Cost of Living in Bulgaria in 2020

Hello,

following Loic's request, here is a little update of my experience in Sofia.

Concerning the food, I can certainly say that life is not too expensive here. I certainly spend almost 1/2 less here than in Belgium where I come from and where there are taxes on everything.

Groceries are ok, though I miss some vegetables or meat is not as easy to find. But really, we have no complaints when it comes to finding good food.

Going to restaurants is amazing. We are always surprised by the price we have to pay and it is not often that we have to pay a lot. This is a real treat to be able to go to the restaurant when we want. And we tend to be finding a large choice and really enjoy the cuisine. So, that is certainly a really nice treat.

Concerning health insurance, this is a nightmare! I tried with 3 big names and it never worked out. My husband is almost 55 and apart from a fracture that has totally healed, the insurance was not really agreeing to take him. When it comes to me, though I have good health and are never sick because I am overweight, they simply refused to insure me. So... so far, we only have the urgency insurance that we pay yearly and we only have the country system. So far we have not been sick but this is a little concern for me so far.

Concerning housing, we live in a really nice and big place and this is expensive! But this is a choice we have made to be able to host our family and friends when they come to visit us and also allow us to really feel good at home. It is a priority for both my husband and myself. I believe that housing is expensive when you go for more luxurious premises but in comparison to other major cities in the world, it is probably still very reasonable. On the other hand, the intern that come and spend a few months in our company are always amazed by the good living conditions and always found a good place to stay.

There is also a nice system allowing us to have access to 200 different places for a reasonable amount per month if you want to try different sports activities. the system is used in bigger companies and the more people get on board, the cheaper it gets.

As we work much too much, we do not go out too often but we are starting to discover the different cinema in town and there are some very interesting experiences available. We do not seem to have a problem to find moves in OV as long as they are in French, English, and Dutch. µ

So,.. all together, life in Sofia in really nice and one thing I personally truly appreciate is the very limited number of days of rain... in comparison to my home country, this is just so amazing to be able to wake up almost every morning and see the sun rising. So, so nice ;-)

SophieSL,
Sorry to hear about your difficulties with healthcare insurance. What are the names of the big three you contacted?