I have just come back from a short trip back to my native country, Romania. I've met there fellow steemians @lishu, @rbm and @gheambyt. But I can't expect you to be bothered, right? There's something else, though, that should pique your interest ! ...
We are the champions
Romania holds a couple of dubious titles ... It joined the EU in 2007 where it is hugging tightly the position of second-poorest member of the club ever since. Since 2014, Romanians are free to work anywhere in the EU. Considering that the minimum salary in Romania is about 400€ / month (also among the lowest in the EU), no wonder that Romanians have seized the opportunity with both hands and left the country in droves.
Thus another dubious title (not sure it's not an urban myth though): Romania is said to be the second-fastest emptying country on Earth, right after ... Syria ! Well, to be fair, I guess North Korea would still beat both hands down if it was not for the barb wire and the machine guns ...
Given those numbers, discovering bustling, vibrant if dirty and run-down Bucharest comes as a surprise. Thing is, as the rest of the country empties out, the populations of Bucharest and of a few other big cities are growing
Gateway to the part of the city where I grew up, the Obor zone
We are hiring!
The reason is obvious: as the ablest and most employable citizens leave the country to seek better-paid jobs elsewhere, the big cities feel an acute shortage of labor! There's a lot of work around, at almost all levels and that gives workers solid bargaining power. The only way to be unemployed in Bucharest and other big cities is ... if you don't want to work.
Take Bucharest, were all you need is a driving license and a relatively recent smartphone. The taxis have been liberalized long ago and those in need of a job can choose among several companies that provide anyone (holding a driving license) with a yellow car and a taxi-license in exchange for a fixed sum of money every day.
In Steem parlance, the companies "delegate" the cars to those who want to drive them for a daily payment. After paying "the delegation", a taxi driver in Bucharest typically takes home about 800€ - 1000€ per month, which is enough to live a decent life (if single with no kids or in a two-earner household)
So I was reflecting on our Venzueleans friends (about which @cryptosharon for instance speaks). They have to live the life I knew back in the time of Ceausescu (i.e. no toilet paper ... nor anything else). Whereas Romanian is a latin language (easy to learn for a Spanish speaker), the religion and culture is not too different ... and smartphones have GPS to help one navigate the maze that is Bucharest!
There's crypto everywhere!
I left the best part last. Now imagine a brave Venezuelan manages to get to Bucharest and somehow gets a job ... How is the poor guy supposed to send the money he's making back to his wife and children in Maracaibo, San Cristobal or Valencia ?
Let's zoom in the picture above. Well, coming from the western part of the continent, I was certainly surprised to discover these ...
This is just one example but they are practically all over the place. And what can you do in these rickety booths "Simply and Rapidly" as advertised ? Why, but of course, you can ... buy Bitcoin and Ether ! At any hour of the day or the night, right there in the street, no ID required !
Of course the prices are not great (the guys providing the service need to eat too) and there's only 1,84 BTC available in total, but still !
The price is not better but there's a bit more ETH available if you fancy it
Sending the hard-earned cash back home thus becomes child's play! However, as there are basically no foreign workers, legitimately earning a wage in Romania, I can only assume whom these "no questions asked" terminals are currently benefitting most ...
The Master Plan
So here it is, for our Steemian fellows who have had enough of the "Bolivarian revolution". Not an easy trick but still easier than it would have been 30 years ago. Jump on a boat or plane to Europe and head straight for Romania (don't forget your smartphone though!).
While you are at it, you can pretend to be mentally weak, as not even the Syrian refugees were enthralled by the idea of being sent there ... To be fair, in their case there was the prospect of picking and choosing ... Between Sweden and Romania, who can blame them ?
Then once in Bucharest, get a taxi-driving job and pick up a few words of Romanian. Most Romanians who shuttle around in taxis should be able to speak some English or even a bit of Spanish anyway, so don't be shy.
Live a frugal life and set money aside. Go regularly to the garish-orange "Zebrapay" terminals, feed them your hard earned "Romanian Lei" and get BTC or ETH in exchange. Use a smartphone wallet to wire the crypto back home to the family!
... Pray for a miracle to rid Venezuela of the "Bolivarian socialists"
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