Where/how to start?

@ButterMyPaws19

My friend and I went over from France recently and it was a nightmare. A lot depends on whereabouts in France you live. If you want to pm me, l'll tell you what we learned, so you don't make the same mistakes. Elaine.

@ButterMyPaws19

For a viewing trip the way to go is a flight plus a car rental - exactly as you expected. But you'd need a proper driving license, not a bit of paper. I'd simply delay until you have your shiny new French licenses. We usually fly budget airlines (Wizzair, Ryanair) into Sofia and that has served us well.

The highways are good, and it's not a huge country, so it's not like you need to crisscross America. :-)

There is good public transport (trains, buses), but for a shorter trip, the speed and convenience of having a car is hard to beat. Especially if you want to leave accommodation to the last minute too. I use booking (dot com) and I'm very happy with it. Some places allow cancellation until fairly late on (if you want to reserve a place, but have flexibility to change your mind). And it works for last-minute bookings too (when you're on the road, and decide to stop for the night, you can find the available places near you).

I'm a mountains fan too, and Bulgaria is pretty good for this. Not as high and spectacular as the French Alps, but a very acceptable alternative. :-) The Rodopes are south of Plovdiv down to Greece. The Balkan Mountains stretch all the way from Serbia across to the Black Sea coast at Sveti Vlas. Rila and Pirin are south of Sofia (Bansko is the big ski resort here). There are some others, but these are the main ones, I think.

If you've never been to Bulgaria a quick sight-seeing trip is a great idea. I don't think you need to pick a specific area, but I think it's good to get a flavour of the country to see if you could live here. I love living here, and Bulgaria does have some spectacular scenery... but I don't think it's as charming and picture-postcard as, say, France, Spain, and Italy. And their food/culture and Romance languages are great too. However, the cost of property and the cost of living is far lower here, and that's a pretty powerful bonus. I have residence permits in Cyprus and Spain too, but I could not afford to live there the way we do here.

Others will disagree, but I'd also suggest there aren't a lot of areas you need to visit! Sofia and surrounds are hugely expensive so I think it's safe to cross that off your list. I would check out Bansko/Razlog and Rila/Pirin. I'd also check out Plovdiv/Asenovgrad and the Rodopes. I'd definitely visit the Balkan Mountains (south side between Karlovo to Kazanlak and north side Veliko Tarnovo). Veliko Tarnovo is a great city and the region has long been popular with expats, so you might want to look around this area. And we need a bit of Black Sea, let's say between Sveti Vlas and Sozopol.

Having said all that, if you want a village house, there are lots of nice villages. So I'd suggest you should also start looking at some big property sites (e.g. BulgarianProperties or Suprimmo) as these have properties all over Bulgaria, and you can quickly get a feel for what you can get for your budget in different places. There's no point falling in love with Sofia, Ploviv or Varna then finding out you can only afford a shoebox in those big cities (and their surrounds). :-)

@grumpyoldbird

Thank you  I will. I really appreciate that.

@ButterMyPaws19

I've pm'd you, so you know where to find me. 😊

My friend and I went over from France recently and it was a nightmare.     -@grumpyoldbird

Why a nightmare? My apologies if I missed your earlier posts, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who wanted to see how your big trip to Bulgaria went. Your visit report probably needs its own thread, as enquiring minds need to know. :-) I thought there was a big kennels place just waiting for your TLC, and I was hoping there was a happy ending to your search. I'm sorry to hear it didn't live up to expectations... how/why did it go wrong? And how grumpy are you on a scale of 1 to 10? :-)

Seriously, there are many Bulgarian fans here (including me) so if we oversold it, I can only apologise. But I think your perspective of coming here after France would be a very interesting one, and we'd all welcome your comments, even if they come down on the negative/nightmare side.

As per my previous post, the charm quotient of popular expat countries in Europe (France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Cyprus) is extremely high. So, going from there to here might initially be rather a shock. Even as a huge Bulgaria booster, if money were no object, I'd definitely be living in one of those countries!

Of course, this might not be the issue at all. Perhaps it was just the drive over? Or maybe your property sellers completely misled you about what was on offer? Or you loathed Shopski Salad? :-)

@gwynj

Thank you gwyn, this is really helpful. We are not city people. We moved to rural France 9 years ago, to escape the city and live a simpler, almost self sufficient life but its getting harder and harder (and more expensive) here.

We were thinking of the VT area, but would also like to consider other areas (our friend has a place near Berkovitsa), so your info has been invaluable. We had pretty much ruled out Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas.  Not bothered about living near the sea, I imagine we could always visit for a few days if we really got the urge but to be honest the rich history, culture and nature (we are/were medieval/historical re-enactors) is a bigger draw for us.

