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So! All you would be Bulgaria bound people!
Do you really want your Bulgarian Dream to be a dream? If you do,then stay in the UK and just do that! The reality of this place beggars belief in so many ways. NOW,before someone jumps on me from a great height,let me say i have been a resident here for nearly 5 years,and to a great extent can speak with honesty about this Country.
The main problem here is the majority of the ethnic population. They cannot lie straight in bed! So if you insist on joining us over here,please be prepared to be conned,robbed and deceived like you wouldn`t believe. And as for animal cruelty,a lot of them have it down to a fine art. Especially in the villages,where most of you would like to realise your dreams. Yes,i do live in a village! Yes,i do know what i am talking about too. My work with poor creatures over here bears witness to my words.
So,if you do get here,please remember to get yourself a really big and nasty dog first. This i assure you should be a priority,to protect your property from all the thieving chappies that abound here. The chances of you being done over bigtime is very very good! Being English/British makes you a target from day one.
Now,as for the driving around,well thats gonna really do your head.In my opinion,they are one of the worst drivers ever. Once again,i speak from experience. In my life,i have been to over 80 different Countries,so can speak with authority on this one. I swear that in Varna,there must be a Driving Licence shop. It works like this. A BG goes into the shop,exchanges his/her brain for a Licence,and roars off in a 100mph car with a 10mph mind! Simple eh? 20miles down the road,they join the pile of bodies in the morgue in Varna.
As for the local Bobbies,well thats a laugh too.Make sure you carry some 20lv notes with you.This is their wages dont you know! Like most things here,corruption is rife.Sorry,i mean corruption is life.
Builders! what can i say? They dont exist! Jobbers do!
Real Estate Agents? 99% are as crooked as they are in the UK.
For God`s sake folks,dont come here and get a "
Builder"
to work on your property while your in the UK. And NEVER pay up front. Cos when you return,the job aint been done,the "
Builder has done a runner with your hard earned cash. Ah! i hear you say,"
I have a contract"
,well just remember this, people. The word Contract starts Con,as does the word Conman! A bit similar actually to the word Builder. That starts with Bu, as in Bull****.
Oh you poor people over there in good old Blighty,your Bulgarian Dream is waiting for you.
Dave Smith

PS. Dont forget to pick up your big and nasty dog from the nice honest man at Varna Airport.

Interesting thread! It's good to see different points of view, and always good to get the good and the bad sides of things because both definitely exist here as we have found even as relative newbies of just 8 months. I think that it takes time and effort to find a village that fits with your own personal "
comfort zone."


We are in rented accomodation while we renovate our own particular ruin, and I am SO glad we rented for months before buying, as we have had the chance to live in 2 (soon to be 3) different areas because of renting, so we have seen how very different one village can be from another. We've had the chance to find out just how much we like (or dislike) village life as opposed to that available in say, a small town. Personal comfort zones vary, and not everyone is cut out for the life of village people. (policeman's outfit and feather headdress optional of course!)

To say we personally have a belt and braces mindset is an understatement, and we have taken all reasonable measures to make sure that we chose the right place for us, used the right agent, followed the correct protocol etc. However, no matter how much planning you do you can still get ripped off, end up with bad neighbours, choose a house in the wrong location - or even the wrong country - but reading other people's take on life here and their experiences can only be of benefit whether their experience was good, bad or downright ugly, it's all grist to the mill!

I don't think I could describe life in Bulgaria as a dream, but for us - so far - neither is it a nightmare, just different. Surely there must be a bit of pioneering spirit in all of us for us to have decided to come here in the first place and try out the different lifestyle available!

Thank goodness for forums that let us take on board advice from those who have already trodden a path here, because Bulgaria is not like anywhere else that I have ever been or lived. We moved here after 5 years of living in Turkey, so we have experienced living in a very different culture already, but even Turkey didn't prepare us for some of the aspects of life we have seen so far in Bulgaria!!

I'm keen on Shopska Salad, less keen on pig's ears and have started to carry a shovel in the car so I can move the roadkill before it gets flattened by all the TIR trucks in my area. Loathed Sunny Beach - loved Chernomorets and Sozopol, and there is so much more to explore. I look forward to seeing it all with 20/20 vision unimpaired by rose tinted glasses but with a hopefulness that I can find enough that I love to outweigh that which I dislike. Welcome to the Wild East!!

Abra [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

This is a brilliant post for us who don't know anything about life in Bulgaria, its good to see both sides of the coin, and to be honest other sites I have been on only tell you about the possitive side, which is understandable since they are only trying to attract revenue from their adds so thank you guys for all you honest input here keep it coming

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Hi all,

For my part, I'll be speaking as honest as I can and telling about life in my area and living with a Bg woman. That is something that is not happily accepted by BG men.

