My Experience of Bulgaria Never go to Bulgaria

    And today....My car is in the garage for new drive shafts, so no car.
However the village has a bus 4 times a day to the local town. I dont know the schedule, so off I go down the lane to ask someone.
Saw an elderly guy tending his animals, so in my best broken Bulgarski I asked if he knew the times.
That resulted in his adult son and his wife coming out to see what was going on.
Resulted in an exchange of photographs, a great laughs, hugs and handshakes....AND the offer of a lift to town tomorrow morning!!
What amazing people to offer help a total stranger....
Sorry,,,but THIS is BULGARIA~~~


   

    -@daxman

Hit the nail square on the head, no two ways about it! Look the other day when I got myself caught out in the snow. Next thing the old fellow next door pops round with a wheelbarrow full of his own wood for the pechki.

@GuestPoster357

I am sorry to tell you but you are so so wrong . Why dont you pop over to Malta and try buying a 1 bedroom 50sq mtr flat ? You will need the best part of 150,000 Euros . Try renting a 2 bed flat in any area , you will need to fork out in excess of 800 Euros per month without utility bills . Come over and see our traffic jams all over the island 24/7 from 6am till bedtime , breathing diesel and petrol fumes along the way . Cauliflower has been priced at 5/6 Euros each , sometimes cheaper and it is practically more expensive than most Eu countries due to the fact we have to import nearly everything . As for our countryside , most of it is being replaced by concrete in the form of blocks of flats and commercial shops . As for Maltese drivers , or should I say Indian , Pakistani , Bangladeshi and the rest that have been imported for cheap labour , the less said the better !!!! I have driven in most EU countries but nothing beats the driving atrocities you see on Maltese roads . I have to stop there for now , but the list is neverending !!!!

I've travelled all over Western Europe and Scandinavia, particularly frequenting France and Italy.  But, that was a back in the 60s, 70s and 80s when people were different.  Now Western Europeans can only be described as selfish.  I compare what I've experienced to my life now in Bulgaria.  I've lived in Bulgaria for three years and three months, three years in Varna.  We now live in a neighbourhood in Varna that has, what I call, a proper community - everyone looks out for everyone.  I'm English, previously lived in South London.  If I compare my life in Varna, to that in London, Varna is hundreds of times better for so many reasons.   I absolutely love living here.    Apart from a wonderful community, I'm totally accepted by my wife's family of brothers, cousins, uncles and aunts (my wife's Bulgarian).  I don't thinking I could ask for a better place to live.

And for those in Malta....   I bought a 148 m² maisonette / penthouse - 3 beds, 2 bathrooms, huge kitchen, large living room, utility room and storage rooms as well, in arguably the best area of Varna, for €148,000. 

The beach is 15 mins away, I have seventy five local shops and businesses on my doorstep, all within 150 metres, I have 5 bus routes (€0.50 fare for an hour) and taxis arrive on your doorstep in just two to four minutes. Neighbours help each other... 

I bought a new TV recently, but, because it was glass and heavy, I was scared to mount it myself.  My neighbour came with his wife and helped mount it on the wall and in return, they were happy to accept our old TV (not so old - 2018 Sony 55"). I offered to pay him for his time, but he point blankly refused.

Our kids are friends with kids of the owner of a local restaurant (50 metres from us) who now get free pizza, just because they go to the same school!   Life couldn't really be better here...

Just recently we had a big storm, with strong winds, somebody's balcony roofing blew off from the block next to us and landed with a huge crash on our roof.  Within two days, after the storm had abated, two guys arrived to remove it - one climbed out on to the steep sloping roof, with a rope tied round him and removed everything, even got to cleaning the gutter of debry - before I could even give them 30 Leva for a drink, they were gone!

In comparison, i lived for 10 years in South London - Norbury and then Balham...   The streets were filthy, when I first moved there it was averaging one stabbing a month in neighbouring Streatham, when I moved out it was three stabbings a week.  I used to work in Sainsbury's as junior management....  In 6 years of working there, i saw crime go through the roof.  Now, gangs come in armed with knives, to raid alcohol, beauty products and meat.  In my view, Western Europe has lost the plot and I would not consider living in any Western European country anymore.

It's interesting to note, that Bulgaria comes in the top thirty most peaceful countries in the world, in the Global Peace Index for 2023.

I really wish people would stop comparing countries because they are all different.

