Uncharacteristically, I actually got a little bit bored with Cluj the last couple of days I was there. (Uncharacteristic, but not unheard of — I felt the same sort of restlessness in Split.) I had seen everything I wanted to see. I had retraced my steps along the squares, pedestrian streets, and parks I enjoy here multiple times. I was ready to move on.

I hasten to say that this feeling doesn’t disqualify Cluj as someplace I’d want to live. If I were working full- or part-time, and if I had all of my stuff with me, I expect I would very rarely feel boredom here, just as I was rarely ever bored in places I lived previously. I’m easily amused, and I have a long attention span. It’s a gift.

• Rent: 6.7. The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in central Cluj is $404.75. As for the average monthly rent for a tiny, 110-square-foot studio in central Cluj like the one I stayed in, it must be even cheaper.
• Walkability: 6. Romanian cities, even in their historic cores, are unfortunately still largely driver-centric, if Brașov and Cluj are typical. Cluj, being a bigger city, has more crosswalks and pedestrian signals, but like Brașov doesn’t have quite as many purely pedestrian streets as I’d wish. Also, Romanian drivers are a decidedly mixed bag. At crosswalks without traffic lights or signals, drivers are usually pretty observant and courteous and let pedestrians cross without complaint. At intersections with signals, though, drivers can be very aggressive, accelerating through their left turns and through crosswalks after the left green arrow has turned off, the walk signal has turned on, and pedestrians have started to cross. This is definitely a “look all ways before crossing the street” country.
  

  Like Brașov, Cluj features crosswalks only at a lot of intersections where I’d prefer a signal. But hey, at least there’s a crosswalk (21 June 2018).

• Dating: 9. Cluj definitely presents better dating prospects than Brașov. Romanian women tend to be dark-haired, dark-eyed, and gorgeous, and here in Cluj there are plenty in their 20s and 30s — my target demographic.
• Food: 7.8. Identical situation as Brașov — hearty and cheap food, even at restaurants — except drinks at restaurants are a little pricier here. I ding Cluj .2 points for that.
  

  Romanian soups are excellent. When they’re on the menu, and if they’re actually available (not the same thing), I highly recommend ordering them. This bean soup was delicious, although the beans had their usual effect on me later. And always order bread with soup here, since like in U.S. restaurants (and unlike in Portugal), bread is free. Romanian bread is thick, spongy, and hearty, great for soaking up soup (23 June 2018).

  

  This is Cluj’s signature dish, varză a la Cluj. I know in this presentation, it looks a bit like Fancy Feast shplocked out of a can. But it’s delicious — little bits of meat mixed with sauerkraut and topped, as with seemingly all Romanian traditional dishes, with a huge blob of sour cream (23 June 2018).

  

  This doughnut is not a traditional Romanian dish. But I give it points for originality. Who else would top a doughnut with marshmallows, bacon bits, and a Kit Kat bar? (21 June 2018).

  

  And I would be remiss not to offer my thoughts on Romania’s favorite hard stuff, țuică. It’s a very potent (90 proof or more) plum brandy. I shelled out 61.17 lei ($15.31) for the Vlad Țepeș brand. (I love that the “l” in “Vlad” is pointed like a stake.) Because you know the Impaler made a mean plum brandy. It’s not overly sweet and goes well either on the rocks or mixed with cola — it’s too potent to drink straight up, unless you’re a barbarian (23 June 2018).

• Ambience: 6. Cluj isn’t as picturesque as Brașov, and certainly topographically it’s less exciting, but otherwise it’s got the lovely buildings, little architectural flourishes, outdoor cafés, and, unavoidably, graffiti that I’ve  now come to expect of every city in Europe.
  

  I like the pink paint job (22 June 2018).

  

  A detail from the same building. Perhaps Justice is a little too free with that sword in her right hand — the figure to her left appears to be headless (22 June 2018).

  

  Cluj isn’t as well-endowed with cobblestoned, café-lined streets as more touristy cities, but they’re around if you look for them (22 June 2018).

  

  The spray-paint-wielding vandals of Cluj seem to be a tender-hearted lot. I see lots of love graffiti (22 June 2018).

• Transit: 6. Cluj’s public transportation system consists of buses, of both the regular diesel variety and electric buses that run in special lanes and have their own overhead power supply, and thus resemble trams in every way except that they don’t run on tracks. It’s perfectly adequate and reasonably fast, if my trips from the train station and to the airport are representative.
• Health care: 5.1.
• Nature: 3. Cluj has some very nice, green, tree-shaded city parks, particularly along a canal that runs through more or less the center of the city. They’re long and well-endowed with pedestrian-only paved and gravel paths that are great for running. But Cluj appears to be a good distance from “nature,” in the sense of more wild areas with good hiking.
• Internet: 9. My Airbnb apartment in Cluj had lightning-fast wi-fi, the best I’ve had of any apartment or hotel room I’ve stayed in during my trip thus far. That proves that my wi-fi issues in Brașov are not general to Romania.
• Crime: 8.4. Cluj’s crime rate is freakishly low, just like Brașov’s. If Romanians are discontented, they’re not expressing it by committing crimes.
• Language: 5.5. Romanian doesn’t seem like it would be that hard to pick up. See my Brașov city ratings.
• Bikeability: 7. I didn’t do any cycling in Cluj because the registration process for the local docked bike-share program is quite onerous — it has to be done in person, and the contract term is something like three years. Too much hassle. And unlike more touristy cities, I didn’t see other bike-rental options. I did, however, see a very extensive network of bicycle paths, mainly in the form of designated lanes on sidewalks, so I think Cluj would be a good city for biking.
  

  Cluj’s city center features many wide sidewalks with built-in bike lanes (22 June 2018).

• Friendliness: 5. The warnings my Lonely Planet guidebook gave me about rude or indifferent restaurant service in Romania were way off base, in my experience. Service is just as good here as in, say, Spain. Since most of my interactions with the locals are with waiters in cafés — eating at outdoor cafés is my top priority in Europe, after all — that’s the most important input to my “friendliness” rating.
• Pollution: 6.5. Not bad. If not for the clouds of cigarette smoke emanating from all of Cluj’s cafés, bars, squares, courtyards, dorm rooms, and so forth, I imagine this city would have cleaner air than Washington, D.C. (6.9).