| | | Your thoughts on living in Bulgaria | |
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Blink Super user
Posts : 909 Join date : 2010-02-11
| Subject: Your thoughts on living in Bulgaria Thu Feb 05, 2015 1:45 pm | |
| First topic message reminder :There is somewhere between 50 and 250,000 Brits, who bought houses in the very villages that the Bulgarians wanted to get away from, Suspicious...... very suspicious. Some Bulgarians quickly found an explanation for this odd conduct. “The people who come here are poor!. They can’t manage in the UK and therefore their own country’s active policy is to encourage their emigration!. Their own country can’t deal with them so they pass the problem on to us!. We’ve become a dumping ground – we’ve gathered here all second-hand cars in Europe and now we’re gathering all indigent British people. The expats think they have chanced upon a sort of earthly paradise? Compared to Bulgaria, Spain, which is its major competitor for “a place in the sun,” looks like an upper circle of hell. Low property prices and quality of life are only the first in a succession of reasons to choose Bulgaria. What matters for them is the Bulgarian climate, scenery, the chance to mingle in the local community and the quiet. All this makes the British feel good. “In the UK you do not know your neighbors and your community is fragmented and broken. There is a community in Bulgaria.” Life in Bulgaria is attractively similar to that in Britain before Margaret Thatcher. “It’s like we’ve turned back time in a way. Making things I used to make some 30 years ago. I’ve made my own pickles, which I haven’t done for years.” Hospitality, which contrary to what you see in the cities, has not disappeared in the villages, is the greatest merit of the Bulgarians, the expatriates think. The British are usually bowled over by the apples, eggs, cheese, milk and other foods that their Bulgarian neighbors give them without expecting anything in return. To realise some of the advantages that British expats find in Bulgaria even the staunchest of Bulgarian patriots will have to do some hard thinking. The Britons like the public health system (though they think hospital conditions are bad) and are satisfied with the level of education (apart from school children's poor discipline). They can leave their houses unlocked. Organised crime does not bother them: “Does a mafia really exist in Bulgaria?” And – oh, yes! The police are great! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] On the whole, the advantages of Bulgaria seem to largely outnumber its drawbacks. Do the local authorities create a special micro environment for the expats in an attempt to attract us and the money they bring to the poor rural communities? I don’t think they regard us as big investors, so they hardly treat them in a special way, I asked my mayor for his opinion and he replied with “We are happy that they are there because they are unusual and a status symbol for the village: ‘Look, the British settle here." So now you tell me your views even if you live in a town or city. |
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GinaA Senior user
Posts : 176 Join date : 2009-11-15
| Subject: Re: Your thoughts on living in Bulgaria Tue Mar 03, 2015 3:46 pm | |
| Perhaps the most important lesson that we have learned - and, therefore, the most important advice that we can pass on - is to recognise that life in Bulgaria is not the same as life in the UK. There is little value in drawing comparisons with any of the thousand and one things that everyone in Britain is used to and takes for granted. Things happen very very differently in Bulgaria. Broken pavements and potholes in the roads have to be accepted, customer service is still none existant and having to cope with a paper trail for everyday events such as renewing your home and contents insurance or registering a change of car ownership, it’s best to write off the whole day. While Bulgarians are (quite rightly) noted for being open and friendly people, you will not be given any special treatment here just because you are a foreigner, so don’t expect all documents to be available in English or to be exempt from complying with local administrative issues and bye-laws. A lot of people living in Bulgaria today often say that they are reminded of Britain in the fifties, when children were safe, life was straightforward and neighbours helped neighbours. Some might think that this is a bit of a rose-tinted view, it's true to say that just about every expat would acknowledge that they have benefited greatly from a neighbours’ assistance. It’s also true that there is none of the pervasive nanny-state interference that a lot of us actually want to leave behind and this is one of the things that adds to Bulgaria’s appeal. |
| | | oddball Moderator
Posts : 7312 Join date : 2009-10-20 Age : 65
| Subject: Re: Your thoughts on living in Bulgaria Tue Mar 03, 2015 4:35 pm | |
| - GinaA wrote:
- Perhaps the most important lesson that we have learned - and, therefore, the most important advice that we can pass on - is to recognise that life in Bulgaria is not the same as life in the UK. There is little value in drawing comparisons with any of the thousand and one things that everyone in Britain is used to and takes for granted. Things happen very very differently in Bulgaria. Broken pavements and potholes in the roads have to be accepted, customer service is still none existant and having to cope with a paper trail for everyday events such as renewing your home and contents insurance or registering a change of car ownership, it’s best to write off the whole day. While Bulgarians are (quite rightly) noted for being open and friendly people, you will not be given any special treatment here just because you are a foreigner, so don’t expect all documents to be available in English or to be exempt from complying with local administrative issues and bye-laws. A lot of people living in Bulgaria today often say that they are reminded of Britain in the fifties, when children were safe, life was straightforward and neighbours helped neighbours. Some might think that this is a bit of a rose-tinted view, it's true to say that just about every expat would acknowledge that they have benefited greatly from a neighbours’ assistance. It’s also true that there is none of the pervasive nanny-state interference that a lot of us actually want to leave behind and this is one of the things that adds to Bulgaria’s appeal.
hun totally agree with you. [/quote] |
| | | itchyfeet Mega user
Posts : 2268 Join date : 2010-09-10 Age : 68 Location : Paskalevets
| Subject: Re: Your thoughts on living in Bulgaria Fri Mar 06, 2015 12:21 pm | |
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| | | BGmoaner Junior user
Posts : 75 Join date : 2012-07-30 Location : BG
| Subject: Re: Your thoughts on living in Bulgaria Fri Mar 06, 2015 2:51 pm | |
| Have to agree GinA you got it spot on if only more would see it like this |
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