I thought I would start this topic off and get you all to add your own tips. A lot people are choosing to relocate to property in Bulgaria, as they are attracted to the mild climate, gorgeous beaches, and cheaper cost of living. Although Bulgaria is a beautiful place to live, there are always challenges when moving to a new country. a lot of people find that they feel lonely, out of place, or confused after such a big move, even though they are relocating to such a beautiful place. Moving can be emotionally and psychologically stressful, but there are ways that you can prepare yourself so that you will handle the transition with ease and enjoy your new life in Bulgaria.

Here are some tips of mine
Knowing the local language is not only helpful when you buy and sell property in Bulgaria, but it will also give you a huge advantage when you are integrating into your new life in Bulgaria. Also, learning about it in advance will get you mentally prepared for the move well before you leave. It will take many years to become fluent, so don’t get stressed if you can’t speak it very well at first. Instead, focus on learning a few key phrases and words that you can use in everyday conversation. This will help you make friends with the local people, and as you are exposed to the language you will eventually learn it very well and that knowledge will help you have a greater understanding of your surroundings. Although you are enjoying your new home in Bulgaria, it is important to keep in touch with your friends and family back home. There are lots of cheap and easy ways of keeping connect, such as free webcam chats on Skype, frequent emails, or sharing photos on Facebook. These connections are valuable and they will help you feel grounded and will be a support network for you if you ever need help. Why not invite your dearest loved ones to come stay with you in your new home in Bulgaria? They would love the trip, and it will make you feel more at home. If we move somewhere new with the expectation that it will be exactly the same as our old home, we will be disappointed when, of course, it isn’t. Focusing on what Bulgaria doesn’t have is a sure-fire way to be unhappy there. However, if you approach the new location with an open mind and no expectations, it will pleasantly surprise you. Make no assumptions about Bulgaria, only that it will be different than what you are used to. With this attitude, you will realise what is wonderful about Bulgaria and you will fall in love with your new home.

Nice post Carmen!

I agree with most of your points, particularly the language ... not only will this help get to know the neighbours, but also helps with dealing with the administration side of life.

Also ... do not come to Bulgaria expecting things to work like elsewhere in Western Europe. It does not, and will not for many decades.

Patience is also something that you need to pack into the suitcase in large amounts!

Good topic. I would volunteer that you don't make for the nearest Brit enclave! This is not to say that you shouldn't make new British friends, but its more important to smile at the locals and try a few very basic phrases like 'hello', 'hi' how are you? which really are not so difficult. Use the local shop even if its only for bread, milk or beer. If you don't know the word for things point, and more than likely the shop lady will give you the Bulgarian word. That is how I learnt my first Bulgarian words and how I started to make friends. Villagers are more than happy to welcome you if you give them a smile. At least they were in our village and I now have more Bulgarian friends than British.

oldun wrote:

Use the local shop even if its only for bread, milk or beer.

Good point oldun. Also, an investment in a decent dictionary is well worth it.

First time I went to our local Stocki (general store), I'd written down in English the words for bread, milk, beer, etc., (hlyab, mlyako, bira) and also wrote them in Bulgarian ... (хляб, мляко, бира) then if I got stuck, I could have passed over my note and still got what I wanted! Fortunately, I was understood at first attempt which really does give you a confidence boost when you try the language and actually get what you asked for!

