Cost of living in Bulgaria - 2017

This is for Gabrovo:

> How much does it cost to rent an apartment/house in Bulgaria? 

We are paying 260lv for an unfurnished 2-bedroom. Prices have been going up in the past couple of years- now furnished places go for 300-500 (300 for renovated, 500 or more for new apartments). Houses are rarely rented out. Sometimes you can rent out the floor of a house, but rarely will you find a whole house for rent. If you do, expect 700-1500.

> How much do you pay for your public transport tickets (bus, subway, train, tram)?

I believe buses are still 1 lv. here.

> Staple food: what do people eat and how much do they pay for basic food like bread, rice or pasta?

Bread- 1lv, rice 3lv a kilo, pasta 3lv 500g

>What is your monthly grocery budget?

400-500lv We could definitely eat cheaper, especially during the summer, but we like to splurge a bit. Also, eating out occasionally.

> How much does it cost to see a physician/doctor/specialist in Bulgaria ? 

A regular doctor is 20lv without insurance or 2.50lv with Bulgarian health care. A private doctor and some specialists are 40lv. A dentist is 60lv for a cleaning.

> What is your children's schooling monthly budget?

We send 1 child to daycare- 40lv a month plus paper supplies (toilet paper, wet wipes, tissues, kitchen paper)

> How much does it cost to fill up your car’s fuel tank?

Around 100lv to fill up our

> How much do you pay for electricity/gas/water etc.?

Electric is around 50lv a month... more recently because central heating has been out several days this winter. Water between 10-25lv, central heating 170 during the winter only.

> How much do you pay for your Internet/phone subscription?

30lv for highspeed (100mbps), fiber optic internet and cable (Around 100 channels, some in English)

56lv for two mobile phone plans

> How much do you pay for your lunch pack on weekdays?

4.50 - 10lv depending on if we go out or get delivery to the office

> How much do you pay for an espresso coffee?

.5lv from a vending machine or 1-2lv from a cafe.

> How much do you pay for a cinema ticket?

Been awhile, I beleive it is 8lv

> How much does a gym membership cost in Bulgaria? 
No idea, but traditional dance classes are 3lv a class

Hi
We have been here 8 months and are in the middle of renovating our house.  We are on the Veliko Tarnovo and Pleven borders in North Central Bulgaria

We don't rent but in the village 200-250 per month depending on facilities is norm.  We bought our home which is large and 2700m2 land for £1800 in April 2015.

Food
Fresh crusty Bread 45 Stotinkies in market or 75 in the village shop
2 litre milk pasteurised 2 leva
Eggs 20 st's for small and 25 for extra large chicken eggs.  Slightly more for duck or geese eggs
Spuds from 1-1.60 leva a kilo
Onions 1 leva
Butter 3.75-5 leva 250 grams (almost always unsalted!)
Beef 12.95 Kg (this is boneless usually for mincing or stewing)
Boneless Pork 6-7 leva a kilo and boned 5-7 leva a kilo
Bacon which comes as a lump that you ask to be sliced 7.95 kilo - not quite the same but passable
Flour mostly about 1 - 1.5 leva a kilo
Whole medium chicken about 5 leva
Across summer most fruits/veg average 1 leva a kilo except soft fruits such as peaches/apricots/cherries etc

Transport
Diesel - 160 leva to fill up a Land Rover Discovery
Bus - 1 leva average
Train - kids get from Levski to Sofia for 12 leva
As an extra tidbit it costs 16 leva to get a clamp removed from the car

Eating out
Lunch 4-8 leva
Evening meal - example . 4 people each having 2 starters each, 3 rounds of drinks and to be fair 3 absolutely enormous Sachs plates that could easily have fed 8 people.  It cost 80 leva at a good restaurant.  We can also eat out for 25 between 2 of us too.

