. You wont get far without at least elementary Bulgarian and you should familiarise yourself with the alphabet. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Bulgaria is becoming ever more popular with expats for whom the cheaper cost of living and a good healthy lifestyle are a priority. Bulgaria makes it onto Expatras list of the cheapest countries to retire and is also on our hugely popular annual list of the best places to retire abroad from the UK. The 9 Best Places To Live In Bulgaria As An Expat, Living In Bulgaria: Essential Expat Guide 2023, The British Expats Who Bought A Ruin In Bulgaria, 7 Reasons To Consider Living In Plovdiv, Bulgaria, The Ins And Outs Of Living In Sofia, Bulgaria As An Expat, An Essential Guide To Living in Varna, Bulgaria As An Expat, Positive aspects of expat life in Bulgaria, Some less than positive aspects of living in Bulgaria, 2. Normally men and women in a family work and a lot of Bulgarians dont have mortgages. One of the factors behind the outsourcing success. Bulgaria is a funny country it seems to have an almost equal number of expatriates happy ordisaffected with life in Bulgaria. The men tend to physically look after themselves well, that makes it a good place to look for your better half and get married if you still dont. Ive visited Sofia (last August 2020) and will be going there once again in April 2021. Hot summers and cold winters. 6 Times Cheaper than Old-school Bank Transfers, >>>USE THIS LINK FOR A FREE TRANSFER (up to 500 GBP/680 USD)<<<. Regardless of age, you cant really say youve been to Varna if you havent visited Cubo the most popular beach bar in the city. Bulgaria uses the lev (plural: leva), which is pegged to the Euro at roughly 2:1. 24.9%. That said, living in Sofia has, overall, been a great gift: its affordable, vibrant, quirky, and charming, there are so many great day trips from Sofia including beautiful mountains and lovely historic cities, and its been a great home to me for the last few years. Just because Bansko is a popular ski destination doesnt mean that youll freeze living there. Burgas - a cultural hub on the coast of the Black Sea 6. If you are the kind of person who takes a considered approach to relocation, who has spent time getting to know Bulgaria before moving permanently, you have good chances to adjust well to what is an undoubtedly very beautiful country. But, note that you may need to give a deposit. Ive made quite a few adjustments compared to living in New York my apartment is way bigger and nicer, and I dine out a lot more. Recently, the city has become an attraction for digital nomads thanks to its vast range of suitable cafes and coworking spaces. So, what are the pros and cons of living in Bulgaria? In this vlog, we explore some of the best reasons in retiring to one of Europe's most affordable . But when I used to live in the center, I walked nearly everywhere. Potrebni uesnici 30+ godina starosti. Bulgaria is a country withvery affordablehotels, restaurants and home appliances compared to the rest of the European Union. The majority of expats moving to Bulgaria consider living in Sofia first. 11. The Old Town is home to charming houses in the traditional old-style Bulgarian architecture. Best places to live in Bulgaria 1. Looking good always trumps feeling comfortable here. Bulgaria is wonderful! Enjoy the therapeutic mineral springs in Haskovo and the picturesque Kenana a magical oak forest that offers a large park, restaurants, tennis grounds, and recreational houses. After 5 years, you have the right to apply for a permanent residence permit. Another thing thats given me culture shock is how Bulgarians nod their yes but mean no, and vice versa! Fruit and vegetables are for sale everywhere and are the most delicious. Plovdivs Old Town is bound to steal your heart at a first glance. Youll be astonished by the golden domes of one of the main symbols of Sofia the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which was created after Bulgarias liberation. According to (now 10-year-old) figures from think tank the IPPR, some 18,000 Britons have moved to Bulgaria, about half living here for half the year and the other half permanently. 10 minuta, anonimno i nije dosadno! The environment is extremely laid back and youll notice that everyone speaks English. On the other hand, many have fallen in love with Bulgarias old-world charm and tradition, some likening it to 1950s Britain. Come April, we need to come up with a plan as to who will be moving (me to join him in Bulgaria or him moving back to California). Expats often choose Haskovo as a popular Bulgarian place to live in as it offers the comfort and cosiness of the small town but its also extremely close to Plovdiv, where you can quickly travel to. When it comes to buying, dont just rely on local friends to help with the language hire local, English-speaking notaries and attorneys. While Bulgaria is developing slowly after rising up from its darker days of communism, the country still has a way to go in terms of being progressive. Im in a long-distance relationship with my boyfriend who works in Sofia, Bulgaria. Other ski resorts include Pamporovo and Borovets. Population. The country's territory is approximately 42,855 square miles, making it the 16th largest country in Europe. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 - Expatra Ltd. UK Company Number 09686420. Varna is popular for its seagull population, keep in mind that theyre quite intrusive. (Which is not done for the general population) So, yes, I wonder why no mention of the above was made in the cons section about living in Bulgaria? This means that its an authentic country, where you really will experience a totally different way of life. Living in Sofia comes with all the benefits of being in a big city while giving you a sense of a slower more relaxed life. A former journalist at Sky News and editor-in-chief for Yahoo, her work has appeared in various publications including Red Bull, The National newspaper in the United Arab Emirates and Expatra. You can also get a beer for 2 leva about a Euro. Veliko Tarnovo a historically rich and truly beautiful city, 5. Popovo the place where anyone can feel at home, 7. Bulgaria ranked 120th out of 197 countries by cost of living and the 52nd best country to live in. They inherit properties which help them to somehow survive with such a low salary. and that you can unsubscribe any time. If