Varna/Dobrich vs Veliko Tarnovo region

Hi Josie,

Welcome to the forum, both areas your interested in are ok, i know people that live in both areas and all say there nice but obviously it will have some areas like all places that are less desirable. We are not far from both and are located on edges of Balchik about 45 mins to Varna airport but 2 miles to the beach, if you need any further guidance pm me.

rgds ozzy

Thank you.

Does Varna airport stop flying to the UK over winter? I just read that sometimes you still have to travel to Sofia to get a flight, but when I googled Fraport website says they intended to fly to the UK every day through winter 23/24.

Josie,

I understand there are flights over winter but there are less than summer, can be expensive and get booked up so plan ahead. In the past you had to change as recall changing once in Vienna onto a propeller plane but i think thats done with now, possibly due to Varna airport terminal rebuild a few years ago now but not sure.

Rgds Ozzy

I live by myself at the moment in the Pomorie municipality of Burgas because my husband an only child is in the UK looking after his frail elderly Mum it's not easy but having a good neighbour is a help as I'm the onky Brit in the village.  I believe that there's loads of Brits in the VT area but that doesn't mean that you'll get on well with them. I have a friend who live in a village close to VT and she hasn't had running water since last Friday, I'm assuming it's back on now, if it is they'll be filling bottles to last them until is off again which is a regular occurrence. Her visitors travel to he to home from Sofia airport mainly either by taxi or by rail . I'm not sure about flights to and from Varna but here in Burgas I can get a flight most times during the winter to London Luton but during the holiday season there's flights to and from most airport s in the UK.

In short I live here in Bulgaria by myself with very few problems once  people realised I wasn't rich but was married.

@Kath948381

Kath, We too had no water for a few days during the day time only according to a neighbour but we didnt know as the reserve tank we installed covers us for these periods, our 1000 litre tank lasts up to a week if were careful. Perhaps tell your friend to install one they are easy to do.

rgds ozzy

@JosieCrew I've lived in VT and now live in Varna.  Whilst both cities are good places to live, Varna is bigger and, therefore, has more services, shops and transportation, including, of course, the airport. To be frank, my wife (she's Bulgarian) and I, found Veliko Tarnovo too villagey for our suiting, which was one reason why we moved to Varna. Also, My wife is from Varna, so she feels more at home here.  Both cities are reasonably safe. If it was left just up to me, I would still choose Varna - I love it here.  There's no need to live right in the centre of the city, as you're never more than 20 mins away from anywhere in the Varna area. There is literally nothing you can't buy in this city - small and large businesses and shops abound.  We live in a quiet area, north of the centre, which we are lucky enough to have 75 shops within 150 metres of our front door; it has a great community.

As Ozzy says, there are flights all year round, to the UK with WizzAir to Luton. Schedules this year are constant with 5 flights a week all year (I checked WizzAir app).  You can, of course, fly with Bulgaria Air to Sofia (40 mins) and connect with WizzAir, Ryanair, easyJet and other Bulgaria Air flights to the UK.

Varna also has daily flights to Istanbul, Vienna and various schedules with WizzAir to German, Dutch and Belgian cities. There usually are frequent flights to Tel-Aviv, but these have dwindled for obvious reasons!

Varna has a railway terminus with trains to Sofia, via either Plovdiv or Gorna Oryavitsa (for VT).

Varna has two bus stations, one intercity and one for local buses. From the intercity bus station (next to the Grand Mall) there are international buses to Istanbul, Bucharest, Budapest, Vienna, Belgrade and Kiev. There are also buses to most Bulgarian cities.

Burgas is readily accessible from Varna, but only by road (around 3 hours by bus, which also passes Burgas Airport).

Now, Dobrich...  I've visited Dobrich many times when I accompanied my wife on business trips.  It's an interesting city, with adequate shops and services, a railway station and buses to from Varna (bus 1½ hours, train 2½ hours).  The city is not as big as Varna, with around 80,000 population (Varna has 335,000).

If you re in the habit of eating out, both VT and Varna have loads of restaurants, but Varna beats both VT and Dobrich on bars and cafés. Both Dobrich and Varna have zoos.

Buying a house in a village just outside Varna, will be more expensive than just outside either Dobrich or Veliko Tarnovo. Property in Varna has increased in price significantly, as has VT. Dobrich is the cheapest of the three.

Hope this is helpful, pm me if you need any further info.

