Palamartsa nr Popovo

Hello janecaruthers,

Welcome to Expat.com

hope that someone can enlighten you.

In the meantime, could you tell us why you chose Palamartsa?

How long have you lived in Bulgaria?

All the best,

Cheryl

Expat.com team

@janecaruthers Hi, my wife and I actually live in about 30km from Palamartsa, and are very familiar with both Palamartsa and Popovo.

At the beginning of our permanent move to Bulgaria we stayed in Palamartsa for two months whilst making our own property ready for move in. The community has a huge group of English and Scottish people, also a few German families.

The only thing we would complain about is the ‘water supply’… we stayed there during Summer, (actually the hottest months of the year), we were only able to shower once a week due to unwarned water cut; there was not a drop of water in three to four days a week, we bought water from supermarkets for cooking and washing dishes. Even when there was water, the pressure was very low in general…

We then found out that it is because of the old pipes in that village. It is a regular occurrence (still happening), people in Palamartsa are trying to get it fixed. We hope they can… (10 months in our own house, no water/power cut)… they have two Facebook groups, official and unofficial groups, you can also check them out.

Apart from the water issue, it is a nice village. Very close to Popovo where you can find most of the stuff you need.

Thanks for that information very disappointed to hear about the water it would be a big no no for me I need my showers! Search continues...

@tutisservis Hi! I'd love to hear more about how you found the process of moving to Bulgaria??

Also, i'd love to join the fb communities you mentioned, any idea where i can find them?

Thank you

@naomi_village hello, yes we’ll be glad to give more information, if you can say what exactly you will like to know. Everyone’s circumstances are different. My process to obtain D visa and residency in Bulgaria was pretty straightforward as I am a retiree; however, my wife is from Hong Kong, it was extremely difficult for her to apply residency, we had to overcome many obstacles before she finally got her residency permit…

so if you could provide a bit of your background, (welcome to pm us), we might be able to share further.

As for fb groups and communities, I am not sure if it is allowed to share here. I have joined groups like ‘moving to Bulgaria’, ‘expats in Plovdiv’, ‘foreigners in Sofia & friends’ etc. I would also suggest joining groups to your local area where you think you may want to move to.

@tutisservis

Hi there, so glad to find this community.  Were ready to make the jump from Scotoand,but we are concerned about getting visas. I dont get my pensions for another 6 years but I can provide evidence we have the yearly amount of 4k each in our accounts up  to that time fairly easily. I've read you have to show proof of a monthly income. Does anyone in the group have any advice post Brexit how to get the ball moving, seen a property and have to act fast. Many thanks, George.

George, you can buy a property without having a long stay visa. You will need to form a Bulgarian company to own it if it includes any land, and the estate agent should help with that. But to move before you get any pension income could be complicated. Unless it's actual pension income (whether a private pension or old age pension), showing proof of income or having money in the bank doesn't help, unfortunately.

The first step to moving there is to get a D visa, and once you have that you can apply for residency. But there are limited ways to get the D visa. If you do a search on the forum for D visa you'll find there's been a lot of discussion about it. Also an internet search for Bulgaria D visa will provide useful links.

We bought our house and are now waiting out the four years till I get my OAP to apply for my D visa. There are other routes, though, especially if you have or know someone with a UK company (registered at Companies House) with at least two years tax records. Apart from pensioner status, probably Trade Representative Overseas is the next easiest way to get a D visa.

Good luck, I hope it works out for you!

@georgewheelwright

Hello George,

Obtaining a Visa D is your only way into Bulgaria since Brexit unless you have Southern Irish parents or grandparents, where you could then obtain an EU passport.

Visa D for us mortals is either sponsored entry by an employer (not so easy) or by a state pension, with the various documentation to support that.

Your intimation for providing proof of income, unfortunately is not enough, as the UK is no longer in the EU and we are classed as 3rd world citizens.

If you have a registered UK company or know someone who does, there is a possibility of that company opening a branch in Bulgaria, and if you were an employee of the company being paid to promote said company, you could gain a visa D this way, but you could only rent property.

Six years is a long wait, but if you are a handyman you could stay in Bulgaria for 6 months per year (split into two 3 monthly visits with 3 months absence in between each visit) fixing up the property; but again, you can no longer purchase property with land as a none EU citizen.

To do this now, you would need to open a 'none trading' Bulgarian limited company, which because it is itself a Bulgarian entity, could purchase property with land.

The alternative would be an apartment without land and you can purchase this quite easily.

Not sure what other information I can offer, but don't give up on the dream... it's well worth waiting for if you are committed to the idea and prepared to integrate with locals and call Bulgaria home. The UK for me is somewhere I once lived, there's not much I miss.

As mentioned by @tutisservis some villages do have a slightly unreliable water supply and suffer from low pressure or cuts. If the village is otherwise nice, there is a pretty easy fix. Standard Bulgaria plumbing is direct feed from the water main, but you can add a storage tank (external or internal, depending on how big you want) and a small pump.

Hi All,

I'm looking at moving to Palamartsa, I was wondering what the average amount of wages you would need in Lev to live comfortably without having to work.

