I found this article [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and thought it was brill so I've added it here for anyone who wants to read it or is thinking of moving to Bulgaria.

The Highs and Lows of Starting a New Life in Bulgaria


Bulgaria is a funny country – it seems to have an almost equal number of happy and disaffected British expatriates! We’re basing our opinions on the feedback we’ve directly received over the years, and also on what we regularly read on dedicated forums.

You see, Bulgaria was a nation massively over-sold in terms of its appeal prior to and immediately following EU accession, and this resulted in a small wave of immigration - particularly from the UK and Ireland. Many of those who arrived on the back of the positive promotion of the nation’s benefits at the time, (and its particularly cheap property prices), have subsequently fallen out of love with their dream. Possibly because their dream had no basis in reality in the first place.

Others who have taken perhaps a more considered approach to relocation, who have spent time getting to know Bulgaria for themselves before relocation, and who have subsequently made a better informed decision to relocate have seemingly adjusted well to what is an undoubtedly very beautiful country, but one that doesn’t always live up to its hype. The benefit of having two such divided camps of opinion is that we can bring you both the positive and negative aspects of living in Bulgaria.

If you’re looking to escape UK, you’re interested in moving to a relatively affordable nation with a fledgling but solid winter and summer tourism market, where there are plenty of other expats already in residence but where the nation is not yet saturated with Brits, perhaps Bulgaria’s worthy of your consideration. But then again, perhaps it’s not! There are always highs and lows associated with starting a new life abroad…but Bulgaria’s positive and negative aspects often cancel each other out…

Positive Aspects of Expat Life in Bulgaria

Bulgaria operates a flat tax system whereby personal and corporate tax rates in 2011 are 10% across the board. For anyone looking to reduce the amount of tax they pay on their income or business profits therefore, Bulgaria is definitely attractive!

Bulgaria has been chosen by a number of our readers who wanted to get home or Internet based businesses off the ground for the specific reason that their tax burden would be low. The other reason driving the decisions these people have made is the cost of living in Bulgaria.

According to a recent Eurostat report, Bulgaria is the country with the cheapest hotels, restaurants and home appliances in the European Union.

Bulgarian hotel and restaurant prices are apparently below half the average for the EU, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages cost on average 65% less, and clothing costs are 75% less than the European Union average.

Naturally enough a low cost of living is a massive draw, particularly for Britons highly affected by the high taxes in the UK at the moment, the high inflation and generally high costs of basic living. Retirees may find their pension income goes far further in Bulgaria – and they could benefit from a move as they will not be dependent on the local economy to provide them with a living.

Property prices in Bulgaria have settled down from their peaks following EU accession – meaning that it’s possible to buy or rent decent accommodation country-wide, (with the exception of a few exclusive suburbs in Sofia for example!), for much less than you would pay in the UK for similar accommodation.

And for Britons considering relocating with children, you can choose to educate your children locally in Bulgaria, or they can attend an international school if you live in or close to Sofia where there’s plenty of choice in terms of school and curriculum.

Bulgaria is a nation which has retained its national identity, history, culture and tradition – it has certainly not sold out to the west. This means that it’s an authentic country, where you really will experience a totally different way of life. Contrast Bulgaria with somewhere like southern Spain or Cyprus for example, and you’ll know what we mean!

Finally, Bulgarians can be very friendly and welcoming, and they can adjust well to having foreign residents within their community.

Having said all of the above however, it is possible to contrast each and every positive with a negative…and it seems it may well be down to a matter of personal opinion as to whether Bulgaria is a good place to live or not!

Some Less than Positive Aspects of Living in Bulgaria

Let’s start with the cost of living in Bulgaria, according to the Confederation of Trade Unions in Bulgaria, the cost of living has risen so sharply that only about 8% of households earn what’s generally considered to be an acceptable wage.