I remember when I first settled it was so difficult and I was in tears for quite some time but a friend on mine in the uk helped me through it all and now I'm so happy I listened to her. In one of her emails this is what she told me...... Don’t expect it to be at all like the image you had pictured in your head. If you don’t expect too much then you won’t have far to fall and it will be much easier to cope and adapt when things aren’t ideal. Don’t instantly give up and buy a ticket to fly back home. Most likely things will improve and your new life will just become the norm. Wait it out, give yourself the time to really settle in, you may even find that you fall in love with the place. So you’re feeling incredibly emotional, sad, lonely and way out of your comfort zone. Fork out the cash for a phone call and call someone you can vent to. Just hearing a familiar friendly voice is a huge comfort. Go outside the confines of what you have come to view as your prison and really get to know the area. Find the local supermarket, local hangouts, local park and just people watch. The process of exploring and discovering how the locals live may re-ignite that excitement and exhilaration that comes with travel. Routine can be so boring but it also speeds up the settling in process. It is extremely comforting to have some consistency like going for a walk every evening or every morning cleaning up the pool of water on the living room floor that has leaked from the shower. Maybe you could have one night a week where you can indulge in your western food craving or every Friday night watch pirate copy DVDs. Now chances are you didn’t get much choice in where you live and even less choice in the furniture and décor. But the good news is unless the furniture is bolted onto the floor it can always be moved around to your liking. If you have a particular eye for interior design you can always get new bedding and a few cheap accessories to really make the place feel like your own. Unless you are literally in the middle of nowhere with civilisation days away then weekend trips should definitely be on your survival agenda. Getting away for the weekend, travelling and meeting other foreigners is a great way to put the spark back into living abroad. If you have something to look forward to than the days will fly by! Write emails, keep a blog. Staying connected with friends and family is what will keep you sane! You may be the only foreigner in person but at least you can talk with others who fluently speak the same language as you. You will realise that you are not completely alone! What’s your luxury? Maybe you love a good cappuccino or just a nice slice of toast. Find somewhere where you can treat yourself to this luxury and give you some connection to the life you had back home. Make the effort to make friends with fellow work colleges or the people that live around you. Find the local ex-pat hangout, join a sports team or take a class. The more people you meet the more potential new friends you will have. What were your reasons for originally deciding to live abroad? Was it to travel, have a change of scenery, have an exciting new adventure and get an in depth look into the culture. Either way it’s important to keep those reasons insight they will help you realise all the positives of your situation.

A couple of things I can think of. Location, this is very important to anyone looking to buy and settle in Bulgaria. You can change the interior or exterior of a home, but you can’t pick it up and move it somewhere else. Consider your potential home’s proximately to the things that you will need in daily life, such as shopping, parks, pharmacies, doctors, schools, and public transportation. Practicality is another, think about whether the actual layout of the home will work for your family. Is the yard suitable for pets and children? Will you have enough space for storage once you move in? Are there enough bedrooms? If you are elderly you might want to choose something without steep steps or driveway. Imagine yourself living in the real estate in Bulgaria and determine whether it would be practical. This one I think is very important "
Neighbours"
The people who surround you and the overall friendliness and atmosphere of the neighbourhood can have a huge impact on how happy you will be in your new home. The saying goes that you should buy the smallest home in the nicest neighbourhood you can afford! Take a walk around the neighbourhood and get a feel for what the people are like? do they smile at you? Do they keep their gardens clean and tidy? You will soon get an idea of what the people are like.

I fully endorse all that has been said in those last two posts. Its the first time I have read such positive thoughts on settling in Bulgaria.

Thank you all this is a great topic for people like me who have yet to make the crossover as it were, I've noted some good tips here and I'm sure I will look back on this when and if I find myself wondering if I should or shouldn't ? but for the moment I'm happy with my decision to move over at some point?

I finally have a bit of time, now my son is back at kindergarten after the holiday last week!!

Loads of good advice in the posts so far.

Learning the language was the most important for me, so I thought I would mention how I started. First I learnt the Cyrillic alphabet, then started reading food packaging labels, road signs, shop names, newspaper headlines - anything that I saw, I tried to figure out what it said and what it meant. I now read BG subtitles on English TV programmes - learn no end from that (a few choice words as well!!!) - the translation is there for you!! I do speak German as well so I admit I do have an ear for languages.

We found that learning to talk to the villagers about the weather gave us a great start, hello, good day, it’s warm, it’s cold etc. etc. what we/they plant in the garden is also a good subject to start on, winter wood to keep the fire going, talk about livestock etc. – these are the main things that are spoken about in villages all over BG. Then, as Chris said, the essential words to use in the village shop: bread, coffee, water, rice. Just little steps at a time. A note book and dictionary were useful at all times!!!

One of the other things I found hard to get my head round was the dreaded DOCUMENTS :Hair: I always used a translator to help me in the first year or so - I picked her brain as much as possible so I understood exactly what I was doing and why. Now I do just about everything myself!!

Having a couple of good Ex-pat /or Bulgarian friends/ contacts, who can speak English, at the end of the phone, is priceless when you do need a bit of extra help. Listen to, and consider, advice from people who have lived here.

So I have thoroughly enjoyed settling and now living in BG. I actually found tying everything up in the UK very hard - talking to answering services - there was no number to press for "
leaving the country and moving to Bulgaria"
So ended up being passed from person to person on the phone until someone could help me!!!

