Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service.

This is the fifth floor.

The fifth floor, you knowssonous.

This is the fifth floor at Farnak Amidi Sobath. This is the fifth floor at the heart of global storytelling with BBC journalists from all around the world.

I'm your host, Faranak Amidi.

I don't know if it's an age thing or something else, but these days I hear it a lot from some of the people around me that they've had enough of the London big city life and want to move to the peace and quiet of the countryside.

Not me though. I'm a big city girl. But it seems that a growing number of

Romanians are leaving the city to build their dream homes in the lush hills of the countryside.

Celebrities are also following this trend, even the country's former prime minister. But this

seemingly idyllic lifestyle is not without challenges. So what's driving

this trend and what are the main obstacles people face? Romanian journalist Anka Badea has been

looking into this story. Anka, welcome to the fifth floor. Great to have you. Thank you so much.

Lovely to be here. So tell me about this trend. When did it all start? And who are the people moving out of the cities?

So the trend started a few years back with the pandemic acting as a catalyst for change. Many people

change their lifestyle. And while in some other places, people moved

back to the city after the pandemic. In Romania, the shift to the countryside is still going strong.

We're talking about normal people, people who maybe are from the countryside originally,

who move to the city to pursue education or for better jobs, and now want to go back.

There are also people from all kinds of backgrounds, entrepreneurs, digital nomads, retirees,

young people with families searching for more space, freedom, perhaps more safety to raise their

children. And there are also people who have moved abroad 10, 20, 30 years

back and now they made them money and now they are moving back because they can afford bigger

...