Assanah

Thanks for the book recommondations - I will read them and hopefully understand more about that region

ViktorBulgaria

Hi there - randomly stumbled upon your post through google and decided to give an answer, if you're still looking for one.

I was actually searching for this article - Brexit - всяка първа неделя | EVA.bg

It's a Bulgarian magazine talking about brits in Bulgaria. The article is wonderful and I hope google translate does it justice, if you want to read it. If you don't, it's basically about a British market every Sunday. As expected, it's in the area around Veliko Tarnovo.

Articles like this have been increasing, as more and more brits settle around Bulgaria. Houses here are dirt cheap and you can buy a wonderful property for somewhere around 3-4 thousand pounds. Life in the villages is also cheap as shit.

There's always just one problem - you have to have a secured income BEFORE you come here. Any British pension is enough to live as a king and so is pretty much any online job. A lot of brits go work in international companies where a native british language is worth a lot, many others open small companies of their own.

In the end I'd say we're reaching some 10k brits, but statistics are very problematic in this regard. I DO know that there is a 90% British village somewhere, I read about it some 3-4 years ago, where the only Bulgarian inhabitants are a grandma with her cows, the mayor and a priest. I don't know how trustworthy that was, but I know that there are villages with a 50/50 British/Bulgarian population and I've also heard life there is wonderful, with the British usually contributing a lot to the community and the Bulgarians always responding in turn.

Richard8655

Wondering about retirement in Varna. I read it's a very nice, scenic resort community on the Black Sea. Lots of sunshine and beaches and a major holiday destination of the old eastern bloc. Not sure if it's a popular destination for British pensioners, and if cost of living is similar to the rest of Bulgaria.

Pulaski

The British started visiting Varna in large numbers in 1854.

Richard8655

Great! Well that's a good sign. Hopefully a community there is well established to this day.

I'm also curious what health coverage arrangements British pensioners have in Bulgaria. Is there a reciprocal agreement with NHS?

Pulaski

Er, not exactly. They were soldiers on the way to the Crimean War*, along with the French, who, curiously were allies of the British at the time. Many of the soldiers died of cholera, and the city of Varna was devastated by a fire.

* The soldiers in Varna were on their way to support the Ottoman Turks in driving the Russians out of Silistra, on the Bulgarian-Romanian border, but the Russians fled before the Anglo-French allies arrived. The war objective had largely been met, but (and I paraphase a bit here) the politicians decided that it seemed a pity to waste the effort of sending all those troops that far (from Britain and France), without actually engaging the Ruskies. So a plan was cooked up to invade the Crimean peninsula. The rest, as they say, is history! .... Ultimately a victory for the Anglo-French allies, but a bloody fiasco on many different levels.

scot47

Burgas is a nicer city than Varna. Both are visited by Brits in summer and have resident British populations. You can still use your European Health insurance Treatment Card (EHIC) for health cover in Bulgaria. Like Bulgarians you will have to pay for some treatment and for most medication. Be aware that Bulgarians know their history better than Brits. Some may still bear grudges that Disraeli and his government sided with the Ottomans against the Bulgarian Insurgents. "Perfidious Albion (Albion Perfide) is not universally popular in foreign parts !


As a good revolutionary I am with the insurgents and Mr Gladstone. Pulaski, I suspect, is with the Ottomans and Disraeli.

Richard8655

Good info. from both of you. Sounds like Pulaski knows his history about the area, currently reading some good books on the subject. Yes, not a great time for Brits in the 19th century during that war. It is a shame that many don't know or aren't interested in history, as it adds so much to understanding of the area.

And also thanks scot47 for the health coverage information there. I wonder if after Brexit that EHIC coverage agreement will continue. Will also have to look into Burgas. In sharing information on a Malta thread, Brits there and on Cyprus seem happy with retirement life near the sea for the warm weather, scenery, and beaches.

I get the impression a life of cold, damp, and rain on Blighty drives many to these locations. I guess that might be somewhat obvious.

Pulaski

In truth my knowledge of the history is limited, but I am currently reading "The Crimean War: A History" by Orlando Figes (see post #10 above in this thread), which is an excellent book, and very readable. I read about the "thin red line" and the charge of the Light Brigade two days ago, and I reached the start (first day) of the siege of Sevastopol yesterday evening.

Even though I am not yet half way through the book I have already learned a wealth of information about the history of the alligiences and antagonizations between the Russians, Poles, Greeks, Austrians, and Turks, (not to mention the muslim tribes in Chechnya and Circassia in the Caucasus), the political tensions that were already building in central and SE Europe in the middle of the 19th century, that led to WWI.

scot47

There is an excellent book based on the diary of the wife of an Irish Officer in the British Army. She accompanied her husband and wrote extensively about her experiences in Bulgaria - then part of the Ottoman Empire. the locals were surprised tgo see a woman that was in the habit of riding a horse.

scot47

That EHIC is only for VISITORS. If you have retired to Bulgaria and get the UK State Retiremenet Pension you can get medical treatment on the same basis as a Bulgarian who is covered by BG State Health Plan. Get form from DWP in UK.

ViktorBulgaria

I was in Varna for two months last year and I spent a few days this year.

Varna has many issues as a regular town to live in, but it is probably the best place to retire in. It is very international with tons of greek, russian and french people and retired people spending money there are the biggest part of the economy. So it caters to that a lot - cafes, restaurants, etc..

In Bulgarian seaside towns there is always a so-called "sea-garden". It's basically a park on the coast. The Varna garden is amazing. And the cafes they made along the coast itself are great.

Also Varna has lots of cultural things happening in the summer, so it's not that boring. It gets very empty outside of summer, but I don't think that's an issue for a retiree - peace and quiet and all. Plus you can still do a lot of stuff even then.

Avoid Golden Sands, it's gone to total shit.

I'll be perfectly honest here, the only issue Varna has is that it suffers from the same symptom retiree towns do - the economy dies down quite a bit because more people just spend and less people work. So the town is becoming a little poorer as time goes on. You know it, you have retired British towns - I used to live in one, the pensioners were ok, but the town was dying down a lot. But I don't think that'll bother you. I mean, there is still the upside you're highly likely to find a huge community of retired Brits. I saw a community of retired Dutch there, they even built themselves a library and such. Never saw a brit one, but I assume there is one.

Pulaski

I didn't realise you were a misogynist.

ViktorBulgaria

Our heritage has a rich history of women marching to war with men, riding horses (we are basically 1/3rd eastern nomads, like mongols) and all that.

But yes, when we were under slavery, Ottoman customs and all...

Richard8655

Ah yes, that's what I thought. EHIC is for EU citizen visitor/tourist coverage. In my case as my work career was all in the US, it'll be Blue Cross private insurance from retirement benefits. No UK working record in fact. But as long as one has coverage, medical facilities I'm hoping should be good in Bulgaria.

Thanks Viktor. Excellent information.