Bulgaria for Pensioners

I'am bit late but the is a Car Boot Sale (Market) At Hotnisia (VT AREA) on Sunday 14th May.

Come along and browse the stalls and have a blether (Talk) with other people.

Also, try out a nice mug of English tea & bacon rolls at the cafe in the village (Just up the wee hill from the centre of the village) Lipsmakingly good.

Cheap Lunch...!

I like to visit Central Mall (VT) several times a week and have the lunch menu at EGO. The restaurant / Cafe is on the top floor.

Chicken soup (Jewish Penicillin) Then a main course (Greek Lasagna is very good) and a glass of wine.

Costs about 30 Leva. (Great value)

Also leave a tip for the lass who serves you, they all work really hard.

Things to do in VT (Veliko Turnovo)

Most Saturdays I park my little car at Marno Polo Park (Free..!)

Then walk up towards the old town.

I stop at the Bulgarian/Japanese Sammori cafe for a coffee and a cake.

Visit the silversmith and feed the stray cats.

Sometimes I make it all the way to the Tarovets Fortress.

And I might visit one of the church chapels and light a few candles.

Cheap as chips and a great walk.

Hello roselinerussell333,

Thank you for starting this thread. Very good initiative indeed.

Looking forward to learning more about what pensioners can do.

All the very best

Bhavna

Had a lovely time at the car boot sale at Hotnitsa.

Met some nice people and had a chat.

Gave my unwanted clothes (Chanel, YSL, Valentino et.) to a charity for cats and dogs to resell.

Got British tea bags..! (Marks & Spencers) So saved from Bulgarian tea...

Saved from Bulgarian tea, made me chuckle! I know exactly what you mean.

How long have you lived out here? We came to the south of the country around 1.5 years ago so still pretty new. Visited VT last September, I loved the place!

VT is a lovely city, and Hotnitsa is a fab village. We stayed there a few times when we first started looking around in Bg. It sounds as if you've found plenty to do there, Roseline!

@Mel1702

I bought an old village house in the early 2000s.  When Bulgaria became a member of the EU.

I then moved full-time around 2007.

I live here and also visit Greece driving down in my little car.

My pension goes much further than living in the UK.

Hello All.

Now for those of you on a UK Pension.

Remember that the UK Government will not tell you about other amounts of money that you can claim.

In particular the pensioners' Winter Fuel Payment.

Here is a link to the official website. (This is last year's link for 2022-2023)

https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/ … ve-abroad.

Every pensioner can claim this even if they live in Bulgaria full-time. There is no need to have a UK address.

Advice about Cars for Pensioners. ( As well as anyone else)

Small Dacia cars are cheap to buy, cheap to run, and easy to drive.

There is no reason to be a bit of a car snob.

Someone might say, 'I need a 4X4' Well Dacia makes one of those and is very popular back in the UK with Vets, Farmers, and Builders.

No need to spend lots of your pension on expensive cars when a Dacia does exactly what is says on the 'Tin'.

(No... I am not sponsered by Dacia/Renault..!)

@roselinerussell333 Iive in France and I contacted them to see if I could apply. I was told that I couldn't  because France isnt as cold as the UK, so don't be surprised if you get knocked back.

Wood Logs for your stove or wood burner.

This year (2023) The price of wood has hit a new high...

I have paid 150 Leva per cubic metre this year. (All cut and chopped & delivered.)

(Uncut wood, metre lengths is 130 Leva)

Buy your wood NOW..! That way it will be dry by the time you want to burn it for this coming winter. 2023-2024.

When I first had wood delivered 2007 I paid only 40 Leva for one metre lengths and paid to have it cut...

So get your wood in early and think about buying extra so that you have wood for the future. After all it I do not think it will ever be cheaper...

@grumpyoldbird

Sorry, but it is your right to claim it.

Insist and you will get it.

Do not be put off. the official site says that Bulgaria is on the list.

France is not on the list... So you cannot claim the money. But Bulgaria is...

@roselinerussell333 Hi, I did the same thing, except I did it with France. I bought my house in 2007, but by the time I retired, Brexit had happened, which caused some issues. I'm now thinking of relocating to Bulgaria, but I'm struggling with finding a location that would suit me.

My requirements are a little different to most people, because I have lots of dogs. If anyone can recommend anywhere that might fit the bill, I can check it out online.