you have any questions about our guides or the country discussed feel free to contact us or leave a comment below and we'll get back to you. While Sofias main sights can be seen pretty much within the time it takes to do the citys free walking tour, theres a lot more to Sofia beneath the surface that people dont often get to see when they do a whistle-stop tour through the Balkans, spending just one or two days in Sofia. On the other hand, when it comes to Bulgarian public schools, they are completely free to attend and textbooks are provided for free for students in certain grades. I have a few local friends, but mostly Ive stuck to the expat community, as my husband works with mostly Portuguese people and my business partner here is American. Unfortunately, racism (particularly against the minority Roma population) and homophobia are often expressed openly, and theres a lot of corruption preventing the country from moving forward. Dobrich is popular for its relatively balanced weather and amazing spring and autumn seasons. The small town is a brilliant place to live in all year long. a) Muslims - between the end of the 14th century and the end of the 19th century, Bulgaria was under rule of the Ottoman Empire (Islamic State) and she used the enslaved peoples (Bulgarians, Serbs, Greeks, Albanians, etc.) My biggest concern is finding a job with an American company there. It will require more work to settle down than, say, Spain, but that work could pay off with a whole new lifestyle. As an expat, I have to admit, living conditions here are a bit discordant. The daytime temperatures vary from 0-5C in the winter and 25-30C in the summer months. If you earn a foreign income or pension, the cost of living is incredibly affordable and property prices have settled from their wild peaks. Driving around can be a challenge for you if you come for a Western European country, there are a mix of rainy weather, low maintenance, short-term repairments, and corruption, make Bulgarian roads one of the most dangerous in the EU. Bulgaria operates a flat tax system whereby personal and corporate tax rates are 10% across the board. Renting a good two-bedroom apartment in a nice neighbourhood of Sofia will cost you around 700 800 BGN (Bulgarian Lev), about 300 340. Other beneficial activities include language learning in a multicultural environment with modern and advanced methods and a rich pool of young, enthusiastic, and dedicated Bulgarian and foreign teachers. Thank you so much for this article, I was thinking of retiring to Portugal but now, I have changed my mind and am planning a trip to Bulgaria next year in 2022. They are the success story of post communism leading a free-loading and pay-for-nothing lives, as well as the beneficiaries of state benefits and hand-outs. Its just nice to know that you also have the alternative of witnessing food grow in front of your eyes. A lot of people describe Bansko as a small outdoor paradise. While there is a lot that Bulgaria has to improve upon in many aspects of social justice, catcalling is luckily not a major issue, at least for me as a cishet white woman who can blend in easily here. I hate to be the bearer of bad news however my children were withdrawn from this small private school (one and only private school in Bourgas and very near to Hotel Bulgaria which its Just delicious, and national classic Bulgarian breakfast is coffee and a cigarette, joke, the traditional breakfast is at banitza filled with Bulgarian white cheese. There are certainly those expats who have made a very positive life change by moving to Bulgaria. After divorcing, and having become familiar with the country and made friends, he himself moved to Bulgaria and bought an apartment, only returning to the UK shortly before his death in 2018. Bulgaria Cost of living in Bulgaria Summary of cost of living in Bulgaria Family of four estimated monthly costs: 4,494 Single person estimated monthly costs: 1,841 Bulgaria is the 4th cheapest country in Eastern Europe (9 out of 12) Cost of living in Bulgaria is cheaper than in 78% of countries in the World (62 out of 79) Until then, students follow a standard educational curriculum, learning about preselected subjects. In some ways I feel like a local, but in most ways I still feel like an outsider. HOW DO YOU TRANSFER MONEY INTERNATIONALLY? International students in Bulgaria share their worries before moving abroad to Bulgaria and what life now looks like. When people describe villages in Bulgaria, they describe horse and cart type of villages. (Dreamstime/TNS) HO My business partner and I had to go to seven banks to even find one that would open a business bank account for a foreigner and the only one that actually would open bank accounts for us had a manger who refused to give us information at first, likely because he thought two women couldnt possibly be opening a business. If you are resident in Bulgaria, you should exchange your UK licence for a Bulgarian driving licence at your nearest traffic police department within six months, after first registering with Bulgarian authorities. To retire in Bulgaria, you'll need to apply for a Type D visa and a long-term residence permit, renewable every year. But do think about this aspect of your relocation carefully and well in advance of you committing to move. A. So I ended up staying in Sofia for love, and we got married in 2019 after exhausting all the other possibilities to stay together in Sofia, since domestic partnerships are not an option here. The expat scene in Sofia is small but tight-knit. before your trip. Unsurprisingly, well start from Sofia Bulgarias capital. If you don't want to be surprised by this different way of socially behaving, it might be best to read up on Bulgarian culture. The freelancer visa is nearly impossible to get, not least because it starts with speaking B1-level Bulgarian (which is hard to do unless you already live here.). Living in the city, you can still feel the magnificent presence of the glorious fortress. As a result, the expat community in the Bulgarian capital is well-developed and you can always find help and advice or make friends. Our previous 1-bedroom apartment in the center had been 350 euro a month, and when my husband lived in a studio, he had a gorgeous one for just 220 euro a month. Help with the language hire local, but in most ways I feel like local. 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