Ian and Tatyana

    @JosieCrew I've lived in VT and now live in Varna.  Whilst both cities are good places to live, Varna is bigger and, therefore, has more services, shops and transportation, including, of course, the airport. To be frank, my wife (she's Bulgarian) and I, found Veliko Tarnovo too villagey for our suiting, which was one reason why we moved to Varna. Also, My wife is from Varna, so she feels more at home here.  Both cities are reasonably safe. If it was left just up to me, I would still choose Varna - I love it here.  There's no need to live right in the centre of the city, as you're never more than 20 mins away from anywhere in the Varna area. There is literally nothing you can't buy in this city - small and large businesses and shops abound.  We live in a quiet area, north of the centre, which we are lucky enough to have 75 shops within 150 metres of our front door; it has a great community.
As Ozzy says, there are flights all year round, to the UK with WizzAir to Luton. Schedules this year are constant with 5 flights a week all year (I checked WizzAir app).  You can, of course, fly with Bulgaria Air to Sofia (40 mins) and connect with WizzAir, Ryanair, easyJet and other Bulgaria Air flights to the UK.
Varna also has daily flights to Istanbul, Vienna and various schedules with WizzAir to German, Dutch and Belgian cities. There usually are frequent flights to Tel-Aviv, but these have dwindled for obvious reasons!
Varna has a railway terminus with trains to Sofia, via either Plovdiv or Gorna Oryavitsa (for VT).
Varna has two bus stations, one intercity and one for local buses. From the intercity bus station (next to the Grand Mall) there are international buses to Istanbul, Bucharest, Budapest, Vienna, Belgrade and Kiev. There are also buses to most Bulgarian cities.
Burgas is readily accessible from Varna, but only by road (around 3 hours by bus, which also passes Burgas Airport).
Now, Dobrich...  I've visited Dobrich many times when I accompanied my wife on business trips.  It's an interesting city, with adequate shops and services, a railway station and buses to from Varna (bus 1½ hours, train 2½ hours).  The city is not as big as Varna, with around 80,000 population (Varna has 335,000).
If you re in the habit of eating out, both VT and Varna have loads of restaurants, but Varna beats both VT and Dobrich on bars and cafés. Both Dobrich and Varna have zoos.
Buying a house in a village just outside Varna, will be more expensive than just outside either Dobrich or Veliko Tarnovo. Property in Varna has increased in price significantly, as has VT. Dobrich is the cheapest of the three.
Hope this is helpful, pm me if you need any further info.

Ian and Tatyana
   

    -@cyberescue1

Thankyou, thats very helpful.

    I live by myself at the moment in the Pomorie municipality of Burgas because my husband an only child is in the UK looking after his frail elderly Mum it's not easy but having a good neighbour is a help as I'm the onky Brit in the village.  I believe that there's loads of Brits in the VT area but that doesn't mean that you'll get on well with them. I have a friend who live in a village close to VT and she hasn't had running water since last Friday, I'm assuming it's back on now, if it is they'll be filling bottles to last them until is off again which is a regular occurrence. Her visitors travel to he to home from Sofia airport mainly either by taxi or by rail . I'm not sure about flights to and from Varna but here in Burgas I can get a flight most times during the winter to London Luton but during the holiday season there's flights to and from most airport s in the UK.
In short I live here in Bulgaria by myself with very few problems once  people realised I wasn't rich but was married.
   

    -@Kath948381

Thank you.

What would be considered rich, that would cause you problems? I'm a bit concerned about this after seeing someone on here worried that having a washing machine machine delivered might make her a target.

If I turn up with appliances and chest freezer and tv and all my stuff, furniture, would that be an issue?

Josie, that was me about the washing machine, as part of a long thread about burglary. I have some tiny concerns, but I think in my village it would be safe and will most likely end up going ahead with buying new electrical goods for the house.

My main concern is simply because my house is empty most of the time. Though we intend to move and live there permanently, at present one of us can only be there for a week per month, and last winter due to family illness it unintentionally ended up being almost six months between visits. Burglary is far less likely if you're living in the house. If we were living there, the washing machine would have been bought already!

You mentioned safety. I do feel completely safe in my house alone. Because we have a mob of special needs pets who can't be boarded we have to visit separately, so I'm always there on my own. I admit to being anxious about safety before my first visit to the great unknown of the house I bought sight unseen on ebay in a village and a region I'd never visited! But there've been no problems at all, my neighbours are fabulous, and I think it's very unlikely there would ever be any safety issues there. Some villages are less safe, so what I did actually wasn't the wisest way to do it. Visit and feel the vibe of a place BEFORE buying!

We originally were looking to buy near VT, like it a lot, and visited the city numerous times, and yet we ended up in a small village north of Dobrich! The areas have a very different feel, and which is "best" really depends what you want. VT has a castle, history, lots of villages, lots of Brits, and proximity to hilly areas. Varna has the coast and a more cosmopolitan feel. It's a lovely city, though I do have concerns about the air quality there. Dobrich looks like a post-industrial wasteland at first glance but is a nice small city with decent shopping, quite good services, some lovely parks, and easy access to the coast and to Varna. I noticed last week going through it on the way to the airport that there are several new small shopping malls and quite a bit of new apartment building since last year.

There's a boom in the price of agricultural land in the Dobrich region and it does seem to be boosting the towns. Our much smaller nearest town, General Toshevo, has a new supermarket and generally a more lively feel to it than it did two years ago. But the problem with local economies based on agriculture is that it only takes a couple of bad seasons for it to crash. Last year's drought followed by lower than expected spring rains could mean bad harvests and far less money in the region next season.

