Indian workers. Most Romanians are neutral and fair at the workplace. Language barriers are more of a challenge than safety concerns in most cases.
How do Indian workers send money home from Romania?
Services like Wise and Western Union work reliably from Romania to India. Most workers send money once or twice a month. Transfers typically take one to two working days to arrive in India.
How do Indian workers deal with homesickness in Romania?
Daily video calls home, connecting with the Indian worker community in Romania, setting clear financial goals, and maintaining a routine all help. Most workers find the first three months the hardest and feel significantly more comfortable by month six.
