Why Move?

I’ve been talking with my son recently about us possibly moving to Romania.  That’s definitely been an interesting conversation, resulting in a kid who’s a bit disturbed by the possibility.  That’s a subject for another entry, however.

That being said, he hasn’t yet asked the question of why, but I figured some people may be wondering and I thought I’d answer it here.  There are a number of reasons we’re considering the move:

• My wife is Romanian, so living back in Romania will give the kids a chance to learn the language and the culture.  They’re half Romanian, so why not let them see where their mother comes from.
• I want to learn the language.  I’ve taken classes and learned with the kids, but there’s no substitute for being immersed in the culture to truly learn a language.  This applies to the kids as well.
• One of the big reasons for moving is because I want to get a Ph.D. and Cluj has a rather nice university, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai and they have a Computer Science program.  It’s inexpensive compared to a school here in the US which could allow me to attend school full time.
• The cost of living is less than here, for sure.  I’m hoping that a bit of consulting will allow me to both attend school and survive, if not thrive.
• It’s something different.  Maybe it’s a mid-life crisis or maybe I’m just getting that wander lust again, but the idea of living somewhere new and different is exciting.
• Being in Europe will offer us more places to explore.  We’ve seen much of the US, or at least the places that aren’t dominated by strip malls and chain restaurants.  Moving to Eastern Europe will put much of that area and even the rest of Europe closer.  We definitely plan on traveling.  Heck, just getting to see more of Romania is high on my list of things to do. I’ve hardly made it out of Zălau, Cluj and Oradea, let alone outside Transylvania and into other parts of the country.