I'm gonna assume it's similar to Serbia (Balkan region with heavy emphasis on social circle). I showed up in serbia literally knowing zero people and now I have a great social circle here, all because i put some trust into my airbnb host, and it paid off big time. All of his friends are my friends now, and I consider them to be some of the most solid friends I've had in my life. To add, I've never been part of the expat scene here in belgrade, that wasn't my goal ever, so everyone here, I met on my own. I've had a grand total of one interaction with a foreigner here, and the only reason I had that, is because it was a fellow forum member. I'm rambling....
Thus I would advise you to:
1a) Look into AirBnB as an option--if nothing else, a good host can usually give you some good pointers when you get there. Also, much cheaper than a hotel.
1b) Look into staying at a hostel in the centre of whatever city you are in. These are such an easy way to meet people, especially if you are under the age of 30. I put out a datasheet on hanging out at hostels and backpacking, and it maybe be of help to you. People that are traveling and living in close proximity to each other are usually open to new experiences and making new friends. It's very easy at hostels to do it:
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2) There's always facebook groups for expats, usually in most major cities, so I would look into that.
3) Check out reddit, maybe the english language subreddit for romania or the capitol. I've met one of my best friends in serbia on reddit.
4) Use this forum as a resource, I can almost guarantee if you post about a meetup in romania, there will be someone that lives there, local or expat, that can show you around.
5) Exercise your common sense about meeting people... For example bartenders can be a great resource... I was in a new city I'd never been in last week, and the bartender was able to give me useful local info, help me make a call because my phone wasn't working, and so much more. It literally just takes one person to get your social circle going. Although taxi drivers may not be able to help you socially, if you tell them you're looking for a good local restaurant, they really can be of help. Onetime I asked a driver to take me to a popular serbian fast food joint, any joint really. Turns out he took me to one of the best fast food joints in Belgrade, and that was just because I asked. A week later, my friends took me there, and told me it was like the best place in belgrade... Now that I think about it, the people that work at hostels are great resources, they usually have a decent knowledge of things to see, good bars, etc.
re pickup: maybe PM one of the forum members in romania about all that. Also, maybe look for some romania datasheets.
