Manofkent324

Hi. I am new to this site and this is my first attempt at blogging. If that is the correct term?
I am thinking about buying a property/small holding in Bulgaria and would be grateful for any advice.
I live in a rural part of England and would be looking for somewhere similar, outside of a town, but not too far from basic local shops. I am a keen course fisherman and a lake on the site would be ideal, or perhaps land where a lake could be dug, due to its location.
I have previously seen an advertisement by a British expat who rents out property you can buy, if you like it. Do you or anyone you know do this, as it seems a good idea?
Why is Bulgaria so cheap? Why do there seem to be so many properties that need renovation situated in rural areas?
Where has everyone gone? and why?
Where should I look and where should we stay clear of?
Sorry for all the questions and I look forward to any help or advice you can offer.
Kind regards,

bakedbean

Hello and welcome to the forum

We don't have a dedicated forum for Bulgaria but you may wish to re-post in the main section of the Europe sub-section. You can follow this link below.
Europe - British Expats

happy planning.

scot47

I went to work in Bulgaria in 1991 and worked there until 1996. After that I kept my base in BG while working in the Middle East. I maintained my presence in BG until 2011 when I retired to Scotland. I am still connected to BG and have family there. I took the time to learn Bulgarian and that certainly made my life there easier.
Be careful with Real Estate. Lots of dodgy dealers about - both British and Bulgarian. Large swathes of rural Bulgaria are in crisis. There has been a huge amount of migration within BG and from there to Western Europe. From a population of 8 million, 1 million have left in the last 15 years.
Get a few more postst in and we can eschange private messages.

Manofkent324

Thank you bakedbean for welcoming me to the site and for your advice

Manofkent324

Hi scot47. Thank you for your reply.

I have spoken to a few Eastern European people who have migrated to England for work, including someone from Bulgaria. I find the people I have met and worked with very interesting, polite and hard working. They too are interested in sharing information, but I'm not too sure yet what I need to be asking and considering apart from the obvious.

The gentleman from Bulgaria, lived in a small village on the Danube and he was clearly missing his home, family and friends. He explained there are areas, which I gather are perhaps more likely to be the very rural areas you mention, where people can be subject to crime with very little protection and very little that can be done about it.

I owe my youngest son a holiday for his 18th and he would like to go skiing, so I am thinking that would be a good opportunity to have my first look at part of the country, and as I do, as the local people or any expats I meet loads of questions

Once again, thank you for your reply. By the way, how many of these do I need to complete before I can start messaging people directly?

scot47

3 ? I think. Ski resorts are an artificial environment and will not give a clear picture of what life is like in most of Bulgaria. Developed resorts include Bansko and Pamporovo. My advice would be to avoid any attempts to sell you a property in a ski resort itself. There are places worth looking at near to ski resorts. If you go to Bansko try the narrow-gauge railway that runs down to the mainline between Sofia and Plovdiv. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septem...row_gauge_line
If in Pamporovo go and have a look at Smolyan, the main town in the district. Brest potatoes in Bulgaria !

scot47

Rural areas in Bulgaria are in fact villages. isolated houses in the country are not part of the settlement pattern. In some countries in Eastern Europe (eg Hungary) there are houses surrounded by plots of land, and at a considerable distance from the neighbours. In Bulgaria the pattern is that people live in villages, and leave the village to work on the agricultural land. Some villages are slowly dying, with small populations of elderly people. Others are getting by. Some - close to prosperous towns like Veliko Turnovo and Plovdiv - are prospering.Do not rush into buying property because you see what seems to be a bargain. One strategy might be to find an area where there is good fishing and then look around

Tweedpipe

I'm thinking about going myself for some of those 'brest' potatoes mentioned above......

scot47

I see you suffer from typophobia - and an obsession with human mammary glands. Too many copies of "The Sun" ?

Rosemary

Hello and a big welcome to BE.

Moderators deal with any problems that arise such as inappropriate posts, spammers etc, you will find their names at the bottom right hand side of each forum's index in bold font.

Please contact me if I can give you any further help.

Rosemary

360i

is there a town/village in Bulgaria inhabited by many Brits?

SchnookoLoly

This thread is pretty old, you are always better starting a new thread instead of posting on the bottom of someone else's.

We don't have a Bulgaria-specific forum on here, but you might get some luck posting in the Europe section - Europe - British Expats

sevans56

If you think in Bulgaria is so cheap, why don't you combine your idea to live and fishing here with earning a bit of a money? Buy property on a ski or sea resorts to live and use it to rent as well, or if you plan to live here make the part of it as a B&B. Extra money are always very welcome

Rete

In case you have not noticed, this post is from February. I have requested that it be closed from future postings.

BEVS

Thanks Rete.

Thread closed.