Some tips for future/new expats in Bulgaria

Hello,

My name is Erwin, originally from the Netherlands, but a Varna resident for almost 23 years (and counting).

I have been mostly lurking on this forum, however I see on a regular basis posts from people who are planning to move to Bulgaria or just have moved to Bulgaria. For these I may have some tips (or advice, depending how one looks at it) based on the 23 years I have been here and, unfortunately, based on the huge number of expats who went before and failed (and failed hard). I have seen people coming here, full of hopes and dreams, some with loaded bank accounts (some even millionaires) who lost everything, ended up sleeping rough and returned to their home country in a miserable, disillusioned, and financially wrecked state. If I were to make an estimation, I guess north of 80% of all went down this road.

First and foremost, and this should be number one on the priority list: Learn the language. It is difficult, absolutely, but an absolute necessity. Failing to learn the language opens a can of worms that definitely should remain closed. Not getting acquainted with the language opens the door for opportunists, both in the expat community as well as among Bulgarians. You will get into situations where, due to the lack of language skills, you will be ripped off as you cannot verify yourself and have to rely on solely their information. I have seen countless times that people got financially duped in a brutal manner. Aligned with learning the language, always ask for a Bulgarian menu in restaurants. This applies to the resorts mainly. There are still menus circulating that are tailored to your native language (English, German), but often there is a price difference between the Bulgarian and foreign menus. It is a dying practice, but still exists.

No, the winters in Bulgaria are not warm, no matter what real estate agents (or vultures or sharks, take your pick) tell you as a selling point. As a matter of fact, it can get pretty grim in winter and one should not be surprised to get snowed in for prolonged periods of time. This applies mostly to rural areas, however in 2005 even the coastal city of Varna was shut down from traffic for four days due to excessive snowfall.

Be careful who you call friends. Just because someone originates from the same country and/or has a native language in common, it does not necessarily make you friends. Always, no exception, ask yourself the question "if we were in our native habitat, would we engage with each other in friendship?" If the answer to that is no, steer clear. Sooner or later you will encounter drama of some sort as the "friendship" is based on entirely the wrong reasons. Equally, be weary of Bulgarian cling-ons (gold diggers) who are overly friendly. I have seen a fair share of these opportunists and any long term expat in the city of Varna who frequents/frequented the local expat pubs knows who/what type of people I am talking about.

Be weary of your finances and how you spend them. A lot of what appears cheap is still expensive. As an example; when going to a restaurant/pub it may seem cheap (as you are still in your home country's price mindset), however it may cause overconsuming. Hence a lot of cheap is still expensive. Try to live like Bulgarians and get rid of the "everything is so cheap here" mindset. Not doing so will, no doubt, ruin you.

Do not plan your final move based on a 2 or 3 week holiday. Whenever someone is on holiday, subconsciously one knows one will leave in a certain period of time. As a result one accepts and/or entirely discards real life issues permanent residents face on a daily basis. These issues, once permanently residing in Bulgaria, will come to bite you.

Although Bulgaria does have good doctors, one will have to be careful as well in the medical field. For example, in the unfortunate case you need surgery, be aware you might get asked to find a number (up to 3) of blood donors, regardless the time of day. Equally, response times of emergency services are horrible. I have seen a horrible accident in the center of Varna, in the middle of the night, and it took 45 minutes for the ambulance to arrive (distance to cross was only 1.5km on empty streets). While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, a police car (not traffic police) passed and even did not bother to slow down and ask whether assistance was needed.

Be weary for institutions like KAT (traffic police, registering your car), postoffice, MVR (immigration services) and customs (Mitnitsa). Employees at these are notorious to unnecessarily frustrate processes for foreigners. If you are being pulled over by police, and the police officers do not or barely speak English, demand an interpreter. It is their obligation to provide one. Do not, under no circumstance, attempt to converse with them with hand and feet and a few words Bulgarian (if you are not a proficient speaker). Nine out of ten times, if you stick to your guns, they will let you go as getting an interpreter is too much hassle. Do not get tricked/persuaded into bribing a cop. Years ago it was common practice, however nowadays it has serious risks. I sometimes read that bribing cops is still normal here, but that is not the case anymore. If you get the impression the cop wants some bribe, do not fall for it as it may be a set up and you might end up in serious troubles.

Invest some time in researching which taxi companies are reliable. This of course differs from region to region. Usually there is one company per region/city that is reliable and the others not so much, For Varna, use Triumf taxi. They definitely won't cheat. With most of the others the taxis have been equipped with what they call a pump system which inflates the price drastically. Per definition steer clear from taxis that have no affiliation with a larger company. These are recognizable as they do not have any company logos/names on the bonnet and doors. Especially at busstations and airports these are the most aggressive ones harassing you when you exit the buildings. Do not flag these over on the streets either. You might end up paying triple or quadruple the price.

Do not allow (re)constructions to your property to happen without your oversight or the oversight of someone you trust for 200%. Chances of improper practices, improper construction, low quality materials, loss of equipment etc. are not to be underestimated.

If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is too good to be true.

Probably there are more things one should be weary about, however many things have become second nature to me after such a long time in this country. A country which, despite all mentioned downsides, still is very beautiful and has a lot to offer.

Erwin