Roman vs Gorna Oryahovitsa

Roman is a cheap, safe small city with an overall expat score of 83/100 and a cost of living index of just 36/100, so your money goes far here. A 1-bedroom outside the center runs $157/mo, and a 3-bedroom outside the center is only $167/mo, though the local average net salary of $814/mo shows the economy is modest. The catch is scale: 49 thousand people, limited English, no expat community, and a retiree score of 62/100 mean this is a place for self-sufficient remote workers, not anyone craving a built-in social scene.

A one-bedroom in central Bucharest runs about $508 a month, roughly a third of what the same unit costs in a mid-size US downtown. Add a flat 10% income tax and $659 in monthly living costs, and a modest remote salary stretches far. The digital nomad visa requires at least USD 3,700 per month, setting a bar above median local earnings but below typical upper‑middle income levels in many source countries. Worth it if you clear that bar and can live without a large English-speaking expat network.