I need to be away from, or on the very edge of a village, with access to open land where I can walk the dogs. Neighbours would need to be as far away as possible. I don't want to be anywhere where there are lots of stray dogs, because I'd probably end up getting very upset and taking in more than I can cope with. I don't need to be near lots of Brits, but one or two is fine. I'm not fussed about being near the coast and I certainly don't want to be near a tourist area.

I would prefer a landscape with some character, rather than flat, but I don't want to be anywhere near hunters. I am aware that's a tall order  but there's no point in me doing this, unless I find the right location. If any of this strikes a chord with someone please let me know. 🙂

@roselinerussell333 I'm glad you've brought that up, because that was a question I needed to ask. I'm surprised its so expensive, considering that for most people in the outlying areas, that's probably their only source of heating.

Hello All.
Now for those of you on a UK Pension.

Remember that the UK Government will not tell you about other amounts of money that you can claim.

In particular the pensioners' Winter Fuel Payment.

Here is a link to the official website. (This is last year's link for 2022-2023)

https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/ … ve-abroad.

Every pensioner can claim this even if they live in Bulgaria full-time. There is no need to have a UK address.
-@roselinerussell333

Roseline, I'm glad this is true for you, but unfortunately it's not correct for "every pensioner". You need to bear in mind that things are very different for those moving after the Brexit cut off date. The gov.uk page you linked to clearly states the eligibility criteria "you moved to an eligible country before 1 January 2021".

Something anyone reading information given on this site needs to be very aware of - there are two classes of British expats in the EU. Those who moved pre-Brexit and those who moved post-Brexit. The same rules and conditions don't apply to both groups!

Good advice about buying and storing firewood! Unfortunately there's been a huge rise in the cost of all wood worldwide, whether for building or firewood. You are so right that it's not going to get cheaper. Buying now is an excellent idea! I need to build a bigger woodshed at my place as the existing one is too small.

Heating costs have skyrocketed! I'm not sure about Bulgarian prices for gas and electricity as I haven't had an electricity bill yet, but our gas and electric bills in the UK have doubled in the past 18 months, despite us being extra careful to minimise use.

Out of curiosity I looked up UK prices for the years you quoted. Electricity in the UK in 2007 cost 5.38p per kWh. Electricity in the UK now costs 34p per kWh. Ouch! At least, as you suggest, wood can be purchased in advance and stored!

@janemulberry you're absolutely right Jane. For those of us who are post Brexit, its not a level playing field with the pre Brexiteers. I've had this discussion so many times with my pre Brexit friends. They can't understand, why I don't have all the benefits that they have. When they tell me "You should be entitled to that" I just shake my head and reply "Brexit"

Right. Understandably, people only know how things work for them and don't realise just how wide the gap is between the two groups and how moving to an EU country is so different for post-Brexiteers. We have to work a lot harder just to get to move, and give up a lot more.

@grumpyoldbird

Have a quick look on Ebay (dot co dot uk), as one of the main "pay-monthly" folks has just put up a new listing for a village house down south (near Turkey border). It's in the village of Studena, which a friend of mine said was quite nice. It's in good nick (recently vacated, which is unusual) and comes with a whopping 5,740 m2 of land, so you should be able to cope with 100 dogs in all that space. :-) The seller is BulgariaDirect and the item number is 125932908802.

LOL, you are too slow, Gwyn! We've been discussing that property since yesterday!

@janemulberry

Great minds think alike? :-)

Most of their properties sell fast, and this one seems rather appealing. Not very expensive either, especially considering the amount of land.

Agreed.

If I didn't already have my place, I'd be interested in this one for myself!

Anyway thanks for the replies and now back to what Pensioners can do in Bulgaria...

(I have been shifting those logs I bought... Phew I'm knackered.)

Planning to make a trip up and around the old town of VT this Saturday again. some window shopping, coffee and cake, and feeding the poor stray cats too...

Hope it is not going to rain..!

Enjoy your day in town, Roseline!

I have a pile of wood needing to be moved and sawn up waiting for me at my place, too!

Hello all.

Some suggestive advice if you like UK (British) Telly but are not sure how to get it.

https://hdclump.com/

Is a Free website that has loads of UK Telly. (Free & does not require an account or a VPN.)