@cyberescue1 you can't say all Western countries are selfish because that's not true. 

I live in Austria and we have a great community and everyone helps each other out in our town. The same is what it's like back in Wales. Where my aunt lives in France it's a friendly small town.

@GuestPoster357

I don't know who you are and if you will read this at all, but I am sorry for your bad experience in my country.

However, it's not fair to judge for the rest of the world if it's worth coming to Bulgaria or not.

I don't know why your post is allowed by the administrators of expat.com at all. They should censor this type of posts.

You can describe your experience however bad it was, but your tone is hyperbolically alarming as if we Bulgarians also have to flee the country asap as if we'll be exposed to air-raids any moment now.

May I ask how long did you stay in Bulgaria?

@bgladybird The person who posted this left the site shortly afterwards, she won't see your comment or reply.

@GuestPoster357

I don't know who you are and if you will read this at all, but I am sorry for your bad experience in my country.

However, it's not fair to judge for the rest of the world if it's worth coming to Bulgaria or not.

I don't know why your post is allowed by the administrators of expat.com at all. They should censor this type of posts.

You can describe your experience however bad it was, but your tone is hyperbolically alarming as if we Bulgarians also have to flee the country asap as if we'll be exposed to air-raids any moment now.

May I ask how long did you stay in Bulgaria?

Got to say my RURAL Bulgaria is not what the OP experienced. It's not expensive. Motorists are similar to the rest of Europe, some good, some bad and some shouldn't be allowed out, But if you drive defensively and courteously  you'll be fine.

Food is good in most restaurants and there is a variety. I don't like cheese anyway but my wife does and she enjoys a Shopska.

I find our villagers to be most welcoming and I don't expect them to speak english, I'm the foreigner here. But they help out if I need it.

As to the dogs, everyone seems to have them. When I walk ours around the village  I set them all off. lol

They are doing their jobs alerting my presence. I don't hear them otherwise.

I sense OP wasn't happy in BG and its easier to find fault.

I am and so is my boss, it was her idea to come here after we visited.

Involve yourself and enjoy the culture and traditions. You'll stay then

@GuestPoster357

I like it, but it is not for snobs

@franw

Interesting thought - why "not for snobs"?  Are there too many here already, or are you perhaps suggesting that the locals wouldn't meet their high standards?

Maybe that should be "unrealistic standards"?!

Unfortunately some people seem to come to Bulgaria expecting to to be just like western Europe or the UK, only less expensive. Blinded by the disappointment of finding that in many cases things are very different in Bulgaria -- for example, one complaint voiced here, though not by the original poster of this thread, that food imported from Britain costs more in Bulgaria than it does in a UK supermarket! -- they miss out on seeing all the other things Bulgaria has to offer.

Like Marmite, it's not for everyone.  It does make me sad that the original poster was so unhappy she feels it's not for anyone. It's unfortunate she expressed herself in such extremes. So many of us here appreciate the great things about Bulgaria and Bulgarians, while not being blind to the problems. It's not a perfect nirvana, but it's far from being hell-on-earth, either!

I am even gone to Bulgaria and I meant friends already I live in England one other bulgarians come over to meet me to take me to Bulgaria if they are so bad how comes one of the bulgarians come over here to pick me up in England and taught me back to Bulgaria to help me to sort everything out

cost comparison SOFIA vs LONDON :

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/c … ty2=London

facts only...

@Manomelco

Mmm not very factual  really,  some are but others way over the top ... London is a massive area  and then there are the London boroughs that are down as cities ..  you would not know you had left London central unless you saw a sign post  telling you were in a London borough.. it's looks like they have found the worst possible prices they could find and put them in this site .. lol

There are 3 million more people living in London than in the whole of Bulgaria ...  There certainly not all rich and some are very poor and there not paying these prices in this site to eat and live .. central London yes probably but London is way bigger that central London .   Apparently Westminster is a city ??? Lol

The prices on that site are what site users have provided, I believe. So like anything crowd sourced, they may be not entirely accurate. Possibly users of the site skew more toward bigger spenders? The same would apply to Sofia, of course. There are some desperately poor areas, just as there are in London.

@Manomelco I use numbeo a lot.  As you say, good for facts and I contribute to the costings myself, with local data, here in Varna.  They also have, as you may know, a crime index for major cities and towns worldwide, which makes very interesting studying!

