Ready for another hefty post? I just left Bucharest after 42 days of stay. It was an unforgettable experience, to say the least. And the great thing is living in Bucharest won’t break the bank. You can literally purchase 3-course lunches for $5-6 and ride $2-4 Ubers around town!
My expenses ended up being higher than that of Greece, though the cost of living in Bucharest was cheaper than that of Athens. I spent more than I should have because of the following:
- Attended two music festivals
- Visited two other cities
- Constantly took taxis and Ubers instead of using the metro
- Paid for co-working space membership
- Hung out with friends a lot
- Cooked zero times…
Even though I paid for the above, I only spent $26.16 per day when you don’t include accommodations.
Below is my spending report for 42 days in Bucharest!
Cost of Living in Bucharest, Romania (Spending Report)
Disclaimers:
- Sometimes I forgot to jot down my expenses and grouped them together later on after remembering.
- I ate a lot of Asian food.
- I had issues with my AirBnB. It was originally around $750 but because of all the problems, the owner compensated me with $58.
Spending By Category
Food
| Lei | USD | |
| Goulash | 25 | $6.25 |
| Groceries | 26 | $6.50 |
| Water | 4 | $1.00 |
| Pizza | 20 | $5.00 |
| Pho | 24 | $6.00 |
| Pizza | 26.5 | $6.63 |
| Pho | 24 | $6.00 |
| Bun Thit Nuong | 19 | $4.75 |
| Orange Juice | 15 | $3.75 |
| Chicken and vegetables | 40 | $10.00 |
| Soup + Rice and Vegetables | 38 | $9.50 |
| Water | 7 | $1.75 |
| Pizza + coke | 17 | $4.25 |
| Beef soup + spaghetti bolognese + water | 30 | $7.50 |
| Bun Thit Nuong | 17 | $4.25 |
| Food | 19 | $4.75 |
| Cafe cu bere | 85 | $21.25 |
| Food | 100 | $25.00 |
| Vietnamese food | 23 | $5.75 |
| Vietnamese food | 42 | $10.50 |
| Pizza | 30 | $7.50 |
| Pho | 24 | $6.00 |
| tip | 14 | $3.50 |
| Vietnamese food | 22 | $5.50 |
| Pho | 24 | $6.00 |
| Fried rice | 14 | $3.50 |
| Spaghetti with friend | 85 | $21.25 |
| Groceries | 14 | $3.50 |
| Food | 60 | $15.00 |
| Water | 7 | $1.75 |
| Chicken fingers | 26 | $6.50 |
| Vietnamese food | 45 | $11.25 |
| Salad | 34 | $8.50 |
| Croissant and water | 8 | $2.00 |
| Noodles | 15 | $3.75 |
| Ramen | 18 | $4.50 |
| Asian food | 20 | $5.00 |
| Asian food | 24 | $6.00 |
| Burger | 24 | $6.00 |
| Bread and Water | 5 | $1.25 |
| Pho | 24 | $6.00 |
| Orange Juice | 12 | $3.00 |
| Pho delivery | 61 | $15.25 |
| Pho delivery | 61 | $15.25 |
| Asian food | 25 | $6.25 |
| Burgers at Osho | 40 | $10.00 |
| Burgers at D’eight | 30 | $7.50 |
| Orange juice at Tucano coffee | 12 | $3.00 |
| Spaghetti | 29 | $7.25 |
| Pizza | 15 | $3.75 |
| Pho, orange juice, chicken, water, beer | 65 | $16.25 |
| Pho | 24 | $6.00 |
| Taqueria | 32 | $8.00 |
| Korean Food | 53 | $13.25 |
| Pizza | 15 | $3.75 |
| Water | 4 | $1.00 |
| KFC | 20 | $5.00 |
| Orange juice | 13 | $3.25 |
| Korean Food | 58 | $14.50 |
| Toan’s | 24 | $6.00 |
