You joined Jones Lang LaSalle just after they opened up shop in Bucharest. It was a bit of a different atmosphere in those days, I hear.

That was one of the things that was very attractive about it, the fact that it was a very small team. Our office wasn't much larger than our meeting room is today, so it was easy for me to interact with everyone in the company and from different departments. 

The market also had a different feel to it then. How do you see the differences?

In my previous job, I worked with developers who weren't classic developers. They'd be building shopping centers, they were entrepreneurial and had a good sense for business. But they weren't so experienced in real estate. You had to explain things like, for example, why crocodiles in a shopping center wouldn't add too much value. 

Is that a joke? 

They were serious. They were asking about tanks and how much the maintenance would cost. I actually enjoy consultancy because it's nice when six months later you see that the client has listened to at least half of what you were telling them to do and it's working. 

It seems like everyone thought they could make a killing in real estate.

Obviously some people got rich without really deserving it. They had maybe a relatively good idea and then money just started flowing and kept coming. There wasn't a real hierarchy based on value. Whoever got in first would win.

On the other hand it gave the opportunity for a lot of young people to grow very quickly. The market was growing very quickly and there was a widespread lack of trained people. This opened the door for various people. If you worked hard enough and had the proper attitude and had the thirst for knowledge and enjoyed what you were doing, you could really grow up fast and get to do things that in the West you couldn't do until you were 30 or 40.

In any case, you must be happy not to be just entering the job market in this climate.

It's true, but tough as it is, I think the media makes it out to be much worse than it is. I still know about good jobs where they're looking for good people. You really have to try hard to make it work now, but I wouldn't say you now graduate with no chance to get a job.

What do you do when you're not working?

During the week I don't have so much time for any real hobbies. I just try to keep up with my friends so I don't lose touch with them. Weekdays is just about meeting up with people a bit after work. On the weekends I'm starting to play tennis again, and I try to play once or twice a week.

Whenever I take the time to travel it's great. I'm planning this year to go to London and to New York. I love to travel, but I can't do it as often as I'd like. The trips to the big cities are fascinating for me. I find it quite boring to go to the beach. It's jut not what I like to do

What's your favorite city?

I guess my favorite is Istanbul. I also like the northern cities like Stockholm and Copenhagen, even though they're quite different from Istanbul. They're really great people there. 

If you look at your iTunes log, which group would be the most played one on it?

I happened to look at it recently, so I know it's Stereophonics. I'm into alternative, electronic music, so also Placebo or more underground electronic music. Chill out with electric influences. 

So which clubs do you like to go to in Bucharest? 

I'm still very fond of the places I went to as a student, but you wouldn't find a lot of expats there. One is Expirat and the other would be B52. They're really good places to have fun, but they're not places to go to show off. The music is somewhere between dance and rock, and not much that's mainstream. 

You say you don't like beaches, so I guess you're not one of the Bucharesters who head off to Constanta on the weekends.

Actually, I'm going this weekend. I'm going to Mamaia, which is the resort right next to Constanta, for a Duffy concert, but that's just an excuse to go. After that I'll be going down to Vama Veche, which in translation means the old customs point. It used to be a more hippie place; it's not a classic seaside resort, there's no real hotel there. Just a lot of small houses and villas and people parking on the beach. So, it's a completely different environment from what you have on the normal seaside. It's a different spirit. Very young and very alive. I'll go with a group of friends because it's my birthday. 

What's the next movie you want to see?

I'd like to see the latest movie from Lars von Trier. I've heard it caused a lot of negative and positive reactions. No one is neutral about it.