A family of four is expected to earn around £950 a month to enjoy a ‘normal’ standard of living in Bulgaria – but most are falling way short. £950 is not a small amount by anyone’s standards, and when you understand that thanks to high unemployment levels, the fact that foreigners who don’t speak Bulgarian often end up in low paid work and that many Brits living in Bulgaria really work very hard to scrape a living together, all of a sudden the cost of living doesn’t seem so affordable.

You need to contrast the cost of living with what you can expect to earn in Bulgaria. Perhaps our recent report on how to make a living in Bulgaria will help and inspire you to find decent employment. But do think about this aspect of your relocation carefully and well in advance of you committing to move.

Of those who most vociferously complain about living in Bulgaria, a high percentage bemoan the lack of decent employment opportunities.

Moving on to a consideration of property prices in Bulgaria, this once again relates to the above. If you’re earning less than the accepted monthly minimum amount to enjoy a ‘normal’ standard of living, you’ll struggle to meet rental costs on decent accommodation.

Additionally, buying property in Bulgaria remains a complex process that should not be underestimated.

In terms of educating your children, for expats on a secure contract and earning a decent income, a private school education is possible. For others, schooling children locally will be the only option. So let’s hear from an expat whose 7-year old daughter was in the local system before he decided to pull her out and relocate to the UK for the sake of her future.

In his opinionated article possibly designed to put any Brit off moving to live in Bulgaria, David Clark says of the education system: “[it’s] an unstructured system, where the teachers, who need to come into the 21st century, still send seven-year-old children to bed in the afternoon, and make them spend most of their time colouring and playing, [it] is not going to benefit my daughter in a competitive world.”

In discussing the Bulgarian people, their country and their acceptance of foreigners – once again opinion is wholly divided. According to an overview of Sofia as published on the Expat in Bulgaria website for example:

“It’s not uncommon to see horses hitched to wagons, or pensioners trying to supplement their meagre pensions by digging through rubbish bins. On the other hand, top-model luxury SUVs and sport cars speed along the oft-cobbled streets, flaunting a belligerent new-money and who-cares attitude.”

Britons who have settled into the nation well, comment that Bulgarians are hugely accepting and friendly towards them, particularly when they make the effort to learn the local language. Others who bemoan their expat status in Bulgaria comment on how unfriendly staff are in government offices, the post office and even hotels for example. So once again, it’s a case of one man’s heaven is another man’s hell.

In Conclusion

We wrote a dedicated article entitled ‘the downside of living in Bulgaria’ that comprehensively covers the negative aspects of life in this Eastern European nation. But to end on such a negative note would be unfair.

There are certainly those Brits who have made a very positive life change by moving to Bulgaria. They tend to be the ones who have a solid income in place, and who are willing to learn the local language and completely adapt. What’s more, from the feedback we’ve received, those who took their time exploring the nation before committing to one city, town or village based on only limited research have settled in more effectively.

Therefore, if you are considering Bulgaria it is one of those nations where preconceptions count for very little, and where you need to spend an extended time exploring before you commit to your relocation.

A good find

Well found article Lisa what has been written is in many ways common among other European countries with Expats living abroad.

Just being a 'silver surfer' on this forum I came across this post and it is really interesting. I am surprised no-one followed it up with comments. I have only read the bit quoted by LisA but I think I have an evening's reading for the rest of the topics covered specifically for expats. Lots of stuff to discuss here and may well throw up some new topics. LisA.
This forum seems to have been dominated with things for sale or wanted lately.

Well done :Good post:I enjoyed the read and I can honestly say that it all seems very feasible. As we fall into one of the category mentioned (Retired with income) the statements seem very true and yes we do seem to have a better life style than we would in the UK . But having said that we know of younger people that have found relative success and that can live off the incomes they earn in Bulgaria. But unfortunately on the flip side of that there seems to be the many that have all but spent up and have had to return to the UK .

I still say that this place is not for those that have young families and/ or those that will need an income to live. There are no handouts here like there is in the UK