It has alienated Aneta and I from the village. But we have found ways to get over the problems. We even had to buy an item as a visual deterrent, which I talked about on here. So yes you'll get honest warts and all about life in this area of BG from me and my Bg woman Aneta.

I still love living in Bg and I think it is a wonderful country, but for some of us there are problems. So from me you'll get life as I live it. I'll give the parts most others will not say about.

But I'll still tell you this is a wonderful country to live in, even with the problems.

so best wishes all

PS,

I will add, our problems are not with the gypsies, we are friends with them, it is the BG's we are having problems with, well some of them. But I will say for the moment life is good here, with no problems.

If you have any problems here, we have found it is with white BG's not coloured Turks, known as gypsies.

Hi Tony good to hear things have settled down for you both, hope you don't mind me asking ? but is your Aneta a Bulgarian ? or a Bulgarian Gypsy ? sorry if it sounds personal but it just helps me and maybe others to understand the problems that you have both had

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Hi Scot,

Aneta is a Bulgarian, but like many here has mixed blood. Most of the so called gypsie, are not Roma, but Turks, from Turkey, be it a long time ago. They are even teaching me to speak in Turkish as they do not like to use Bg speak. Many true BG's have Roma blood, so do I as a matter of fact. Not that anyone here knows that.

PS.
Forgot, the problem is I am a brit and Bg's don't like us brits having their women. It is a known fact a bg woman will not go back to a BG man after being with a brit.

Which is why the woman are called Anglichenka's, as an insult to the women

Something which is not usually mentioned on forums has just occurred to me having just read Tony's last couple of posts. That is the fact that people of any race or colour have prejudices against each other for whatever reason. Some people are naturally suspicious of things and people they don't understand. Many Brits are suspicious of their own and I guess Bulgarians are the same. Jealousy rears its head and snobbery. If someone appears to have a better life, better looks, better anything than themselves a barrier is immediately set up before even a word need be spoken. Its often because of their own feeling of insecurity which breeds this apparent contempt. It is unfair and very upsetting for the people who are the brunt of this behaviour and personally, I am at a loss as to how to deal with it except to continue to live your happy life as best you can and ignore the nastiness. Its not easy and it can be isolating but if you know that you are not guilty of anything other than being different it will be okay and hopefully, very slowly, things will improve as Tony seems to suggest it has in his case.
This should not stop anyone having a good life in Bulgaria because it could happen anywhere in the world including Britain. It is something else to take into account though when moving here. Even though we have not had such severe problems in our village, there have been and still are some who are slow to show real acceptance like the majority. However, its not necessary to worry about the bigoted few, you can't win them all.

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Excellent posting and have enjoyed reading the good and the bad points about Bulgaria. thanks for sharing - Forums like this is the only way we can prepare for or experience what life will be like. Fortunatly most of us (including ourselves) think the grass is greener on the other side - as you can see for the postings this is not the case - you have to work at it and you learn through trial and error and mostly who you can trust etc

There are many things to consider when living in the villages, the roads, the people, the tranquillity, the language barriers, the lifestyle. It is not everyone cup of tea, but how will you know what it is like until you try it. We love Bulgaria We were set to move over there for 2 years until ill health caused us to rethink our plans. We were there for 3 months and really enjoyed it, but I must admit I was equally looking forward to coming home. So now I am thinking is Bulgaria really where I want to be - Perhaps we can try 6 month at a time and see how we get on. But do I really want to give up my job here. The other thing that struck me was 'God forbid' should anything happen to Mr Oddy, I know for a fact I would never ever stay in the Villa myself. so maybe I am still seeing Bulgaria through rose tinted glasses. Who knows we have to do what we feel is right and if long holidays or moving to BG long time is for you - go for it and good luck.

Oddy

Hello Bernie its good to hear these comments from both sides and its one of the things I like about this forum nothing is hidden by the Mod or Admin [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] for people like me I want to see both sides of the coin so I know what to expect and then I can't blame anyone else if it does go pear shaped [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] an informed choice is what is needed when you are considering making a life changing decision I know that their will always be those who can live anywhere in the world and settle into what ever life throws at them but we are not all the same and I know for me I like my home comforts and the convenience of being able to get what I may need when I want it? but that's something I will have to come to terms with if I do live in Bulgaria full time? so thank you all for your honesty here its whats needed for folk like me, and to the Admin thank you for allowing people with a voice to express it freely

