2.44/5
109 reviews
Photo by Vitalie Sitnic via Unsplash

Chisinau

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internet

connection

fast

pretty

mbps

center

coffee

poor

prices

price

rent

cost

utilities

800

good

expensive

speak

Chisinau is an underrated city in Eastern Europe with a relatively low cost of living compared to other places in the region. While some claim prices are rising due to external factors like rent increases and utilities, you can still live affordably, with rent for a decent apartment in the center costing around 350 EUR. There are many cheap Soviet-style canteens where you can eat well for under $3.

The city is very clean and has some of the fastest internet in Europe, with many apartments offering speeds up to 1 Gbps. However, stability can sometimes be an issue, and a VPN is needed for certain websites. Mobile data speeds are also very high compared to other countries.

On the downside, the city has significant traffic congestion due to a lack of new roads since the Soviet era. Taxi services can also be unreliable, especially during peak hours. Additionally, café internet speeds are slower due to shared bandwidth, and there are very few good coffee shops, with Tucano being one of the only decent options. While the city can feel lively in the center, some people find it slightly depressing after a while.

AI-generated summary of reviews

Guys, the internet is actually very fast because it's taken from Romania. Pretty much any apartment has at least a 100 Mbps connection and a big portion already have upwards of 300 Mbps both download and upload. Some even have a 1 Gbps connection. If you only judge by the speed you get at cafes, then obviously you won't get a fast internet since the available bandwidth is split between everyone who's connected at that time, but that's a very poor way of judging it.

My 4G connection itself gets around 85 Mbps, which is way higher than what you get in most other countries from a broadband connection!

1 year ago

I'am from Chisihau. Response for previos message("Good before..") : prices rise because natural gas price was 3Lei(0.16USD) and now is 21Lei(1.1USD). Petrol was 0.9USD now 1.3USD. Refugees from Ukraine rised rent prices.
17/10/2022 nomadlist writes that cost of living is 1900USD. Crazy. Rent good-normal (imho) flat in center is 350EUR htt ps://999 .md/ ru/78274199 + utilities + home made food from 185 to 250usd. +200 fun. Finally 800$ in winter when high utilities price!

2 years ago

Good before, pretty expensive now (there is now VAT),
Pretty chaotic but safe in the center, Taxi services are pretty bad , hard impossible to get a cab in the peak hours, Yandex taxi
Huge traffic (there is simply no new roads since soviet union),
You need VPN to access some websites, fast internet but not the most stable,

3 years ago

My main concern with Chisinau is that there is basically only one decent coffee shop in town, namely the Tucano coffee. This means you'll be drinking their lousy coffee at all times, and after a week or so the city is slightly depressing to be honest. However, there are nice affordable Soviet-style cantines all around the city, so you can eat well for less than US$3. Hostels are also OK.

6 years ago

Chisinau is an underrated city for Eastern Europe! It's similar to being a smaller version of Minsk or Kiev. Very clean, the fastest internet in Europe. It's quite poor but the city center is lively and I enjoy it quite a bit. Most younger people speak good English, you'll need some Russian in order to speak to middle-aged or older people.

7 years ago

I live in Chisinau, and the total amount of money that i spend is $500/month. I don’t know where they find this prices. Maybe they live in very expensive apartments that cost more then $800.

7 years ago

✅ Very clean

✅ Fast internet

✅ Very affordable

✅ Affordable to live

✅ Pretty safe

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Roads are pretty safe

✅ Freedom of speech

✅ People can speak basic English

✅ (Medical) marijuana MAY be legal, unenforced or decriminalized (always double check this)

❌ Traffic congestion

❌ Taxi services are unreliable

❌ Limited good coffee shops

❌ Internet stability issues

❌ Prices increasing

❌ Not very democratic

❌ Not much to do

❌ Cold now

❌ Gets cold in the winter

❌ Very damp now

❌ Nomads.com members didn't like going here

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Hospitals are not that great

❌ Not safe for women

❌ Not family friendly

❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+

❌ Many people smoke tobacco

❌ High alcohol consumption

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels

34 1°
cold

39 4°
cold

52 11°
cool

66 19°
mild

73 23°
mild

90 32°
hot

77 25°
warm

68 20°
mild

55 13°
cool

46 8°
cold

34 1°
cold

Real

37 3°
very cold

36 2°
very cold

41 5°
very cold

52 11°
cool

65 19°
mild

73 23°
mild

84 29°
very warm

77 25°
warm

66 19°
mild

55 13°
cool

47 9°
cold

37 3°
very cold

Humidity

damp
76%

damp
77%

nice
67%

nice
62%

nice
66%

nice
58%

nice
65%

nice
62%

nice
60%

nice
64%

damp
76%

damp
79%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

Rain

dry
39mm

dry
30mm

dry
38mm

dry
49mm

rainy
56mm

rainy
73mm

rainy
67mm

dry
50mm

dry
48mm

dry
2mm

dry
20mm

dry
39mm

Cloud

pockets
48%

pockets
41%

pockets
44%

pockets
47%

pockets
42%

pockets
29%

pockets
25%

pockets
38%

pockets
30%

pockets
40%

cloudy
57%

Sun

safe
1 UVI

safe
2 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

safe
2 UVI

safe
1 UVI

Remote workers

360 people

275 people

400 people

257 people

320 people

300 people

378 people

314 people

500 people

571 people

364 people

300 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Not all nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Chisinau's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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Help pick the best photos for Chisinau and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

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$1,074 / mo

24 Mbps

Bucharest

Romania

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 18° 64° 17° 63° AQI 28

✈️29min

$2,027 / mo

🌇 Also went here60 people

No members are here right now. If you are, add it as a trip and you'll show up here!

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Not all nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.44/5 (Rank #445) 109 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍4 liked it 👎3 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $1,665 / mo
📡 Internet	🙂 Good: 17Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥶 Too cold: 14°C56°F (feels 14°C57°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	💦 Damp: 77%
👌 Safety	Good
🤮 Food safety*	Good
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Good
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Good
💰 Income level*	Very low: $139 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Okay
🚶 Walkability	Bad
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Bad
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Okay
📶 Free WiFi in city	Great
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Okay
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Good
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Good
👩 Female friendly	Bad
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly	Bad
🎅 Startup Score	Okay

🌍 Continent	Europe
🚩 Country	Moldova
🗓️ Average trip length	6 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	17 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌦 14°C 56°F + 💦 Damp (77%) = feels 14°C 57°F
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	iTaxi
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 100 MDL in USD	USD 5.57
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	MDL 10,000 = USD 557
💳 Cashless	💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners)
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	9% of visitors return
📸 Visitors per year	145,000 visitors
📸 Tourists now	2,779 tourists
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	670,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$1,668 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 44% 👱‍♀️ 56%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 53% 👱‍♀️ 47%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 90% 👱‍♀️ 10%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
🏠 Apartment listings	Airbnb
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Lufthansa
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Turkish Airlines

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$1,665 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$904 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$1,655 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$473 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,260 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,199 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$311 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$59 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$39 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$108 / month
🍛 Dinner	$7
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$2
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$2
👩‍🏫 International school	$3,395 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$10 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$1 / trip