evans4190

Hi all i have been researching on many countries that would best suit me and my family and another keeps cropping up and interesting us and that is Bulgaria but its all good getting facts online but has anyone got any personal experiences in Bulgaria being either holidays or expat?? ive also come down to a conclusion that healthcare would have to be private (for my disabled son) so lifestyle, living costs, areas (close to a city but in suburbs and not to far from coast dont want to be in middle of nowhere ) and weather.

Thankyou

george000

Hey.I'm new here in the forum.I'm also a local in Bulgaria.If you have any questions i'd be happy to help.

clint

Bulgaria can be very hot in the summer but winter are cold, however it is not usually the damp type of cold. The guy currently living in our house has rheumatoid arthritis so he would be able to tell you more how the climate affetcs him.

My husband needed to see a doctor so he went to the local hospital and saw the doctor privately didn't cost much about 25euros but that was something minor. You can get private insurance to cover the entire family, as we didn''t look into it I can't give you an idea of cost.

We lived there for about 2 years, if you want to be near the coast your main options are Varna (north black sea coast) or Burgas (south black sea coast). Varna can be slightly colder than Burgas (as this is closer to the Turkish border).

Cost of living compared to other countries in the EU is still cheap, plenty of cheap properties around, some fully rennovated but they are mainly in the Yambol/Elhovo region and the reason they are cheap is because the Bulgarians won't buy there so there are plenty of foreigners who have bought there and can't sell. Be careful of people that tell you you can fully rennovate a house for peanuts, if you are looking at full rennovation expect to pay at least 3 times what you have paid for the house but first you have to find a decent builder, plenty of cowboys around (both local and expats). If you are looking at buying a rennovated house make sure it is one that has been done at least 3 or 4 years that way you will see if the work done lasted in time.

When looking at areas make sure you do a seach using area name and pollution (there were several power station in different regions) to get the true facts. We lived just outside Burgas (15 minutes by car) in a village and that was ideal. Cost of properties are higher nearer Varna and Burgas but at least you would have a better resale market. If you are looking at making a living it is going to be hard but then again depends on what you do for a living.

If you would like more info send me a private message One word of advice if it sounds to good to be true stay clear.

evans4190

Cool thank you very much for your reply I'm currently comparing turkey and Bulgaria really trying to get the cons and positives of both countries and Bulgaria for house prices and the fact it's currently in the eu is a big plus going to turkey in August and Bulgaria later in the year work is not a problem as will be working in the uk for 6 months of year need to research more on larger towns as need decent links like shops and good internet connection

evans4190

Also would anyone recommend a good reliable estate agent? I've also seen a few company's offering monthly instalments on property's are these to be steered well clear of? thanks

clint

Unfortunately I can't reccomend any estate agents but you can buy privately (you need a good lawyer to go through all the legal stuff).

When we looked at Bulgaria we looked at both the Varna and Burgas areas, personally we liked Burgas better and as it is closer to the Turkish/Greek border it is warmer in the winter. also Burgas airport is open all year round Varna, unless things have hanged in the last few months it is only open in the summer and it is 1.5/2hr (in winter longer for the snow) drive to Burgas

Burgas has all the shops that you need, big supermarket (you can get some UK food too), DIY stores etc I think there is an international school, but I am not 100% sure as we don't have children. As far as I know most of the expats have sent their children to Bulgarian schools.

If you are working 6 months a year in the UK then I think you could easily live a whole year in Bulgaria with that obviously depending on what kind of life style you have

Azarel

I knew one guy who lived (well, still lives as far as I know) in Bulgaria. His situation was perhaps a little different as he had a Bulgarian wife and this helped him ease into the way of life more smoothly. He really liked it there; yes, the language was a cow to learn and there's quite a lot of crime and corruption, but he lovely the fresh simple living, having space around him (they could afford a nice country house there with plenty of land), the easier pace of life, and not being nannied so much by the state.

One important thing to consider, wherever you move to, is whether you want to just move to the country but still maintain your current style of living albeit in a warmer, cheaper country ('expat living') or whether you want to opt for a complete change of lifestyle as well as location ('going native'). That'll make a big different to how you calculate the financial aspect of the move.

clint

Bulgaria is still a good place to live and probably I would move there again should we need to move from where we are.

evans4190

Firstly welcome to the forum where in Bulgaria do you live,

george000

Varna.If you have any questions you can pm me.

george000

haha... just realized that he copied my post for post counts.

isobeljane

Hi George, my names Tony. My wife and I own a house in Bulgarira in the countryside near the Turkish border. We are going over this month and want to sell it so we can buy something near the airport or coast.Do you know any honest reliable estate agents there that we can contact. Our house is near to Helovo. Regards Tony.

george000

A reliable estate agency is Address.

isobeljane

Hi georg, thanks for that . ill try them and see if they are interested in taking us on. Regards Tony

Zenettii

My Bulgarian girlfriend and I are looking at future plans to move to Bulgaria. I've loved my trips there, I get a buzz inside me when I learn new Bulgarian words, and I love my girlfriend to bits, this all triumphs over the visable corruption that many people speak of, at the end of the day I'd rather corruption stayed at "low individual's levels" than it being dominated by the government as we see in the UK. (when is the last time a UK PM paid for a dinner, or a home, or their travel costs...)

The biggest scare for us, is work. We are in our early 30's and although it looks like IT work is picking up (my industry) my lack of language skills doesn't give me confidence. My girlfriend works in sustainability which is practically a non-existent industry in Bulgaria, and it's not going to be easy to find work before we move over. We don't want to move over then spend months trying to find something.

I always joke with my girlfriend that Bulgaria reminds me of my childhood 80's. It's fast catching up, but I hope it doesn't get there to quick and lose their traditions in the process. I understand that around Sofia there is a new plan of investments in the technology industry, with Microsoft also funding/moving some major works there in the coming 12-24 months. It'd be nice to be part of the "Bulgarian Rise To Status" as their industry and life style improves.