Building work

@darrenbowden68

Hi and welcome,

Certainly there would be work for a good builder and mechanic, just ensure to price as a Bulgarian otherwise locals would not use you, i had a carpenter friend who helped me re roof our shack and he found that locals would not use him as he was too expensive for them. He was highly skilled and worked to an excellent standard and work dried up and so went back to the Uk.

Another point to make was he wanted to do things correctly not bodge, but locals seemed to not want this for example he got a small single storey extension job and explained what was required for the foundation and set to it, after digging out the footings the owner had a fit and said no and kicked him off the job. As they are near us  i can tell you they got a taxi driver to do the work instead and back filled the hole and didnt bother with a proper foundation at all, the work quality of the whole job is poor to but the owners happy….lol

Hope you understand the point, Rgds Ozzy

@Ozzy183a

Hi and thanks for your reply, yes ive seen the standard of work doh this would be hard to achieve but we could try lol..

ive lived in Poland so i understand the cost and difference in pay structures. different work styles/different cost.. 😉...

as were looking at earning online it shouldn't be a problem but i want to keep my mate busy 😉,

as long as i have a large workshop ill be fine lol..

finding the right property is the most important thing..

Daz, just pondering where you might find something to suit you. The area close to Varna is not much more than hilly. They're pretty hills, especially around Vinitsa area and north of Vinitsa, but getting built up with apartment buildings, and those areas that aren't built up can be quite pricey. Go an hour north-north-west and you're in Dobruja, beautiful region but mostly flat. Looking west or south-west of Varna might give you the best chance to find what you want.

Hi Daz! If you're in an area with a lot of expats there might be interest.

Your big selling point is speaking English and understanding the western European way of doing things, due to the difficulty those of us who haven't learned much Bulgarian yet have dealing with local tradies. Recommendations from our Bulgarian neighbours aren't always reliable, and it can be a challenge getting understanding of what is required even for something quite simple. An example -  I'm trying to arrange for someone to regularly strim my yard and side driveway as the weeds get knee high or worse between visits and I spend half my time there chopping weeds. But using my limited Bulgarian and Google Translate, my wonderful and very helpful neighbour seems to think I want it ploughed, not cut!

The challenges setting up such a business:

- unfortunately there have been some cowboy Brit bodgers without real building experience claiming to be builders who've well and truly ripped off expats, which might cause some wariness until you can start getting good word-of-mouth recommendations;

- many of us buy places in Bg because we can't afford British prices, so though you could definitely charge higher than a Bulgarian builder would simply because of the ease of working with you, you'd need to set prices carefully.

Also, if you're both working age without work pensions and want to move full-time, you'd need to consider what visa you'd use to get to stay longer than the permitted 90 days per 180.

I hope it works out for you!

@Kris Star sounds like you made a great choice - Plovdiv is a great city.  I live in Varna with my Bulgarian wife and step kids.  I'm originally from the UK (London).  Two nights ago, we met up with some new friends, a Bulgarian couple, who were living in Toronto until 2022.  They now own a house here in Varna.  He was telling me how terrible things had become in Toronto and, come to that, other cities.  They only just escaped, with temporary Bulgarian documents, that very nearly didn't work, save that, one of his friends is an immigration officer at the airport and managed to get them on a plane.

I wish you all the best here in Bulgaria.  A country of freedom and choices!

Ian

@darrenbowden68

Hi i forgot to say some of the hilly areas around varna may be in a red zone i.e. unstable land likely to have land slips… i understand one area is so bad the water co turned off the water to a whole area on grounds leaks could cause land slip that was over 6 yrs  ago last time i read they still hadnt got water but not sure.

if you get over our way as were in balchik i have a few classic cars that always ys need something so could do with a good local mechanic.

good luck ozzy

Hi Ozzy

Cheers for the reply.. totally understand what your saying.. my mate who's coming has been in the building trade for 30years. just sending his sone to be a bricky.. ive done some building work myself in the past too. but mostly ive been on cars classic and jap.. restoring Vws at the mo..

tell me more about where you are.. as im undecided where to look but i do want to be a short drive from the cost..

between us we can do most jobs .. ill be bringing a mig / tig with me 😆  as ill be building a track car. 

@janemulberry

Thank you for taking time to reply,

so the south west is the best place to look.

we will be coming out next spring to find a place.

so id like to have a good idea bt then. ive been svelingrad and decided thats not for me so any where along the east coast. but like an hr drive no more. 

Daz, your plans sound great and you have some excellent skills to offer. I think for location, you may find you need to choose between what you want most, coast or mountains. I'm not sure in the Varna area you'll find a mountain within easy drive of the coast.  Hills, yes.

@darrenbowden68

Hi were on edge of balchik and have had the shack for 22 yrs now so we know the area quite well, the beach is a mere 5 mins away, varna airport is about 45 mins away as is varna which is south from where we are.

Nice to know someone else into old classics and someone who wants to build a car, im doing the latter to, its about 80 % there, but had to stop as no time as still working on the shack i think it will never be finished lol.

rgds ozzy

Hi Ozzy

Balchik is the area i was looking at. perfect if i can find a project with lots of land on the outskirts of a village.. we will be coming over next spring to look around if i dont find anything beforehand...

What car are you Restoring.

Daz

@darrenbowden68

hi, should be here still by then, i will ask around and let you know if anything comes up.

Got 3 over here and one still in uk, a 1967 mgb roadster that i drove over back in 2008 which is extremely tatty bit like columbos car if you ever watched that crime series lol, a reliant scimitar gtc, and a part finished replica porsche 550 spyder, back in uk in my garage a fiat 124 spider which is a lhd got to ship it sometime or drive it but needs some engine  work.

rgds ozzy

Ozzy are you leaving bulgaria,?

old school cars. ive worked on mgb's in the past, is the scimitar a v6 essex. and what is the base of the 550 spyder.

Be nice if you could find out anything. for me

will owe you a pint.

Daz

Hi no not leaving but may pop back to blighty some time next yr. The scimitar is a v6 for cologne with twin weber set up,manual gearbox with overdrive. Base for the kit car was a skoda estelle but engine was rebuilt and tweaked with twin weber set up on it, just needs body prep paint and some nice wheels then shes done.

Will let you know if anything turns up.

Rgds Ozzy

Ozzy

ooh, i thought the scimitar came with the essex unit..

are you doing the bodywork yourself ?

and thank you.

I have a 300zx slicktop to finish and an astra g coupe track day car, just building a saab b204 for it. around the 450 hp mark.

should be fun.

Daz

@darrenbowden68

Evening, i like the 300zx that will be nice when done. My scimitar is from 1980 and they had the ford engines in them. No cant do body work there is a chap near me that does such work i think a friend of our neighbour but no where near that point yet.

I saw today an old commercial shack with a bit of land been empty for over 20 yrs i will send a pic of aerial view on a pm have no idea who owns it but a few years ago i saw some people being shown it so may be with a local agent.

rgds.ozzy