@mickeyhar

How's this for the climax to my car off the road issue.

Towed it round town for repair then it seems that our local guy was up to his eyes couldnt do it, so I told my neighbour about it.

His son is a Cop and they spent hours looking for another drive shaft. I must have phoned at least 20 places and no luck (Chevrolet) but then this morning I was busy busy and pip pip pip.

Come on we got to go to town, my son has found a part and its coming in this morning!

Well...what happened next comes out of magic books!

Went to the too busy garage where we had originally towed it and 10 minutes later a Pickup truck arrived driven by Valentin, my pal's son.

Woosh the Chevvy was loaded and away.

Went to this state of the art garage and there among the ramps was the drive shaft waiting for us.

Well I have to say that the next 30 minutes was a blurr....off with the previously broken shaft (had broken before and been welded!!)

Off with the old and on with the new, test drive round the car park...Perfect!

The cost? 20 lev to move the car to the new garage, 200 lev for the part and 50 lev to fit it!!! And NOBODY would take as cent more...after all the stress and worry I was almost in tears that all this had been arranged and done without me knowing or been involved!

BG>>>AINT IT GREAT!!!

Just in time for Christmas

    There are 3 million more people living in London than in the whole of Bulgaria ...  There certainly not all rich and some are very poor and there not paying these prices in this site to eat and live .. central London yes probably but London is way bigger that central London .   Apparently Westminster is a city ??? Lol
   

    -@philip Mckay

Don't "LOL" too much: Westminster is indeed a city - and has been since the 16th Century, even though some British people have still to catch on to this fact.....

Everybody,

This topic is about Bulgaria, please stay on topic, per the Bulgaria Forum Code of Conduct.  I realize there are a lot of British expats who have commented, but this forum is not about England, and it isn't helpful to compare countries.  Again, the topic is about the experience of living in Bulgaria.

Hi

While what your saying may be factual. I won't be finding out as there are far to many rules and regulations already in the world...  It's unhelpful to those that are trying to find out information . Those that are starting to think Bulgaria could be a good place to live. Those that have made up there minds and are going through the moving process and those that have already done it.  Inevitable freedom of speech will draw from what you know and what you don't know .  So what's your point ?  Restricting debate for the sake of it because it's not to your liking ...  This particular debate is from the very nature of it is asking for comparisons to be made.  And mostly in favour of Bulgaria ...

@GuestPoster357

Did something get wrong during your stay in Bulgaria ?  When reading  your comments it looks like so. Varna is our home place for now two years time and we really enjoyed it. Don’t know where in the city you experienced expensive prices for buildings since in Vins, area we are liviing, half a mile from sea garden and 10 minutes walking distance from Black sea you can buy nice comfortable flats for less than 2500 euros/m2. Comparing to south France,  where I used to stay 10 years in Riviera, prices are 70% cheaper in Varna. On top of this, Bulgaria offers very high quality fruits and vegetables at very afordable prices, but wine is expensive since the country has many wineyard areas.

@Boris-Gleb

@GuestPoster357 is no longer a member of Expat.com

You won't get a response from them.

Romaniac

@Boris-Gleb

Hi 👋,  may I ask how much is the monthly budget needed by two people to live comfortably in Varna without paying rent please 🙏? We r targeting Burgas, but I guess the estimate will be the same. Ty in advance for your answer

1. Factually Incorrect.

2. It is right up there for road traffic fatalities, which does worry me.

3. Asda in UK is 40% cheaper??.....Billa these days seems to be quite pricey and I do agree some items are cheaper in UK supermarkets vs Bulgarian ones. It depends what you buy. Although in my opinion UK supermarkets are hard to beat for price, quality and variety.

4. Factually Incorrect.

5. I guess it depends on the village. But personally never had a noise issue with dogs.

6. White cheese is delicious. Yellow cheese isn't the greatest...

7. Not true.

8. It's a repeat of 3.

@Merry888

Hi, i would say you need roughly 3000 to 4000 bgn all included to reach cosy comfortable living for 2 people. We have no car here, but use to go quite often to restaurant. Our gaz central heating in flat is extremely efficient but quite expensive. However, since we use to spend winter time out of Bulgaria, this is not influencing so much our budget. Burgas and Varna are rather similar, but people say wea temp to be slightly higher in south.

To me Varna sea garden is definitely a must.