@JaneMulberry Thank you, That's reassuring to hear. We are now looking at a Dobrich definitely, have seen a house but my husband can't visit til next week and I'm worried it will be snapped up before we can buy it I love it, would hand my money over now and take the issues as they came, if any, but he's a bit more cautious.

We also have to travel separately due to dog issues. We have one that just wouldn't cope with kennels. He was a rescue and is a bit high maintenance.

Just to mention that Gorna Oryahovitsa airport is now in development, will serve domestic flights definately and hopefully international ones in the close future

I am slightly torn over area again.

We've found one we want but husband doesn't want to put the money down til we've been and looked, but I'm concerned it will be bought before we can get there.

BUT someone I work with, who is Bulgarian, has advised the VT area is the place to go, will be better for us, as its better developed. We have been looking at Dobrich but I've been told there is nothing to do there, it gets dead in the winter and is just seasonal.

But we are used to that, where we lived in the UK was a seaside town, and where we live now is too. I expect Dobrich to be the same but on a smaller scale. As long as there is still a cafe/coffee shop, bar, restaurant, gym, nearby and open through the winter we will be ok.

We don't do a lot most of the time anyway occasional coffee or lunch out, even less often dinner out, I go to the gym each day, come home, work, play with the dogs/do a bit of brain games then cook/eat, sunbath outside or watch some telly etc. Go for walks with the dogs. In the summer, snorkel at the beach in the evenings after work.

I like the look of the hamlet we've seen, its flat and has pavement so will good for running & bike riding, I'm not adverse to riding or walking to the local shop for small bits.

I'm quite ready for a quiet life now, we are still young though, early 40s, but expect a lot of our time will be taken up with DIY, gardening/growing our fruit/veg and looking after chickens etc. I want to build a bit of an agility course in the garden and do a bit of agility training. And I'd rather be closer to the Airport if husband is going to be flitting  back and forth for a while.

Does anyone have any thoughts on whether Dobrich will be ok for us?

I also love kayaking too.

Just done a search of things to do in the Dobrich region on trip advisor and there are loads of things; Beaches, bars, bowling, pottery, spas, 2 aquaparks, zip line, climbing/air park thing, national parks, zoo, winery, lakes, palaces, museums, and an adventure place, kayaking.

Some of it might be shut now, or might only be open in the summer, I clicked on the adventure park, that looks like mini golf, and it said they are shut until further notice, but theres still a lot of stuff, so I think I'm decided again

Don't worry about the property getting sold, 'act in hast repent at your leisure'. I spend a good few weeks looking at property before I bought and the one we'd set our mind on when looking on-line was not the one we bought. You really need to see the property and way up its location etc before you buy, location, location is still the best mantra for property buying wherever it is in the world.  Good luck with your adventure...Bulgaria is a loverly place to buy and from what  I can see prices are on the rise.

If Gorna airport really is going ahead at last, that's great news for anyone in the VT region!

Josie, your Bulgarian friend is right. The VT region and city is way better developed than Dobrich, with much more happening in terms of restaurants, nightlife, markets and car boots. It's also less dependent on agriculture, and if you'd like to be able to mix with English speakers, there are far fewer in the Dobrich region.

But it depends what you want. I'd be very happy in either region, in the right village. It just happened that we ended up where we did, and I think the slower rural life will work well for us.

@JosieCrew

I don't know Dobrich, but it's a good-sized city with big supermarkets and other services. And you might find slightly cheaper property up in the NE.

Varna is one of the big cities, along with Sofia, Plovdiv, Burgas. If you can live in/near them, that's a great option, but this would probably be your most expensive option.

Veliko Tarnovo is a lovely city and it's a popular tourist spot (the fortress is one of the best monuments in Bulgaria). The city and region has been one of the most popular destinations for expats for years. I doubt you can go far wrong with this option, and we have friends who are very happy there.

I'm guessing you won't be buying IN these cities (too expensive), but nearby. I don't know your tolerance for travel/distance, but while we love the countryside, we don't like being miles from civilization. Our village is about 10 km from Kazanlak with very good roads, so we're less than 15 minutes away (by car, maybe 30 or so by bus). This is the ideal distance for us, and means we can easily pop into town for  coffee or lunch, some fresh fruit and veg at the market, a bit of shopping at our local Lidl/Kaufland. If we're feeling more adventurous it's only 40 minutes to the lovely (and much bigger) Stara Zagora. Therefore I feel it's not just the town you choose, but the distance from it!

Obviously, I'd far prefer Varna over Dobrich... but a village 10km from Dobrich vs 25km from Varna would win a lot of extra points in the evaluation. The UK is much more built-up, so I think some folks don't realize what a faff it is living out in the Bulgarian countryside and needing the best part of an hour to get access to important services. Others will feel that this is part of Bulgaria's charm, and you should find that property does get cheaper as you get further away.

As @Nick628 advises, location is a big part of the decision. You need a nice house... but you also need it in a good village... and near (ish) to a good town/city. Ours is super house, in a great village, in a beautiful Balkan Mountains location... and pretty close to two good cities. We paid FAR more than we expected or planned for this... but I'm so pleased we pushed the boat out a bit.