Again - everything Esta has said is so true. After 7 years here, I still find myself reading shop signs and adverts when in town especially waiting for the bus. I learnt the Greek alphabet the same way. Watching subtitles on TV is a great way too and watching the Bulgarian national news programmes trying to work out what is going on with the pictures to help. Try buying a Bulgarian newspaper too.
You soon pick up village talk if you learn a few basic sentences and listen to their pronounciation. Village chatter always revolves around the weather and gardening. I cannot say that I am at all fluent in the language but my Bulgarian friends know I understand more than I speak. My memory is bad for remembering all the words but if its anything important they speak slowly until I understand what they are saying.
I think the most important thing is to just use a smile and gestures to show you are interested in them and village life. That is universal and I really believe that if you live totally in an expat bubble, not only will you tire of Bulgaria, you will also miss many of the positives that Bulgaria has to offer. It seems to be in the British nature to complain more than they admire.
Shopping can be a bit daunting, out of the supermarkets that are springing up everywhere. Most clothes, shoe shops etc are small (at least out of Sofia) but I have found that if you smile and just say 'hello' it is quite possible to find what you want. I recently bought myself a summer nightie and the young lady insisted that she put it in a gift box for me! Sizing is different too and I have discovered that my English size 14 is actually XL in Bulgaria! The girls seem to be very small built!!! That is until they become a Baba.
To sum up - just have a go at integrating which is a great hobby horse of mine. Your life will be so much richer and settling in will be easier. Bulgarians, on the whole, are very welcoming people if you show respect and do not find yourself asking 'why don't they..? all the time.

It can be quite fun trying to make yourself understood and most Bulgarian will see the funny side of it

Four years ago I went into the village shop for the first time, and all I could say then was Blagodarya vi i nazdrave

There was a lady behind the counter and three customers in the shop. I was able to go round the shop and find most of the things I wanted, picked them up and put them on the counter, but then it came to milk, eggs and coffee and I could not make anybody understand, so for the milk I sat on the shop chair and pretended to milk the cow, for the eggs, I held up six fingers and made the noise of a chicken after it has layed an egg and for the coffee I held up 3 fingers on one hand and 1 finger on the other hand saying nescafe, nescafe 3 in 1. The people in the shop were all laughing at me but I didn't mind because they are now village friends and always wave when passing our villa.

Last September we held a garden party and had 30 guests and friends attend, they were split half and half and what a heart warming day we had with the expats and the locals all mixing

I have actually found out that some of the Bulgarian's want to try to speak English, and I have personally paid for five lessons for the shopkeeper to see a teacher in Dobrich just to learn the basic English :Ch:nazdrave

Hello everyone,
I would first like to say a massive :Thank you:to the founders of this site.All your tips and stories have been invaluble to us.
We are moving to palamartsa in the next couple of weeks and look forward to our new lifes there.Must admit cant wait to see the end of bubble wrap,boxes and tape :Headbang:Take good care and thanks for the share :Hearts:TnT

The most valuable thing that we have in BG is our Bulgarian friends a real must. You can pay for a translator but friendship is priceless. They help us we help them. They speak no English but we have to learn Bulgarian, a little price to pay.

If you are in BG long term e.g. then you are officially no longer part of the NHS hence you should join the BG equivalent of the NHS. One difference is that you pay on each visit to the Doctor which is 2.40 Leva and the same amount for a hospital consultation. There are plus and minuses but from experience more pluses. For example if you have an illness and you need to see a Consultant there is no waiting for the hospital administration to send you a letter as you go the same day as you see your Doctor. Of course you can opt out altogether and go private and pay about 20 Leva per visit. You have to pay for prescriptions :Headbang:but if you are under 60 or not a child you have to as well in England. These things are free in the UK if you have certain medical conditions as well, so this is one of the minuses as well.

Drive a left hand drive car. It is much safer.

tonyb60 wrote:

You have to pay for prescriptions :Headbang:but if you are under 60 or not a child you have to as well in England.

This is actually misleading information, Tony. Irrespective of your age, if you have certain conditions, such as Hashimoto's disease and some others, you are completely exempt from any prescription charges in the UK

These things are free in the UK if you have certain medical conditions as well, so this is one of the minuses as well.

Sorry George not misleading please read all that is written. I put certain medical conditions as I do not know all the conditions that are covered.