I know there is a lot of variables, but a rough estimation would be very handy.

Many thanks

Hi Sproz. Do you have a residency card already? It's much harder post-Brexit and Schengen to get a D visa, the first step to long term residency.  Now, one basically needs to be either wealthy, or a pensioner.

For what's enough to live on, the current minimum wage in Bulgaria is under 1000 leva. Whether that's enough to live comfortably depends what standard of living you want and where you live. I think that the minimum wage might be living less than comfortably for most people, especially in the city or renting.

@janemulberry I don't have a residency card yet, however I do have a pension coming in.

I was looking at renting my home in UK and alongwith my pension, it would give me around the 4200 Lev mark.

I was wondering if this could feed and home 3 people taking in account bills, cost of living etc there..

Ty for your reply Jane.

Presumably you're intending to buy a house in Bulgaria? If you're thinking of renting, 4,200 leva for 3 people wouldn't leave a lot for monthly expenses and a "rainy day pot", especially if you're hoping to enjoy life. You'd also need to look into the taxation situation if you're resident here.

@JimJ Hi Jim,

Thankyou for your advice. Yes, I'm looking to buy a property.

I'm looking at just general living costs for two people pretty much. The Mrs is looking to have her Mum to stay at some point who will have her own income. But in the worst case scenario is to know that we could get by if needed. So I just wanted to understand rough costings.

Appreciate it.

@Sproz

Have a look at this site to give yourself an idea of the cost of living>

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp

@Sproz I can't help you with facts, but we have worked out that with our pensions, (once we retire) that we will have enough to live comfortably. We don't intend to shop in expat supermarkets, just local markets and shops.

The utilities are at least a 3rd of the price over there.  If you don't have rent or a mortgage to pay, you should be able to live quite comfortably. We don't retire for another 7 years so I hope things stay the same. If you still have a house to come back to in the UK, I would definitely move to Bulgaria. You should have more than enough. Plus you can always come back

@Sproz That sounds doable, if you buy a village house and live simply. Shopping in the local markets and cooking at home is way cheaper than supermarket prices, which can vary. Most things are cheaper, but some might cost much the same as the UK.

For a family with kids it would be stretching it, I think, kids can be expensive! But for three adults who aren't looking to go out on the town every night it should be manageable. There are people here living reasonably comfortably on the UK OAP. When we move, it will be two of us (and hubby has a load of food allergies so needs more expensive food) and a herd of cats getting by on less than you mentioned.

If you're not yet official old age pension age (your pic looks a long way from OAP!) bear in mind your pension will need to be at least the Bg minimum wage, not the Bg OAP, and as Jim said, for those of working age there could be tax implications. Also unless you can keep renewing your GHIC, the need to pay Bulgarian NI contributions to access their public health system. If your MiL is an OAP, she can get an S1 form from the DWP which lets her register free with the health system.

Not trying to be negative, just realistic! We're moving to Bulgaria as soon as we can get a D visa. Currently we're in the UK waiting till I get my OAP, as hubby' took bad advice on pensions meaning his work pension is lower than the Bg minimum wage so not enough to qualify.

@SimCityAT that's been really useful, thank you for your help.

@janemulberry Hi Jane thank you that's great advice.

Yeah I will be looking to shop locally and just settle down with a more quiet life.

It's true I'm not quite OAP age, I'm 40, however I'm lucky enough to have a pension due to a long military career and a good medical pension to boot. Alongwith the house etc to rent.

I'm feeling alot more confident given all your kind advice, thank you 😊

Sounds as if you will manage fine! Good luck! I hope it all works out well for you.

@Sproz The general rule is that the further away from a large(r) city, the cheaper it gets. Having said that, 4200 leva per month for three people is perfectly doable even in a city like Varna. Ok, don't expect to eat out every day and go on shopping sprees, but normal, not pretentious living, 4200 leva is currently more than enough for a 3 person household.

I read you are opting to live in a rural area. The advice for that is to always (especially winter) be prepared and have sufficient stock to survive 2 to 3 weeks. It is not rare that weather conditions prevent you (as well as suppliers to local stores) from venturing out to larger towns/cities to get and deliver supplies.

I once went to visit a friend for what I thought would be 2 days in a rural area only 15km away from Varna and got stuck due to a surprise snowstorm. It took 8 days before the road was plowed. The local shop, which was accessible after "walking" 500 meters through 50cm of snow, ran out of everything rather quickly. Quite an unpleasant situation, I must say.

@DutchExpatVarna

Thank you for your great reply.

I am very much looking forward to it and will be looking to do up the house prior to a permanent move.

I will look at a larder and think more on weather etc from this point onwards.

Really appreciate the feedback.

I’m Ex Military myself. If you have already bought the and paid for the house you will live like a King. There are quite a few of us out here living on the Military Pension.

Too many want to live in Little England out here. Thats the main reason I left too many busy bodies. Just be careful. Keep your cards close to your chest always as there are plenty Brits and Bulgarians that will try and rip you off for being British.

Don’t flaunt what you have and never talk money to anyone.