Not sure exactly who HD Clump is but they post gardening tv, cooking tv, and lots of other documentaries

I watch the whole set of RHS Chelsea Flowers Show tv from the BBC and now watching the Sewing Bee.

What's great about it is that you can watch it. (Streaming via your laptop or TV) Any time you like. You don't have to watch it live (With the 2hour leg)

Hello All,

Another way to watch Free TV when you want (& not have to watch it with the 2-hour lag from the UK)

Is to use 'YouTube'

You need a VPN for this one... Click your VPN onto somewhere in the USA. (New York, Miami, Los Angeles)

Then open up 'YouTube' (You will now be seeing youtube from the USA.) You will now have access to tv and free classic films etc that are streamed from the USA. (You don't get these in Europe...)

There are lots of films and tv shows that you can watch at any time on your laptop. (3 in the afternoon or 3 in the morning. 24 hours a day.)

Hello, all just trying out to see if I can upload or Link a photo to my posts.

Got a picture app and have a photo.

This is the Samurai Cafe, VT. That I visit most Saturdays when walking around the artisan area of VT.

(They also have a large outdoor balcony)

(Hooray it worked..! XXX)

Just a reminder for you all...

The Car Boot Sale is on again this coming Sunday ( 11th June, Sunday. 9.00 Am)

It's at the village of Hotnista just north of VT.

(Hoping for nice weather or its wellie boots..!

The car boots there are excellent! I wish there was something similar in the area where I ended up buying my house.

@gwynj I thought foreigners weren't able to buy properties with land in Bulgaria - or is there a way around that?

@Petra L UK

Yes, quite right, there is a restriction for non-EU foreigners (EU foreigners no problemo). It's related to land, so this includes apartments, if it comes with "ideal parts" (many/most don't), and village houses with nice big gardens.

The easy (and very common) way around it is to incorporate a Bulgarian company and buy the property via your company.

I haven't purchased a "pay-monthly" property (which are typically village houses with a garden), but my guess is that you have a contract with the seller, but you haven't been to the notary to complete the sale/transfer. I expect that the seller transfers ownership when the property is fully-paid, which might be a few years down the road. And so you don't need your BG company until then. I think there are several pay-monthly folks here, so they can probably correct me if I'm wrong.

If it's 5 years down the road... then you can probably qualify for permanent residence... which means this non-EU citizen restriction no longer applies and you can purchase in your personal name (equal treatment of permanent residents vs citizens).

What Gwyn said! With pay-monthly properties the property ownership doesn't transfer until after the property is fully paid for. The Bulgarian company needs to be set up in advance of the transfer of ownership, as for non-EU citizens their company owns the house, not them as an individual.

Most pay-monthly estate agents will assist with company set up for a reasonable extra fee.  I bought with Bulgaria Direct and their admin person, Danislava, did all the set up work. I just had to sign over and over again! A day later I had a company and could legally own property.

It's a once only thing, one company can own any number of properties. Sometimes when non-EU citizens decide to sell their house, they'll sell the company, with the house as the company asset.

@gwynj Thank you for the reply. My son recently bought a flat in Bansko, and is keen for us to buy somewhere there as well, but I am more keen on a place with a garden. We are British citizens so caught by the rules on that. I'll look into the two routes you mentioned.

@janemulberry Thank you for your reply. I'll look into it all. The monthly pay route sounds interesting - I'd not heard of that one before reading the two replies here.

With the greatest respect to you all.

I feel that my thread about being a pensioner and what to do in Bulgaria has been hijacked with other topics and property questions.

Not feel very happy about this.

Roseline, yes, I think maybe Petra posted on the wrong thread by mistake, so we've gone off topic. Though as she has a grown up son, she may well be pensionable age so it could be considered relevant to "Bulgaria for Pensioners".

If you message Bhavna or one of the other admins, they'll be able to move the section that doesn't relate to your topic to a new post.

In the meantime, if you just keep posting what you intended to you'll get us back on topic again! How was the car boot?

I'll be on the look out for car boot sales when I get there but I've a feeling they only take place  where loads of Brits  live and that's not near me and I don't drive .

Same here. The Hotnitsa Car Boot is wonderful, started by a Brit in an area with a high expat population. I believe a lot of Bulgarians also sold goods there. But there are none in my area.

Unfortunately it seems Rosaline, who started this thread, has left the forum.