First topic message reminder :

Talking to a Bulgarian recently, he is of the opinion that nothing is moving forward in Bulgaria and people are just giving up trying to improve things. In other words I suppose its a vote of 'no confidence'. Would you agree?
Strangely enough, just recently we have been wondering this as well over things generally. In 8 years not a lot has changed. Maybe a few small things in our village but overall the country seems to be going backwards rather than forwards in the bigger scheme of things generally. We were quite surprised to hear a Bulgarian voicing our thoughts. Bulgaria is testing our hopes for her future.

Surely, not needing foreigners to open a company in order to buy residential freeholds is a MASSIVE step forwards? However, changes of the type under discussion move slowly, starting with the number of natives who actually want them. At first we hear from the few, then it takes a while (ie years) for others to think about it and eventually decide if they agree. Opinion changes slowly as new ideas spread and gradually become accepted. Only when the majority of the population not only agree, but actually want to make their voices heard, can real progress happen at any noticeable kind of speed.

Here, it's like we are focusing and commenting on only the second hand of the clock, paying no attention to the minute hand and completely overlooking the hour hand. You know the old saying about Rome not being built in a day.

Then again, I wonder which heads are actually in the sand? Those of us who want to choose Bulgaria because we don't like what Britain has turned into, surely don't want the Bulgarians to start making the same kind of change we did? At the beginning of our agricultural revolution, the wise ones said (in effect) "
Small is beautiful"
. A farmer needs to walk his ground and know every yard intimately, to have a proper connection to the land. People who want better nutrition these days are seeking small-holders offering box systems, because agri-business doesn't deliver the basic requirements for good health. We lost our hedgerows and birds because bigger machines need bigger spaces to cultivate, which in turn need bigger inputs of oil and chemicals to produce their vitamin &
mineral deficient crops because they are no longer viable, balanced units within themselves.

Many Bulgarians still believe Communism was better, and they have valid reasons. In truth the only things really wrong with it was having it enforced, and not achieving the equality it was originally designed to provide. When everybody wants a fair deal for all and actively chooses ways of life that enable it, then something like a kind of voluntary communism can arise which will be better than anything capitalism could envisage. As long as anybody wants to enjoy privileges others can't have, we never achieve a stable, balanced way forwards that really works. Can anybody look at a so called 'developed' nation today and say, "
This is the ideal, this is what we want to achieve"
?

I think perhaps the Bulgarians are thinking, in the process of working out what exactly it is that they really would like to achieve, rather than rushing into the kind of short sighted mistakes that capitalist nations have lived to regret. Maybe they are taking the long view, and maybe we all should think a bit more about that? Maybe they are looking before they leap, and looking beyond the immediate landing spot ?

:Good post:and interesting, but I am not sure about this bit, Many Bulgarians still believe Communism was better, and they have valid reasons. If a poll was taken of teenagers to say 40 year old's and 40 year old's to pensioners I think you would find that the younger generation were glad to see the back of Communism, and a lot of the older generation have mixed feelings

As you say. I was just going by those I've met, including the younger ones. The 'Mixed feelings' were that enforced communism is not good, but Capitalism is not better.

Bulgaria maybe moving forward in small steps but I'm afraid a lot of the Brits are holding it back, just been on another forum and been reading some very disturbing posts that has been written about a member on the forum and a well respected one at that but as usual its the few that will always destroy anything thats good so I'm afraid some of the Brits must take some of the blame for the slow progress.

funny you should say that Blink...I saw it as well....but I did not believe it ...then again I did believe Admin on there who told me it had been written by someone else posing as the said username !!!!!!!!!

Could we please stick to the topic "
Is Bulgaria Progressing"
? Thanks!