@Boris-Gleb

3-4k leva for a couple?  That's considerably more than is essential. 

Even factoring in rent (a one-bedroom apartment even in Sofia can be found for 600 leva/month) a couple could live a decent lifestyle for 2,000 leva, including running a car.  Gas is certainly not the most economical way to heat a property, good heat-pump aircons are far more efficient and considerably cheaper to run.

What a load of rubbish, every country in Europe has corruption.Bulgaria is one of cheapest in eu to live in, some things are as expensive as uk but if you stick to seasonal produce for fruit and veg it's cheap and actually tastes good not like uk supermarket bland food.

Neighbours all around me are great (bulgarians), roads no worse than uk where I am, more likely to be ripped off by expats pretending to be something their not (competant builders).

Recommendations and a bit of research goes a long way.

One thing I would suggest is get a builder to stipulate exactly what the work entails as final finishings not usually included ie new windows installed but surround finishing not included unless stipulated at time.

@sinatra98

Thats why people generally move countries "For a btter Life", so why not?

@sinatra98

You won't get a reply from the poster to addressed your comments to, as they're no longer a forum member.

It sounds as if your experience of Bulgaria has been truly disastrous, and I'm so sorry you've experienced this.

But unfortunately all countries have issues one way or another, or bad areas one wouldn't choose to live in. It doesn't make the whole country bad.

If Bulgaria is so dreadful, why are so many of those Bulgarians who move to the west to work looking to return to Bulgaria when they retire, or to raise their families?

@mickg. I think someone is forgetting how the cost of living in Spain went up so high a few years back a lot of the Brits left and went back to the UK, as they couldn't afford to live there on their pension, also a lot more were kicked out of Spain even if they owned the property they were living in.

How quickly we forget.

I have lived in Bulgaria since 2007, I was virtually adopted by a Bulgarian family who did everything for me with regard to paperwork for medical and took me to their Doctor to register with her. I get on well with all of the Bulgarians I meet, those that don't know me by name refer to me as the little English man. I am now 75 years old and I am treated with a great deal more respect here than I ever would be in the UK.

Yes mutley, a lot of the properties were deemed illegal due to no planning permission in a lot of cases, I believe some bulldozed by the authorities.

Unfortunate for the owners who were basically swindled by the developers, no compensation either.

Many of them could not afford to buy back in uk, terrible predicament.

Living costs going/gone up most countries, some people were living on their savings until state pension kicked in but unfortunately ran out of savings b4 their pensions started.

A former work colleague in uk had that position but was fortunate the company re employed him, in 40s when left with redundancy, came back when in early 50s.

@mickg

Yes @mickg It was not only the illegal builds but when the UK left the EU, a lot of people had to reregister to live in the country myself included in Bulgaria, some of the Brits in Spain hadn't even registered in the first place, and had missed the date to register by so Spain kicked them out.

Hello everyone,

Please note that 2 fake accounts and their posts were deleted from this thread.

Regards

Bhavna

    @mickg
Yes @mickg It was not only the illegal builds but when the UK left the EU, a lot of people had to reregister to live in the country myself included in Bulgaria, some of the Brits in Spain hadn't even registered in the first place, and had missed the date to register by so Spain kicked them out.
   

    -@mutley

Data published in December by the EU statistical office, Eurostat, show that about 2,250 UK citizens were ordered to leave EU countries between 2020 and September 2022. The number increases to 2,830 when adding Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, which are not part of the EU but apply free movement rules.

Sweden tops European countries for expulsion of British citizens since Brexit

If Bulgaria is so dreadful, why are so many of those Bulgarians who move to the west to work looking to return to Bulgaria when they retire, or to raise their families?
   

    -@janemulberry

"Home is where the heart is", I suspect.  Bulgaria isn't a bad place to raise your Bulgarian kids, or live on your pension from a foreign country, rather than just survive hand to mouth.  Quite a few younger people in the Balkans have discovered that while the pay may be better abroad, the way of life in their native countries suits them better - especially when they can quite easily save enough to buy a decent property "back home", and a university degree in a REAL subject for their children won't bankrupt the family.

    Hello everyone,
Please note that 2 fake accounts and their posts were deleted from this thread.

Regards
Bhavna
   

    -@Bhavna

I did wonder.....

@SimCityAT

Pretty poor effort by Bulgaria in the "Boot the Brits" League!

@mutley how heart warming.