Utilities/Heating
Electric has been as high as 150 leva a month but we are using site tools continually
Water - not sure because we haven't had it read over the big freeze. So far we've paid about 168 leva in total.
Gas bottle 17 leva to be refilled, 50-60 to buy bottle
A cubic metre of firewood is about 60 -75 leva depending on whether it is big logs or chopped and split.
Eco "logs" 320 leva a tonne

Internet
200 leva for the year, no installation costs for high speed fibre optic broadband, or 12 monthly instalments of 25

Entertainment
Cinema - no idea!
There are so many events that are free to the public and tied into traditional celebrations that we rarely go out further afield - yet!
Ticket for example to entrance to Krushuna Waterfalls for the day 7 leva and 5 for students/children over 5 and OAP's

Ladies haircut 6 leva, Gents 4 leva  locally - more in the towns and cities

Animals stuff
Bale of straw 1.5 - 3 with 2 leva average depends on what time of year you buy.
Corn - we bought 78 kilos - 35 leva
Bran - 100 kg - 30 leva (not 100% sure could be less or more but not much)
Pig feed complete 18% protein - 14kg 18-20 leva
Complete local dog food about 18 leva for  10kg but Pedigree puppy food is 66 leva for 20kg!

Pigs at 6-8 weeks sell for 60-80 leva depending on breed and size
Point of lay or laying chickens 10-15 depending on age/breed

Buying freshly slaughtered meat in the village
Beef - 10 leva a kilo for boneless meat - rump.  You have to age it yourself
Lamb - 5 leva a kilo - Pig the same

Raw milk 2 leva for 2 litres - still warm

Building examples
Bag of cement 4-5 leva depending on how many you buy
Sand 1.20 a bag ditto above

Tools - blimmim expensive - bring with and don't worry about the voltage bring plenty of travel plugs

White goods - blimmin expensive ditto above

Good mattress 500 leva - all bedding is continental sizes so UK bedding doesn't fit BG mattresses/quilts/sheets/pillow cases.  Choose 1 or the other

Sofa set can be bought for 400 leva and upwards but don't be surprised if ti looks great and very modern but the build is often chipboard with very little foam covering it!

Furniture in general.  Remember when we all threw out our solid, sturdy and beautiful solid wood pieces for the modernity of MDF?  Well that is where BG is now.  It is possible to pick up solid wood pieces with age for a song.  If you love surprisingly modern colours and designs in MDF you will be in heaven.  It is possible - at a price - to have a fuchsia pink, a lime or even a purple kitchen with matching sinks.

Stone/Marble/Granite - at prices that will make you cry with gratitude.  There is an absolute plethora of ways you can buy them - in mosaic tiles, in broken pieces, in slabs and in an amazing array of colours and finishes - something for everyone.  An example 1 box of granite/marble mosaic tiles of 12cm x 3cm covering 1/2 m2 45 leva!  We have an amazing feature wall in our bathroom that cost a fraction of what it would have cost in UK

Daily mini digger hire 200 from a local contact or 350 per day from companies.  I put this because most people in villages need a drain away or sewage pit put in.

Local tractor and trailer to take away building rubble etc 50 leva an hour - horse and cart cheaper and can pay by the day.  There will be lots of fluctuations in price.  The prices above reflect that the rubbish is going to a designated site and not fly tipped.

Fruit trees - 10-12 leva ready to plant - Spring or autumn only

Amazing large domed gazebo with zipped curtains, ventilation and 6 tensile chairs 380 leva

4.5 metre x 1.5 metre above ground pool with supports, step ladder, filter, pool cover and UV cover 450 leva

90 leva for a decent well pump - submergible

200 leva to have our well properly cleaned and emptied of debris - well worth the money.  We've set up so the house can be run on either well or mains water.

I might have left some other categories out I got so excited!

Brilliant thx so much!!x

I have just purchased a property in Pchela, Yambol and I am hoping to make some connections with some English Speaking people. I want to learn Bulgarian and I also need help with contacts for renovating the property.

If there are any Brit/US Expats that would like to give me a few pointers I would be very grateful.

Many Thanks

Julia

Hi Julia,

Are you living here in Bulgaria or will it be used as a second / holiday home?
Will you do any of the renovation yourselves?
There is quite a large expat community around Elhovo, so I'm sure you will have no problem making connections. There is also a language tutor based in Elhovo too.

Thanks for the review, it was interesting to get to know a few facts on Bulgaria pricing.

I bought a house about 7 months ago in Bulgaria, but have not been out to see what needs doing, the place cost me £3,000 and it has the main house which takes up 80 sqm and a barn that is 40 sqm, the total land is 3,000 sqm and is also in Pleven.

Have you managed to finish your house, and if so how much did it cost to get it livable ( if you don't mind me asking) and how have you found the people in your area?