| Pizza | 15 | $3.75 |
| Daily Menu at d’eight | 26 | $6.50 |
| Pho | 20 | $5.00 |
| Korean food | 64 | $16.00 |
| $464.13 |
Entertainment
| Lei | USD | |
| Beer | 6 | $1.50 |
| Drinks | 50 | $12.50 |
| Escape Game | 25 | $6.25 |
| Concert Tickets | 213 | $53.25 |
| Hop on hop off tickets | 100 | $25.00 |
| Drinks | 60 | $15.00 |
| Drinks | 50 | $12.50 |
| Rowing boats | 10 | $2.50 |
| Beer | 18 | $4.50 |
| Beer | 20 | $5.00 |
| Drinks | 30 | $7.50 |
| Beer | 14 | $3.50 |
| Drinks | 20 | $5.00 |
| Beer | 29 | $7.25 |
| Untold Music Festival | 350 | $87.50 |
| Beer | 10 | $2.50 |
| Swimming | 51 | $12.75 |
| Alcohol | 100 | $25.00 |
| Swimming, alcohol, all you can eat sushi | 175 | $43.75 |
| Beer | 6 | $1.50 |
| Beer | 16 | $4.00 |
| Movie | 21 | $5.25 |
| Drinks | 30 | $7.50 |
| Drinks | 92 | $23.00 |
| Whiskey coke | 14 | $3.50 |
| Beer | 4 | $1.00 |
| Drinks | 30 | $7.50 |
| Palace of the Parliament | 20 | $5.00 |
| Drinks | 7 | $1.75 |
| $392.75 |
Miscellaneous
| Lei | USD | |
| Makeup | 45 | $11.25 |
| Coworking space | 170 | $42.50 |
| GoPro charger | 23 | $5.75 |
| Shopping | 75 | $18.75 |
| Tent | 45 | $11.25 |
| Phone for the month | $39.29 | |
| $128.79 |
Transportation
| Lei | USD | |
| Bus to flat | 8 | 2 |
| Taxis | 40 | 10 |
| Transportation to Brasov | 215 | $53.75 |
| Taxis | 20 | $5.00 |
| Taxi | 10 | $2.50 |
| Uber | 11 | $2.75 |
| Taxi | 16 | $4.00 |
| Uber | 20.24 | $5.06 |
| Uber | 12 | $3.00 |
| Uber | 18 | $4.50 |
| Metro | 5 | $1.25 |
| Metro | 5 | $1.25 |
| Uber | 12 | $3.00 |
| Uber | 12 | $3.00 |
| Uber | 8 | $2.00 |
| Uber to airport | 40 | $10.00 |
| Athens to Bucharest | $26.07 | |
| $139.13 |
Accommodations
| Bucharest AirBnB | $692 |
Overall Spend
| Accommodations | $692.00 |
| Transportation | $139.13 |
| Miscellaneous | $128.79 |
| Entertainment | $392.75 |
| Food | $464.13 |
| $1,816.80 |
It cost around $1,816.80 for 42 days including the flight from Athens to Bucharest, AirBnB accommodations, food, entertainment, transportation, and other miscellaneous items. This averaged out to $43.26/day which is a bit more than I anticipated on spending.
If you’re looking for a place to stay with lower living expenses (or for a place as a digital nomad), I would definitely recommend Bucharest, Romania!
3 Comments
Max
September 27, 2016 at 12:15 pmPho delivery still seems weird to me. It’s something I reserve for leftovers, take-out, or for someone who’s sick. But delivery something seems sacrosanct about that.
Glad to see you’re having fun.
Luminita
October 1, 2016 at 1:40 pmThese spending sheets are great for tourist who want to visit Bucharest. If you think Bucharest is affordable, you should see how other Romanian cities rank next to it. The cost of living is even lower, although the entertaining options are fewer.
Sharon
October 2, 2016 at 7:25 amI’m glad you liked it! I heard about this…definitely should check out other Romanian cities 🙂