I have just re-read all of this topic. Its good to go back to the original post sometimes. I am so pleased that people have replied accepting that there are some problems to a new life in Bulgaria. Too many times when someone posts as the OP on this topic, people post about how wonderful everything is for them as if the OP has done something wrong. This is probably never the case and the OP is just tired of reading about 'the dream'. He/she is just trying to give a warning to people who actually think that leaving Britain and relocating to Bulgaria will solve all their problems. This is a very unwise thought. No foreign land is without its problems. You must think that whatever you don't like about Britain, at least you have the security blanket of the language and knowledge of the rules and regulations etc and departments to complain to. In Bulgaria, as any other country, you will have no safety blanket until you have asked questions and learnt some of the language. Listen and learn is my advice and take your time before making any decisions as to whether it is the right place for you. When we arrived we knew nothing about the country having never seen a forum or read any info. Mad weren't we but we had our reasons but no need to go into that. We struggled and with the help of some good and honest Bulgarians (lucky but there are some) and eventually became legal residents. We managed to get some good builders who renovated our home enough for us to be comfortable and then set about integrating into our village. We regularly used the bar which was a bit intimidating at first but it is the hub of village life almost anywhere and the locals were great. Yes, we were a novelty and we had many newspaper and TV interviews which were a bit worrying but the villagers loved the publicity the village got. We are now part of the scene and feel very at home. Its not the same for everyone but it is a possibility. So any of you about to make a permanent move (which is very different to spending a few holidays here) good luck but keep reading these honest posts and take on board the good and bad things that maybe written. Do not edit out what you don't want to hear!

I to have gone over this whole topic again and some of the others, and it still infuriates me that people use such forums in a negative way, because thats how I see this topic and the killing of pigs in Bulgaria topic.

Yes the area that the originator lives in may be not a nice place to live, and there may be lots of under lying factors as to why this has happened all of which may have nothing to do with anybody,but don't tar all off Bulgaria with the same brush, some of the comments made about people living in houses with roofs falling in and ancient women with hoes working the fields I found distasteful and rude.

Why don't you try and help the person that lives in the house with the damaged roof, when we done our house we were approached by one such individual who wanted to buy my old tiles, a fair price was made over a rakia or two, and I watched that old man and women (with the old hoe) sit for several days cleaning each tile, when the weather was right the roof was repaired by family and friends, its still not perfect but its a lot better.

And the old women with the hoe, well maybe shes just trying to do her best, with what shes got, with out asking for help as this is all she knows. But don't be surprised if this ancient women is one of the first to offer help.

The killing of pigs issue is one that can be dragged on all day and night, but again this is what they do, I have never seen it done in my village in the street, only in the individuals house, if you get an invite and its not what you want to see then go after its been done, me and my wife go to several of these events in the village and my wife always follows down later to help with the cooking etc.

I am not insinuateing that my life in Bulgaria is better than anybody elses, or that I have not had any problems, but I seem to be getting the impression that there is two Bulgarias here, this is there country dont sit there and slack it off if you dont like it go home or try to make a differance.

We used to have a saying in the Army "
If you fail to plan you plan to fail"

Hi Darrel although I agree with you to some extent I also believe that both sides of the coin need to be seen and I do believe that all the above is showing both sides with no one saying anything particularly anything negative except for the first person who posted which to be honest if he/she has so much negativity to talk about then as you said why stay, as for the pig killing I think the op was just letting others know how things are in Bulgaria and I personally didn't see it as negative but informative and there were those that thought it was ok to kill pigs in the way they do and those that objected to the facts being talked about which for me I found very strange after all said and done its part of the Bulgarian culture so why not talk about it and share your experiences of it? and again as some have said here they felt it an honor to be invited to such an event so for me and others that have posted here it was seen as nothing more than informative.

There are other forums about Bulgaria who won't allow this sort of discussion but you must ask yourself why? I think that so many people go to live in a foreign country without knowing all the facts and very little about the culture so when they have been there for a few months they then say "
Oh my god what have I done"
and only because all the information isn't always available, I'm not having a go at your remarks here or you thoughts in fact as always with anyone I respect what you all have to say but we will always see things differently and interpret them in the way that we do which is fine but it doesn't mean that we are right and they are wrong? I believe that a good balance consists of positive and negative

Absolutely.

Hi all, Listen the problem with me is that I tend to go about things the long way, there is never a perfect place and there never will be but my point is just this yes show the negative side but also try and show some positive side in your posts, I don't want to make any enemies.

If people have so much negativity about where they live then I believe it surely is not the place for them to be, and I also firmly believe that if you have planned correctly you will eradicate a lot of the problems.

Being proactive and open minded are all key values to any move abroad.

I am doing it again aren't I but let me finish by just saying this yes have your say but don't be to negative or derogatory remember these people were here first some of them know no better and some do and should act accordingly it will change but its going to take time, maybe we can all do are little bit to help.

Sorry if I have gone on but I feel a bit passionate about were we live and its not all bad.