[Telecolor 3007]

In Bucharest too it can get really cold and really hot. Usually not as cold as in Chicago, because there is no big lake here. I live in an apartaments (flasts) buylding with concrete wall, no thermo insulation, about 3/4 oriented to West (Sunrise). So in the summer it gets really hot... and we need even 2 a.c. units, because of it's L shape. This winter we had to consume a lot of electricity because the central heating didn't worked proprely... the hot water radiators where mearly worm. Hot water problems too.
20 years ago I was sleeping with the bathroom window (luckly I do have a window at the bathroom) a little bit open, because it was very hot. Not anymore.
Oh, central heating here... big power plant, hot water pumped for kilomiters/miles. The power plants are having problems, the pipes do need to be replaced. The scum of Sârma (The Wire), last mayor of Bucharest before the actual one didn't invested in it.
I hate her for a lot of reasons.

Brits didn't wanted electric washing machines. Lol. Germans and Americans did want them.

@ Colly0410 : but a transformer, how many houses it serves?

In U.S.A. the smaller proportion between incomes and product prices made products more avaible. In Romania, even in 1970 a refrigerator could cost 2-3 wages (sallaryes).