Let's hope our licenses don't take too long as we have a window in April that we could possibly visit for a week or so.

@gwynj

Hi Gwyn, re travelling. That was a problem in France, probably more so than the UK. Ryan Air fly from Beauvais to Sofia, which was a long way from where we needed to be. Getting to Beauvais was a problem and if we did the trip again, I would drive and park at the airport. Paris is a horrible place to get around and it wasn't helped by train strikes.

Bulgaria was fairly straightforward considering the language barrier. We took a train from Sofia Central, which was clean, but very slow. That took us to Harmanli and we were collected from there.

Bulgaria wasn't anything like as run down, or derelict as I expected, although it is, but perhaps all the time I've spent on the internet prepared me. Yes its not pretty and well kept, in the same way that France is, but then there's not as much money in Bulgaria.

We went for a lovely meal in Harmanli, which cost 72 leva for 5 people, including drinks. The house with the kennels was great and I would have gone ahead with it, but I think it was a bridge too far for my friend. I think for her it was the prospect of the endless stream of dogs needing help. The upshot is, I'm back to the drawing board. I still need to find a smallish house, at the end of a village, but preferably one that doesn't have a constant stream of stray dogs, as I really wouldn't be able to turn a blind eye....

@grumpyoldbird

Could you afford it on your own? Great properties are in short supply. :-)

Food and drinks for 5 for 72 leva. How much would that be in France?

@gwynj

Sadly, no I can't and to be honest it would be too big for me on my own. It's quite a big house, with kennels and outbuildings and 2 separate gardens, one for dogs and one for cats. I think it's probably under priced now, compared to some properties I've seen lately.  For them it's all about the animals, but I think they'll struggle to find someone to take it over as a rescue. I hope they do find someone, because they have some lovely dogs.

Comparing it to France...there's a British owned bar in town, which does mediocre food. A meal costs about 15 euros, plus a drink....so your probably looking at around 90 euros for 5.

There's a French owned bar, about 20 minutes away, which does a Plat du Jour, although they apparently have about 3 choices per day. I've never been, but I've told by a few people that the food is lovely. 3 courses and a glass of wine, or beer is 15 euros. Cheaper than the British owned bar and better food, but still double the price in Harmanli.

@ButterMyPaws19

If you love the medieval and historic, VT may well be the place for you, as it was the medieval capital. The modern side of the city is just like anywhere else, shopping malls and apartment blocks. But the historic centre is quite amazing.  We've visited multiple times. Unfortunately hubby is veeeeeeery slow to decide on anything and wouldn't commit to a purchase on any of the places I found, prices rose, so we didn't end up buying there. Possibly wise as we're getting older and the parts we like best are hilly! But we both love the town and the history.

We ended up in a region I never would have considered, it didn't tick any of my boxes. But tired of waiting for hubby to agree I bought an extremely  cheap house online just before the end of the Brexit withdrawal period, simply to get residency under the old rules. That didn't happen, but I did find I unexpectedly fell in love with the village and the region.

Buses are the fastest and most reliable forms of public transport in Bulgaria. If you prefer not to do much long distance driving, you may find it works to fly in, bus to the cities you want to visit, and hire a car for a day or two in each place to explore locally. On the other hand, picking up a car at Sofia airport means just a 3 hour drive to VT or to the southern towns. Just make sure you have somewhere to park the rental car where you stay. Finding parking space can be a challenge in VT, and possibly other towns as well.

@janemulberry

Thank you Jane, that is very helpful indeed. The bus and short term car rental at each place is an excellent idea.  I would be curious to know which region you ended up in (pm me if you don't wish to say in public) as we like out of the way places and ended up in a place we hadn't planned on in France, so we try to stay open minded. I do fancy being up in the mountains though. 😉😊 However we are realistic enough to realise that we need to ensure we can feed ourselves, keep ourselves warm, and get to places for supplies relatively easily in the winter, so a village like Varbovo (just using it as an example) while beautiful and extremely tempting to us, is absolutely unrealistic for early/semi retirement. 🤣🤣

We ended up in the opposite of the mountains, the Danubian plains to the north east of Dobrich! Villages scattered amongst big fields of wheat, sunflowers, and corn, plus a few fields of lavender. I like it because it reminds me of rural Australia. I've lived in the UK for many years as Dad was British, but I grew up in Australia.

It wasn't my plan to settle where we've chosen at all, just to use the house to get residency then make our long-term Bulgarian home somewhere else, probably near VT. But our neighbours are wonderful and I love the village, Krasen. Despite the name (it means beautiful!) it's not the most attractive place, with a lot of abandoned houses and closed shops from when the population was far higher. It's possibly a bit too small and at 19 km a bit too far from the nearest town to be a completely sensible retirement choice. But there's a great community spirit, a little village shop, a nice cafe, and a good enough bus service. General Toshevo, the nearby town, has GPs and dentists and a community hospital, plus good shops with almost everything we need. And what it doesn't have can be ordered online and delivered.