I guess it all depends how you measure progress . Sure Bulgaria has started to absorb EU funding much better , and are in the process of building new highway sections , have plans to upgrade the railways , and agriculture is better organised and mechanised , and receiving substantial EU subsidies . However the European economic crisis has hit a lot of Bulgarians hard , many have lost their jobs , and others have less work and/or reduced wages . Inflation has been quite high for the last few years , and the minimum wage and pensions have not kept pace ;
in particular price hikes for bread , dairy products and electricity have left people struggling to make ends meet . Despite an influx of foreign stores , such as Praktiker , Metro , Billa , Lidl , etc. (all of which have opened new stores in VT over the last 6 years) , there has been an overall drop in FDI to Bulgaria over the last few years , and many development projects (particularly in tourist areas) remain unfinished or even unstarted . Many/most of the old communist era heavy industries have closed down or are struggling to continue , so its not hard to see why some would look back with fondness to a time when a job , healthcare and a subsidised holiday were guaranteed . On the positive side , Great Wall have recently opened a new car plant and there is optomism of finding offshore oil and gas deposits in the Black Sea . Also the fledgling Eco movement is a positive sign of a developing soceity that cares about preserving its nature , and has had some success (at least for the time being) in preventing developments in National Parks and other areas of environmental sensitivity . Is Bulgaria progressing ? Maybe , but its got a long way to go .

:Good post:welcome hippyboy, can you introduce yourself in the new member section, many thanks.

[size=150:euauasqn]Is Bulgaria progressing
It doesn't look like it if you read the following report
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ... s-it-takes

fruitlover wrote:

As you say. I was just going by those I've met, including the younger ones. The 'Mixed feelings' were that enforced communism is not good, but Capitalism is not better.

I`m lucky enough to remember the very last days of the communist regime in Bulgaria. In short, I`ve come up with an interesting phrase that depicts them quite accurately: In communism one has money but there`s nothing to purchase, in capitalism there are lots of goods but no money to afford them. You choose which one is better :)
I think truth is somewhere in between them, a well balanced mixture - tighter government control on the big price tags and total market economy on cheaper goods and services.

Bulgaria is an add 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 forums. 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 both the positive and negative aspects of living in Bulgaria. 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. 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 progressing or not!

Getting the infrastructure working properly would go a long way to making me believe Bulgaria was progressing, however we have been without water for 10 days now, nine days consecutively, had it back on for one and now its off again. We have a spring about a half mile outside the village so I load the car up and get it that way. But what is wrong with this picture, 21st Century, 56 year old man, having to fetch water half a mile away from his home in a European country? I am luck to be able to do it but who cares about the Baba's,? Obviously not anyone coonnected with the Government. Rant over

Ray

chrisbriggs wrote:

Getting the infrastructure working properly would go a long way to making me believe Bulgaria was progressing, however we have been without water for 10 days now, nine days consecutively, had it back on for one and now its off again. We have a spring about a half mile outside the village so I load the car up and get it that way. But what is wrong with this picture, 21st Century, 56 year old man, having to fetch water half a mile away from his home in a European country? I am luck to be able to do it but who cares about the Baba's,? Obviously not anyone coonnected with the Government. Rant over

Ray

Add the electricity disputes to your rant and you can see why people do drastic things like setting themselves on fire, and what Government do you refer to, there isn't one

Willow, I realise that Bulgaria at the moment does not have a Government per se, but I was aiming my comments at MP's , anyone who purports to represent the people at any level, mayors, even the people who run the utilities. There is I believe a President, what role in the everyday life of the Bulgarian people does he have. And just to make matters worse our electricity has been off for over an hour. Also isnt it strange how you never see a poor politician?

Ray

chrisbriggs wrote:

Getting the infrastructure working properly would go a long way to making me believe Bulgaria was progressing, however we have been without water for 10 days now, nine days consecutively, had it back on for one and now its off again. We have a spring about a half mile outside the village so I load the car up and get it that way. But what is wrong with this picture, 21st Century, 56 year old man, having to fetch water half a mile away from his home in a European country? I am luck to be able to do it but who cares about the Baba's,? Obviously not anyone coonnected with the Government. Rant over

Ray

I can understand your frustration here Ray, especially the lack of running water. Have you thought of talking to your Mayor? We had a similar water problem some time ago (not as long as yours though) and it turned out that the pump which drove the water around the village had broken down and they were awaiting a part to arrive from Russia. Still not good as you say for the period we live in, but at least a reasoned explanation.