The Silicon Valley of Transylvania
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The Silicon Valley of Transylvania
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Re: The Silicon Valley of Transylvania
#2This is so bubble-written it's not funny.
Romania is a country where a large chunk of the populace get around by cart and donkey, where post-communist corruption is rife, where decades on they still can't decide what to do with the half built palace that occupies half of Bucharest, where gangsters run most of the hospitality industry and god knows what else.
It's a chicken and egg problem, of course, as enterprise will bring wealth (in theory) which in turn will solve some of Romania's more immediate woes, but it's still a tiny tiny niche in a very poor country.
Their only saving psychological grace is that Moldova are next door, and they make anyone look rich.
Edit: on a Re-read, this comes across as horribly negative. I'm a big fan of Romania and its prospects - what I failed to mention is that I met a lot of intelligent, interesting and passionate younger people - and they will be the ones that drag Romania solidly into a functioning state - but the reality is that there's a lot of work to do.
Re: The Silicon Valley of Transylvania
#3This is so bubble-written it's not funny. Romania is a country where a large chunk of the populace get around by cart and donkey, where post-communist corruption is rife, where decades on they still can't decide what to do with the half built palace that occupies half of Bucharest, where gangsters run most of the hospitality industry and god knows what else. It's a chicken and egg problem, of course, as enterprise wi…
When have you last been in Romania?
Re: The Silicon Valley of Transylvania
#4This is so bubble-written it's not funny. Romania is a country where a large chunk of the populace get around by cart and donkey, where post-communist corruption is rife, where decades on they still can't decide what to do with the half built palace that occupies half of Bucharest, where gangsters run most of the hospitality industry and god knows what else. It's a chicken and egg problem, of course, as enterprise wi…
There are two sides to every coin. I think both Techcrunch and your assessments are valid. It would not be hard to paint the USA as a totalitarian state run by organized crime and where half of the people live under some acceptable standard of living.
Re: The Silicon Valley of Transylvania
#5This is so bubble-written it's not funny. Romania is a country where a large chunk of the populace get around by cart and donkey, where post-communist corruption is rife, where decades on they still can't decide what to do with the half built palace that occupies half of Bucharest, where gangsters run most of the hospitality industry and god knows what else. It's a chicken and egg problem, of course, as enterprise wi…
Dude, are you from Hungary ? :)
Re: The Silicon Valley of Transylvania
#6This is so bubble-written it's not funny. Romania is a country where a large chunk of the populace get around by cart and donkey, where post-communist corruption is rife, where decades on they still can't decide what to do with the half built palace that occupies half of Bucharest, where gangsters run most of the hospitality industry and god knows what else. It's a chicken and egg problem, of course, as enterprise wi…
I live in Romania.
For potential readers: this comment's content is a gross overstatement and does not reflect reality.
For example, over 50% of the population lives in an urban environment (see the CIA Romania Factbook which is very up to date). Even so, it would be wrong to assume that just because some of the country's citizens live in the countryside, they 'get around by cart and donkey'. Also, for the sake of accuracy, where such transportation is used, horses would be much more common as opposed to donkeys.
As for the 'half built palace that occupies half of Bucharest', I presume you're referring to the Palace of the Parliament, with an area of 365000 m2. The urban area of Bucharest occupies 228 km2, or 228000000 m2, significantly more than the area of the building you mentioned.
Edit: I double checked some data in regards to the Palace of the Parliament, the FLOOR AREA is indeed 365000 m2, but since the building has multiple floors, the actual occupied area is smaller. Check the Technical Details on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_the_Parliament
Re: The Silicon Valley of Transylvania
#7This is so bubble-written it's not funny. Romania is a country where a large chunk of the populace get around by cart and donkey, where post-communist corruption is rife, where decades on they still can't decide what to do with the half built palace that occupies half of Bucharest, where gangsters run most of the hospitality industry and god knows what else. It's a chicken and egg problem, of course, as enterprise wi…
I think you are right that the article is a bit "bubble-written". But I think your comment is a lot further from the truth than the article. The biggest asset that Romania has is its talent pool. I am fairly convinced that Romania will follow Estonia's economic trajectory. The starting conditions are quite similar.
Re: The Silicon Valley of Transylvania
#8This is so bubble-written it's not funny. Romania is a country where a large chunk of the populace get around by cart and donkey, where post-communist corruption is rife, where decades on they still can't decide what to do with the half built palace that occupies half of Bucharest, where gangsters run most of the hospitality industry and god knows what else. It's a chicken and egg problem, of course, as enterprise wi…
Man, so much angst. Did you read the whole article?
> Still, as many have noted, Romania has some big hurdles to overcome to truly become a tech hub.
> Access to capital is slim. The risk-taking culture is nascent.
> The government bureaucracy is strong and legislation that supports startups is lacking.
> Yet every shift has to begin somewhere, and from what we see, there’s one afoot in Romania.
They admit that not everything is perfect in the friendly article.
Re: The Silicon Valley of Transylvania
#9This is so bubble-written it's not funny. Romania is a country where a large chunk of the populace get around by cart and donkey, where post-communist corruption is rife, where decades on they still can't decide what to do with the half built palace that occupies half of Bucharest, where gangsters run most of the hospitality industry and god knows what else. It's a chicken and egg problem, of course, as enterprise wi…
I live in Romania. For potential readers: this comment's content is a gross overstatement and does not reflect reality. For example, over 50% of the population lives in an urban environment (see the CIA Romania Factbook which is very up to date). Even so, it would be wrong to assume that just because some of the country's citizens live in the countryside, they 'get around by cart and donkey'. Also, for the sake of ac…
To be fair, I was last there six years ago, spent most of my time travelling through the the countryside, a few weeks in Cluj, visited friends in Sibiu, and got robbed when I went through Bucharest on my way to Moldova.
So yes, my view is far less accurate than yours, as it's from about six weeks six years ago - but the only place I saw comparable levels of overt corruption was Kyrgyzstan, and I've visited most of the ex-ussr and associated states. This is no judgment on the Romanian or Kyrgyz peoples - this is a sad fact of life after economic oppression - corruption becomes a way of life.
Re: The Silicon Valley of Transylvania
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
I live in Romania. For potential readers: this comment's content is a gross overstatement and does not reflect reality. For example, over 50% of the population lives in an urban environment (see the CIA Romania Factbook which is very up to date). Even so, it would be wrong to assume that just because some of the country's citizens live in the countryside, they 'get around by cart and donkey'. Also, for the sake of ac…
To be fair, I was last there six years ago, spent most of my time travelling through the the countryside, a few weeks in Cluj, visited friends in Sibiu, and got robbed when I went through Bucharest on my way to Moldova. So yes, my view is far less accurate than yours, as it's from about six weeks six years ago - but the only place I saw comparable levels of overt corruption was Kyrgyzstan, and I've visited most of th…
I'm sorry for your personal experience, but you should be able to realize that traumatic personal experiences can cloud your opinion about a very complex topic such as a whole country.
I visited the US and I wasn't really impressed, for example. But I wouldn't judge the US based on just what I saw in a couple of weeks, considering what I've read and seen about it.
Oh, and regarding corruption: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Anticorruption_Dire...