And yes, there are some beautiful tiny villages and stunning properties for sale in the mountains, but just not practical for full-time living. I see places advertised in villages with populations of 10 or less, and scenic winding dirt roads to get to them. It's quite possible those houses would be cut off for weeks in winter, and probably have no water supply in summer.

I hope where we've accidentally landed purely by the chance of that being where the ebay estate agent had a cheap house for sale just before the cut-off date for Brexit will turn out to be a good option. It's not a dying village, I hope, not one of the many shrinking as the older folk die out one by one. That's something to look out for when you look at villages and properties.

Krasen lost a massive portion of the population in the post-communist years as people moved to towns and cities, but there are younger families moving back because they want the village life for their kids, expats buying and renovating homes, even Bulgarians renovating formerly derelict houses. There's thriving agricultural industry, and good internet for work-from-home. I am hopeful the village may grow. Toshevo, the nearest town, looks to be doing great, with a big new supermarket, new builds, and other signs of growth.

But it's a long way from the mountains!

@ButterMyPaws19

Some good advice given you already.

I live in Pomorie..a seaside town..15 mins from Burgas airport.

My wife is Bulgarian..and loves

Velico Turnivo..me too..got everything.

And villages nearby..you will love..

A hire car is the way forward..easy to book accomodation....and make Velico your base..good luck.

September is pretty far from March, so planning a short pre-visit seems as a good idea. In my point of view the best time to visit Bulgaria is in May.

As for the starting point - better start form the place where your friends have property. If you like that place too - so much the better.

IN case you're looking for sth. different - no problem. It should be rural - of course, there are about 5000 villages in Bulgaria, so a wide variety to choose from.

Additional criteria for a mountain around - again it is completely possible - there are 39 mountains in Bulgaria and all of these are surrounded by villages. And filled with villages too.

Not too far from a town - again, no problem. Just I suppose you might want this to be a town with an international airport, which limits your choices to Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas.

Which area to start from is a bit tougher to answer, so it is good first to decide whether Northern or Southern Bulgaria is the zone of interest. Plan for a car rental, or directly buy one, you will use/need it later anyway. 

Booking accommodation in advance will probably not be necessary. You can do it "on the go", and besides it seems like you still do not have a fixed route.

A few places worth visiting, in my opinion, offering a nice combination between mountain, villages, proximity to a town and international airport. I will start from Sofia and move towards the Black sea. Only small towns, because enumerating villages will be too long, but in general you can find several villages around every small town.

So, here's my list:

1. Sapareva Banja;
2. Kiustendil;
3. Dupnitza;
4. Samokov;
5. Svoge;
6. Botevgrad;
7. Dobrinishte;
8. Dolna banja;
9. Peshtera;
10. Brazigovo;
11. Assenovgrad;
12. Smolyan;
13. Karlovo;
14. Sopot;
15. Kalofer;
16. Korivshtitza;
17. Mineralni bani (Haskovo region);
18. Velingrad;
19. Kazanlak;
20. Sliven;
21. Kotel;
22. Triavna;
23. Dryanovo;
24. Madjarovo;;
25. Sungurlare;

That's enough I think. Consider these just as regions. And do shortlist  ... otherwise you will have to spend at least a month in Bulgaria. Which is actually an excellent idea, especially for May.

And yes - your approach to first select an area and then look for a property is quite reasonable. Consider the climate specifics too, and also the proximity of villages with compact roma minorities. You can easily identify these by counting the satellite dishes on a single house - if more than one - better stay away.

As for your driving licenses - these should not be a problem, you can drive either with the French ones or with ones from the UK. But it might be a good idea to consult a car rental company in advance.

@kristiann

Interesting list of places to look at: I'd agree with some of them, but certainly not all!  For example, I guess that you haven't been to Sungurlare recently?  If a foreigner goes to live there these days, they'd better learn to speak the local language first - and I'm not talking about Bulgarian...

I'm happy living in our "village" on the outskirts of Sofia, with a huge mall only a 45-minute walk (or a 5-minute drive/bike ride) away, plenty of clean air, and beautiful views/gorgeous sunrises

@JimJ

Actually I've never been to Sungurlare. But as you can see, I have recommended these places just as regions, where to look for a suitable village.

And in addition have explicitly warned about living in proximity with certain minorities.

@ButterMyPaws19

hi where to start your search  if you like snow and cold winters north if hot south we are south east and thats burgas region it is colder here in winter but last few years no sticking snow north was to cold for me  then think where hospitals and doctors are this again suited us but there are good villages you just have to know the areas i hope this helps